I. Gaul being tranquil,
Caesar, as he had determined, sets out for Italy to
hold the provincial assizes. There he receives
intelligence of the death of Clodius; and, being informed
of the decree of the senate [to the effect] that all
the youth of Italy should take the military oath,
he determined to hold a levy throughout the entire
province. Report of these events is rapidly borne
into Transalpine Gaul. The Gauls themselves
add to the report, and invent what the case seemed
to require, [namely] that Caesar was detained by commotions
in the city, and could not, amidst so violent dissensions,
come to his army. Animated by this opportunity,
they who already, previously to this occurrence, were
indignant that they were reduced beneath the dominion
of Rome, begin to organize their plans for war more
openly and daringly. The leading men of Gaul,
having convened councils among themselves in the woods,
and retired places, complain of the death of Acco:
they point out that this fate may fall in turn on
themselves: they bewail the unhappy fate of Gaul;
and by every sort of promises and rewards, they earnestly
solicit some to begin the war, and assert the freedom
of Gaul at the hazard of their lives. They say
that special care should be paid to this, that Caesar
should be cut off from his army, before their secret
plans should be divulged. That this was easy,
because neither would the legions, in the absence
of their general, dare to leave their winter quarters,
nor could the general reach his army without a guard:
finally, that it was better to be slain in battle
than not to recover their ancient glory in war, and
that freedom which they had received from their forefathers.
II. Whilst these things
are in agitation, the Carnutes declare “that
they would decline no danger for the sake of the general
safety,” and promise that they would be the
first of all to begin the war; and since they cannot
at present take precautions, by giving and receiving
hostages, that the affair shall not be divulged they
require that a solemn assurance be given them by oath
and plighted honour, their military standards being
brought together (in which manner their most sacred
obligations are made binding), that they should not
be deserted by the rest of the Gauls on commencing
the war.
III. When the appointed
day came, the Carnutes, under the command of
Cotuatus and Conetodunus, desperate men, meet together
at Genabum, and slay the Roman citizens who had settled
there for the purpose of trading (among the rest,
Caius Fusius Cita, a distinguished Roman knight,
who by Caesar’s orders had presided over the
provision department), and plunder their property.
The report is quickly spread among all the states of
Gaul; for, whenever a more important and remarkable
event takes place, they transmit the intelligence
through their lands and districts by a shout; the
others take it up in succession, and pass it to their
neighbours, as happened on this occasion; for the things
which were done at Genabum at sunrise were heard in
the territories of the Arverni before the end
of the first watch, which is an extent of more than
a hundred and sixty miles.
IV. There in like manner,
Vercingetorix the son of Celtillus the Arvernian,
a young man of the highest power (whose father had
held the supremacy of entire Gaul, and had been put
to death by his fellow citizens, for this reason,
because he aimed at sovereign power), summoned together
his dependents, and easily excited them. On his
design being made known, they rush to arms: he
is expelled from the town of Gergovia by his
uncle Gobanitio and the rest of the nobles, who were
of opinion, that such an enterprise ought not to be
hazarded: he did not however desist, but held
in the country a levy of the needy and desperate.
Having collected such a body of troops, he brings over
to his 30 sentiments such of his fellow citizens as
he has access to: he exhorts them to take up
arms in behalf of the general freedom, and having
assembled great forces he drives from the state his
opponents, by whom he had been expelled a short time
previously. He is saluted king by his partisans;
he sends ambassadors in every direction, he conjures
them to adhere firmly to their promise. He quickly
attaches to his interests the Senones, Parisii,
Pictones, Cadurci, Turones, Aulerci, Lemovice, and
all the others who border on the ocean; the supreme
command is conferred on him by unanimous consent.
On obtaining this authority, he demands hostages from
all these states, he orders a fixed number of soldiers
to be sent to him immediately; he determines what
quantity of arms each state shall prepare at home,
and before what time; he pays particular attention
to the cavalry. To the utmost vigilance he adds
the utmost rigour of authority; and by the severity
of his punishments brings over the wavering:
for on the commission of a greater crime he puts the
perpetrators to death by fire and every sort of tortures;
for a slighter cause, he sends home the offenders
with their ears cut off, or one of their eyes put
out, that they may be an example to the rest, and
frighten others by the severity of their punishment.
V. Having quickly collected
an army by their punishments, he sends Lucterius,
one of the Cadurci, a man of the utmost daring, with
part of his forces, into the territory of the Ruteni;
and marches in person into the country of the Bituriges.
On his arrival, the Bituriges send ambassadors to
the Aedui, under whose protection they were, to
solicit aid in order that they might more easily resist
the forces of the enemy. The Aedui, by the
advice of the lieutenants whom Caesar had left with
the army, send supplies of horse and foot to succour
the Bituriges. When they came to the river Loire,
which separates the Bituriges from the Aedui,
they delayed a few days there, and, not daring to pass
the river, return home, and send back word to the
lieutenants that they had returned through fear of
the treachery of the Bituriges, who, they ascertained,
had formed this design, that if the Aedui should
cross the river, the Bituriges on the one side, and
the Arverni on the other, should surround them.
Whether they did this for the reason which they alleged
to the lieutenants, or influenced by treachery, we
think that we ought not to state as certain, because
we have no proof. On their departure, the Bituriges
immediately unite themselves to the Arverni.
VI. These affairs being
announced to Caesar in Italy at the time when he understood
that matters in the city had been reduced to a more
tranquil state by the energy of Cneius Pompey, he set
out for Transalpine Gaul. After he had arrived
there, he was greatly at a loss to know by what means
he could reach his army. For if he should summon
the legions into the province, he was aware that on
their march they would have to fight in his absence;
he foresaw too, that if he himself should endeavour
to reach the army, he would act injudiciously, in
trusting his safety even to those who seemed to be
tranquillized.
VII. In the meantime Lucterius
the Cadurcan, having been sent into the country of
the Ruteni, gains over that state to the Arverni.
Having advanced into the country of the Nitiobriges,
and Gabali, he receives hostages from both nations,
and, assembling a numerous force, marches to make
a descent on the province in the direction of Narbo.
Caesar, when this circumstance was announced to him,
thought that the march to Narbo ought to take the
precedence of all his other plans. When he arrived
there, he encourages the timid, and stations garrisons
among the Ruteni, in the province of the Volcae Arecomici,
and the country around Narbo which was in the vicinity
of the enemy; he orders a portion of the forces from
the province, and the recruits which he had brought
from Italy, to rendezvous among the Helvii who border
on the territories of the Arverni.
VIII. These matters being
arranged, and Lucterius now checked and forced to
retreat, because he thought it dangerous to enter the
line of Roman garrisons, Caesar marches into the country
of the Helvii; although mount Cevennes, which separates
the Arverni from the Helvii, blocked up the way
with very deep snow, as it was the severest season
of the year; yet having cleared away the snow to the
depth of six feet, and having opened the roads, he
reaches the territories of the Arverni, with
infinite labour to his soldiers. This people being
surprised, because they considered themselves defended
by the Cevennes as by a wall, and the paths at this
season of the year had never before been passable even
to individuals, he orders the cavalry to extend themselves
as far as they could, and strike as great a panic
as possible into the enemy. These proceedings
are speedily announced to Vercingetorix by rumour and
his messengers. Around him all the Arverni
crowd in alarm, and solemnly entreat him to protect
their property, and not to suffer them to be plundered
by the enemy, especially as he saw that all the war
was transferred into their country. Being prevailed
upon by their entreaties he moves his camp from the
country of the Bituriges in the direction of the Arverni.
IX. Caesar, having delayed
two days in that place, because he had anticipated
that, in the natural course of events, such would be
the conduct of Vercingetorix, leaves the army under
pretence of raising recruits and cavalry: he
places Brutus, a young man, in command of these forces;
he gives him instructions that the cavalry should range
as extensively as possible in all directions; that
he would exert himself not to be absent from the camp
longer than three days. Having arranged these
matters, he marches to Vienna by as long journeys as
he can, when his own soldiers did not expect him.
Finding there a fresh body of cavalry, which he had
sent on to that place several days before, marching
incessantly night and day, he advanced rapidly through
the territory of the Aedui into that of the Lingones,
in which two legions were wintering, that, if any
plan affecting his own safety should have been organised
by the Aedui, he might defeat it by the rapidity
of his movements. When he arrived there, he sends
information to the rest of the legions, and gathers
all his army into one place before intelligence of
his arrival could be announced to the Arverni.
Vercingetorix, on hearing this circumstance,
leads back his army into the country of the Bituriges;
and after marching from it to Gergovia, a town
of the Boii, whom Caesar had settled there after
defeating them in the Helvetian war, and had rendered
tributary to the Aedui, he determined to attack
it.
X. This action caused great
perplexity to Caesar in the selection of his plans;
[he feared] lest, if he should confine his legions
in one place for the remaining portion of the winter,
all Gaul should revolt when the tributaries of the
Aedui were subdued, because it would appear that
there was in him no protection for his friends; but
if he should draw them too soon out of their winter
quarters, he might be distressed by the want of provisions,
in consequence of the difficulty of conveyance.
It seemed better, however, to endure every hardship
than to alienate the affections of all his allies,
by submitting to such an insult. Having, therefore,
impressed on the Aedui the necessity of supplying
him with provisions, he sends forward messengers to
the Boii to inform them of his arrival, and encourage
them to remain firm in their allegiance, and resist
the attack of the enemy with great resolution.
Having left two legions and the luggage of the entire
army at Agendicum, he marches to the Boii.
XI. On the second day,
when he came to Vellaunodunum, a town of the Senones,
he determined to attack it, in order that he might
not leave an enemy in his rear, and might the more
easily procure supplies of provisions, and drew a
line of circumvallation around it in two days:
on the third day, ambassadors being sent from the
town to treat of a capitulation, he orders their arms
to be brought together, their cattle to be brought
forth, and six hundred hostages to be given. He
leaves Caius Trebonius, his lieutenant, to complete
these arrangements; he himself sets out with the intention
of marching as soon as possible to Genabum, a town
of the Carnutes, who having then for the first
time received information of the siege of Vellaunodunum,
as they thought that it would be protracted to a longer
time, were preparing a garrison to send to Genabum
for the defence of that town. Caesar arrived here
in two days; after pitching his camp before the town,
being prevented by the time of the day, he defers
the attack to the next day, and orders his soldiers
to prepare whatever was necessary for that enterprise;
and as a bridge over the Loire connected the town
of Genabum with the opposite bank, fearing lest the
inhabitants should escape by night from the town,
he orders two legions to keep watch under arms.
The people of Genabum came forth silently from the
city before midnight, and began to cross the river.
When this circumstance was announced by scouts, Caesar,
having set fire to the gates, sends in the legions
which he had ordered to be ready, and obtains possession
of the town so completely, that very few of the whole
number of the enemy escaped being taken alive, because
the narrowness of the bridge and the roads prevented
the multitude from escaping. He pillages and
burns the town, gives the booty to the soldiers, then
leads his army over the Loire, and marches into the
territories of the Bituriges.
XII. Vercingetorix, when
he ascertained the arrival of Caesar, desisted from
the siege [of Gergovia], and marched to meet Caesar.
The latter had commenced to besiege Noviodunum; and
when ambassadors came from this town to beg that he
would pardon them and spare their lives, in order
that he might execute the rest of his designs with
the rapidity by which he had accomplished most of
them, he orders their arms to be collected, their
horses to be brought forth, and hostages to be given.
A part of the hostages being now delivered up, when
the rest of the terms were being performed, a few
centurions and soldiers being sent into the town
to collect the arms and horses, the enemy’s cavalry,
which had outstripped the main body of Vercingetorix’s
army, was seen at a distance; as soon as the townsmen
beheld them, and entertained hopes of assistance,
raising a shout, they began to take up arms, shut the
gates, and line the walls. When the centurions
in the town understood from the signal-making of the
Gauls that they were forming some new design,
they drew their swords and seized the gates, and recovered
all their men safe.
XIII. Caesar orders the
horse to be drawn out of the camp, and commences a
cavalry action. His men being now distressed,
Caesar sends to their aid about four hundred German
horse, which he had determined, at the beginning,
to keep with himself. The Gauls could not
withstand their attack, but were put to flight, and
retreated to their main body, after losing a great
number of men. When they were routed, the townsmen,
again intimidated, arrested those persons by whose
exertions they thought that the mob had been roused,
and brought them to Caesar, and surrendered themselves
to him. When these affairs were accomplished,
Caesar marched to the Avaricum, which was the largest
and best fortified town in the territories of the
Bituriges, and situated in a most fertile tract of
country; because he confidently expected that on taking
that town, he would reduce beneath his dominion the
state of the Bituriges.
XIV. Vercingetorix, after
sustaining such a series of losses at Vellaunodunum,
Genabum, and Noviodunum, summons his men to a council.
He impresses on them “that the war must be prosecuted
on a very different system from that which had been
previously adopted; but they should by all means aim
at this object, that the Romans should be prevented
from foraging and procuring provisions; that this
was easy, because they themselves were well supplied
with cavalry and were likewise assisted by the season
of the year; that forage could not be cut; that the
enemy must necessarily disperse, and look for it in
the houses, that all these might be daily destroyed
by the horse. Besides that the interests of private
property must be neglected for the sake of the general
safety; that the villages and houses ought to be fired,
over such an extent of country in every direction
from Boia, as the Romans appeared capable of
scouring in their search for forage. That an abundance
of these necessaries could be supplied to them, because
they would be assisted by the resources of those in
whose territories the war would be waged: that
the Romans either would not bear the privation, or
else would advance to any distance from the camp with
considerable danger; and that it made no difference
whether they slew them or stripped them of their baggage,
since, if it was lost, they could not carry on the
war. Besides that, the towns ought to be burnt
which were not secured against every danger by their
fortifications or natural advantages; that there should
not be places of retreat for their own countrymen
for declining military service, nor be exposed to
the Romans as inducements to carry off abundance of
provisions and plunder. If these sacrifices should
appear heavy or galling, that they ought to consider
it much more distressing that their wives and children
should be dragged off to slavery, and themselves slain;
the evils which must necessarily befall the conquered.
XV. This opinion having
been approved of by unanimous consent, more than twenty
towns of the Bituriges are burnt in one day. Conflagrations
are beheld in every quarter; and although all bore
this with great regret, yet they laid before themselves
this consolation, that, as the victory was certain,
they could quickly recover their losses. There
is a debate concerning Avaricum in the general council,
whether they should decide that it should be burnt
or defended. The Bituriges threw themselves at
the feet of all the Gauls, and entreat that they
should not be compelled to set fire with their own
hands to the fairest city of almost the whole of Gaul,
which was both a protection and ornament to the state;
they say that “they could easily defend it, owing
to the nature of the ground, for, being enclosed almost
on every side by a river and a marsh, it had only
one entrance, and that very narrow.” Permission
being granted to them at their earnest request, Vercingetorix
at first dissuades them from it, but afterwards concedes
the point, owing to their entreaties and the compassion
of the soldiers. A proper garrison is selected
for the town.
XVI. Vercingetorix follows
closely upon Caesar by shorter marches, and selects
for his camp a place defended by woods and marshes,
at the distance of fifteen miles from Avaricum.
There he received intelligence by trusty scouts, every
hour in the day, of what was going on at Avaricum,
and ordered whatever he wished to be done; he closely
watched all our expeditions for corn and forage, and
whenever they were compelled to go to a greater distance,
he attacked them when dispersed, and inflicted severe
loss upon them; although the evil was remedied by
our men, as far as precautions could be taken, by going
forth at irregular times, and by different ways.
XVII. Caesar pitching his
camp at that side of the town which was not defended
by the river and marsh, and had a very narrow approach,
as we have mentioned, began to raise the vineae
and erect two towers; for the nature of the place
prevented him from drawing a line of circumvallation.
He never ceased to importune the Boii and Aedui
for supplies of corn; of whom the one [the Aedui],
because they were acting with no zeal, did not aid
him much; the others [the Boii], as their resources
were not great, quickly consumed what they had.
Although the army was distressed by the greatest want
of corn, through the poverty of the Boii, the
apathy of the Aedui, and the burning of the houses,
to such a degree, that for several days the soldiers
were without corn, and satisfied their extreme hunger
with cattle driven from the remote villages; yet no
language was heard from them unworthy of the majesty
of the Roman people and their former victories.
Moreover, when Caesar addressed the legions, one by
one, when at work, and said that he would raise the
siege, if they felt the scarcity too severely, they
unanimously begged him “not to do so; that they
had served for several years under his command in
such a manner, that they never submitted to insult,
and never abandoned an enterprise without accomplishing
it; that they should consider it a disgrace if they
abandoned the siege after commencing it; that it was
better to endure every hardship than not to avenge
the manes of the Roman citizens who perished at Genabum
by the perfidy of the Gauls.” They
entrusted the same declarations to the centurions
and military tribunes, that through them they might
be communicated to Caesar.
XVIII. When the towers
had now approached the walls, Caesar ascertained from
the captives that Vercingetorix, after destroying the
forage, had pitched his camp nearer Avaricum, and
that he himself with the cavalry and light-armed infantry,
who generally fought among the horse, had gone to
lay an ambuscade in that quarter to which he thought
that our troops would come the next day to forage.
On learning these facts, he set out from the camp
secretly at midnight, and reached the camp of the enemy
early in the morning. They having quickly learned
the arrival of Caesar by scouts, hid their cars and
baggage in the thickest parts of the woods, and drew
up all their forces in a lofty and open space:
which circumstance being announced, Caesar immediately
ordered the baggage to be piled, and the arms to be
got ready.
XIX. There was a hill of
a gentle ascent from the bottom; a dangerous and impassable
marsh, not more than fifty feet broad, begirt it on
almost every side. The Gauls, having broken
down the bridges, posted themselves on this hill,
in confidence of their position, and being drawn up
in tribes according to their respective states, held
all the fords and passages of that marsh with trusty
guards, thus determined that if the Romans should
attempt to force the marsh, they would overpower them
from the higher ground while sticking in it, so that
whoever saw the nearness of the position, would imagine
that the two armies were prepared to fight on almost
equal terms; but whoever should view accurately the
disadvantage of position, would discover that they
were showing off an empty affectation of courage.
Caesar clearly points out to his soldiers, who were
indignant that the enemy could bear the sight of them
at the distance of so short a space, and were earnestly
demanding the signal for action, “with how great
loss and the death of how many gallant men the victory
would necessarily be purchased: and when he saw
them so determined to decline no danger for his renown,
that he ought to be considered guilty of the utmost
injustice if he did not hold their life dearer than
his own personal safety.” Having thus consoled
his soldiers, he leads them back on the same day to
the camp, and determined to prepare the other things
which were necessary for the siege of the town.
XX. Vercingetorix, when
he had returned to his men, was accused of treason,
in that he had moved his camp nearer the Romans, in
that he had gone away with all the cavalry, in that
he had left so great forces without a commander, in
that, on his departure, the Romans had come at such
a favourable season, and with such despatch; that all
these circumstances could not have happened accidentally
or without design; that he preferred holding the sovereignty
of Gaul by the grant of Caesar, to acquiring it by
their favour. Being accused in such a manner,
he made the following reply to these charges: “That
his moving his camp had been caused by want of forage,
and had been done even by their advice; that his approaching
near the Romans had been a measure dictated by the
favourable nature of the ground, which would defend
him by its natural strength; that the service of the
cavalry could not have been requisite in marshy ground,
and was useful in that place to which they had gone;
that he, on his departure, had given the supreme command
to no one intentionally, lest he should be induced
by the eagerness of the multitude to hazard an engagement,
to which he perceived that all were inclined, owing
to their want of energy, because they were unable to
endure fatigue any longer. That, if the Romans
in the meantime came up by chance, they [the Gauls]
should feel grateful to fortune; if invited by the
information of some one they should feel grateful to
him, because they were enabled to see distinctly from
the higher ground the smallness of the number of their
enemy, and despise the courage of those who, not daring
to fight, retreated disgracefully into their camp.
That he desired no power from Caesar by treachery,
since he could have it by victory, which was now assured
to himself and to all the Gauls; nay, that he
would even give them back the command, if they thought
that they conferred honour on him, rather then received
safety from him. That you may be assured,”
said he, “that I speak these words with truth; listen
to these Roman soldiers!” He produces some camp-followers
whom he had surprised on a foraging expedition some
days before, and had tortured by famine and confinement.
They being previously instructed in what answers they
should make when examined, say, “That they were
legionary soldiers, that, urged by famine and want,
they had recently gone forth from the camp, [to see]
if they could find any corn or cattle in the fields;
that the whole army was distressed by a similar scarcity,
nor had any one now sufficient strength, nor could
bear the labour of the work; and therefore that the
general was determined, if he made no progress in the
siege, to draw off his army in three days.”
“These benefits,” says Vercingetorix,
“you receive from me, whom you accuse of treason me,
by whose exertions you see so powerful and victorious
an army almost destroyed by famine, without shedding
one drop of your blood; and I have taken precautions
that no state shall admit within its territories this
army in its ignominious flight from this place.”
XXI. The whole multitude
raise a shout and clash their arms, according to their
custom, as they usually do in the case of him whose
speech they approve; [they exclaim] that Vercingetorix
was a consummate general, and that they had no doubt
of his honour; that the war could not be conducted
with greater prudence. They determine that ten
thousand men should be picked out of the entire army
and sent into the town, and decide that the general
safety should not be entrusted to the Bituriges alone,
because they were aware that the glory of the victory
must rest with the Bituriges, if they made good the
defence of the town.
XXII. To the extraordinary
valour of our soldiers, devices of every sort were
opposed by the Gauls; since they are a nation
of consummate ingenuity, and most skilful in imitating
and making those things which are imparted by any
one; for they turned aside the hooks with nooses,
and when they had caught hold of them firmly, drew
them on by means of engines, and undermined the mound
the more skilfully on this account, because there
are in their territories extensive iron mines, and
consequently every description of mining operations
is known and practised by them. They had furnished,
moreover, the whole wall on every side with turrets,
and had covered them with skins. Besides, in their
frequent sallies by day and night, they attempted either
to set fire to the mound, or attack our soldiers when
engaged in the works; and, moreover, by splicing the
upright timbers of their own towers, they equalled
the height of ours, as fast as the mound had daily
raised them, and countermined our mines, and impeded
the working of them by stakes bent and sharpened at
the ends, and boiling pitch, and stones of very great
weight, and prevented them from approaching the walls.
XXIII. But this is usually
the form of all the Gallic walls. Straight beams,
connected lengthwise and two feet distant from each
other at equal intervals, are placed together on the
ground; these are mortised on the inside, and covered
with plenty of earth. But the intervals which
we have mentioned, are closed up in front by large
stones. These being thus laid and cemented together,
another row is added above, in such a manner that
the same interval may be observed, and that the beams
may not touch one another, but equal spaces intervening,
each row of beams is kept firmly in its place by a
row of stones. In this manner the whole wall
is consolidated, until the regular height of the wall
be completed. This work, with respect to appearance
and variety, is not unsightly, owing to the alternate
rows of beams and stones, which preserve their order
in right lines; and, besides, it possesses great advantages
as regards utility and the defence of cities; for
the stone protects it from fire, and the wood from
the battering ram, since it [the wood] being mortised
in the inside with rows of beams, generally forty feet
each in length, can neither be broken through nor torn
asunder.
XXIV. The siege having
been impeded by so many disadvantages, the soldiers,
although they were retarded during the whole time,
by the mud, cold, and constant showers, yet by their
incessant labour overcame all these obstacles, and
in twenty-five days raised a mound three hundred and
thirty feet broad and eighty feet high. When it
almost touched the enemy’s walls, and Caesar,
according to his usual custom, kept watch at the work,
and encouraged the soldiers not to discontinue the
work for a moment: a little before the third
watch they discovered that the mound was sinking,
since the enemy had set it on fire by a mine; and at
the same time a shout was raised along the entire
wall, and a sally was made from two gates on each
side of the turrets. Some at a distance were
casting torches and dry wood from the wall on the mound,
others were pouring on it pitch, and other materials,
by which the flame might be excited, so that a plan
could hardly be formed, as to where they should first
run to the defence, or to what part aid should be brought.
However, as two legions always kept guard before the
camp by Caesar’s orders, and several of them
were at stated times at the work, measures were promptly
taken, that some should oppose the sallying party,
others draw back the towers and make a cut in the
rampart; and moreover, that the whole army should
hasten from the camp to extinguish the flames.
XXV. When the battle was
going on in every direction, the rest of the night
being now spent, and fresh hopes of victory always
arose before the enemy: the more so on this account
because they saw the coverings of our towers burnt
away, and perceived that we, being exposed, could not
easily go to give assistance, and they themselves were
always relieving the weary with fresh men, and considered
that all the safety of Gaul rested on this crisis;
there happened in my own view a circumstance which,
having appeared to be worthy of record, we thought
it ought not to be omitted. A certain Gaul before
the gate of the town, who was casting into the fire
opposite the turret balls of tallow and fire which
were passed along to him, was pierced with a dart on
the right side and fell dead. One of those next
him stepped over him as he lay, and discharged the
same office: when the second man was slain in
the same manner by a wound from a cross-bow, a third
succeeded him, and a fourth succeeded the third:
nor was this post left vacant by the besieged, until,
the fire of the mound having been extinguished, and
the enemy repulsed in every direction, an end was
put to the fighting.
XXVI. The Gauls having
tried every expedient, as nothing had succeeded, adopted
the design of fleeing from the town the next day, by
the advice and order of Vercingetorix. They hoped
that, by attempting it at the dead of night, they
would effect it without any great loss of men, because
the camp of Vercingetorix was not far distant from
the town, and the extensive marsh which intervened
was likely to retard the Romans in the pursuit.
And they were now preparing to execute this by night,
when the matrons suddenly ran out into the streets,
and weeping cast themselves at the feet of their husbands,
and requested of them, with every entreaty, that they
should not abandon themselves and their common children
to the enemy for punishment, because the weakness of
their nature and physical powers prevented them from
taking to flight. When they saw that they (as
fear does not generally admit of mercy in extreme
danger) persisted in their resolution, they began to
shout aloud, and give intelligence of their flight
to the Romans. The Gauls being intimidated
by fear of this, lest the passes should be pre-occupied
by the Roman cavalry, desisted from their design.
XXVII. The next day Caesar,
the tower being advanced, and the works which he had
determined to raise being arranged, a violent storm
arising, thought this no bad time for executing his
designs, because he observed the guards arranged on
the walls a little too negligently, and therefore
ordered his own men to engage in their work more remissly,
and pointed out what he wished to be done. He
drew up his soldiers in a secret position within the
vineae, and exhorts them to reap, at least, the
harvest of victory proportionate to their exertions.
He proposed a reward for those who should first scale
the walls, and gave the signal to the soldiers.
They suddenly flew out from all quarters and quickly
filled the wall.
XXVIII. The enemy being
alarmed by the suddenness of the attack, were dislodged
from the wall and towers, and drew up, in form of a
wedge, in the market-place and the open streets, with
this intention that, if an attack should be made on
any side, they should fight with their line drawn
up to receive it. When they saw no one descending
to the level ground, and the enemy extending themselves
along the entire wall in every direction, fearing
lest every hope of flight should be cut off, they
cast away their arms, and sought, without stopping,
the most remote parts of the town. A part was
then slain by the infantry when they were crowding
upon one another in the narrow passage of the gates;
and a part having got without the gates, were cut
to pieces by the cavalry: nor was there one who
was anxious for the plunder. Thus, being excited
by the massacre at Genabum and the fatigue of the
siege, they spared neither those worn out with years,
women, or children. Finally, out of all that
number, which amounted to about forty thousand, scarcely
eight hundred, who fled from the town when they heard
the first alarm, reached Vercingetorix in safety:
and he, the night being now far spent, received them
in silence after their flight (fearing that any sedition
should arise in the camp from their entrance in a
body and the compassion of the soldiers), so that,
having arranged his friends and the chiefs of the
states at a distance on the road, he took precautions
that they should be separated and conducted to their
fellow countrymen, to whatever part of the camp had
been assigned to each state from the beginning.
XXIX. Vercingetorix having
convened an assembly on the following day, consoled
and encouraged his soldiers in the following words: “That
they should not be too much depressed in spirit, nor
alarmed at their loss; that the Romans did not conquer
by valour nor in the field, but by a kind of art and
skill in assault, with which they themselves were
unacquainted; that whoever expected every event in
the war to be favourable, erred; that it never was
his opinion that Avaricum should be defended, of the
truth of which statement he had themselves as witnesses,
but that it was owing to the imprudence of the Bituriges,
and the too ready compliance of the rest, that this
loss was sustained; that, however, he would soon compensate
it by superior advantages; for that he would, by his
exertions, bring over those states which severed themselves
from the rest of the Gauls, and would create a
general unanimity throughout the whole of Gaul, the
union of which not even the whole earth could withstand,
and that he had it already almost effected; that in
the meantime it was reasonable that he should prevail
on them, for the sake of the general safety, to begin
to fortify their camp, in order that they might the
more easily sustain the sudden attacks of the enemy.”
XXX. This speech was not
disagreeable to the Gauls, principally, because
he himself was not disheartened by receiving so severe
a loss, and had not concealed himself, nor shunned
the eyes of the people: and he was believed to
possess greater foresight and sounder judgment than
the rest, because, when the affair was undecided, he
had at first been of opinion that Avaricum should
be burnt, and afterwards that it should be abandoned.
Accordingly, as ill success weakens the authority of
other generals, so, on the contrary, his dignity increased
daily, although a loss was sustained: at the
same time they began to entertain hopes, on his assertion,
of uniting the rest of the states to themselves, and
on this occasion, for the first time, the Gauls
began to fortify their camps, and were so alarmed
that although they were men unaccustomed to toil,
yet they were of opinion that they ought to endure
and suffer everything which should be imposed upon
them.
XXXI. Nor did Vercingetorix
use less efforts than he had promised, to gain over
the other states, and [in consequence] endeavoured
to entice their leaders by gifts and promises.
For this object he selected fitting emissaries by
whose subtle pleading or private friendship each of
the nobles could be most easily influenced. He
takes care that those who fled to him on the storming
of Avaricum should be provided with arms and clothes.
At the same time, that his diminished forces should
be recruited, he levies a fixed quota of soldiers
from each state, and defines the number and day before
which he should wish them brought to the camp, and
orders all the archers, of whom there was a very great
number in Gaul, to be collected and sent to him.
By these means, the troops which were lost at Avaricum
are speedily replaced. In the meantime, Teutomarus,
the son of Ollovicon, the king of the Nitiobriges,
whose father had received the appellation of friend
from our senate, came to him with a great number of
his own horse and those whom he had hired from Aquitania.
XXXII. Caesar, after delaying
several days at Avaricum, and finding there the greatest
plenty of corn and other provisions, refreshed his
army after their fatigue and privation. The winter
being almost ended, when he was invited by the favourable
season of the year to prosecute the war and march
against the enemy, [and try] whether he could draw
them from the marshes and woods, or else press them
by a blockade; some noblemen of the Aedui came
to him as ambassadors to entreat “that in an
extreme emergency he should succour their state; that
their affairs were in the utmost danger, because,
whereas single magistrates had been usually appointed
in ancient times and held the power of king for a
single year, two persons now exercised this office,
and each asserted that he was appointed according
to their laws. That one of them was Convictolitanis,
a powerful and illustrious youth; the other Cotus,
sprung from a most ancient family, and personally a
man of very great influence and extensive connections.
His brother Valetiacus had borne the same office during
the last year: that the whole state was up in
arms; the senate divided, the people divided; that
each of them had his own adherents; and that, if the
animosity would be fomented any longer the result
would be that one part of the state would come to a
collision with the other; that it rested with his
activity and influence to prevent it.”
XXXIII. Although Caesar
considered it ruinous to leave the war and the enemy,
yet, being well aware what great evils generally arise
from internal dissensions, lest a state so powerful
and so closely connected with the Roman people, which
he himself had always fostered and honoured in every
respect, should have recourse to violence and arms,
and that the party which had less confidence in its
own power should summon aid from Vercingetorix, he
determined to anticipate this movement; and because,
by the laws of the Aedui, it was not permitted
those who held the supreme authority to leave the
country, he determined to go in person to the Aedui,
lest he should appear to infringe upon their government
and laws, and summoned all the senate, and those between
whom the dispute was, to meet him at Decetia.
When almost all the state had assembled there, and
he was informed that one brother had been declared
magistrate by the other, when only a few persons were
privately summoned for the purpose, at a different
time and place from what he ought, whereas the laws
not only forbade two belonging to one family to be
elected magistrates while each was alive, but even
deterred them from being in the senate, he compelled
Cotus to resign his office; he ordered Convictolitanis,
who had been elected by the priests, according to the
usage of the state, in the presence of the magistrates,
to hold the supreme authority.
XXXIV. Having pronounced
this decree between [the contending parties], he exhorted
the Aedui to bury in oblivion their disputes and
dissensions, and, laying aside all these things, devote
themselves to the war, and expect from him, on the
conquest of Gaul, those rewards which they should
have earned, and send speedily to him all their cavalry
and ten thousand infantry, which he might place in
different garrisons to protect his convoys of provisions,
and then divided his army into two parts: he
gave Labienus four legions to lead into the country
of the Senones and Parisii; and led in person
six into the country of the Arverni, in the direction
of the town of Gergovia, along the banks of the
Allier. He gave part of the cavalry to Labienus,
and kept part to himself. Vercingetorix, on learning
this circumstance, broke down all the bridges over
the river and began to march on the other bank of
the Allier.
XXXV. When each army was
in sight of the other, and was pitching their camp
almost opposite that of the enemy, scouts being distributed
in every quarter, lest the Romans should build a bridge
and bring over their troops; it was to Caesar a matter
attended with great difficulties, lest he should be
hindered from passing the river during the greater
part of the summer, as the Allier cannot generally
be forded before the autumn. Therefore, that
this might not happen, having pitched his camp in
a woody place opposite to one of those bridges which
Vercingetorix had taken care should be broken down,
the next day he stopped behind with two legions in
a secret place: he sent on the rest of the forces
as usual, with all the baggage, after having selected
some cohorts, that the number of the legions might
appear to be complete. Having ordered these to
advance as far as they could, when now, from the time
of day, he conjectured they had come to an encampment,
he began to rebuild the bridge on the same piles,
the lower part of which remained entire. Having
quickly finished the work and led his legions across,
he selected a fit place for a camp, and recalled the
rest of his troops. Vercingetorix, on ascertaining
this fact, went before him by forced marches, in order
that he might not be compelled to come to an action
against his will.
XXXVI. Caesar, in five
days’ march, went from that place to Gergovia,
and after engaging in a slight cavalry skirmish that
day, on viewing the situation of the city, which,
being built on a very high mountain, was very difficult
of access, he despaired of taking it by storm, and
determined to take no measures with regard to besieging
it before he should secure a supply of provisions.
But Vercingetorix, having pitched his camp on the
mountain near the town, placed the forces of each state
separately and at small intervals around himself, and
having occupied all the hills of that range as far
as they commanded a view [of the Roman encampment],
he presented a formidable appearance; he ordered the
rulers of the states, whom he had selected as his council
of war, to come to him daily at the dawn, whether
any measure seemed to require deliberation or execution.
Nor did he allow almost any day to pass without testing
in a cavalry action, the archers being intermixed,
what spirit and valour there was in each of his own
men. There was a hill opposite the town, at the
very foot of that mountain, strongly fortified and
precipitous on every side (which if our men could gain,
they seemed likely to exclude the enemy from a great
share of their supply of water, and from free foraging;
but this place was occupied by them with a weak garrison):
however, Caesar set out from the camp in the silence
of night, and dislodging the garrison before succour
could come from the town, he got possession of the
place and posted two legions there, and drew from
the greater camp to the less a double trench twelve
feet broad, so that the soldiers could even singly
pass secure from any sudden attack of the enemy.
XXXVII. Whilst these affairs
were going on at Gergovia, Convictolitanis, the
Aeduan, to whom we have observed the magistracy was
adjudged by Caesar, being bribed by the Arverni,
holds a conference with certain young men, the chief
of whom were Litavicus and his brothers, who were
born of a most noble family. He shares the bribe
with them, and exhorts them to “remember that
they were free and born for empire; that the state
of the Aedui was the only one which retarded the
most certain victory of the Gauls; that the rest
were held in check by its authority; and, if it was
brought over, the Romans would not have room to stand
on in Gaul; that he had received some kindness from
Caesar, only so far, however, as gaining a most just
cause by his decision; but that he assigned more weight
to the general freedom; for, why should the Aedui
go to Caesar to decide concerning their rights and
laws, rather than the Romans come to the Aedui?”
The young men being easily won over by the speech
of the magistrate and the bribe, when they declared
that they would even be leaders in the plot, a plan
for accomplishing it was considered, because they
were confident their state could not be induced to
undertake the war on slight grounds. It was resolved
that Litavicus should have the command of the ten
thousand which were being sent to Caesar for the war,
and should have charge of them on their march, and
that his brothers should go before him to Caesar.
They arrange the other measures, and the manner in
which they should have them done.
XXXVIII. Litavicus, having
received the command of the army, suddenly convened
the soldiers, when he was about thirty miles distant
from Gergovia, and, weeping, said, “Soldiers,
whither are we going? All our knights and all
our nobles have perished. Eporedorix and
Viridomarus, the principal men of the state, being
accused of treason, have been slain by the Romans
without even permission to plead their cause.
Learn this intelligence from those who have escaped
from the massacre; for I, since my brothers and all
my relations have been slain, am prevented by grief
from declaring what has taken place.” Persons
are brought forward whom he had instructed in what
he would have them say, and make the same statements
to the soldiery as Litavicus had made: that all
the knights of the Aedui were slain because they
were said to have held conferences with the Arverni;
that they had concealed themselves among the multitude
of soldiers, and had escaped from the midst of the
slaughter. The Aedui shout aloud and conjure
Litavicus to provide for their safety. “As
if,” said he, “it were a matter of deliberation,
and not of necessity, for us to go to Gergovia
and unite ourselves to the Arverni. Or have
we any reasons to doubt that the Romans, after perpetrating
the atrocious crime, are now hastening to slay us?
Therefore, if there be any spirit in us, let us avenge
the death of those who have perished in a most unworthy
manner, and let us slay these robbers.”
He points to the Roman citizens, who had accompanied
them, in reliance on his protection. He immediately
seizes a great quantity of corn and provisions, cruelly
tortures them, and then puts them to death, sends messengers
throughout the entire state of the Aedui, and
rouses them completely by the same falsehood concerning
the slaughter of their knights and nobles; he earnestly
advises them to avenge, in the same manner as he did,
the wrongs which they had received.
XXXIX. Eporedorix,
the Aeduan, a young man born in the highest rank and
possessing very great influence at home, and, along
with Viridomarus, of equal age and influence, but
of inferior birth, whom Caesar had raised from a humble
position to the highest rank, on being recommended
to him by Divitiacus, had come in the number of horse,
being summoned by Caesar by name. These had a
dispute with each other for precedence, and in the
struggle between the magistrates they had contended
with their utmost efforts, the one for Convictolitanis,
the other for Cotus. Of these Eporedorix,
on learning the design of Litavicus, lays the matter
before Caesar almost at midnight; he entreats that
Caesar should not suffer their state to swerve from
the alliance with the Roman people, owing to the depraved
counsels of a few young men, which he foresaw would
be the consequence if so many thousand men should
unite themselves to the enemy, as their relations
could not neglect their safety, nor the state regard
it as a matter of slight importance.
XL. Caesar felt great anxiety
on this intelligence, because he had always especially
indulged the state of the Aedui, and, without
any hesitation, draws out from the camp four light-armed
legions and all the cavalry: nor had he time,
at such a crisis, to contract the camp, because the
affair seemed to depend upon despatch. He leaves
Caius Fabius, his lieutenant, with two legions to
guard the camp. When he ordered the brothers
of Litavicus to be arrested, he discovers that they
had fled a short time before to the camp of the enemy.
He encouraged his soldiers “not to be disheartened
by the labour of the journey on such a necessary occasion,”
and, after advancing twenty-five miles, all being
most eager, he came in sight of the army of the Aedui,
and, by sending on his cavalry, retards and impedes
their march; he then issues strict orders to all his
soldiers to kill no one. He commands Eporedorix
and Viridomarus, who they thought were killed, to
move among the cavalry and address their friends.
When they were recognized and the treachery of Litavicus
discovered, the Aedui began to extend their hands
to intimate submission, and, laying down their arms,
to deprecate death. Litavicus, with his clansmen,
who after the custom of the Gauls consider it
a crime to desert their patrons, even in extreme misfortune,
flees forth to Gergovia.
XLI. Caesar, after sending
messengers to the state of the Aedui, to inform
them that they whom he could have put to death by the
right of war were spared through his kindness, and
after giving three hours of the night to his army
for his repose, directed his march to Gergovia.
Almost in the middle of the journey, a party of horse
that were sent by Fabius stated in how great danger
matters were; they inform him that the camp was attacked
by a very powerful army, while fresh men were frequently
relieving the wearied, and exhausting our soldiers
by the incessant toil, since, on account of the size
of the camp, they had constantly to remain on the
rampart; that many had been wounded by the immense
number of arrows and all kinds of missiles; that the
engines were of great service in withstanding them;
that Fabius, at their departure, leaving only two
gates open, was blocking up the rest, and was adding
breast-works to the ramparts, and was preparing himself
for a similar casualty on the following day.
Caesar, after receiving this information, reached
the camp before sunrise owing to the very great zeal
of his soldiers.
XLII. Whilst these things
are going on at Gergovia, the Aedui, on
receiving the first announcements from Litavicus, leave
themselves no time to ascertain the truth of these
statements. Some are stimulated by avarice, others
by revenge and credulity, which is an innate propensity
in that race of men to such a degree that they consider
a slight rumour as an ascertained fact. They
plunder the property of the Roman citizens, and either
massacre them or drag them away to slavery. Convictolitanis
increases the evil state of affairs, and goads on the
people to fury, that by the commission of some outrage
they may be ashamed to return to propriety. They
entice from the town of Cabillonus, by a promise of
safety, Marcus Aristius, a military tribune, who was
on his march to his legion; they compel those who
had settled there for the purpose of trading to do
the same. By constantly attacking them on their
march they strip them of all their baggage; they besiege
day and night those that resisted; when many were
slain on both sides, they excite a greater number
to arms.
XLIII. In the meantime,
when intelligence was brought that all their soldiers
were in Caesar’s power, they run in a body to
Aristius; they assure him that nothing had been done
by public authority; they order an inquiry to be made
about the plundered property; they confiscate the
property of Litavicus and his brothers; they send ambassadors
to Caesar for the purpose of clearing themselves.
They do all this with a view to recover their soldiers;
but being contaminated by guilt, and charmed by the
gains arising from the plundered property, as that
act was shared in by many, and being tempted by the
fear of punishment, they began to form plans of war
and stir up the other states by embassies. Although
Caesar was aware of this proceeding, yet he addresses
the ambassadors with as much mildness as he can:
“That he did not think worse of the state on
account of the ignorance and fickleness of the mob,
nor would diminish his regard for the Aedui.”
He himself, fearing a greater commotion in Gaul, in
order to prevent his being surrounded by all the states,
began to form plans as to the manner in which he should
return from Gergovia and again concentrate his
forces, lest a departure arising from the fear of
a revolt should seem like a flight.
XLIV. Whilst he was considering
these things an opportunity of acting successfully
seemed to offer. For, when he had come into the
smaller camp for the purpose of securing the works,
he noticed that the hill in the possession of the
enemy was stript of men, although, on the former days,
it could scarcely be seen on account of the numbers
on it. Being astonished, he inquires the reason
of it from the deserters, a great number of whom flocked
to him daily. They all concurred in asserting,
what Caesar himself had already ascertained by his
scouts, that the back of that hill was almost level;
but likewise woody and narrow, by which there was
a pass to the other side of the town; that they had
serious apprehensions for this place, and had no other
idea, on the occupation of one hill by the Romans,
than that, if they should lose the other, they would
be almost surrounded, and cut off from all egress and
foraging; that they were all summoned by Vercingetorix
to fortify this place.
XLV. Caesar, on being informed
of this circumstance, sends several troops of horse
to the place immediately after midnight; he orders
them to range in every quarter with more tumult than
usual. At dawn he orders a large quantity of
baggage to be drawn out of the camp, and the muleteers
with helmets, in the appearance and guise of horsemen,
to ride round the hills. To these he adds a few
cavalry, with instructions to range more widely to
make a show. He orders them all to seek the same
quarter by a long circuit; these proceedings were seen
at a distance from the town, as Gergovia commanded
a view of the camp, nor could the Gauls ascertain
at so great a distance what certainty there was in
the manoeuvre. He sends one legion to the same
hill, and after it had marched a little, stations
it in the lower ground, and conceals it in the woods.
The suspicions of the Gauls are increased, and
all their forces are marched to that place to defend
it. Caesar, having perceived the camp of the
enemy deserted, covers the military insignia of his
men, conceals the standards, and transfers his soldiers
in small bodies from the greater to the less camp,
and points out to the lieutenants whom he had placed
in command over the respective legions, what he should
wish to be done; he particularly advises them to restrain
their men from advancing too far, through their desire
of fighting, or their hope of plunder; he sets before
them what disadvantages the unfavourable nature of
the ground carries with it; that they could be assisted
by despatch alone: that success depended on a
surprise, and not on a battle. After stating
these particulars, he gives the signal for action,
and detaches the Aedui at the same time by another
ascent an the right.
XLVI. The town wall was
1200 paces distant from the plain and foot of the
ascent, in a straight line, if no gap intervened; whatever
circuit was added to this ascent, to make the hill
easy, increased the length of the route. But
almost in the middle of the hill, the Gauls had
previously built a wall six feet high, made of large
stones, and extending in length as far as the nature
of the ground permitted, as a barrier to retard the
advance of our men; and leaving all the lower space
empty, they had filled the upper part of the hill,
as far as the wall of the town, with their camps very
close to one another. The soldiers, on the signal
being given, quickly advance to this fortification,
and passing over it, make themselves masters of the
separate camps. And so great was their activity
in taking the camps, that Teutomarus, the king of
the Nitiobriges, being suddenly surprised in his tent,
as he had gone to rest at noon, with difficulty escaped
from the hands of the plunderers, with the upper part
of his person naked, and his horse wounded.
XLVII. Caesar, having accomplished
the object which he had in view, ordered the signal
to be sounded for a retreat; and the soldiers of the
tenth legion, by which he was then accompanied, halted.
But the soldiers of the other legions, not hearing
the sound of the trumpet, because there was a very
large valley between them, were however kept back by
the tribunes of the soldiers and the lieutenants, according
to Caesar’s orders; but being animated by the
prospect of speedy victory, and the flight of the
enemy, and the favourable battles of former periods,
they thought nothing so difficult that their bravery
could not accomplish it; nor did they put an end to
the pursuit, until they drew nigh to the wall of the
town and the gates. But then, when a shout arose
in every quarter of the city, those who were at a
distance being alarmed by the sudden tumult, fled
hastily from the town, since they thought that the
enemy were within the gates. The matrons begin
to cast their clothes and silver over the wall, and
bending over as far as the lower part of the bosom,
with outstretched hands beseech the Romans to spare
them, and not to sacrifice to their resentment even
women and children, as they had done at Avaricum.
Some of them let themselves down from the walls by
their hands, and surrendered to our soldiers.
Lucius Fabius, a centurion of the eighth legion, who,
it was ascertained, had said that day among his fellow
soldiers that he was excited by the plunder of Avaricum,
and would not allow any one to mount the wall before
him, finding three men of his own company, and being
raised up by them, scaled the wall. He himself,
in turn, taking hold of them one by one, drew them
up to the wall.
XLVIII. In the meantime
those who had gone to the other part of the town to
defend it, as we have mentioned above, at first, aroused
by hearing the shouts, and, afterwards, by frequent
accounts that the town was in possession of the Romans,
sent forward their cavalry, and hastened in larger
numbers to that quarter. As each first came he
stood beneath the wall, and increased the number of
his countrymen engaged in action. When a great
multitude of them had assembled, the matrons, who a
little before were stretching their hands from the
walls to the Romans, began to beseech their countrymen,
and after the Gallic fashion to show their dishevelled
hair, and bring their children into public view.
Neither in position nor in numbers was the contest
an equal one to the Romans; at the same time, being
exhausted by running and the long continuation of
the fight, they could not easily withstand fresh and
vigorous troops.
XLIX. Caesar, when he perceived
that his soldiers were fighting on unfavourable ground,
and that the enemy’s forces were increasing,
being alarmed for the safety of his troops, sent orders
to Titus Sextius, one of his lieutenants,
whom he had left to guard the smaller camp, to lead
out his cohorts quickly from the camp, and post them
at the foot of the hill, on the right wing of the
enemy; that if he should see our men driven from the
ground, he should deter the enemy from following too
closely. He himself, advancing with the legion
a little from that place where he had taken his post,
awaited the issue of the battle.
L. While the fight was
going on most vigorously, hand to hand, and the enemy
depended on their position and numbers, our men on
their bravery, the Aedui suddenly appeared on
our exposed flank, as Caesar had sent them by another
ascent on the right, for the sake of creating a diversion.
These, from the similarity of their arms, greatly terrified
our men; and although they were discovered to have
their right shoulders bare, which was usually the
sign of those reduced to peace, yet the soldiers suspected
that this very thing was done by the enemy to deceive
them. At the same time Lucius Fabius the centurion,
and those who had scaled the wall with him, being
surrounded and slain, were cast from the wall.
Marcus Petreius, a centurion of the same legion, after
attempting to hew down the gates, was overpowered
by numbers, and, despairing of his safety, having
already received many wounds, said to the soldiers
of his own company who followed him: “Since
I cannot save you as well as myself, I shall at least
provide for your safety, since I allured by the love
of glory, led you into this danger, do you save yourselves
when an opportunity is given.” At the same
time he rushed into the midst of the enemy, and slaying
two of them, drove back the rest a little from the
gate. When his men attempted to aid him, “In
vain,” he says, “you endeavour to procure
my safety since blood and strength are now failing
me, therefore leave this, while you have the opportunity,
and retreat to the legion.” Thus he fell
fighting a few moments after, and saved his men by
his own death.
LI. Our soldiers, being
hard pressed on every side, were dislodged from their
position, with the loss of forty-six centurions;
but the tenth legion, which had been posted in reserve
on ground a little more level, checked the Gauls
in their eager pursuit. It was supported by the
cohorts of the thirteenth legion, which, being led
from the smaller camp, had, under the command of Titus
Sextius, occupied the higher ground. The
legions, as soon as they reached the plain, halted
and faced the enemy. Vercingetorix led back his
men from the part of the hill within the fortifications.
On that day little less than seven hundred of the
soldiers were missing.
LII. On the next day, Caesar,
having called a meeting, censured the rashness and
avarice of his soldiers, “In that they had judged
for themselves how far they ought to proceed, or what
they ought to do, and could not be kept back by the
tribunes of the soldiers and the lieutenants;”
and stated, “what the disadvantage of the ground
could effect, what opinion he himself had entertained
at Avaricum, when having surprised the enemy without
either general or cavalry, he had given up a certain
victory, lest even a trifling loss should occur in
the contest owing to the disadvantage of position.
That as much as he admired the greatness of their
courage, since neither the fortifications of the camp,
nor the height of the mountain, nor the wall of the
town could retard them; in the same degree he censured
their licentiousness and arrogance, because they thought
that they knew more than their general concerning
victory, and the issue of actions: and that he
required in his soldiers forbearance and self-command,
not less than valour and magnanimity.”
LIII. Having held this
assembly, and having encouraged the soldiers at the
conclusion of his speech, “That they should not
be dispirited on this account, nor attribute to the
valour of the enemy what the disadvantage of position
had caused;” entertaining the same views of his
departure that he had previously had, he led forth
the legions from the camp, and drew up his army in
order of battle in a suitable place. When Vercingetorix,
nevertheless, would not descend to the level ground,
a slight cavalry action, and that a successful one,
having taken place, he led back his army into the
camp. When he had done this, the next day, thinking
that he had done enough to lower the pride of the Gauls,
and to encourage the minds of his soldiers, he moved
his camp in the direction of the Aedui.
The enemy not even then pursuing us, on the third day
he repaired the bridge over the river Allier, and
led over his whole army.
LIV. Having then held an
interview with Viridomarus and Eporedorix the
Aeduans, he learns that Litavicus had set out with
all the cavalry to raise the Aedui; that it was
necessary that they too should go before him to confirm
the state in their allegiance. Although he now
saw distinctly the treachery of the Aedui in
many things, and was of opinion that the revolt of
the entire state would be hastened by their departure;
yet he thought that they should not be detained, lest
he should appear either to offer an insult, or betray
some suspicion of fear. He briefly states to
them when departing his services towards the Aedui:
in what a state and how humbled he had found them,
driven into their towns, deprived of their lands,
stripped of all their forces, a tribute imposed on
them, and hostages wrested from them with the utmost
insult; and to what condition and to what greatness
he had raised them, [so much so] that they had not
only recovered their former position, but seemed to
surpass the dignity and influence of all the previous
eras of their history. After giving these admonitions
he dismissed them.
LV. Noviodunum was a town
of the Aedui, advantageously situated on the
banks of the Loire. Caesar had conveyed hither
all the hostages of Gaul, the corn, public money,
a great part of his own baggage and that of his army;
he had sent hither a great number of horses, which
he had purchased in Italy and Spain on account of
this war. When Eporedorix and Viridomarus
came to this place, and received information of the
disposition of the state, that Litavicus had been admitted
by the Aedui into Bibracte, which is a town of
the greatest importance among them, that Convictolitanis
the chief magistrate and a great part of the senate
had gone to meet him, that ambassadors had been publicly
sent to Vercingetorix to negotiate a peace and alliance;
they thought that so great an opportunity ought not
to be neglected. Therefore, having put to the
sword the garrison of Noviodunum and those who had
assembled there for the purpose of trading or were
on their march, they divided the money and horses
among themselves; they took care that the hostages
of the [different] states should be brought to Bibracte,
to the chief magistrate; they burnt the town to prevent
its being of any service to the Romans, as they were
of opinion that they could not hold it; they carried
away in their vessels whatever corn they could in the
hurry; they destroyed the remainder, by [throwing
it] into the river or setting it on fire; they themselves
began to collect forces from the neighbouring country,
to place guards and garrisons in different positions
along the banks of the Loire, and to display the cavalry
on all sides to strike terror into the Romans, [to
try] if they could cut them off from a supply of provisions.
In which expectation they were much aided, from the
circumstance that the Loire had swollen to such a
degree from the melting of the snows, that it did not
seem capable of being forded at all.
LVI. Caesar on being informed
of these movements was of opinion that he ought to
make haste, even if he should run some risk in completing
the bridges, in order that he might engage before
greater forces of the enemy should be collected in
that place. For no one even then considered it
an absolutely necessary act, that changing his design
he should direct his march into the Province, both
because the infamy and disgrace of the thing, and
the intervening mount Cevennes, and the difficulty
of the roads prevented him; and especially because
he had serious apprehensions for the safety of Labienus
whom he had detached, and those legions whom he had
sent with him. Therefore, having made very long
marches by day and night, he came to the river Loire,
contrary to the expectation of all; and having by
means of the cavalry found out a ford, suitable enough
considering the emergency, of such depth that their
arms and shoulders could be above water for supporting
their accoutrements, he dispersed his cavalry in such
a manner as to break the force of the current, and
having confounded the enemy at the first sight, led
his army across the river in safety; and finding corn
and cattle in the fields, after refreshing his army
with them, he determined to march into the country
of the Senones.
LVII. Whilst these things
are being done by Caesar, Labienus, leaving at Agendicum
the recruits who had lately arrived from Italy, to
guard the baggage, marches with four legions to Lutetia
(which is a town of the Parisii, situated on an island
of the river Seine), whose arrival being discovered
by the enemy, numerous forces arrived from the neighbouring
states. The supreme command is entrusted to Camulogenus,
one of the Aulerci, who, although almost worn out with
age, was called to that honour on account of his extraordinary
knowledge of military tactics. He, when he observed
that there was a large marsh which communicated with
the Seine, and rendered all that country impassable,
encamped there, and determined to prevent our troops
from passing it.
LVIII. Labienus at first
attempted to raise vineae, fill up the marsh
with hurdles and clay, and secure a road. After
he perceived that this was too difficult to accomplish,
he issued in silence from his camp at the third watch,
and reached Melodunum by the same route by which he
came. This is a town of the Senones, situated
on an island in the Seine, as we have just before
observed of Lutetia. Having seized upon about
fifty ships and quickly joined them together, and having
placed soldiers in them, he intimidated by his unexpected
arrival the inhabitants, of whom a great number had
been called out to the war, and obtains possession
of the town without a contest. Having repaired
the bridge, which the enemy had broken down during
the preceding days, he led over his army, and began
to march along the banks of the river to Lutetia.
The enemy, on learning the circumstance from those
who had escaped from Melodunum, set fire to Lutetia,
and order the bridges of that town to be broken down:
they themselves set out from the marsh, and take their
position on the banks of the Seine, over against Lutetia
and opposite the camp of Labienus.
LIX. Caesar was now reported
to have departed from Gergovia; intelligence
was likewise brought to them concerning the revolt
of the Aedui, and a successful rising in Gaul;
and that Caesar, having been prevented from prosecuting
his journey and crossing the Loire, and having been
compelled by the want of corn, had marched hastily
to the province. But the Bellovaci, who
had been previously disaffected of themselves, on
learning the revolt of the Aedui, began to assemble
forces and openly to prepare for war; Then Labienus,
as the change in affairs was so great, thought that
he must adopt a very different system from what he
had previously intended, and he did not now think of
making any new acquisitions, or of provoking the enemy
to an action; but that he might bring back his army
safe to Agendicum. For, on one side, the Bellovaci,
a state which held the highest reputation for prowess
in Gaul, were pressing on him; and Camulogenus, with
a disciplined and well-equipped army, held the other
side; moreover, a very great river separated and cut
off the legions from the garrison and baggage.
He saw that, in consequence of such great difficulties
being thrown in his way, he must seek aid from his
own energy of disposition.
LX. Having, therefore,
called a council of war a little before evening, he
exhorted his soldiers to execute with diligence and
energy such commands as he should give; he assigns
the ships which he had brought from Melodunum to Roman
knights, one to each, and orders them to fall down
the river silently for four miles, at the end of the
fourth watch, and there wait for him. He leaves
the five cohorts, which he considered to be the most
steady in action, to guard the camp; he orders the
five remaining cohorts of the same legion to proceed
a little after midnight up the river with all their
baggage, in a great tumult. He collects also
some small boats; and sends them in the same direction,
with orders to make a loud noise in rowing. He
himself, a little after, marched out in silence, and,
at the head of three legions, seeks that place to which
he had ordered the ships to be brought.
LXI. When he had arrived
there, the enemy’s scouts, as they were stationed
along every part of the river, not expecting an attack,
because a great storm had suddenly arisen, were surprised
by our soldiers: the infantry and cavalry are
quickly transported, under the superintendence of
the Roman knights, whom he had appointed to that office.
Almost at the same time, a little before daylight,
intelligence was given to the enemy that there was
an unusual tumult in the camp of the Romans, and that
a strong force was marching up the river, and that
the sound of oars was distinctly heard in the same
quarter, and that soldiers were being conveyed across
in ships a little below. On hearing these things,
because they were of opinion that the legions were
passing in three different places, and that the entire
army, being terrified by the revolt of the Aedui,
were preparing for flight, they divided their forces
also into three divisions. For leaving a guard
opposite to the camp and sending a small body in the
direction of Metiosedum, with orders to advance as
far as the ships would proceed, they led the rest
of their troops against Labienus.
LXII. By day-break all
our soldiers were brought across and the army of the
enemy was in sight. Labienus, having encouraged
his soldiers “to retain the memory of their
ancient valour, and so many most successful actions,
and imagine Caesar himself, under whose command they
had so often routed the enemy, to be present,”
gives the signal for action. At the first onset
the enemy are beaten and put to flight in the right
wing, where the seventh legion stood: on the left
wing, which position the twelfth legion held, although
the first ranks fell transfixed by the javelins of
the Romans, yet the rest resisted most bravely; nor
did any one of them show the slightest intention of
flying. Camulogenus, the general of the enemy,
was present and encouraged his troops. But when
the issue of the victory was still uncertain, and the
circumstances which were taking place on the left
wing were announced to the tribunes of the seventh
legion, they faced about their legion to the enemy’s
rear and attacked it: not even then did any one
retreat, but all were surrounded and slain. Camulogenus
met the same fate. But those who were left as
a guard opposite the camp of Labienus, when they heard
that the battle was commenced, marched to aid their
countrymen and take possession of a hill, but were
unable to withstand the attack of the victorious soldiers.
In this manner, mixed with their own fugitives, such
as the woods and mountains did not shelter were cut
to pieces by our cavalry. When this battle was
finished, Labienus returns to Agendicum, where the
baggage of the whole army had been left: from
it he marched with all his forces to Caesar.
LXIII. The revolt of the
Aedui being known, the war grows more dangerous.
Embassies are sent by them in all directions:
as far as they can prevail by influence, authority,
or money, they strive to excite the state [to revolt].
Having got possession of the hostages whom Caesar had
deposited with them, they terrify the hesitating by
putting them to death. The Aedui request
Vercingetorix to come to them and communicate his
plans of conducting the war. On obtaining this
request they insist that the chief command should
be assigned to them; and when the affair became a
disputed question, a council of all Gaul is summoned
to Bibracte. They come together in great numbers
and from every quarter to the same place. The
decision is left to the votes of the mass: all
to a man approve of Vercingetorix as their general.
The Remi, Lingones, and Treviri were absent from this
meeting; the two former because they attached themselves
to the alliance of Rome; the Treviri because they
were very remote and were hard pressed by the Germans;
which was also the reason of their being absent during
the whole war, and their sending auxiliaries to neither
party. The Aedui are highly indignant at
being deprived of the chief command; they lament the
change of fortune, and miss Caesar’s indulgence
towards them; however, after engaging in the war,
they do not dare to pursue their own measures apart
from the rest. Eporedorix and Viridomarus,
youths of the greatest promise, submit reluctantly
to Vercingetorix.
LXIV. The latter demands
hostages from the remaining states: nay, more,
appointed a day for this proceeding; he orders all
the cavalry, fifteen thousand in number, to quickly
assemble here; he says that he will be content with
the infantry which he had before, and would not tempt
fortune nor come to a regular engagement; but since
he had abundance of cavalry, it would be very easy
for him to prevent the Romans from obtaining forage
or corn, provided that they themselves should resolutely
destroy their corn and set fire to their houses, by
which sacrifice of private property they would evidently
obtain perpetual dominion and freedom. After
arranging these matters he levies ten thousand infantry
on the Aedui and Segusiani, who border on our
province: to these he adds eight hundred horse.
He sets over them the brother of Eporedorix,
and orders him to wage war against the Allobroges.
On the other side he sends the Gabali and the
nearest cantons of the Arverni against the Helvii;
he likewise sends the Ruteni and Cadurci to lay waste
the territories of the Volcae Arecomici. Besides,
by secret messages and embassies, he tampers with the
Allobroges, whose minds, he hopes, had not yet settled
down after the excitement of the late war. To
their nobles he promises money, and to their state
the dominion of the whole province.
LXV. The only guards provided
against all these contingencies were twenty-two cohorts,
which were collected from the entire province by Lucius
Caesar, the lieutenant, and opposed to the enemy in
every quarter. The Helvii, voluntarily engaging
in battle with their neighbours, are defeated, and
Caius Valerius Donotaurus, the son of Caburus, the
principal man of the state, and several others, being
slain, they are forced to retire within their towns
and fortifications. The Allobroges, placing guards
along the course of the Rhine, defend their frontiers
with great vigilance and energy. Caesar, as he
perceived that the enemy were superior in cavalry,
and he himself could receive no aid from the province
or Italy, while all communication was cut off, sends
across the Rhine into Germany to those states which
he had subdued in the preceding campaigns, and summons
from them cavalry and the light-armed infantry, who
were accustomed to engage among them. On their
arrival, as they were mounted on unserviceable horses,
he takes horses from the military tribunes and the
rest, nay, even from the Roman knights and veterans,
and distributes them among the Germans.
LXVI. In the meantime,
whilst these things are going on, the forces of the
enemy from the Arverni, and the cavalry which
had been demanded from all Gaul, meet together.
A great number of these having been collected, when
Caesar was marching into the country of the Sequani,
through the confines of the Lingones, in order that
he might the more easily render aid to the province,
Vercingetorix encamped in three camps, about ten miles
from the Romans: and having summoned the commanders
of the cavalry to a council, he shows that the time
of victory was come; that the Romans were fleeing
into the province and leaving Gaul; that this was
sufficient for obtaining immediate freedom; but was
of little moment in acquiring peace and tranquillity
for the future; for the Romans would return after
assembling greater forces, and would not put an end
to the war; Therefore they should attack them on their
march, when encumbered. If the infantry should
[be obliged to] relieve their cavalry, and be retarded
by doing so, the march could not be accomplished:
if, abandoning their baggage, they should provide
for their safety (a result which, he trusted, was
more likely to ensue), they would lose both property
and character. For as to the enemy’s horse,
they ought not to entertain a doubt that none of them
would dare to advance beyond the main body. In
order that they [the Gauls] may do so with greater
spirit, he would marshal all their forces before the
camp, and intimidate the enemy. The cavalry unanimously
shout out, “That they ought to bind themselves
by a most sacred oath, that he should not be received
under a roof, nor have access to his children, parents,
or wife, who shall not twice have ridden through the
enemy’s army.” LXVII. This
proposal receiving general approbation, and all being
forced to take the oath, on the next day the cavalry
were divided into three parts, and two of these divisions
made a demonstration on our two flanks; while one in
front began to obstruct our march. On this circumstance
being announced, Caesar orders his cavalry also to
form three divisions and charge the enemy. Then
the action commences simultaneously in every part:
the main body halts; the baggage is received within
the ranks of the legions. If our men seemed to
be distressed, or hard pressed in any quarter, Caesar
usually ordered the troops to advance, and the army
to wheel round in that quarter; which conduct retarded
the enemy in the pursuit, and encouraged our men by
the hope of support. At length the Germans, on
the right wing, having gained the top of the hill,
dislodge the enemy from their position and pursue
them even as far as the river at which Vercingetorix
with the infantry was stationed, and slay several of
them. The rest, on observing this action, fearing
lest they should be surrounded, betake themselves
to flight. A slaughter ensues in every direction,
and three of the noblest of the Audi are taken and
brought to Caesar: Cotus, the commander of the
cavalry, who had been engaged in the contest with
Convictolitanis the last election, Cavarillus, who
had held the command of the infantry after the revolt
of Litavicus, and Eporedorix, under whose command
the Aedui had engaged in war against the Sequani,
before the arrival of Caesar.
LXVIII. All his cavalry
being routed, Vercingetorix led back his troops in
the same order as he had arranged them before the camp,
and immediately began to march to Alesia, which is
a town of the Mandubii; and ordered the baggage to
be speedily brought forth from the camp, and follow
him closely. Caesar, having conveyed his baggage
to the nearest hill, and having left two legions to
guard it, pursued as far as the time of day would
permit, and after slaying about three thousand of the
rear of the enemy, encamped at Alesia on the next day.
On reconnoitring the situation of the city, finding
that the enemy were panic-stricken, because the cavalry
in which they placed their chief reliance were beaten,
he encouraged his men to endure the toil, and began
to draw a line of circumvallation round Alesia.
LXIX. The town itself was
situated on the top of a hill, in a very lofty position,
so that it did not appear likely to be taken, except
by a regular siege. Two rivers, on two different
sides, washed the foot of the hill. Before the
town lay a plain of about three miles in length; on
every other side hills at a moderate distance, and
of an equal degree of height, surrounded the town.
The army of the Gauls had filled all the space
under the wall, comprising the part of the hill which
looked to the rising sun, and had drawn in front a
trench and a stone wall six feet high. The circuit
of that fortification, which was commenced by the
Romans, comprised eleven miles. The camp was pitched
in a strong position, and twenty-three redoubts were
raised in it, in which sentinels were placed by day,
lest any sally should be made suddenly; and by night
the same were occupied by watches and strong guards.
LXX.-The work having been begun, a
cavalry action ensues in that plain, which we have
already described as broken by hills, and extending
three miles in length. The contest is maintained
on both sides with the utmost vigour; Caesar sends
the Germans to aid our troops when distressed, and
draws up the legions in front of the camp, lest any
sally should be suddenly made by the enemy’s
infantry. The courage of our men is increased
by the additional support of the legions; the enemy
being put to flight, hinder one another by their numbers,
and as only the narrower gates were left open, are
crowded together in them; then the Germans pursue
them with vigour even to the fortifications. A
great slaughter ensues; some leave their horses, and
endeavour to cross the ditch and climb the wall.
Caesar orders the legions which he had drawn up in
front of the rampart to advance a little. The
Gauls, who were within the fortifications, were
no less panic-stricken, thinking that the enemy were
coming that moment against them, and unanimously shout
“to arms;” some in their alarm rush into
the town; Vercingetorix orders the gates to be shut,
lest the camp should be left undefended. The Germans
retreat, after slaying many and taking several horses.
LXXI. Vercingetorix adopts
the design of sending away all his cavalry by night,
before the fortifications should be completed by the
Romans. He charges them when departing “that
each of them should go to his respective state, and
press for the war all who were old enough to bear
arms; he states his own Merits, and conjures them to
consider his safety, and not surrender him, who had
deserved so well of the general freedom, to the enemy
for torture; he points out to them that, if they should
be remiss, eighty thousand chosen men would perish
with him; that, upon making a calculation, he had
barely corn for thirty days, but could hold out a
little longer by economy.” After giving
these instructions he silently dismisses the cavalry
in the second watch, [on that side] where our works
were not completed; he orders all the corn to be brought
to himself; he ordains capital punishment to such as
should not obey; he distributes among them, man by
man, the cattle, great quantities of which had been
driven there by the Mandubii; he began to measure
out the corn sparingly, and by little and little; he
receives into the town all the forces which he had
posted in front of it. In this manner he prepares
to await the succours from Gaul, and carry on the
war.
LXXII. Caesar, on learning
these proceedings from the deserters and captives,
adopted the following system of fortification; he dug
a trench twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides,
in such a manner that the base of this trench should
extend so far as the edges were apart at the top.
He raised all his other works at a distance of four
hundred feet from that ditch; [he did] that with this
intention, lest (since he necessarily embraced so
extensive an area, and the whole works could not be
easily surrounded by a line of soldiers) a large number
of the enemy should suddenly, or by night, sally against
the fortifications; or lest they should by day cast
weapons against our men while occupied with the works.
Having left this interval, he drew two trenches fifteen
feet broad, and of the same depth; the innermost of
them, being in low and level ground, he filled with
water conveyed from the river. Behind these he
raised a rampart and wall twelve feet high: to
this he added a parapet and battlements, with large
stakes cut like stags’ horns, projecting from
the junction of the parapet and battlements, to prevent
the enemy from scaling it, and surrounded the entire
work with turrets, which were eighty feet distant
from one another.
LXXIII. It was necessary,
at one and the same time, to procure timber [for the
rampart], lay in supplies of corn, and raise also extensive
fortifications, and the available troops were in consequence
of this reduced in number, since they used to advance
to some distance from the camp, and sometimes the
Gauls endeavoured to attack our works, and to
make a sally from the town by several gates and in
great force. On which Caesar thought that further
additions should be made to these works, in order
that the fortifications might be defensible by a small
number of soldiers. Having, therefore, cut down
the trunks of trees or very thick branches, and having
stripped their tops of the bark, and sharpened them
into a point, he drew a continued trench everywhere
five feet deep. These stakes being sunk into
this trench, and fastened firmly at the bottom, to
prevent the possibility of their being torn up, had
their branches only projecting from the ground.
There were five rows in connection with, and intersecting
each other; and whoever entered within them were likely
to impale themselves on very sharp stakes. The
soldiers called these “cippi.”
Before these, which were arranged in oblique rows
in the form of a quincunx, pits three feet deep were
dug, which gradually diminished in depth to the bottom.
In these pits tapering stakes, of the thickness of
a man’s thigh, sharpened at the top and hardened
in the fire, were sunk in such a manner as to project
from the ground not more than four inches; at the
same time for the purpose of giving them strength
and stability, they were each filled with trampled
clay to the height of one foot from the bottom:
the rest of the pit was covered over with osiers
and twigs, to conceal the deceit. Eight rows of
this kind were dug, and were three feet distant from
each other. They called this a lily from its
resemblance to that flower. Stakes a foot long,
with iron hooks attached to them, were entirely sunk
in the ground before these, and were planted in every
place at small intervals; these they called spurs.
LXXIV. After completing
these works, having selected as level ground as he
could, considering the nature of the country, and having
enclosed an area of fourteen miles, he constructed,
against an external enemy, fortifications of the same
kind in every respect, and separate from these, so
that the guards of the fortifications could not be
surrounded even by immense numbers, if such a circumstance
should take place owing to the departure of the enemy’s
cavalry; and in order that the Roman soldiers might
not be compelled to go out of the camp with great risk,
he orders all to provide forage and corn for thirty
days.
LXXV. Whilst those things
are carried on at Alesia, the Gauls, having convened
a council of their chief nobility, determine that all
who could bear arms should not be called out, which
was the opinion of Vercingetorix, but that a fixed
number should be levied from each state; lest, when
so great a multitude assembled together, they could
neither govern nor distinguish their men, nor have
the means of supplying them with corn. They demand
thirty-five thousand men from the Aedui and their
dependents, the Segusiani, Ambivareti, and Aulerci
Brannovices; an equal number from the Arverni
in conjunction with the Eleuteti Cadurci, Gabali,
and Velauni, who were accustomed to be under the command
of the Arverni; twelve thousand each from the
Senones, Sequani, Bituriges, Santoñés,
Ruteni, and Carnutes; ten thousand from the Bellovaci;
the same number from the Lemovici; eight thousand
each from the Pictones, and Turoni, and Parisii, and
Helvii; five thousand each from the Suessiones, Ambiani,
Mediomatrici, Petrocorii, Nervii, Morini, and
Nitiobriges; the same number from the Aulerci Cenomani;
four thousand from the Atrebates; three thousand each
from the Bellocassi, Lexovii, and Aulerci Eburovices;
thirty thousand from the Rauraci, and Boii; six
thousand, from all the states together which border
on the Atlantic, and which in their dialect are called
Armoricae (in which number are comprehended the Curisolites,
Rhedones, Ambibari, Caltes, Osismii, Lemovices, Veneti,
and Unelli). Of these the Bellovaci did not
contribute their number, as they said that they would
wage war against the Romans on their own account,
and at their own discretion, and would not obey the
order of any one: however, at the request of Commius,
they sent two thousand, in consideration of a tie
of hospitality which subsisted between him and them.
LXXVI. Caesar had, as we
have previously narrated, availed himself of the faithful
and valuable services of this Commius, in Britain,
in former years: in consideration of which merits
he had exempted from taxes his [Commius’s] state,
and had conferred on Commius himself the country of
the Morini. Yet such was the unanimity of the
Gauls in asserting their freedom, and recovering
their ancient renown in war, that they were influenced
neither by favours, nor by the recollection of private
friendship; and all earnestly directed their energies
and resources to that war, and collected eight thousand
cavalry, and about two hundred and forty thousand
infantry. These were reviewed in the country
of the Aedui, and a calculation was made of their
numbers: commanders were appointed: the
supreme command is entrusted to Commius the Atrebatian,
Viridomarus and Eporedorix the Aeduans, and Vergasillaunus
the Arvernian, the cousin-german of Vercingetorix.
To them are assigned men selected from each state,
by whose advice the war should be conducted.
All march to Alesia, sanguine and full of confidence:
nor was there a single individual who imagined that
the Romans could withstand the sight of such an immense
host: especially in an action carried on both
in front and rear, when [on the inside] the besieged
would sally from the town and attack the enemy, and
on the outside so great forces of cavalry and infantry
would be seen.
LXXVII. But those who were
blockaded at Alesia, the day being past on which they
had expected auxiliaries from their countrymen, and
all their corn being consumed, ignorant of what was
going on among the Aedui, convened an assembly
and deliberated on the exigency of their situation.
After various opinions had been expressed among them,
some of which proposed a surrender, others a sally,
whilst their strength would support it, the speech
of Critognatus ought not to be omitted for its singular
and detestable cruelty. He sprung from the noblest
family among the Arverni, and possessing great
influence, says, “I shall pay no attention to
the opinion of those who call a most disgraceful surrender
by the name of a capitulation; nor do I think that
they ought to be considered as citizens, or summoned
to the council. My business is with those who
approve of a sally: in whose advice the memory
of our ancient prowess seems to dwell in the opinion
of you all. To be unable to bear privation for
a short time is disgraceful cowardice, not true valour.
Those who voluntarily offer themselves to death are
more easily found than those who would calmly endure
distress. And I would approve of this opinion
(for honour is a powerful motive with me), could I
foresee no other loss, save that of life: but
let us, in adopting our design, look back on all Gaul,
which we have stirred up to our aid. What courage
do you think would our relatives and friends have,
if eighty thousand men were butchered in one spot,
supposing that they should be forced to come to an
action almost over our corpses? Do not utterly
deprive them of your aid, for they have spurned all
thoughts of personal danger on account of your safety;
nor by your folly, rashness, and cowardice, crush
all Gaul and doom it to an eternal slavery. Do
you doubt their fidelity and firmness because they
have not come at the appointed day? What then?
Do you suppose that the Romans are employed every day
in the outer fortifications for mere amusement?
If you cannot be assured by their despatches, since
every avenue is blocked up, take the Romans as evidence
that their approach is drawing near; since they, intimidated
by alarm at this, labour night and day at their works.
What, therefore, is my design? To do as our ancestors
did in the war against the Cimbri and Teutones, which
was by no means equally momentous; who, when driven
into their towns, and oppressed by similar privations,
supported life by the corpses of those who appeared
useless for war on account of their age, and did not
surrender to the enemy: and even if we had not
a precedent for such cruel conduct, still I should
consider it most glorious that one should be established,
and delivered to posterity. For in what was that
war like this? The Cimbri, after laying Gaul waste,
and inflicting great calamities, at length departed
from our country, and sought other lands; they left
us our rights, laws, lands, and liberty. But what
other motive or wish have the Romans, than, induced
by envy, to settle in the lands and states of those
whom they have learned by fame to be noble and powerful
in war, and impose on them perpetual slavery?
For they never have carried on wars on any other terms.
But if you know not these things which are going on
in distant countries, look to the neighbouring Gaul,
which being reduced to the form of a province, stripped
of its rights and laws, and subjected to Roman despotism,
is oppressed by perpetual slavery.”
LXXVIII. When different
opinions were expressed, they determined that those
who, owing to age or ill health, were unserviceable
for war, should depart from the town, and that themselves
should try every expedient before they had recourse
to the advice of Critognatus: however, that they
would rather adopt that design, if circumstances should
compel them and their allies should delay, than accept
any terms of a surrender or peace. The Mandubii,
who had admitted them into the town, are compelled
to go forth with their wives and children. When
these came to the Roman fortifications, weeping, they
begged of the soldiers by every entreaty to receive
them as slaves and relieve them with food. But
Caesar, placing guards on the rampart, forbade them
to be admitted.
LXXIX. In the meantime,
Commius and the rest of the leaders, to whom the supreme
command had been intrusted, came with all their forces
to Alesia, and having occupied the entire hill, encamp
not more than a mile from our fortifications.
The following day, having led forth their cavalry
from the camp, they fill all that plain, which, we
have related, extended three miles in length, and
draw out their infantry a little from that place,
and post them on the higher ground. The town Alesia
commanded a view of the whole plain. The besieged
run together when these auxiliaries were seen; mutual
congratulations ensue, and the minds of all are elated
with joy. Accordingly, drawing out their troops,
they encamp before the town, and cover the nearest
trench with hurdles and fill it up with earth, and
make ready for a sally and every casualty.
LXXX. Caesar, having stationed
his army on both sides of the fortifications, in order
that, if occasion should arise, each should hold and
know his own post, orders the cavalry to issue forth
from the camp and commence action. There was
a commanding view from the entire camp, which occupied
a ridge of hills; and the minds of all the soldiers
anxiously awaited the issue of the battle. The
Gauls had scattered archers and light-armed infantry
here and there, among their cavalry, to give relief
to their retreating troops, and sustain the impetuosity
of our cavalry. Several of our soldiers were
unexpectedly wounded by these, and left the battle.
When the Gauls were confident that their countrymen
were the conquerors in the action, and beheld our men
hard pressed by numbers, both those who were hemmed
in by the line of circumvallation and those who had
come to aid them, supported the spirits of their men
by shouts and yells from every quarter. As the
action was carried on in sight of all, neither a brave
nor cowardly act could be concealed; both the desire
of praise and the fear of ignominy, urged on each party
to valour. After fighting from noon almost to
sunset, without victory inclining in favour of either,
the Germans, on one side, made a charge against the
enemy in a compact body, and drove them back; and,
when they were put to flight, the archers were surrounded
and cut to pieces. In other parts, likewise,
our men pursued to the camp the retreating enemy,
and did not give them an opportunity of rallying.
But those who had come forth from Alesia returned
into the town dejected and almost despairing of success.
LXXXI. The Gauls,
after the interval of a day, and after making, during
that time, an immense number of hurdles, scaling ladders,
and iron hooks, silently went forth from the camp
at midnight and approached the fortifications in the
plain. Raising a shout suddenly, that by this
intimation those who were besieged in the town might
learn their arrival, they began to cast down hurdles
and dislodge our men from the rampart by slings, arrows,
and stones, and executed the other movements which
are requisite in storming. At the same time, Vercingetorix
having heard the shout, gives the signal to his troops
by a trumpet, and leads them forth from the town.
Our troops, as each man’s post had been assigned
him some days before, man the fortifications; they
intimidate the Gauls by slings, large stones,
stakes which they had placed along the works, and
bullets. All view being prevented by the darkness,
many wounds are received on both sides; several missiles
are thrown from the engines. But Marcus Antonius,
and Caius Trebonius, the lieutenants, to whom the
defence of these parts had been allotted, draughted
troops from the redoubts which were more remote, and
sent them to aid our troops, in whatever direction
they understood that they were hard pressed.
LXXXII. Whilst the Gauls
were at a distance from the fortification, they did
more execution, owing to the immense number of their
weapons: after they came nearer, they either
unawares empaled themselves on the spurs, or were
pierced by the mural darts from the ramparts and towers,
and thus perished. After receiving many wounds
on all sides, and having forced no part of the works,
when day drew nigh, fearing lest they should be surrounded
by a sally made from the higher camp on the exposed
flank, they retreated to their countrymen. But
those within, whilst they bring forward those things
which had been prepared by Vercingetorix for a sally,
fill up the nearest trenches; having delayed a long
time in executing these movements, they learned the
retreat of their countrymen before they drew nigh
to the fortifications. Thus they returned to the
town without accomplishing their object.
LXXXIII. The Gauls,
having been twice repulsed with great loss, consult
what they should do: they avail themselves of
the information of those who were well acquainted
with the country; from them they ascertain the position
and fortification of the upper camp. There was,
on the north side, a hill, which our men could not
include in their works, on account of the extent of
the circuit, and had necessarily made their camp in
ground almost disadvantageous, and pretty steep.
Caius Antistius Reginus, and Caius Caninius Rebilus,
two of the lieutenants, with two legions, were in
possession of this camp. The leaders of the enemy,
having reconnoitred the country by their scouts, select
from the entire army sixty thousand men; belonging
to those states which bear the highest character for
courage: they privately arrange among themselves
what they wished to be done, and in what manner; they
decide that the attack should take place when it should
seem to be noon. They appoint over their forces
Vergasillaunus, the Arvernian, one of the four generals,
and a near relative of Vercingetorix. He, having
issued from the camp at the first watch, and having
almost completed his march a little before the dawn,
hid himself behind the mountain, and ordered his soldiers
to refresh themselves after their labour during the
night. When noon now seemed to draw nigh, he
marched hastily against that camp which we have mentioned
before; and, at the same time, the cavalry began to
approach the fortifications in the plain, and the rest
of the forces to make a demonstration in front of
the camp.
LXXXIV. Vercingetorix,
having beheld his countrymen from the citadel of Alesia,
issues forth from the town; he brings forth from the
camp long hooks, movable pent-houses, mural hooks,
and other things, which he had prepared for the purpose
of making a sally. They engage on all sides at
once, and every expedient is adopted. They flocked
to whatever part of the works seemed weakest.
The army of the Romans is distributed along their
extensive lines, and with difficulty meets the enemy
in every quarter. The shouts which were raised
by the combatants in their rear, had a great tendency
to intimidate our men, because they perceived that
their danger rested on the valour of others: for
generally all evils which are distant most powerfully
alarm men’s minds.
LXXXV. Caesar, having selected
a commanding situation, sees distinctly whatever is
going on in every quarter, and sends assistance to
his troops when hard pressed. The idea uppermost
in the minds of both parties is, that the present
is the time in which they would have the fairest opportunity
of making a struggle; the Gauls despairing of
all safety, unless they should succeed in forcing
the lines: the Romans expecting an end to all
their labours if they should gain the day. The
principal struggle is at the upper lines, to which,
we have said, Vergasillaunus was sent. The least
elevation of ground, added to a declivity, exercises
a momentous influence. Some are casting missiles,
others, forming a testudo, advance to the attack; fresh
men by turns relieve the wearied. The earth,
heaped up by all against the fortifications, gives
the means of ascent to the Gauls, and covers those
works which the Romans had concealed in the ground.
Our men have no longer arms or strength.
LXXXVI. Caesar, on observing
these movements, sends Labienus with six cohorts to
relieve his distressed soldiers: he orders him,
if he should be unable to withstand them, to draw
off the cohorts and make a sally; but not to do this
except through necessity. He himself goes to the
rest, and exhorts them not to succumb to the toil;
he shows them that the fruits of all former engagements
depend on that day and hour. The Gauls within,
despairing of forcing the fortifications in the plains
on account of the greatness of the works, attempt
the places precipitous in ascent: hither they
bring the engines which they had prepared; by the
immense number of their missiles they dislodge the
defenders from the turrets: they fill the ditches
with clay and hurdles, then clear the way; they tear
down the rampart and breast-work with hooks.
LXXXVII. Caesar sends at
first young Brutus, with six cohorts, and afterwards
Caius Fabius, his lieutenant, with seven others:
finally, as they fought more obstinately, he leads
up fresh men to the assistance of his soldiers.
After renewing the action, and repulsing the enemy,
he marches in the direction in which he had sent Labienus,
drafts four cohorts from the nearest redoubt, and
orders part of the cavalry to follow him, and part
to make the circuit of the external fortifications
and attack the enemy in the rear. Labienus, when
neither the ramparts or ditches could check the onset
of the enemy, informs Caesar by messengers of what
he intended to do. Caesar hastens to share in
the action.
LXXXVIII. His arrival being
known from the colour of his robe, and the troops
of cavalry, and the cohorts which he had ordered to
follow him being seen, as these low and sloping grounds
were plainly visible from the éminences, the
enemy join battle. A shout being raised by both
sides, it was succeeded by a general shout along the
ramparts and whole line of fortifications. Our
troops, laying aside their javelins, carry on the
engagement with their swords. The cavalry is suddenly
seen in the rear of the Gauls: the other
cohorts advance rapidly; the enemy turn their backs;
the cavalry intercept them in their flight, and a great
slaughter ensues. Sedulius the general and chief
of the Lemovices is slain; Vergasillaunus, the Arvernian,
is taken alive in the flight, seventy-four military
standards are brought to Caesar, and few out of so
great a number return safe to their camp. The
besieged, beholding from the town the slaughter and
flight of their countrymen, despairing of safety,
lead back their troops from the fortifications.
A flight of the Gauls from their camp immediately
ensues on hearing of this disaster, and had not the
soldiers been wearied by sending frequent reinforcements,
and the labour of the entire day, all the enemy’s
forces could have been destroyed. Immediately
after midnight, the cavalry are sent out and overtake
the rear, a great number are taken or cut to pieces,
the rest by flight escape in different directions to
their respective states. Vercingetorix, having
convened a council the following day, declares, “That
he had undertaken that war, not on account of his
own exigencies, but on account of the general freedom;
and since he must yield to fortune, he offered himself
to them for either purpose, whether they should wish
to atone to the Romans by his death, or surrender
him alive.” Ambassadors are sent to Caesar
on this subject. He orders their arms to be surrendered,
and their chieftains delivered up. He seated
himself at the head of the lines in front of the camp,
the Gallic chieftains are brought before him.
They surrender Vercingetorix, and lay down their arms.
Reserving the Aedui and Arverni, [to try]
if he could gain over, through their influence, their
respective states, he distributes one of the remaining
captives to each soldier, throughout the entire army,
as plunder.
XC. After making these
arrangements, he marches into the [country of the]
Aedui, and recovers that state. To this place
ambassadors are sent by the Arverni, who promise
that they will execute his commands. He demands
a great number of hostages. He sends the legions
to winter quarters; he restores about twenty thousand
captives to the Aedui and Arverni; he orders
Titus Labienus to march into the [country of the]
Sequani with two legions and the cavalry, and
to him he attaches Marcus Sempronius Rutilus;
he places Caius Fabius, and Lucius Minucius Basilus,
with two legions in the country of the Remi, lest they
should sustain any loss from the Bellovaci in
their neighbourhood. He sends Caius Antistius
Reginus into the [country of the] Ambivareti, Titus
Sextius into the territories of the Bituriges,
and Caius Caninius Rebilus into those of the Ruteni,
with one legion each. He stations Quintus Tullius
Cicero, and Publius Sulpicius among the Aedui
at Cabillo and Matisco on the Saône, to procure supplies
of corn. He himself determines to winter at Bibracte.
A supplication of twenty days is decreed by the senate
at Rome, on learning these successes from Caesar’s
despatches.