Download Battle of Alesia

Alesia
Gallic Wars, 52 B.C.
Julius Caesar's victory over the Gauls at Alesia in 52 8.C. established Roman dominance
over Europe that would continue for the next five hundred years. It also established Caesar as the
most influential Roman leader and led to the end of the Republic and the formation of the
Empire.
Julius Caesar spent the first half of his life in Rome as a successful politician. In his early
forties, he sensed the decline of the Roman Senate's power and sought alliances to increase his
personal influence. In 60 8.C., Caesar joined Gnaeus Pompey and Marcis Crassus in the First
Triumvirate, with each taking charge of individual parts of the government and portions of the
empire.
Within Caesar's area were Cisalpine Gaul (now northern Italy) and Narbonese Gaul (now
the southern French coast). Along with his governing responsibilities, Caesar inherited four
Roman legions composed of about 20,000 well-armed, well-trained soldiers. Caesar immediately
began to use his legions to increase his territory and power by expanding his borders into
northern France, or Gaul as it was known at the time.
The Celtic tribesmen who inhabited Gaul vastly outnumbered the Roman legions, but
Caesar was aware that the Celts spent about as much time fighting each other as opposing
external enemies. Caesar, with no prior military experience, kept his tactics simple. Instead of
innovations, he relied on the fighting proficiency of his legions and his personal leadership to
motivate them.
Caesar's initial forays into Gaul were successful. He also invaded and pacified the British
Isles and modern Belgium during his first five years of command. In 53 B.C., the first major
threat to Caesar's expansion arose when the Celts in Gaul rebelled against Roman occupation.
The previously fragmented Celtic tribes had been united under the leadership of Vercingetorix,
who had attacked and massacred the Roman garrison at Cenebum.
When he learned of the defeat, Caesar, who feared the loss of all Roman territory
northwest of the Alps, went to Provence and personally assumed command of his legions that
now numbered more than 50,000 men. He met and defeated a Gaul force at Cenabum on the
Loire River and then pursued Vercingetorix and his army northward.
Caesar gained several victories in the early months of 52 B.C., but the harsh winter and
the Gauls' scorched-earth policy left little food or resources for the advancing Romans. By late
spring, both sides were tiring of the mobile warfare, so Vercingetorix occupied the fortress town
of Alesia, north of Dijon, evacuated the city's civilian population, and moved provisions,
including livestock, inside the walls. To gain additional time to build his supplies and
fortifications, Vercingetorix sent his cavalry to attack the Romans. The Roman legions formed
their traditional fighting hollow square and easily fought off the Gauls, but the delay allowed
Vercingetorix to reinforce his defenses.
Alesia provided an excellent defensive position for the Gauls. It stood on a flat hilltop
that dropped off in steep cliffs on all sides. City walls were an extension of the mountainside.
The Oze and Ozerain Rivers, which ran east to west at the base of the hill, provided further
protection. Vercingetorix added trenches along the approaches to the city, which now protected
his army of 90,000.
Caesar approached the fortification, but he did not attack; rather he lay siege and began
digging a ten-mile-long trench around the town. When Caesar realized that Vercingetorix had
dispatched messengers throughout Gaul to assemble a relief force, he ordered his army to dig a
second, fifteen-mile trench around the first. Caesar and his legions now stood between two
trench lines, one oriented to besiege Alesia, the other to defend against a relief force.
In early October, an army of more than 100,000 Gauls approached Caesar's outer
trenches from the west. The veteran Roman legions beat back the mostly inexperienced farmers
and peasants. Vercingetorix tried to break out of Alesia but the Romans turned back that assault
as well. A third attack then resumed from outside the Roman trenches. The Gauls concentrated at
a weak spot in the defenses and almost broke through. Just when it seemed they would be
successful, Caesar, wearing a bright red cloak so all would recognize him, hurried to the front,
rallied his troops, and beat back the attackers.
The Gauls could not mount another assault, and their supplies were nearly depleted
within the walls of Alesia. Vercingetorix surrendered. No record of the casualties from the fight
exist, but Caesar recorded later in his Commentaries of the Gallic Wars that each of his soldiers
was awarded a captured Gaul as a slave.
Caesar also noted in his third-person account in Commentaries the style of leadership that
secured his victory at Alesia and other battlefields. According to Caesar, "The situation was
critical and as no reserves were available, Caesar seized a shield from a soldier in the rear and
made his way to the front line. He addressed each centurion by name and shouted encouragement
to the rest of the troops, ordering them to push forward and open their ranks so they could use
their swords more easily. His coming gave them fresh heart and hope. Each man wanted to do
his best under the eyes of his commander despite the peril."
Following the battle, the Romans placed Vercingetorix in chains and brought him to
Rome where, after displaying him at victory parades and imprisoning him for years, they
executed him. All of Gaul now belonged to Rome and would for the next five hundred years, and
the Roman occupation influenced the language as well as the Gaul's culture and civilization.
Not everyone was happy with Caesar's victories and assumed power. The Roman Senate ordered
him home to become a private citizen in 49 B.C. Caesar returned to Rome at the head of his
Legions and defeated all opposition to his leadership, making way for the end of the Republic
and the establishment of the Empire. In 45 s.c., Rome declared Caesar dictator for life and consul
for the next decade. A year later, he fell to the knives of assassins.
The influence of Caesar, which began with his victory at Alesia, did not end with his
death on the Ides of March, 44 s.C. The Roman Empire became the largest of its age and was the
most influential power for more than five centuries. Roman culture and civilization continue to
exert influence even today.