Enemies of Rome 7.6 - VERCINGETORIX - “Stealing defeat ouf of the jaws of Victory”

herverisson (70)in #history • 7 years ago

Caesar retreating north after Gergovia, to lick his wound, the prestige of Vercingetorix reaches its peak. Will he be able to expell the Romans for Gaul and even better… to crush them on their way out?

Tactical retreat

After suffering the defeat at Gergovia, Caesar retreated north to lick his wounds. Why north, right in the middle of a generalized revolt and not south, towards the security of the Province? Well, first of all because he would have had to cross the Cevennes once again, in numeric inferiority:

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;

[Source]

And also, Caesar still had legions in the north, under the command of Labienus:

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.

To be frank, Caesar’s lieutenant had been much more successful than his master. While Caesar hit a wall in Gergovia, Labienus had successfully beaten revolted tribes at the battle of Lutetia, a minor episode of the revolt but no less important - it enabled Caesar to double his forces and forget the troubles of Gergovia.

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 - in the territory of the Lingones, from where the retreat will take place.

The Oath of Bibracte

In spite of the victory at Gergovia, Vercingetorix still had to face some challenge from the Aedui:

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.

Bibracte, in nowadays Burgundy, was the capital of the Aedui, but playing home did little to advance their case. No one was fooled: they had been the henchmen of the Romans for so long that their demand to lead the war was quickly put aside:

They came 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.

[Painting by François-Emile Ehrmann, 1869.]

And at Bibracte, Vercingetorix once again reiterated his masterplan, with three points:

bring the whole Gaul into the fight, ever by attacking recultant tribes or securing hostages;

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.

destroy cities, villages and villages, make a wasteland around the Romans;

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

harass the supply lines of the Romans to starve them out.

since he had abundance of cavalry, it would be very easy for him to prevent the Romans from obtaining forage or corn.

Thanks to all these measures, Vercingetorix considered it a sure thing to evict the Romans out of Gaul. A feat which would not only free the entire Gallic territory but also undermine all of Caesar’s ambitions… And the fate of the known world.

The Disaster

However, it’s one thing to devise a sound strategy, and quite another to remain level-headed enough to stick to it until the end.

Seeing Caesar slowly move out of Gaul after joining Labienus, Vercingetorix might have come to the conclusion that:

Caesar was still a powerful force to reckon with;
Caesar or any other Roman would eventually come back if they were not dealt a definitive lesson.

This is at least what we can gather from the letters of Caesar:

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.

And the worse is that such was the fame of Vercingetorix by name and such was the desire of the Gauls for a decisive victory, that no one opposed him:

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.

Gallic cavalry charge. [Source]

Unfortunately for the Gauls, Caesar - conscious of the inferiority of his cavalary - had had time to recruit some German mercenaries to bulk up his forces:

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.

And suddenly, the battle takes a turn for the worse when the German cavalry manages to take the high ground:

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 Aedui are taken and brought to Caesar

Flight to Alesia

Vercingetorix decided to regroup his troops in an oppidum called Alesia:

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.

But he had a nasty surprise: Caesar decided to change tack, abandoned the road to Italy and followed the Gauls up until Alesia’s walls:

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.

Alesia surrounded by siege works.

And what he saw convinced him that he had now the upper hand and a perfect opportunity to avenge Gergovia and ruin Vercingetorix once and for all:

On reconnoitering 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.