For Laura First Published in Great Britain in 2011 by PEN & SWORD MILITARY An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd 47 Church Street Barnsley South Yorkshire S70 2AS Copyright © Michael M. Sage, 2011 ISBN 978-1-84884144-4 ePub ISBN: 9781848849860 PRC ISBN: 9781848849877 The right of Michael M. Sage to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. Typeset by Concept, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Printed and bound in England by CPI UK. Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Family History, Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Pen & Sword Discovery, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe True Crime, Wharncliffe Transport, Pen & Sword Select, Pen & Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper, The Praetorian Press, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing. For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk Contents Acknowledgements List of Plates Maps Introduction Chapter 1. First Steps Chapter 2. Caesar and Gaul: The Prelude Chapter 3. 58: The Helvetii and Ariovistus Chapter 4. 57: Caesar and the Conquest of the North Chapter 5. 56: Consolidation Chapter 6. 55: Britain and Germany Chapter 7. 54: Gallic Resistance Grows Chapter 8. 53: Troubles at Rome and Growing Threats in Gaul Chapter 9. 52: Vercingetorix and the Great Rebellion Chapter 10. 51: Caesar’s Final Campaign Chapter 11. Epilogue: After Caesar Appendix: The Development of the Roman Army of the First Century BC Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgements I would especially like to thank my editor Philip Sidnell for suggesting the subject of this book and for all of his help in seeing it through the press. Thanks are also due to Ian Hughes for his help with maps and to Graham Sumner and Franck Mathieu for the illustrations. A year’s leave from the Classics Department at the University of Cincinnati and the generous support provided by the Louise Taft Semple Classics Fund were instrumental in giving me the time to complete my research and to begin writing. As always any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the author. List of Plates 1. Caesar, the Tusculum Bust. 2. The Vercingetorix Monument at Alise-Sainte Reine. 3. An aerial view of Bibracte, the capital of the Aedui. 4. A view of Alesia from the west from the Plain of Laumes. 5. Drawings of Roman siege equipment. 6. The so-called Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus. 7. Caesar enters the fray, painted by Graham Sumner, 2011. 8. Roman legionaries engage Gallic infantry, painted by Graham Sumner, 2011. 9. A Gallic cavalryman duels with a German horseman, painted by Graham Sumner, 2011. 10. A Gallic army prepares to charge, painted by Graham Sumner, 2011. 11. A reconstruction of Caesar’s first bridge over the Rhine. 12. The Ardennes, where Caesar compaigned against the Eburones and other Belgic tribes. 13. A view of the Jura Mountains. 14. Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar, painted by Lionel Noel Royer, 1899. 15. Gold stater with stylized head of Vercingetorix, from Pisonat, Puy-de Dôme, France. 16. ‘The Dying Gaul of Pergamum’. A Roman copy of a Hellenistic statue. Maps List of Maps Map 1: Roman Empire Map 2: Celtic Settlement until 150 Map 3 Transalpine Gaul in the Late-Second Century BC Map 4 Gaul in the Time of Caesar Map 5 Caesar’s Campaigns Map 6 British Invasions 55-54 Map 7 Alesia