Book II: The Conquest of the Belgae
Conflict:
The tribes of the Belgic region of Gaul were up in arms to fight against Caesar’s occupation of their ancestral lands. These were the fiercest Gallic tribes, for they were far North and not as influenced by the “softness” of Roman refinery. The initial foe was the Bellovaci tribe, but their supremacy — and the field of battle — quickly turned to the Nervii. Desperate not to relinquish their independence, the Nervii fought Caesar in a bitter battle and lost. Caesar then exterminated the Aduatuci tribe and quieted Gaul from one corner to the other…for the time being.
Characters:
- Caesar — commander of the legions and Roman governor of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul
- Iccius & Andecomborious — leaders of the Remi tribe and allies to Caesar. They begged for Caesar’s help when their capital town was being attacked by the Belgae
- Divitiacus — ruler of the Aedui tribe and personal friend to Caesar. He led the Aeduan forces to attack the Bellovaci Tribe (part of the Belgae) and negotiated for the Suessione tribe on their behalf
- Titus Labienus — second-in-command to Caesar. He does lots of important military stuff throughout the Narratives
- King Galba — the “disinterested and far-sighted” leader of the Suessiones tribe; his children were taken as hostages by Rome
Quotes:
“Under such circumstances the work of slaughter was restricted only by the length of daylight available for the troops…” (page 48)
“No foreign trader was allowed to enter their [Nervii] country; and the importation of wine and other luxuries was strictly prohibited, under the idea that the use of such was a certain prelude to national effeminacy and decay.” (page 50)
“It was the moment of supreme crisis…snatching a shield from one of those in the rear (having come up himself without one) Caesar hurried forward into the fighting line, where calling on his officers by name, with cheering words to the rest, he ordered the whole regiment to advance…” (page 56)
“The assailants fought as desperately as their cause was desperate. It was a case of brave men making their last effort…where nothing but naked courage stood between them and certain destruction.” (page 61)
Words:
- sedulous — (of a person or action) showing dedication and diligence
- wattlework — a simple covering for a human dwelling constructed from interwoven branches and leaved twigs
Summary:
The episode begins with Caesar catching wind of “fresh disturbances in Further Gaul.” The Belgic people were uniting to stop Caesar from snatching their lands and enslaving their population. Caesars listed a few sterile reasons for this sudden uprising: some Gauls realized the Romans were just as bad as the Germans occupying their lands, others loved frequent fights and changes in masters, and a few ambitious Gauls thought their chances of seizing tribal thrones would be diminished under the Romans. Caesar grabbed a few more legions and headed up to the Belgic border to knock some Gauls around.
On his way, Caesar received an envoy from the Remi tribe and their chiefs Iccius and Andecomborious. They swore their loyalty to Caesar, proffered hostages and gave invaluable intel about the size and military strategy of the Belgae. According to the Remi, the Belgae were actually descended from the Germans and were broken into several main groups: the Bellovaci (the leaders of the rebellion), Suessiones (whose leader was King Galba) and the ferocious Nervii, those wildebeests of the most remote Gallic regions.
Caesar knew there was no possibility of him defeating hundreds of thousands of angry Gauls at one time, all jockeying with bloodlust. So he told his trusty Gallic pal, Divitaicus, to take his Aeduan army and invade the Bellovaci territory to distract them. Caesar was employing the ancient strategy of “divide and conquer.” Caesar then took his legions to the bank of the Axona River and entrenched his camp. At this time though, the Belgae were laying siege to a town called Bibrax, which was part of the Remi tribe. Iccius, one of the Remian envoys who had originally asked Caesar for help, again called for the Romans to come and save his town. Caesar sent some light skirmishers and the Belgae relented. Caesar always describes the Gauls as being fickle in emotion and quick to turn tides. Caesar was a master manipulator — he knew something as small as Numidian slingers could sway the Gallic mindset.
The Romans and the Belgae eventually squared off for battle, but there was one snag: both armies, assembled and frothing at the mouth, were separated by a big swamp. Both sides weren’t willing to risk crossing the swamp (and being hacked to pieces by the enemy), but the Gauls cooked up a sneaky plan. Wading through the fords, the Gauls were trying to attack the Roman rear that was protected by the Axona River. This movement was quickly reported to Caesar, and he slaughtered the Gauls who were crossing the shallow waters. This quote sums up the carnage:
“The Roman sharpshooters came up with the enemy whilst these were still in the stream, battling with the water, and were thus enabled to inflict upon them heavy slaughter. With a magnificent contempt for death, however, others quickly took their places, and strove to fight their way across over the bodies of the slain.” (page 47)
Full of courage but easy pickings for the precise Romans, the Gauls gave up and scattered back to their tribal lands. However, few escaped the battle and most were “hunted down and cut to pieces by the cavalry.” Because they could, the Romans tailed the fleeing Gallic column and mercilessly fought/killed whatever tribe happened to be in the back, defenseless.
High off this success (that wasn’t even a real battle), Caesar then marched to Noviodunum, the capital of the Suessiones tribe. Terrified by Caesar’s legions and engineering works (the Romans could build imposing siege weapons overnight), the Suessiones capitulated. They ended up having to give 600 hostages to the Romans, usually sons or daughters of the King and nobility class, and all their weapons.
Only one tribe prevented Caesar’s dominion over the Northern region of Gaul: the dreaded Nervii. Caesar spent a whole paragraph describing the character of this people, claiming they were wild and strong because they didn’t import wine and other luxuries from the Romans. Basically, they were as rugged as ancient European barbarians could get — but Caesar wasn’t intimidated. He marched straight into their lands and prepped for yet another battle. However, Caesar’s top secret military plans were betrayed by native Gauls and communicated to the other side. Spurred on by this information, the Nervii and allied tribes rushed behind the trees in a dense forest and waited to ambush the Romans. Their plan was to attack the first few legions that made up the marching column and who were separated from the other fighters by a line of baggage.
As soon as the Romans appeared, the Nervii pounced and hotly engaged the Roman cavalry and designed “skirmishers,” who trembled under the brutal force. The Gallic infantry then stormed out from behind the trees and attacked the infantry, who were disorganized and building camp fortifications. Caesar spends the next few pages describing the battle in lucid detail — he dangles the threat of Roman demolition then gallantly saves the day with his heroics and strategy!
Caesar rallied his troops and haphazardly ran to different scenes of the battle to fight hand-to-hand and encourage his men. Whatever legion was threatened or on the verge of defeat, Caesar scuttled over and magically inspired his men to shred the Nervii to pulp. However, the Roman camp was on the verge of capture by the Nervii and the Roman right line was faltering. Caesar threw himself into the fray and commanded the Twelfth and Seventh legions on the ground. The flailing Roman tide started to turn — the legions at the end of the Roman column were rapidly running into the battle, replacing the tired legionaries and imbuing life into the defense. The Roman mercenary cavalry got their act together and battled the enemy “in every quarter of the field.” The Nervii were losing fast but refused to back down. Instead, they waged a losing war on a “hillock of human flesh,” fighting on top of their dead comrades.
“The result of this battle was the virtual extermination of the Nervii and the temporary disappearance of even the very name.” (page 58)
The bloodshed didn’t end there. The Aduatuci tribe were allies of the Nervii and were en route to the battle scene. Upon hearing of the loss, they tailed it back to their fortified city and prepared to be under siege by the Romans. For some reason, Caesar even includes a joke at the Roman expense, saying the Gauls called them “little dwarf men” because they were so short.
Physical appearances aside, the Aduatuci saw the Roman siege works and decided to back down. Or did they?! They appeared to comply with Caesar’s “generous” terms but actually kept a 1/3 of their weapons in their town (they were supposed to hand over anything dangerous). In the middle of the night, the Aduatuci attacked the Roman lines and fought desperately for their independence. They were overwhelmed by the Roman response and failed. Caesar then sold the population of 53,000 people into slavery.
Caesar takes a few paragraphs to applaud himself and his legions’ achievements. The Senate threw a 15 day long thanksgiving feast in his honor and lauded his victories to no end.
“From one end to the other, Gaul was now quiet.” (page 61)
Macc Reacc:
This chapter was definitely thrilling and fast-paced but it left the reader in a pickle. On the one hand, Caesar is the OG boss and brilliant when it comes to military strategy and fighting hand-to-hand with his troops. He’s cool as a cucumber when describing his actions in third person, which gives the narrative a detached feeling. On the other hand, there are numerous explicit boasts of mass genocide. If a tribe did not submit to Caesar but instead opted for battle, Caesar would extinguish their race, name and ancestral history in a single day. The violence happened on both sides, but I feel desperate for the Gauls as they’re fighting their last stance.
In reality, Caesar didn’t have the right to be in Gaul — he conquered on trumped-up pretexts and was power hungry. He framed his conflicts as necessary or else the barbarians would come storming the gates of Rome — which did happen in the ancient world, but I don’t think it necessitated killing off an entire culture. The rules of warfare were much different back then, but still, I don’t think the Gauls knew what they were getting into. Caesar is still my cold-hearted psychopathic hero, but he probably should have seen a therapist.
