Caesar in Britannia
“Jump down, comrades, unless you want to surrender our eagle to the enemy; I, at any rate, mean to do my duty to my country and my general.”1
Eagle-bearer of the 10th Legion
Caesar followed up his conquest of Aremorica in 56 BC with his defeat of the invading Usipetes and Tencteri in the spring of 55 BC. In spite of Caesar’s latest victories, by now he should have realized that the spirit of the barbarians could not easily be subdued. It seemed that every time the Roman legions knocked them down, the barbarians sprang right up again, ready for another beating. Nevertheless, as the 55 BC campaign season neared its end, Caesar considered Gaul sufficiently subjugated to allow him to cross the channel to invade Britannia. Ostensibly Caesar set out to punish the Briton tribes for aiding the Gauls in the past, but the real reason was more likely Caesar’s lust for even more martial glory. Since there was little time before the onset of the winter, he decided to limit the expedition to a reconnaissance to find out more about the strength of the tribes and of the local geography.
During the ensuing campaigns, Caesar learned much of Britannia. His anecdotes left a picture of the land and people he was about to invade. At the time of Caesar, Britannia’s southern maritime tribes consisted of Belgae who had migrated to the island in search of lands and booty at the end of the second century BC. Like the Celts of Gaul, the Briton Belgic tribes were primarily an agricultural and cattle rearing society. They brought to Britannia townsized settlements, with wealthy chiefs who patronized skilled metal smiths and potters. The clusters of Briton farms south of the River Thames yielded a population density comparable to Gaul. In contrast, the tribes north of the River Thames were mostly of older Celtic stock. Their ancestors arrived on the island sometime after 900 BC, long before the Belgae. The northern tribes were more primitive, according to Caesar, who wrote that they subsisted primarily on meat and milk. Peculiar customs among the Britons included the sharing of wives between male family members and disdaining the meat of hare, fowl and goose, which were kept as pets. The maritime districts produced tin and the midland region iron, while bronze was imported.
To begin with, however, Caesar knew very little of Britannia: “the Gauls knew next to nothing; for in the ordinary way traders are the only people who visit Britain, and even they know only that part of the coast which faces Gaul.”2 To find out more, Caesar sent ahead one of his officers: Gaius Volusenus. Known for his courage and wise council, Volusenus had served as a military tribune under legate Galba in the ill fated Alps mountain campaign of 57 BC. With a single warship, Volusenus explored the Britannia’s coastline for suitable landing sites.
Caesar assembled the fleet he had used in the Veneti war at Portus Itius, in the territory of the Morini. From here the journey across the Channel was the shortest. Fortunately for Caesar, several cantons of the Morini, which earlier had defied Roman annexation, now had a change of heart and offered hostages.
More good news came with the arrival of Briton tribal envoys. Having heard of Caesar’s intentions through traders, they offered hostages as well. Caesar in turn made them promises of goodwill. When the envoys were ready to return to Britannia, Caesar asked for Commius the Atrebatean, one of the continental Belgae kings, to accompany them and spread word of Caesar’s friendship. Commius owed his kingship to Caesar and enjoyed the Britons’ respect. Unfortunately, Commius was sailing into trouble as the show of Briton goodwill proved to be an illusion. Once in Britannia, poor Commius and his 30-man-strong advance troupe were thrown in fetters.
At midnight of August 25th, a flotilla of warships escorted 80 transports as they sailed into darkness from Portus Itius for the mysterious shores of Britannia. The weather seemed favorable and justified the late hour of the departure. On board were Caesar with the Seventh and the Tenth Legions. He had sent the cavalry to another port, a few miles to the north. There they were to embark on eighteen cargo ships and follow the main fleet. Nine hours later, Caesar and the men aboard the first ships beheld the coast of Britannia. The white cliffs of Dover towered far above the narrow shoreline below. Not one of the legionaries knew anything about the size of the land they were about to invade. Indeed, some scholars speculated that the isle was a figment of the imagination. But the cliffs were real, as were the rows of Britons gathered on top of them.
The Britons stood ready to greet the Romans, not with open arms but with stones and javelins! Caesar gathered his legates, tribunes, centurions and all the other major commanders of his legions and auxiliaries, for a consilium (a war council) on his ship. He listened carefully to their opinions and wisely decided against a landing on the narrow beach below the cliffs. Based on information gathered by Volusenus, Caesar hugged the coastline for some miles until the cliffs gave way to open shores at Deal.
The Britons, however, would not be avoided so easily. Their cavalry and charioteers, with their infantry in their wake, shadowed Caesar’s fleet. With the Britons milling along the beach, the great Roman ships dropped their anchors. Centurions shouted orders to their aides, the optiones, who gestured with their staffs. Circular horns blared and legionaries leapt into the water.
Burdened by their heavy arms, pounded by waves and pulled by the suction of rip currents, the legionaries were barely able to keep themselves upright as they waded to the shore. The javelins and sling-stones of the Britons rained among them. Exhausted and wounded, many Roman soldiers drowned in the waist-deep water, the blood of their limp bodies clouding the water. Those legionaries that neared the shore got ready to exert their last ounces of strength. Britons urged on their steeds, splashing through the waves. Horses reared and salty water sprayed into the legionaries’ eyes. To the legionary, exhausted and dazed by fear, the Britons appeared as horrifying apparitions, with their long wild hair and mustaches, their bodies completely shaved and dyed a startling blue. Instinctively, the legionaries lifted their shields to block spear thrusts and swords swinging at them from above. The strain proved too much even for Caesar’s iron legions. Unable to press forward, their characteristic resolve began to waver and turn into fear.
Caesar watched anxiously as his amphibious assault became bogged down and was critically close to turning into a rout. To bolster his hard-pressed legionaries, he ordered the marines on the warships to provide support fire. Horns blew and hundreds of sweat-drenched seamen3 bent to multiple banks of oars thrashing the water. Onward sped the galleys until, like wooden whales, they beached themselves upon the enemy’s right flank. From their decks spewed forth a devastating array of sling stones, arrows and catapulted rocks.
Shocked and frightened by the imposing Roman landing, the natives momentarily pulled back from the beach. This was enough for the legionaries, who stormed forth with renewed vigor. The Eagle bearer of Tenth Legion prayed to the heavens and cried, “Jump down, comrades, unless you want to surrender our eagle to the enemy; I, at any rate, mean to do my duty to my country and my general.”4 With those words he cast himself into the sea, to bear the gold-plated, eagle-topped standard forward against the Britons.
Everywhere, the Romans gained the beachhead only to be met with a renewed charge of the Britons. Unable to form up in proper formation, the legionaries were hard pressed. Isolated Romans were surrounded and cut down in the shallows, the salty foam turning red. Again Caesar reacted quickly, ordering the warships’ boats and scout ships loaded with troops and sending them to critical points. Once the legionaries gained the dry ground and formed up in numbers, the tide turned against the Britons who fled for their lives. Regrettably for Caesar, he had no cavalry to pursue the Britons because unfavorable winds delayed the arrival of his cavalry transports.
Envoys arrived from the Briton tribes, seeking pardon and asking Caesar for forgiveness. Caesar demanded that Commius be freed and that the Britons would give Caesar hostages. In return Caesar accepted their renewed offer of peace. However, Caesar was no doubt fully aware that the Britons, like the Gauls, would take up their arms at the slightest favorable opportunity.
Such an opportunity developed when a furious storm broke upon the area, at the very moment when the cavalry transports were finally seen offshore from Caesar’s camp. The latter were unable to make a landing and blown off course ended up back in Gaul. During the night the storm played havoc with the Roman warships. These had been pulled upon the shore but due to unusual high tide were violently tossed about.
The ships’ groaning and creaking timbers broke through the din of the storm. The Romans helplessly watched their transports and great galleys alike torn to pieces. Even those that made it through the night were severely damaged and unable to sail. The morale of the army sunk like its ships. The legions were effectively stranded in Britannia, on unknown shores, and without any wheat supplies for the coming winter.
The Britons welcomed the misfortune of the Romans by renewing hostilities. They were intent on prolonging the fighting into the cold season when hunger would force Caesar to succumb. Caesar confronted his plight with his characteristic zeal. Timber and bronze from the most damaged ships was used to repair the rest. Thus all but twelve of the ships were made seaworthy again.
To deal with his supply problem, wheat was collected by the legions from the nearby fields. Using sickles, the legionaries collected bushels of wheat. Back at the camp, the grains would be ground into flour and baked into bread. At first the harvest was carried out with little opposition by the natives, some of whom became regular visitors to the Roman camp. However, one day, the guards in front of the camp gate noticed a massive dust cloud in the distance. The cloud arose from the direction in which the Seventh Legion had marched to confiscate wheat. It could only mean one thing: a battle.
Caesar spat out orders, quickly collected some cohorts, and sped towards the commotion. Sure enough he beheld the Seventh Legion, hard pressed from all sides by Britons who pelted the legionaries with missiles. The Britons had approached the area at night to hide in a wood. Whilst the legionaries were spread out and busy cutting wheat, the barbarians suddenly burst upon them in an ambush. Briton javelins whistled, Roman mail was punctured and a few Romans fell dead. The remainder hastened to form rough ranks.
All around the legionaries galloped the Briton cavalry and chariots. Superb charioteers, the Britons raced wildly about. Their horses and chariots raised a terrifying ruckus. One Briton steered the team while another hurled javelins at the Romans. The latter Briton then sprang to the ground, to fight alongside his cavalry and infantry.
The arrival of Caesar with reinforcements caused the Britons to halt their attack. Caesar used the opportunity to withdraw his ambushed troops back to his shore-side camp. For several days stormy weather prevented hostilities but at least it gave both sides a break from the constant fighting. While the legionaries waited out the rains huddled in their waxed and waterproof goat hide tents, Briton messengers rallied support in the outlying farmsteads. The messengers cried out that only a few Romans held the camp and that much booty and freedom was at stake!
As soon as the skies cleared up the Britons attacked again and in greater numbers. Unshaken, the legionaries formed up their unbreakable ranks and, aided by thirty horsemen of Commius, repulsed the Britons. The legions harried after their beaten foes, swords and spears cutting them down on the run. Outlying homes were set to the torch. Flames flickered from timber beams and straw roofs. Spirals of smoke marked the path of the victorious Roman army.
Once again the Britons came to offer peace and surrender hostages. But Caesar had had enough. The storms were followed by a spell of fair weather. After all the rain and storms, the legionaries basked in the warm rays of Sol, their sun god. With the fall equinox fast approaching, Caesar decided to leave Britannia while he still could. At midnight he weighed anchor and set sail for Gaul.
Caesar was gone from Gaul less than three weeks yet in his absence the Morini revolted again. They gave Caesar a rude surprise by contesting his landing. Only after hours of battle were they driven off. There followed the usual Roman reprisal raids after which Caesar stationed his entire army in winter quarters among the troublesome Belgae.
When the Senate got ear of Caesar’s latest victories, they decreed an extraordinary twenty days of public thanksgiving. In retrospect though, did Caesar really deserve his latest acclaim? His expedition to Britannia was even more of a farce than his conquest of Gaul and his reprisal against the Suebi. For putting himself and two of his best legions at risk, he merely familiarized himself with the country and with the tactics of the natives. The numerous rebellions of the year showed that the Gallic tribes only remained “conquered” as long as large Roman forces were stationed among them. In other words it had been a year of tactical but not strategic victories. Napoleon Bonaparte called Caesar’s Britannia campaign a “second class operation”.5 Nevertheless, to his credit, Caesar became the first Roman commander to set foot on Britannia.
Caesar was well aware of the shortfalls of his first Britannia campaign. Accordingly, before he left for Italy, he ordered the construction of new ships. Based on his recent experience, the ships would be built for a beach landing, quick loading and disembarking, and would better be able to deal with the local tides. As a result the new ships were smaller, while those for the cavalry, draught animals and cargo were broader. Both could be propelled by oar or by sail.
Caesar was not idle during the winter. There were assizes to be held in northern Italy and in Illyricum. There were barbarian raiders along the Illyricum border and an anti-Roman faction among his Treveri allies to be taken care of. In between dealing with all these problems, Caesar toured his army’s Belgae winter quarters. With materials brought from Spain and through the nearly superhuman efforts of his legionaries, there were built 600 of the new ships and 28 of the traditional war galleys.
In the fading light of an early July day in 54 BC, Caesar’s armada weighed anchor at Portus Itius. The sails of 800 ships billowed in the wind. It was the largest fleet to be seen crossing the channel for the next two millennia. On board were five legions with a total of around 25,000 troops and an additional 2,000 cavalry. Remaining on the continent were Labienus with three legions and 2,000 cavalry to protect the ports and the supply route and to keep an eye on Gaul.
This time the mere sight of Caesar’s mighty armada so intimidated the Britons gathered on the shoreline, that they withdrew. At midday, the caliga legionary boots stepped unopposed onto the sandy beach. Caesar left 10 cohorts and 300 cavalry behind under Quintus Atrius, and with the rest pressed on after the enemy. The legions marched past patches of wheat fields, round huts, and forests of ancient giant oaks. Sometimes a hilltop fortress rose up in the distance. Now and then a herd of elk browsing near the forests, or perhaps even a brown bear, was seen by scouts.
After a night march of 12 miles, the Romans sighted the enemy the next day. Near a river the Britons attacked with cavalry and chariots but this time Caesar had his own cavalry handy and they easily routed the Britons back into a nearby wood. Amidst the trees and foliage the Britons sought safety behind ramparts made of felled trees. The soldiers of the Seventh Legion countered the Briton fortification by throwing up their own earthen ramp. With shields locked above their heads, the legionaries formed the classic “tortoise” maneuver. Missiles struck into the double layers of the 4-foot-by-2-foot scutum, or ricocheted off its iron boss. The Romans breached the Briton ramparts and drove the enemy out of the woods. Although Roman casualties were light, Caesar postponed a pursuit since he was unsure of the terrain ahead and because night was fast approaching.
When at daybreak bad news arrived from the fleet, Caesar returned to his coastal camp. Storms had struck again, ripping apart another forty ships and damaging most of the remainder. Messages were sent to the continent for replacements while the legionaries, many of whom were skilled craftsmen, carried out repairs. To prevent further damages, Caesar beached all the ships and connected the landing to the camp by an entrenchment. Surveyors marked off the corners with big flags. Pioneers and legionaries dug trenches and threw the soil up to form a rampart. Wooden stakes were hammered into the rampart and lashed together to form a palisade. After ten days of round-the-clock Herculean labor, the legions completed the work.
With the same forces as before, Caesar set out to once more confront the Britons. The Britons had used the time to reassemble with additional reinforcements. Having put aside the wars amongst each other, they elected Cassivellaunus, King of the Catuvellauni, to lead them. The Briton warlord unleashed his cavalry and chariots upon the marching Roman columns. Javelins hurled through the air, skewering Roman shields or thudding into the ground. Expert marksmen, Briton slingers dashed in Roman helmets with their stones. When the Roman auxiliary cavalry bolted into action, the Britons reined in their own horses and whipped their chariots back for the cover of nearby woods and highlands. There a number of individual combats broke out while the bulk of the Britons dispersed into the wilderness. Longswords parried and slashed as a few of the Britons turned on their over-eager pursuers.
Another surprise attack came from the woods while the legions were setting up camp. Caesar sent his elite, and possibly larger, first cohorts of his two legions to confront the attackers. Very nearly, the Britons got caught between the shield walls and blank sword blades of the cohorts but a mad Briton dash unnerved the Romans. The Britons broke through and got away unhurt. More cohorts had to be rushed up to clear the field.
The Briton reluctance to fight was not cowardice but clever tactics. Each time the Britons struck, and quickly disengaged, the Romans took casualties. During the last engagement, a Roman tribune was counted among the dead. The skirmishing tactics were disadvantageous to the legionaries who preferred a set battle, and dangerous to the undersized Roman cavalry, which could be lured away into an ambush.
The next day, Gaius Trebonius left the camp to collect food from the countryside with three legions and the cavalry. Suddenly throngs of blue-painted barbarians swept down upon Trebonius from all sides. With wild, howling savages all around them, a lesser army would have panicked. But hard training and discipline paid off for the Romans. The legionaries stoutly formed their lines, swords rasped from scabbards, and in a countercharge completely scattered the Britons. The nimbler Britons tried to reform but the Roman cavalry gave them no chance. The Roman horse kept on their heels, hacking and slashing away. The field was left strewn with Briton dead and wounded.
Caesar pushed on toward the River Thames. Near Brentford, the river was shallow enough to cross by foot. The Britons held the opposite bank behind rows of sharp projecting stakes. Undaunted, the legionaries and cavalry plunged into the river. Incredibly, although weighed down by 30-pound mail shirts and by their shields and helmets, the legionaries waded through water that at times rose to their necks. The Romans’ speed and aggression terrified the Britons who took to flight without much of a fight. After this setback, Cassivellaunus disbanded the greater part of his army and returned to his harrying tactics with his 4,000 remaining charioteers.
Celtic disunity now once again played in Caesar’s favor. With Cassivellaunus unable to defeat the Romans, the powerful Trinobantes tribe sought an alliance with Caesar. The Trinobantes lived just north of the Thames estuary and to the east of Cassivellaunus’ territory. Cassivellaunus had formerly slain the king of the Trinobantes but the king’s son, Mandubracius, escaped his father’s fate. He fled to Rome and currently was with Caesar’s entourage. The Trinobantes wished for Caesar to reinstate Mandubracius as their head of state. Caesar complied and was rewarded by the submission of most of the maritime tribes, except those of Cantium (Kent). Furthermore Caesar was told of the location of Cassivellaunus’ stronghold. A sort of guerrilla base, the stronghold lay in thick woods near Wheathampstead and boasted a formidable rampart and trench. Inside, the Britons herded large numbers of cattle. Caesar was impressed by the defenses but they quickly fell to his legions’ violent two-pronged assault.
Meanwhile Cassivellaunus had ordered the four kings of Cantium to assault the Roman naval camp at Sandwich. However, not only were the Britons unable to overcome the Roman defenses but they were easily dispersed by a Roman sortie. The murderous blades of the 16-inch gladius exacted a terrible toll. No Romans were lost and a noble Briton named Lugotorix was captured. Ever since Caesar crossed the Thames, the Britons’ will to fight had been lackluster. Their morale was broken.
Without allies and with nothing but defeats to show for his troubles, Cassivellaunus decided to sue for peace. Luckily for Cassivellaunus, the usual rumors of unrest in Gaul induced Caesar to return his army to Gaul for the winter. With Commius acting as an intermediary, all Cassivellaunus had to do was to give hostages, promise to not make war on Mandubracius and agree to pay a tribute to Rome. In time, Cassivellaunus resumed to extend his sway over Britannia. His dynasty came to rule over much of the southern isle, ironically profiting from the flourishing trade with the Roman world that sprang up in wake of Caesar’s expeditions.
When, at summer’s end, Caesar’s entire army returned to Gaul, his second expedition to Britannia proved no more successful than his first. With no Roman garrisons in Britannia, the alliances and submissions of the tribes were meaningless. Although Cassivellaunus paid “a large sum of money,”6 it is doubtful whether any subsequent tribute was ever paid to Rome. The looting too had been meager. “The islanders were so miserably poor that they had nothing worth being plundered of,”7 wrote Plutarch.
Still, the legionaries had fought with their usual valor and Caesar added more victories to his military fame. More of Britannia was explored and hostages were taken. If the ultimate aim was to deter further Briton aid to their cousins in Gaul, then Caesar’s expedition was likely a success. Plutarch praised Caesar for “his expedition to Britain” being “the most famous testimony to his courage,”8 and lauded Caesar for invading an island whose extent and nature were still a mystery to Rome.
Among the Britons too, the effect was profound. After Caesar’s incursion into Britannia, trade with the Roman world, in wine and pottery, began to flourish. In Rome, however, at least among the Senate, the reaction was mute and there were no public thanksgivings. The prominent politician Cicero noted the lack of war booty. And booty after all, in precious loot and slaves, was what fed the Roman war machine. The Roman Eagle fastened its talons on Britannia only to release them again. It would be another century, during the reign of Emperor Claudius, before Britannia would again feel the talons’ grip.