Vercingetorix, the Last Hope of the Gauls
“The Romans have not won by superior courage or in a fair fight … but by their expert knowledge of siege craft, a special technique that we were unacquainted with.”1
Vercingetorix, Warlord of the Gauls
After six years of relentless war, Caesar had killed hundreds of thousands of Gauls and Germans by war and by starvation. Yet the more he tightened his grip, the more Gaul seemed to slip through his fingers. Gaul continued to seethe with hate and resentment for their Roman occupiers. With the Belgae too devastated by Caesar’s terror campaign, the next seeds of rebellion grew in Gallia Celtica, Celtic Gaul.
Secretly the Gallic chiefs gathered in hidden wooden glades, to curse the Romans for reducing their lands to misery. They speculated that victory might be possible if Caesar were cut off from his legions. During the winter of 53/52 BC, Gaul was a landscape of snow-covered woods and frozen rivers and marshes. Vast areas of the low country lay under seasonal floods. With Caesar in northern Italy, separated by inhospitable terrain from his legions stationed in Gaul, the time was ripe to strike. In a solemn rite the Gallic chiefs bound their standards together and took an oath to stand by each other in the coming fight for liberation.
Implicated in these intrigues was none other then Caesar’s old friend Commius, King of the Atrebates. For Commius, who had served Caesar loyally for five years, to turn against Caesar showed how bad the Gauls suffered and how desperate they became to rid themselves of their Roman masters. When Labienus, who remained on the Belgae border, got word of Commius’ deceit he decided to get rid of the traitor. The task was allotted to Gaius Volusenus, the veteran commander who had scouted out Britannia’s coastline. Accompanied by a number of centurions, Volusenus paid a visit to Commius. Commius was in the presence of his friends when he was confronted by the Romans. Volusenus grasped Commius’ hand: the pre-arranged signal for his centurions to begin the attack. Swords rasped out of scabbards, blades flashed and a centurion struck at Commius. The iron Roman blade bit Commius’ skull but failed to kill him outright. His head a bloody mess, Commius fell into the arms of his attendants. Thinking Commius mortally wounded, the centurions drew back. Fearing that more Romans were on the way, Commius’ friends were anxious to escape with their wounded friend. After both sides parted, Commius recovered. If he had not yet fully decided to join the rebels, after that day Commius made up his mind “never again to come into the presence of any Roman.”2
Despite all the oaths taken by the Gallic chieftains, and a massacre of Roman merchants at Cenabum by the Carnutes, the Gallic rebellion showed no great promise until the emergence of a remarkable leader. He was called Vercingetorix and his very name meant king-over-warriors.3 Still a young man, Vercingetorix was the son of the influential Arverni chief, Celtillus. However in 80 BC, when Vercingetorix was but a baby, Celtillus’ ambitions had reached too high. He tried to become King and for doing so was sentenced to death by the tribal elders. It may well have been his father’s legacy that caused the leading men of the Arverni stronghold of Gergovia to turn a cold shoulder to Vercingetorix. The chiefs, including his uncle Gobannitio, had no wish to rally the population against the Romans and to face Caesar’s wrath.
Vercingetorix’s resolve did not falter. A man of boundless energy, he wandered through the villages of the barren winter countryside. Vercingetorix raised an army from the common folk who among the Gauls were little more than slaves. Everywhere he went, the Arverni flocked to his standard. Vercingetorix returned to Gergovia with an army and ousted those who opposed him. Triumphantly, he was declared King by his countless followers. Vercingetorix achieved his father’s dream.
Embassies were sent to the rest of Gaul and before long, the Senones, Parisii, Cadurci, Turoni, Aulerci, Lemovices, Andes, Pictones and many others, elected Vercingetorix to be their warlord. To ensure their loyalty, which was always fickle among the Gauls, Vercingetorix demanded hostages and threatened with torture and execution those who disobeyed. He ordered the tribes to supply troops at once, to forge swords and spear blades, to make shields and helmets, and to raise a great host of cavalry. Vercingetorix was aware that Caesar faced political opposition by the optimates, the aristocratically aligned party of Rome. Caesar was still busy in Italy, cut off from his legions stationed in their winter quarters along the Belgae border, just as the Gauls had originally planned.
Although by now Caesar should have known better, Vercingetorix’s uprising caught him by surprise. Caesar was separated from his legions by towering mountains in the depths of winter with potentially hostile tribes in his path. To get there would be to risk capture since even formerly friendly tribes could not be trusted. Events did not allow Caesar to contemplate, as a strong force of Gauls was already approaching the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis, straddling the Mediterranean Sea.
Leading the Gallic force towards Narbonensis was one of Vercingetorix’s lieutenants, Lucterius the Cadrucan. Lucterius had just swelled his ranks with fresh recruits from among the Ruteni, whose lands bordered Narbonensis. The people of the coastal city of Narbo were understandably frightened and only calmed down by Caesar’s swift arrival. He re-deployed part of the garrison troops in areas bordering the Gallic advance, threatening to outflank Lucterius who aborted the attack. Caesar assembled the rest of the garrison troops, his bodyguard and fresh levies he had brought with him from Italy, in the foot hills of the Cevennes Mountains. On the other side of the mountains sprawled the lands of the Arverni.
The Arverni thought the Cevennes Mountains impassable in winter. Caesar thought otherwise. His men shoveled snowdrifts that covered the passes up to six feet deep, opening the way for Caesar to reach the Arverni lands. Once there, Caesar sent his cavalry out to raid a wide area and to create as much terror as they could. Vercingetorix was winning over the Bituriges when he heard the news of Roman cavalry running amok in his homelands. He hurried back to the Arverni lands but by the time he got there Caesar had again given him the slip. Leaving his troops in the Arverni lands under the command of Decimus Junius Brutus, Caesar had gone to gather some cavalry he had stationed in Vienne. From Vienne he marched to the Aedui, who, so far, remained his loyal allies. Caesar pushed onward to the Belgae border until he stood reunited with his legions. With speed and daring, Caesar had outmaneuvered Vercingetorix.
Attempting to regain the initiative, Vercingetorix laid siege to Gorgobina, a stronghold of the Boii in Aedui territory. After Caesar defeated the Boii in conjunction with the Helvetii in the beginning of his Gallic wars, the Boii were settled among the Aedui. With all of Gaul watching to see if Caesar would aid or desert his allies, Caesar had little choice but to come to their aid. Leaving two legions at Agedincum (Sens) in hostile Senones territory, he set out with eight legions for Gorgobina. Lacking the proper siege know-how, Vercingetorix was unable to take Gorgobina. In contrast, on his way to Gorgobina, Caesar captured, burnt and looted towns among the Senones and the Carnutes, appropriating supplies for his army.
Vercingetorix raised the siege of Gorgobina and marched to meet Caesar. By now, Caesar had entered Bituriges territory, bordering the Boii lands, where his army lay in siege around the town of Noviodunum Biturigum (Neuvy-sur-Barangeon). Envoys from the town negotiated a peaceful surrender. They promised to provide hostages, horses and deliver their weapons and armor to Caesar, in turn for which their town would not be sacked and burnt. A few centurions were already in the town, collecting horses and weapons, when Vercingetorix’s cavalry vanguard appeared on the horizon. Caesar ordered his auxiliary Gallic cavalry, consisting mostly of Aedui, to engage them. The Aedui, however, were no match for Vercingetorix’s horsemen, prompting Caesar to send his 400 German horsemen into the attack.4 The handful of Germans scattered Vercingetorix’s cavalry to the winds.
Either because his cavalry was unable to best Caesar’s German horsemen or because he did not have enough infantry to fight the Roman legions, Vercingetorix retreated. He held a council of war and told his followers that, with three towns already fallen to Caesar, a new strategy was needed.
“We must prevent the Romans from obtaining forage and supplies. This will be easy, since we are strong in cavalry and the season is in our favor. There is no grass to cut; so the enemy will be forced to send out parties to get hay from the barns, and our cavalry can go out every day and see that not a single one of them return alive … What is more … be prepared to sacrifice our private possessions. Along the enemy’s line of march we must burn all the villages and farms. We can rely upon the resources of the people … but the Romans will either succumb to starvation or have to expose themselves to serious risk by going far from their camp.”5
In a single day, the fires and smoke clouds of more than twenty Bituriges towns spiraled into the sky. They were joined by settlements in neighboring lands, until all the land surrounding Caesar and his legions seemed aflame. The one Bituriges town that was left intact was the nearly impregnable Avaricum (near Bourges). Upon an 80 foot hill, the 26 hectare town lay at the confluence of five rivers. Surrounded by marshlands and the Avara (Yèvre) River, the only access was a narrow land bridge. Avaricum was considered the finest town in Gaul and its inhabitants refused to set it aflame. Neither would they surrender to Caesar.6
Caesar shrugged off the losses that Vercingetorix’s cavalry inflicted on Roman foraging parties and advanced steadily on Avaricum. Once there, Caesar wasted no time in building a siege terrace and erecting mantlets and two towers within the meager space that gave access to the town. Although his supply situation rapidly deteriorated, the legionaries grimly hung on and maintained the siege.
Prisoners told Caesar that Vercingetorix had left the Gallic army to lead the cavalry and light troops in an attempt to ambush any Romans who left Caesar’s camp. Apparently, the main Gallic army was camped some fifteen miles nearby and was also suffering from supply shortages. Marching to the Gallic camp at night, Caesar planned to attack while the Gauls were separated from their leader. However, the Romans were spotted by Gallic scouts. By the time Caesar approached the Gallic camp the Gauls had hidden their baggage in the woods and formed a strong defensive position on a hill surrounded by boggy ground. Despite the eagerness of his legionaries to take the fight to the enemy, Caesar thought it unwise to risk such an unfavorable attack and pulled back to Avaricum.
So fickle were the Gauls that when Vercingetorix returned to his main army, they blamed him of desertion with the cavalry and conspiring with Caesar! He reminded them that he had chosen a natural defensive position for them where the cavalry was not needed. Disappointed in his men’s loyalty, Vercingetorix produced some prisoners who were primed to complain of starvation and the near collapse of Caesar’s legions. Suddenly, the Gauls had only praise for Vercingetorix, calling him a great leader and swearing their unwavering loyalty!
Back at Avaricum the harder the Romans tried to take the town, the harder the Gauls tried to defend it. Roman terraces were sent crumbling by Gauls who mined under them, wall hooks were pulled aside with lassoes, sallies were made to attack the Roman workers and to set fire to the siege works. The Gauls threw boiling pitch and boulders into the Roman subterranean galleries, and countered Roman towers by adding towers and platforms, protected by hides, to the town walls. The Gallic walls themselves were built of interlocking timbers, stones and rubble, protecting them from fire and the battering ram.
Though drenched by incessant rain, in twenty-five days the legions raised a terrace over three hundred feet wide and eight feet high. When it almost touched the city walls, the Gauls launched one last desperate night sally to burn down the Roman terrace. From Caesar’s narrative:
“There was a Gaul standing before one of the gates and throwing into the flames, opposite one of our towers, lumps of tallow and pitch that were passed along to him. An arrow from a catapult pierced his side and he fell dead. Another near him stepped over his prostrate body and took over his job. When he likewise was killed by the catapult, a third took his place, and so they went on.”7
The Romans counterattacked and extinguished the fire. The end for Avaricum was near. In a heavy downpour, on the twenty-seventh day of the siege, the Romans finally breached the walls. There was no fight left in the defenders and no mercy left in the victor. A red haze of hate, raised to a pitch through the horror of the siege, clouded the legionaries’ eyes. They were no longer men but mindless killing machines. For hours, men, women, children, the old and the young, all were cut down, till the streets ran crimson and echoed with the agonized cries of the victims. Caesar wrote that of the 40,000 inhabitants, a mere 800 escaped to join Vercingetorix.
A well-earned rest at Avaricum, with its stockpiles of supplies, allowed the legionaries to recover from their combat fatigue. Caesar used the time to settle a dispute among the Aedui, who had split into a pro and an anti-Roman faction. He used the occasion to levy the rest of the Aedui cavalry, which forthwith joined him, as well as 10,000 infantry from amongst their ranks, who were to follow later.
The day after the massacre at Avaricum, Vercingetorix held a council of war. He showed shrewd insight into the tactics of the enemy, reminding his men that the Romans had not won through valor but only due to their knowledge of siege craft. Vercingetorix promised success that would more than make up for the defeats. He would win over the tribes, so that: “The whole of Gaul will then be united, and when we are all of one mind the entire world cannot stand against us.”8 Vercingetorix’s resolve uplifted the sagging spirits of his men. Even in defeat, his renown grew so that his losses were more than made up for by new recruits and new allies. Large numbers of archers were summoned from all over Gaul.9 Teutomatus, King of the Nitiobroges, saddled up his cavalry and raised mercenaries in Aquitania to come to Vercingetorix’s aid.
Both Gauls and Romans could feel the warmth of spring in the air. The grass was greening and soon the cavalry horses and the thousands of draught mules and oxen that accompanied the armies would be able to graze on the fields. With the supply situation improving, Caesar sent Labienus, with four legions and part of the cavalry, to move against the Parisii and the Senones. Caesar took the remaining six legions and cavalry and struck for the Arverni town of Gergovia, to the west side of the River Allier. Vercingetorix demolished the bridges over the Allier and by holding the opposite bank blocked Caesar’s crossing over from the east. Caesar used a diversionary maneuver to lure Vercingetorix’s blocking army away, while two legions hidden in the woods repaired a destroyed bridge. The two legions crossed the river and held the far bank with a marching camp until they were joined by the other four legions. With Caesar likely holding a large numerical advantage, Vercingetorix avoided a pitched battle and fled towards Gergovia.
When Caesar reached Gergovia, he beheld the fortified town, perched on a plateau in a wide hilly valley. The River Auzon flowed to the south of the hill, winding its way east and north where it emptied into the River Allier. Like two mighty arms, the northern ridges of the Massif Central climbed upward to the west and east of Gergovia. To the west, the nearby volcanic summit of Puy de Dôme dominated the landscape. To the east, across the Allier, the valley sprawled farther to climb up through fir and beech forests to the high meadows of the Forez Mountains.
Caesar was faced with another tough siege. Vercingetorix’s main camp was on the high ground in front of the town, facing Caesar who was camped to the southeast. Directly opposite the town, to the south, the Gauls occupied another steep hill. In a night attack Caesar dislodged the Gauls from the hill and erected a secondary camp to be held by two legions. Furthermore, a 12-foot-wide double trench was dug to connect both camps. The Roman fortifications were meant to deprive Vercingetorix of his water supply, presumably the Auzon River to the south.
Bottled up in Gergovia, and besieged by Caesar and his legions, the situation looked dire for Vercingetorix. He needed a lucky break and got it when Litaviccus, the leader of the Aedui infantry marching to aid Caesar, succumbed to bribes offered by the agents of the Arverni. Thirty miles from Gergovia, Litaviccus turned to face his men and with tear-stained eyes implored, “Soldiers, where are we going? All our cavalry and all our men of high rank have perished.”10 He then produced some men who verified the fib, claiming that Caesar had treacherously executed the Aedui leaders, Eporedorix and Viridomarus, alongside the entire Aedui cavalry. In anger the Aedui infantry turned upon the few unlucky accompanying Romans. They were tortured and killed. When Caesar got word of this, he took four legions, the allegedly murdered Eporedorix and Viridomarus and their Aedui cavalry, and marched towards the incoming Aedui infantry. He left the Roman camp under the command of the veteran general, Gaius Fabius.
Vercingetorix, who watched Caesar depart, lost no time in sallying forth from his camp in front of the town and assaulting the remaining two legions in the Roman camp. With the tables turned on them, the defenders of the Roman camp found themselves under siege by superior forces. Unable to replace his tired troops with fresh ones, Fabius’ legionaries were nearly overwhelmed. A hail of Gallic arrows, spears and slingshots, inflicted serious casualties, but supported by heavy caliber fire from their catapults, the legionaries persevered.
Caesar meanwhile sent his Aedui cavalry ahead to intercept the Aedui infantry. Upon seeing their tribal leaders and cavalry alive, the Aedui infantry surrendered and begged for quarter from Caesar. He spared them but was dismayed to find that Litaviccus had already slipped away to the enemy. Unfortunately for Caesar, Litaviccus’ clever propaganda flamed up the Aedui countryside with anti-Roman sentiment. The Aedui killed, enslaved and looted whatever Romans they could get their hands on.
Caesar returned to Gergovia with the Aedui reinforcements, which currently remained loyal. Nevertheless, it was clear that even Caesar’s staunchest Gallic allies were showing signs of wavering. Caesar was beginning to think it wiser to break the current siege and to reunite with the legions of Labienus. So as to not boost Gallic morale further, Caesar hoped for at least a tactical victory before withdrawing. He noticed that Vercingetorix was building up the fortifications on another hill west of Gergovia, which connected to the town by a ridge. At midnight several squadrons of Caesar’s cavalry galloped to the area and made as much commotion as possible. During the day, they were joined by a “cavalry” contingent of mules and packhorses, ridden by their drivers who wore helmets to appear like proper soldiers. Next, one legion marched into a wooden area below the hill.
The Gauls beheld the apparent Roman build-up below the hill to their west. Alarmed, they shifted the bulk of their forces to finish the fortifications on the hill at the expense of their position in front of Gergovia; just as Caesar had planned. Caesar told his generals to have their men cover their helmet crests and hide their standards, and in small unassuming groups, move their legions from the larger Roman camp to the smaller one opposite the town. The Gauls, who were still expecting the attack on the hill to their west, remained unaware of the Roman preparations right below their town. When all was ready, Caesar gave the signal to attack and the legionaries sprang into action. At the same time he sent the Aedui uphill to the far Roman right.
Although as the crow flies the legionaries had little more than a mile to cover, the steep ascent to the town necessitated switchbacks. Half way up, the Romans encountered a six-foot high stone wall following the contour of the mountain. Between that wall and the town ramparts, lay Vercingetorix’s main camps. There was virtually no opposition. The legionaries clambered over the stone wall and captured three Gallic camps. Teutomatus, the Nitiobroges King, was surprised taking a nap in his tent. Virtually naked, he jumped on a horse, escaping by a hair’s breath.
Caesar achieved all he hoped to do and ordered the retreat.11 At the sound of the Roman trumpet, the Tenth Legion, which was near to Caesar, came to a halt. The others, however, elated by their easy victory, were unable to hear the blaring trumpets. They continued to storm up towards the town walls. Inside the town, fears of another Avaricum worked the people to a frenzied panic. Women threw clothes and coins down the walls and bared their breasts, begging the Romans not to slay them or their children. An eager centurion of the Eighth Legion clambered up the walls, boasting of the rewards he would gain from Caesar.
The commotion in the town did not go unnoticed by the Gallic army to the west of the town. Men shouted that Gergovia had fallen to the Romans! The Gallic cavalry followed by a horde of angry foot soldiers, came streaming around the town ramparts to dash into the Roman troops. It was chaos, but the Gauls continued to feed more numbers into the mad melee while most of the Romans were still strung out on the hillside. From above the women urged on their men, flinging their long hair in the air and holding up their children.
Caesar was worried, for he feared that his legions would be driven down the hillside. He called out the remaining cohorts of the smaller camp and readied his Tenth Legion to cover the retreat. The Aedui now appeared on the Roman right flank, their right shoulders left uncovered to distinguish them as Gallic troops friendly to the Romans. They were too late. Hemmed in, the legionaries at the town walls were cut down by the mob. Those that managed to get inside the town were flung back over the walls. A centurion of the Eighth Legion, Marcus Petronius, held back the enemy at the gates. Bleeding from a score of wounds, Petronius cried for the others to run and save themselves. He killed at least two of the enemy, and gained time for his men to escape, before he disappeared under a mass of Gauls.
Forty-six centurions perished as the Gauls forced the legionaries at the camp ramparts down the hill. The rout did not stop until the defensive line of the Tenth Legion, reinforced with the extra cohorts, allowed the fleeing legionaries to reform. Vercingetorix called his men back to redeploy behind their fortification.
Instead of a tactical victory, Caesar barely averted a tactical disaster. According to him, Roman casualties were less than 700. Probably they were considerably higher. He reprimanded his troops, praising their valor but condemned them for disobeying and for their rashness. Twice more Caesar tried to goad Vercingetorix into an open battle but to no avail. Caesar broke off the siege and headed toward the Aedui country. The initiative was back into Vercingetorix’s hands.
Caesar got more bad news when he heard that Litaviccus, with Vercingetorix’s cavalry, had sped ahead of Caesar’s forces to further win over the Aedui. When the two leaders of Caesar’s Aedui cavalry, Eporedorix and Viridomarus, heard this, they asked Caesar to be allowed to ride ahead and convince their kinsfolk to stay loyal to Rome. Caesar reluctantly let them go. He feared more treachery and rightly so. Instead of securing the loyalty of the Aedui, Eporedorix and Viridomarus set upon Caesar’s supply depot at the Aeduan town of Noviodunum (Nevers). They freed the Gallic hostages that Caesar kept there, killed the Roman merchants, and looted and burnt the town to prevent the Romans from retaking it. The seventy-year-old alliance of the Aedui and the Roman Republic was broken.
Gallic morale was at an all time high, and Caesar found himself in the middle of an enemy country with few allies left. There had been revolts before, but never like this. Roman authority in Gaul was swept away as if it all had been for nothing. Many a commander would have given up long ago but not Julius Caesar. Confident in his own genius he resolved to meet up with Labienus as fast as he could and somehow snatch victory from looming defeat.
Day and night, virtually without rest, Caesar’s legions marched on to the River Loire. The cavalry entered the water first, using the bodies of the horses to break the current’s force to ease the crossing of the infantry. Swollen with snow melt, the icy waters of the river nearly reached the shoulders of the infantry, who carried their shields and weapons above their heads. After crossing the River Loire, Caesar let his men pillage grain and cattle. When his army was freshly supplied, Caesar marched toward the north. Caesar was hoping to join Labienus, whose legions were at Agedincum in the territory of the Senones.
Labienus had won victories against the Senones and Parisii strongholds, when a false rumor of Caesar retreating back to Narbonensis reached him. Accordingly, Labienus decided to fall back toward Agedincum. On the way, Labienus annihilated a Gallic army blocking the River Seine crossing. At Agedincum he joined back up with Caesar. Caesar could still count on his ten battle-hardened legions. The campaign losses incurred from Gallic raiders, and suffered at the brutal siege of Avaricum and at the battle of the Gergovia entrenchments, left the legions wounded but not mauled. He still had his auxiliary German and Spanish cavalry but otherwise there were no more reinforcements. If anything it seemed that his last allies would desert Caesar and leave him and his legions standing alone in a whole country bent on their destruction.