Page 56 - All About History - Issue 18-14

10 Greatest Military Leaders

JULIUS CAESAR

TheBattleofAlesia September 52 BCE, France

GaulfallstoRomeinCaesar’sincredibledouble-siege
Caesar’s double-siege of
ll that lay between Julius Caesar and glory forcetosurprisetheattackingreliefforcefromthe Alesia is among the greatest
battle tactics ever used
wasthegreatwoodenhillfortofAlesia, rear. Spurred on by Caesar’s boldness, the Roman
AthecentreofresistanceagainsttheRoman defenders on the inner wall held fast
invasion of what is now France. Not only did the against the Gauls, who retreated from the
defenders, led by the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix, sheer madness unfolding before them.
outnumber the Roman legions 80,000 to 60,000, ThedoublewallaroundAlesiawasn’t
but a relief force of around 100,000 more Gauls awall,itwasavice-likechokehold;the
and assorted other Celtic tribes were on their way. Gauls’ only option left was to surrender
Hisforceswereseriouslyoutnumbered. rather than starve. The Roman conquest of
The Romans quickly encircled the fort with their Gaul was complete and would last in one form
own wooden stockade 18 kilometres (11 miles) or another for 500 years. Back home, the Roman
long,completewithpitsandwatchtowers.Asthe Republic’s refusal to honour its greatest general’s
relief forcecampednearby, Caesar orderedthe greatestvictoryswiftlyledtoaregimechange.
construction of a second 21-kilometre (13-mile) long Romewasnowanempire,andJuliusCaesar,one
wall outside the first, facing outward with four of its greatest military leaders, would be its head.
cavalryposts. TheRomanswerepreparingtobe “ The Romans quickly
besiegedwhiletheythemselveslaysiege.
InsideAlesia,conditionsgrewsteadilygrimmer encircled the fort with
underthepressofbodiesandlackoffood,so
Vercingetorixhadthewomenandchildren their own wooden
released,hopingthattheRomanswouldallow
thempassagethroughtheencirclingdefencesand stockade 18 kilometres
thus leave themselves vulnerable to a surprise
attack.Theydidn’ttakethe bait,sothe helpless long, complete with
civilianswerelefttostarvetodeathinthe
no-man’s-land between the two stockades. pits and watchtowers”
AttemptsbytheGaulstobreakoutwereswiftly
repulsed,butoneattackontheweakestpointin
the Roman wall from both sides made Caesar
realise that something had to be done
andheleda6,000-strongcavalry

Was it genius?
Nothing seems more Roman
than conquest through
construction, but at Alesia
Caesar showed he could take
risks too, with a split-second
decision that sealed not only
his victory, but his legacy.

Timeline

1 2 3 4
THE GAULS STRIKE THE CAVALRY RETALIATES THE WEAK SPOT CAESAR GAMBLES
The Gaul relief force led by With the Roman defences The Roman defences have only EVERYTHING
the chieftain Commius hits the imperilled by the night attack, Mark one obvious weak spot, a point With the Roman defenders faltering
external wall at the same time as Antony and Gaius Trebonius ride wherethetwowallsareforced under the combined assault,
Vercingetorix orders an attack out with cavalry and repulse the together by the river and the Caesar saddles up and leads
on the inner wall. Successfully assault. Vercingetorix’s forces are hills. Vercingetorix’s cousin 6,000 horsemen into the rear
repulsed, the Gauls attack again delayed by the trenches dug by the Vercassivellaunos leads a massive of Vercassivellaunos’ relief force.
at night and Caesar is forced to Romans in front of the inner wall attack from the outside, while Despite superior numbers, they’re
withdraw his men from parts of and by the time these have been the army from Alesia attack from panicked by the sudden cavalry
the stockade. filled, the attack has been seen off. the inside. charge and the assault crumbles.

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