After the victory of the Helvetii, many of the tribes of Gaul congratulated me on my victory over the Helvetii, and they wanted to meet with me to speak of Ariovistus' actions. Diviciacus was the head speaker of the Gallic assembly of tribes, and he expressed many concerns with me over the hostages and conquests that Ariovistus has taken. Diviciacus proposed that I fight the Suebi tribe and their leader to remove the threat of Germanic invasion into Gaul or else the Gallic tribes would have to seek new lands. This was a grand opportunity, not only just for me, but to add to the glory of Rome. This action would help protect the allegiances between the Aedui and Rome with the opportunity to expand the Republic's borders, it would strengthen my soldiers, it would bring more loyalty from my soldiers, and it would establish myself as the commander of Rome's troops in Gaul. It was a marvelous opportunity that seemed destined for me to take.
Once again, the Senate worked against me. They declared Ariovistus a "king and friend of the Roman people" to prevent me from declaring war on the Suebi tribe. They did the Aedui, who have only been allies to Rome, a great wrongdoing. I could not ignore their cries. Ariovistus tried to assure me that the hostages of the Aedui would be safe as long as the Aedui pay their yearly tribute. That did not stop him, and when Ariovistus' attacks pushed Gallic tribes across the Rhone, I obtained the justification I needed to wage war on the Ariovistus and the Suebi tribe.
We marched for Vesontio, a large settlement of the Sequani who the Suebi planned to attack. Some of my officers tried to hold their positions, but when I said that the only legion I could count on was the 10th, the officers and their legions put their pride before their political standings. However, I pushed my legions to arrive in Vesontio before Artiovistus' even arrived. Ariovistus arrived and requested a meeting between the two of us. As I began to meet him, Suebi horsemen began to throw stones at my mounted escorts. A few days later, the Suebi leader asked for another meeting. Therefore, I sent Valerius Procillus, a trusted fiend, and Caius Mettius, a merchant who traded with Ariovistus, to meet. Ariovistus found my choice to be insulting, and he threw Caius and Valerius in chains along with the convoy. Ariovistus camped two miles behind me, which was only a problem because it cut off my supplies and communication to my allies. I could not entice the leader of the German tribe into battle, and my solution was to place a smaller camp closer to the encampment of Suebi. He attacked the smaller camp, but the legions repulsed their attack. The next morning, I ordered my troops to form a triplex acies advancing towards Ariovistus and the Suebi. I lined up on the right flank of the formation. Ariovistus lined up his seven tribal formation against the triplex acies. I would have to give credit for the victory against Ariovistus to Publius Crassus who led the cavalry charge who changed the tide of the battle in our favor, and the charge broke the German line. As the German line broke, the tribes along the line began to flee. The legions successfully killed most of Ariovistus' 120,000 men. The Seubi returned home, and they never engaged against my armies again. I was victorious.
My next campaign in Gaul was against the Belgae in 57 BC. By then, my legions had become skilled veteran force. After constant encounter, I defeated Belgae after they had suffered heavy losses, and they surrendered when I threatened to have all of their towns burned to the ground. All of the client tribes of the Belgae surrendered or fled. In 56 BC, I focused my legions against the Veneti tribe in Armorica who assembled a confederacy against the Roman providence. After constant land and sea campaigning, we were victorious against the tribes in Armorica. In 54, I brought a large force across the sea to defeat the powerful tribe of Catuvellauni, and from the success, I forced the tribe to pay tribute to Rome. The victories over the Catuvellauni and Veneti were great propaganda victories for myself and the glory of Rome.
In 54 and 53 BC, subjugated Gauls created an uprising under the leadership of Ambiorix. Quintus Tullius Cicero narrowly survived an attack that whipped out fifteen Roman cohorts by the Atuatuca Tungrorum. If it weren't for my timing, Cicero would have been killed. By the end of 53 BC, my legions crushed the uprising and restored order. However, another uprising came about when the Arverni tribe of central Gaul led by Vercingetorix united many of the Gallic tribes and lands under him. Vercingetorix's troops never fought my forces face to face, but instead, he made a campaign to rid me of my supplies. With haste, I captured the town of Avaricum, but unfortunately, I suffered a defeat at Gergovia. Vercingetorix always stayed mobile, and he never fought me openly. Finally, Vercingetorix held out for a battle at Alesia. I successfully besieged him and defeated a large reinforcement army of Gallic tribes after they had ran out of food. This defeat marked the end of the fighting between my legions and the Gallic and German tribes. I captured Vercingetorix and kept him as a captive for all the Roman people to see. Rome proclaimed a thanksgiving of twenty days to honor me for having reconquered Gaul.
Sources Used:
Caesar, Julius, S. A. Handford, and Jane F. Gardner. The Conquest of Gaul. London: Penguin, 1982. Print.
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