The Gallic Wars IV

BOOK FOUR
55 BC J.-C.

1. The winter that followed - it was the year of the consulship of Cneus Pompey and Marcus Crassus - the Usipetes, people of Germania, and also the Tenctheri, crossed the Rhine en masse, not far from the sea where it flows. The reason for this passage was that for several years the Suevi had waged a continual and very harsh war against them, and that they could no longer cultivate their fields.

The Suevi are by far the largest and most warlike people in all of Germania. It is said that they form a hundred clans, each of which furnishes a thousand men a year, whom they take to wars outside. The others, those who remained in the country, provided for their food and that of the army; the following year, these in turn took up arms, while those remained in the country. In this way, cultivation of the fields, military instruction and training are also ensured without interruption. Moreover, private property does not exist among them, and one cannot stay more than a year on the same soil to cultivate it. Wheat counts for little in their diet, they live mainly on milk and the flesh of herds, and they are great hunters; this kind of life - their diet, daily exercise, free life, for, from childhood, being bent to no duty, to no discipline, they do nothing but what pleases them - all this strengthens and makes them men of extraordinary size. Add that they have trained themselves, although they live in very cold regions, to wear nothing but skins, the smallness of which leaves a large part of their body exposed, and to bathe in rivers.

2. They provide access to merchants at home, more to sell their spoils of war to than for the need of imports. THE germans do not even import horses, which are the great passion of Gallic and that they acquire at any price; they content themselves with native horses, which are small and ugly, but which they manage to make extremely resistant thanks to daily training. In cavalry combats they are often seen jumping from their mounts and fighting on foot; the horses have been trained to stay put, and they quickly join them when needed; there is in their eyes no more shameful softness than to make use of saddles. So they do not hesitate to attack, however few they are, any body of cavalry whose horses are saddled. They absolutely prohibit the importation of wine, because they believe that this drink diminishes man's endurance and courage.

3. They think that the greatest glory of a nation is to have beyond its borders as vast a desert as possible, because it means that a large number of cities could not sustain the power of his weapons. So it is said that on one side of the Suevi frontier there is a solitude of six hundred thousand paces. On the other side, they have for neighbors the Ubians, who formed a considerable and flourishing state, as much as a German state can be; they are a little more civilized than other peoples of the same race, because they touch the Rhine and merchants often come to them, because also, being neighbors of the Gauls, they have shaped themselves according to their customs. The Suevi confronted them on many occasions, but could not, because of the importance and strength of this nation, drive them out of their territory; they subjected them however to a tribute, and lowered them and weakened them very appreciably.

4. This was also the fate of the Usipetes and the Tenctheres, of which we have spoken above; for many years they resisted the attacks of the Suevi, but they were finally driven from their territory, and after having wandered for three years in many regions of Germany, they reached the Rhine; it was the country of the Menapes, who had fields, houses, villages on both banks of the river; but, terrified by the arrival of such a multitude, they abandoned the houses which they had hitherto possessed beyond the river and placed on this side of the Rhine posts which barred the way to the invaders. These, after all sorts of attempts, being unable to cross by main force for lack of ships, nor clandestinely because of the posts of the Menapes, pretended to return to their homes and made three days' march on the way back; then, retracing the whole journey in one night, their cavalry fell unexpectedly on the Menapes who, having learned from their scouts of the departure of the Germans, had fearlessly recrossed the Rhine and regained their villages. They slaughtered them and, seizing their ships, crossed the river before the Menapes on the other bank were informed of anything; they occupied all their dwellings and lived on their provisions for the rest of the winter.

5. Caesar, informed of these events, and fearing the pusillanimity of the Gauls, for they easily change their minds and are almost always seduced by what is new, considered that he should not rely on them for anything. It is, in fact, in the habits of the Gauls to stop travellers, even against their will, and to question them about everything that each of them may know or have heard said; in the cities, the crowd surrounds the merchants and forces them to say what country they come from and what they have learned there. Under the influence of the emotion caused by this news or this gossip, it often happens that they take decisions on the most important matters of which they must immediately repent, for they blindly welcome ill-founded rumors and the majority of their informants invent answers in line with what they want.

6. Caesar, knowing these habits, and not wishing to find himself face to face with a particularly formidable war, leaves for the army earlier than he usually did. When he arrived there, he learned that what he had foreseen had happened: a large number of cities had sent embassies to the Germans and had urged them not to confine themselves to the Rhine; they undertook to supply all their demands. Seduced by these promises, the Germans pushed further, and they had arrived on the territory of Eburones and Condruses, which are the customers of Treveri. Caesar, having summoned the Gallic leaders, thought it best to conceal what he knew after having quieted and reassured them, he ordered them to supply him with cavalry and declared himself resolved on war.

7. After he had made his provisions of wheat and recruited his cavalry, he set out for the region where the Germans were said to be: he received from them deputies who held this language to him: “The Germans do not take the initiative to make war on the Roman people, but, if they are attacked, they do not refuse the fight; for the tradition of the Germans is, whatever the aggressor, to defend oneself and not to implore peace. Here, however, is what they say: they only came against their will, because they were driven from their homes; if the Romans accept their friendship, they can be useful friends to them: let them assign lands to them, or let them keep those they have conquered. They yield it only to the Suevi, to whom even the gods cannot be compared: except them, there is no one on earth whom they are not capable of vanquishing.

8. To this speech Caesar made such answer as he thought fit; but for her conclusion, she was that there was no possible friendship between them and him, if they remained in Gaul “In the first place, it is not fair for a people who have not known how to defend their territory to seize that of others; on the other hand, there are no vacant lands in Gaul that can be given, especially to such a multitude, without harming personnel; but they can, if they wish, establish themselves on the territory of the Ubians, of which he has with him deputies who complain of the violence of the Suevi and ask him for help; he will order them to welcome them.

9. The German ambassadors said they were going to bring back this reply, and that they would return in three days, when it had been deliberated upon; they asked that in the meantime Caesar should not advance any further. The latter declared himself unable to make such a concession. He knew, in fact, that a large part of their cavalry had been sent by them, a few days before, to the Ambivarites beyond the Meuse to take booty and take corn; he thought that we were waiting for these riders and that was why we were asking for a delay.

10. The Meuse has its source in the Vosges, which are in the territory of the Lingones [and, after having received an arm of the Rhine, which is called the Waal, and formed with it the island of the Bataves, it flows into the ocean, and about eighty thousand paces from the ocean, it empties into the Rhine. As for this river, it takes its source among the Lepontes, inhabitant of the Alps, travels at a rapid pace a long space through the countries of the Nantuates, the Helvetii, the Sequani, the Mediomatrices, the Triboques, the Treveri; at the approach of the ocean, it divides into several arms, forming numerous and immense islands, most of which are inhabited by fierce and barbarous nations, among whom are those men who are said to feed on fish and bird eggs; it throws itself into the ocean by several mouths.

11. Caesar was not more than twelve miles from the enemy when the deputies, observing the time fixed, returned. They met him on the way, and began to beg him not to go any further; their prayers remaining in vain, they tried to obtain that he send the horsemen who were in the vanguard the order not to engage in combat, and that he let them send deputies to the Ubians; if the chiefs of this people and its senate engaged under oath, they declared to accept the proposal which Caesar made; they asked that he grant them three days for these negotiations. Caesar thought that all this was still aimed at the same goal: to gain three days to allow their cavalry, which was absent, to return; nevertheless, he said he would only advance four miles that day, to get water; that they come to him the next day at this place in as large a number as possible, so that he can come to a decision with full knowledge of the facts on their requests. In the meantime, he had his prefects, who preceded him with all the cavalry, told not to attack the enemy, and, if they were attacked, to limit themselves to the defensive, until he was there with them. the army.

12. But the enemies, as soon as they saw our horsemen, who numbered about five thousand, while they themselves had no more than eight hundred – those who had gone to seek wheat beyond de la Meuse having not yet returned - charged ours, who were suspicious of nothing, because the enemy deputies had just left Caesar and had asked for a truce for that very day; they quickly put disorder in our ranks; then, as our horsemen re-formed, they dismounted, according to their custom, and, striking the horses from below, throwing down a very large number of our men, they put the others to flight: the panic was such, and the pursuit so brisk that they only stopped once in sight of our columns. In this fight, seventy-four of our horsemen were killed, and among them a very brave man, the Aquitain Pison, a personage of high birth whose ancestor had been king in his city and had received from our senate the title of 'friend. As he was helping his brother, whom the enemies surrounded, he succeeded in snatching him from danger, but he himself had his horse wounded and was thrown to the ground; as long as he could he resisted with great courage; but, surrounded on all sides, covered with wounds, he fell, and his brother, who was already out of the fray, seeing the drama from afar, threw himself at a gallop on the enemy and was killed.

13. After this combat, Caesar considered that he should no longer give audience to the deputies or accept the proposals of people who had begun hostilities treacherously, in favor of a petition for peace; as for waiting, letting the forces of the enemy increase by the return of their cavalry, he judged that would have been sheer folly; knowing, moreover, the pusillanimity of the Gauls, he understood how much prestige the enemy had already won in their eyes by this single combat: they should not be given time to make up their minds. His thoughts were fixed on all this, and he had communicated to his legates and to his quaestor his resolution not to postpone the battle for a day, when a very favorable circumstance presented itself the next morning, always acting with the same treachery and the same hypocrisy, the Germans came in large numbers, with all the chiefs and all the elders to find Caesar in his camp; they wanted – it was the pretext – to apologize for the fact that the day before they had engaged in combat contrary to convention and their own demands; but at the same time they intended to obtain, if they could, by deceiving us, some truce. Caesar, happy that they came thus to offer themselves, ordered them to be kept; then he ordered all his troops out of the camp; the cavalry, demoralized, he thought, by the last combat, were placed in the rear guard.

14. Having arranged his army in order of battle in three rows, and having traveled rapidly eight miles, he arrived at the camp of the enemies before they could perceive what was going on. Everything conspired to strike the Germans with sudden fear at the promptness of our approach, the absence of their chiefs, and of having no time either to hold a council or to take up their arms; they panic, not knowing whether it is better to go to meet the enemy, or defend the camp, or seek salvation in flight. As the rumor and the confused gathering of men manifested their fear, our soldiers, stimulated by the perfidy of the previous day, burst into the camp. There, those who could arm themselves promptly withstood ours for a while, engaging in combat among the wagons and baggage; but there remained a crowd of children and women (for they had left their homes and had crossed the Rhine with all their relatives) who began to flee in all directions. Caesar sent his cavalry in pursuit.

15. The Germans, hearing a clamor behind them, and seeing that their people were being massacred, threw down their arms, abandoned their standards, and rushed out of the camp; arrived at the confluence of the Meuse and the Rhine, despairing of being able to continue their flight and seeing that a large number of them had been killed, those who remained threw themselves into the river and there, overcome by fear, by fatigue , by the force of the current, they perished. Ours, without having lost a single man and having only a very small number of wounded, after having feared a terrible struggle, for they had had to deal with four hundred and thirty thousand enemies, retired to their camp. Caesar authorized those he had detained to depart; but they, fearing that the Gauls, whose fields they had ravaged, would make them suffer cruel tortures, declared that they wished to remain with him. Caesar granted them freedom.

16. War Germanic completed, Caesar, for many reasons, decided to cross the Rhine; the best was that, seeing with what ease the Germans determined to come to Gaul, he wanted them too to have to fear for their property, when they understood that a Roman army could and dared to cross the Rhine. Another reason was that those of the horsemen Usipetes and Tenctheres of which I said above that they had crossed the Meuse to make booty and to take corn, and that they had not taken part in the combat, had, after the defeat of theirs, taken refuge beyond the Rhine among the Sugambres, and had made alliance with them. Caesar having asked the Sugambres to deliver to him those men who had borne arms against him and against the Gauls, they replied that “the sovereignty of the Roman people expired at the Rhine; if he did not find it just that the Germans should pass into Gaul in spite of him, why should he claim any sovereignty or authority beyond the Rhine? On the other hand, the Ubians, who alone among the Transrhenians had sent deputies to Caesar, had struck up a friendship with him, had given him hostages, begged him very earnestly to come to their assistance, because the Suevi threatened their existence. “If the affairs of the republic detain him, let him only cross the Rhine with his army; that would suffice to ward off the danger of the present hour and to guarantee their future security. The renown and reputation of this army were such, since the defeat of Ariovistus and after this last combat, even among the most distant tribes of Germany, that if they were known to be friends of Rome, they would be respected. They promised a large quantity of boats for the transport of the army.

17. Caesar, for the reasons I have given, had decided to cross the Rhine; but boats seemed to him too unsafe a means, and ill suited to his dignity and that of the Roman people. Also, despite the extreme difficulty of building a bridge, because of the width, speed and depth of the river, he felt that he had to try the business or give up trying to get his troops otherwise. Here is the new method of construction he employed. It coupled, two feet apart, two beams a foot and a half thick, slightly pointed at the bottom and whose length was proportioned to the depth of the river. He lowered them into the river by means of machines and rammed them in, not vertically, like ordinary pilings, but obliquely, inclined in the direction of the current; opposite these beams he placed two others, joined in the same way, at a distance of forty feet downstream and leaning against the direction of the current. On these two pairs were placed beams two feet wide, which were wedged exactly between the coupled piles, and placed on either side two clamps which prevented the pairs from approaching each other at the top; these being thus separated and retained each in opposite direction, the work had so much solidity, and that in virtue of the laws of physics, that the more the violence of the current was great, the more the system was strongly bound. Longitudinal beams were placed on the crosspieces and, on top, slats and hurdles. In addition, oblique stakes were driven downstream which, forming a buttress, supporting the entire structure, resisted the current; others were planted a short distance in front of the bridge it was a defense which was to, in case the Barbarians should launch tree trunks or ships intended to throw it down, attenuate the violence of the shock and preserve the work.

18. Ten days after the materials had begun to be brought in, all the construction was completed and the army crossed the river. Caesar leaves the two heads of the bridge a strong guard and heads for the country of the Sugambres. Meanwhile, he received deputations from a large number of cities; to their request for peace and friendship, he responds with benevolence and orders that hostages be brought to him. But the Sugambres, who had, from the moment when they began to build the bridge, prepared their retreat, on the advice of the Tenctheres and the Usipetes who were with them, had left their country, taking all their goods and had gone into hiding in uninhabited regions covered with forests.

19. Caesar, after staying a few days in their territory, burned all the villages and all the buildings, cut the wheat, and retired to the Ubians; he promised to help them if the Suevi attacked them, and received from them the following information: the Suevi, having learned from their scouts that a bridge was being thrown across the Rhine, had, following a council held according their use, sent to all sides the advice that we abandon the cities, that we deposit in the forests children, women and all that we possessed, and that all the men able to bear arms concentrate on the same point. The place chosen was roughly in the center of the country inhabited by the Suevi, it was there that they had decided to wait for the arrival of the Romans and there that they were to give them the decisive battle. When Caesar learned of this plan, as he had achieved all the objectives he had set himself in crossing the Rhine - to frighten the Germans, punish the Sugambres, free the Ubians from the pressure they were undergoing -, after eighteen full days passed beyond the Rhine, believing that he had achieved a sufficiently glorious and sufficiently useful result, he returned to Gaul and cut the bridge behind him.

20. Caesar had only a small part of the summer ahead of him; although in these regions – for all of Gaul faces north – the winters are early, he nevertheless wanted to leave for the Brittany, because he realized that in almost all the wars we had waged against the Gauls, they had received help from Brittany; he thought, moreover, that if the late season did not leave him time to campaign, it would nevertheless be very useful to him to have only landed on the island, and to have seen what its inhabitants were, recognized the places, the ports, the landing points: all things which were almost unknown to the Gauls. Indeed, apart from the merchants, it is rare for anyone to venture there, and the merchants themselves know nothing outside the coast and the regions facing Gaul. So in vain he brought in merchants from everywhere, it was impossible for him to learn anything either about the extent of the island, or about the character and importance of the peoples who inhabit it, or about their way of making war or of living, or about the ports which were capable of receiving a large number of large ships.

21. To find out about this, before attempting the enterprise, Caesar detaches, with a warship, Casus Volusénus, which he considers suitable for this mission. He instructs him to make a general reconnaissance and to return as soon as possible. For his part, he leaves with all his troops for the country of the Morins, because it is from there that the passage in Brittany is the shortest. He gathered there ships drawn from all the neighboring countries and the fleet he had built the previous summer for the Venetian War. However, his project spreads and the merchants bring the news to the Bretons : many peoples of the island send him deputies to offer to deliver hostages and to submit to Rome. He gives them an audience, makes them generous promises, urges them to persevere in these sentiments, and sends them home accompanied by Commios, whom he had made king of the Atrebates after his victory over this people; he appreciated his courage and his intelligence, he considered him faithful, and his authority was great in the country. He orders him to visit as many peoples as possible, to urge them to place themselves under the protectorate of Rome, and to announce his approaching arrival. Volusenus, after having reconnoitered the place as much as he could without daring to disembark and run the risk of contact with the Barbarians, returned after four days and reported to Caesar what he had observed.

22. While Caesar tarried among the Morini to arm his fleet, many of their tribes sent deputies to him to apologize for their past conduct; they had made war upon the Roman people as uncouth men ignorant of our character; they declared themselves ready to carry out Caesar's orders. The latter, finding the situation very happy - because he did not want to leave an enemy behind him, the season was too advanced to make war on them, finally, he considered that the expedition to Brittany came before such minor worries - , sets a high number of hostages to deliver. They bring them to him, and he receives their submission. Having collected and laid down about eighty transport ships, a number which he considered sufficient to transport two legions, he distributed what more warships he had to his quaestor, his legates and his prefects. To these units were added eighteen transports which were eight miles away, prevented by contrary winds from reaching the same port: he assigned them to the cavalry. The rest of the army was entrusted to the legates Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculéius Cotta, with the mission of leading it to the Menapes and to the Morin cantons which had not sent deputies. The legate Publius Sulpicius Rufus, with the garrison which was deemed suitable, was appointed to guard the port.

23. When he had taken these measures, taking advantage of favorable weather, he weighed anchor about the third watch; the horsemen were to reach the other port, embark there and follow it. While these proceeded a little too slowly, Caesar, about the fourth hour of the day, reached Britain with his first ships, and there he saw, arrayed on all the hills, the troops of the enemy in arms. The configuration of the place was such, the sea was so narrowly confined between the heights, that from these one could launch projectiles on the shore. Judging such a place quite unsuitable for a landing, Caesar waited at anchor until the ninth hour when the rest of his fleet had arrived. However, having summoned the legates and the tribunes, he explained to them what he had learned from Volusenus and what were his designs; he recommended to them that, in conformity with the requirements of war, and especially of naval warfare where things move quickly and change constantly, all maneuvers should be carried out at the command and at the desired moment. When he had sent them away, he found himself having at the same time a good wind and a propitious tide; he gave the signal, the anchor was weighed, and after having traveled about seven miles, he arrived at an open beach where he could berth his vessels.

24. But the Barbarians, when they had realized our intentions, had sent forward their cavalry and their chariots - a means of combat with which they are familiar - the rest of their troops had followed close behind, and they opposed our landing. What made our enterprise very difficult was that our vessels, because of their size, were forced to stop in full water, and that our soldiers, ignorant of the nature of the place, having their hands embarrassed, bending under the considerable weight of their weapons, had at the same time to jump down from the ships, to struggle not to be overthrown by the waves, and to fight with the enemies, while the latter, remaining on dry ground or advancing only slightly in the water, having the freedom of their limbs, knowing the place marvelously well, threw their arrows with assurance and pushed against us their horses, which were accustomed to the sea. All this disturbed our men, who, moreover, , had no experience of this kind of combat: so they did not have the same bite and the same enthusiasm as usual, when they fought on land.

25. When Caesar saw this, he ordered the long ships, whose appearance was newer to the Barbarians and which maneuvered with more flexibility, to draw away a little from the transports and, making force of oars, go to get into position. line on the enemy's right flank; from there, putting into action slings, bows, ballistae, they were to drive back the enemy. This maneuver was very useful to us. In fact, disturbed by the shape of our ships, by the movement of the oars, by what our engines offered them that was singular, the Barbarians stopped, then retreated slightly. But our soldiers hesitated mainly because of the depth of the water; then the one who carried the eagle of the tenth legion, after having asked the gods that his initiative should be favorable to the legion: "Comrades," he cried in a loud voice, "jump into the sea, if you don't want to hand over your eagle to the enemy, at least I will have done my duty to Rome and to our general. At these words, he sprang from the ship and headed towards the enemy, the eagle in his hands. Then our people, urging each other not to suffer such dishonor, jumped out of the ship together. And when those of the neighboring ships saw them, they followed them and advanced towards the enemy.

26. Both sides fought fiercely. However, as ours could neither keep their ranks, nor gain a solid footing, nor follow their ensigns, and each one leaving his ship lined up under the ensigns he encountered, a great disorder resulted; the enemies, they, who knew all the shallows, as soon as they saw a few isolated ones leaving a ship, taking advantage of their embarrassment, pushed their horses on them and attacked them; they surrounded the small groups in force, while others, on our right, took the whole in flank under a hail of darts. Seeing this, Caesar had the launches of the longships and the reconnaissance boats filled with soldiers, and he sent reinforcements to those he saw in danger. As soon as our soldiers were able to reform on the shore, and as all had joined, they charged the enemy and routed them; but they could not pursue him very far, because the cavalry could not stay in the right direction and reach the island. This was all Caesar's accustomed fortune lacked.

27. The enemies, after their defeat, as soon as they had ceased to flee, hastened to send an embassy to Caesar to ask him for peace: they promised to give hostages and to execute what he would command. At the same time as her, came Commios the Atrebate, of whom I have said above that Caesar had sent him before him to Brittany. As he had just landed and was making known to the Bretons, as Caesar's spokesman, his message, they seized him and loaded him with chains; after the fight, they sent him away, and in asking for peace they threw the responsibility for this outrage on the crowd, begging them to forgive a fault due to ignorance. Caesar, after having reproached them for having made war on him without cause, when they had spontaneously sent deputies to him on the continent to solicit peace, declared that he pardoned their ignorance and asked for hostages; they furnished part of it on the spot; the others, whom they had to bring from quite a distance, would be delivered in a few days. In the meantime, they sent their soldiers back to the fields and the chiefs began to come from all parts to commend to Caesar their interests and those of their cities.

28. Peace being thus assured, four days after we had arrived in Brittany, the eighteen ships above mentioned, which had embarked the cavalry, left the northern port in light winds. They were approaching the island and we could see them from our camp, when suddenly a storm arose of such violence that none of them could hold their way any longer, and some were brought back to their starting point. , while the others were very dangerously drawn towards the south-western extremity of the island; they anchored despite the storm, but threatened with being overwhelmed by the waves, they had to dive out to sea and sink into the night; they eventually reached the mainland.

29. Fate would have it that this same night was full moon, when the tides of the ocean are the highest; and ours didn't know about it. Also the long ships, which Caesar had used to transport his infantry and which he had pulled ashore, found themselves filled with water, while the transport ships, which had been anchored, were badly treated by the storm without there being any means of maneuvering or helping them. A very large number of ships were broken up; the others, having lost cables, anchors and other tackle, were out of order: this situation, as was inevitable, deeply moved the whole army. There were, in fact, no other ships that could bring us back, we had nothing we needed to repair the fleet, finally, everyone thinking that we had to winter in Gaul, we didn't had not stocked up on wheat to spend the winter on this island.

30. When they heard of our embarrassment, the Breton leaders who had come to Caesar after the battle concerted: seeing that the Romans had neither cavalry, nor ships, nor corn, realizing the small number of our forces according to dimensions of our camp, which was all the more restricted as Caesar had taken his legions without baggage, it seemed to them that the best course to take was to revolt, to prevent us from procuring wheat and food, and drag things out until winter: when they had defeated us, or had forbidden us to return, no one, they thought, would dare to cross into Brittany to wage war there. Having thus renewed their coalition, they began to leave the camp little by little and to recall in secret the men whom they had sent back to the fields.

31. Caesar was not yet aware of their plans; but, after what had happened to his fleet, and seeing the Bretons interrupting their deliveries of hostages, he suspected what was about to happen. So he took precautions to ward off any event. Every day he brought wheat from the countryside to the camp; the wood and bronze of the vessels which had suffered the most were used to repair the others, and he brought from the continent what was needed for these works. In this way, the soldiers employing themselves with the greatest ardor, Caesar arrived, with the loss of twelve ships, so that the others were in good condition to navigate.

32. In the meantime, as, according to custom, a legion - it was the seventh - had been sent to the wheat, and without anything hitherto having occurred which could give rise to fear of hostilities, a part of the Bretons remaining in the fields, others even frequenting our camp, the guards who were in front of the gates announced to Caesar that a cloud of dust of an unusual size could be seen on the side where the legion had gone. Caesar - and he was not mistaken - suspected some surprise from the Barbarians, he took with him, to go this way, the cohorts who were at the guard posts, and ordered that two of those who remained take over from them, while the others would arm themselves and follow him without delay. Having advanced some distance from the camp, he saw that his men were pressed by the enemy and defending themselves with difficulty. The legion formed a compact mass on which arrows rained down from all sides. As, indeed, the wheat had been cut everywhere, except in one place, the enemy, suspecting that we would come there, had hidden themselves at night in the woods; then, while our men were scattered, unarmed, and busy reaping, they had suddenly assaulted them, killed some, and disturbed the others who failed to form regularly; at the same time the cavalry and chariots had surrounded them.

33. This is how they fight from these tanks. They begin by running in all directions, drawing the fear inspired by their horses, and the crash of the wheels is generally enough to throw disorder into the ranks; then, having penetrated between the squadrons, they jump down from their tanks and fight on foot. However, the drivers gradually emerge from the melee and place their tanks in such a way that, if the combatants are pressed by numbers, they can easily fall back on them. They thus unite in combat the mobility of the horseman with the solidity of the infantryman; their training and their daily exercises allow them, when their horses are thrown at a gallop on a very steep slope, to hold them back, to be able to quickly take them in hand and turn them; they are also accustomed to run on the tiller, to stand firm on the yoke, and from there to get back into their chariots in an instant.

34. This unexpected tactic disturbed our soldiers, and Caesar came very timely to help them, for on his arrival the enemies stopped, and ours recovered. Having obtained this result, Caesar judged the occasion unfavorable to attack and give battle; he remained where he was, and, after a brief wait, brought his legions back to camp. While these events were unfolding, capturing the attention of all our troops, the Bretons who had remained in the countryside withdrew. There followed for several days an uninterrupted series of bad weather, which kept us in camp and prevented the enemy from attacking. During this interval, the Barbarians sent messengers from all sides, making it known how few we were, explaining what opportunity offered itself to make booty and to conquer independence forever, if the Romans were driven from their camp. This brought about the rapid concentration of large forces of infantry and cavalry, which marched towards our camp.

35. Caesar foresaw that what had happened before would happen: if the enemies were repulsed, the advantage of speed would enable them to escape us; nevertheless, disposing of about thirty cavalry, whom Commios the Atrebate, of whom we have spoken above, had taken with him, he ranged his legions in battle array in front of the camp. The fight began, and almost immediately the enemies yielded to our attack and fled. Our soldiers pursued them as far as they could run and their strength permitted, killed a large number of them, and then returned to the camp after burning all the houses over a wide area.

36. On the same day, deputies came to Caesar from the enemy to ask him for peace. Caesar doubled the number of hostages he had demanded and ordered that they be brought to him on the continent, for he did not wish, the equinox being near, to expose himself to the dangers of winter with ships in bad condition. state. Taking advantage of a favorable wind, he weighed anchor shortly after midnight; his fleet reached the continent intact; but two transport ships could not touch the same ports as the others, and were driven a little lower.

37. These ships disembarked about three hundred soldiers, who proceeded towards the Roman camp; but the Morins, whom Caesar, on leaving for Brittany, had left pacified, yielding to the lure of booty, surrounded them with a number of men at first inconsiderable, and invited them to lay down their arms, if they didn't want to be slaughtered. As the latter, having formed the circle, were defending themselves, they were not long in having around them some six thousand men, running up to shouts. When he heard of this, Caesar sent all the cavalry that was in the camp to the aid of his people. During this time, ours stood up to the attack: for more than four hours, they fought with great courage and killed many opponents while having only a few wounded. When our cavalry appeared, the enemies threw down their arms and fled: a great massacre was made.

38. Caesar, the next day, sent his legate Titus Labienus, with the legions he had brought back from Brittany, to the Morins who had revolted. These, the marshes being dry, could not take refuge there as they had done the previous year; they almost all fell into the hands of Labienus. On the other hand, the legates Quintus Titurius and Lucius Cotta, who had led the legions into the territory of the Menages, after ravaging all their fields, cutting their wheat, burning their houses, had to return to Caesar, because the Menapes had all hidden in very thick forests. Caesar wintered all his legions among the Belgians. There were only two cities in Brittany which sent their hostages there; the others neglected their promises. These campaigns ended, the Senate, following Caesar's report, decreed twenty days of thanksgiving.