Caesar's Germanic allies, the Ubii, punished the Suevi on his behalf for aiding the Treviri against Labienus, and for just being a general source of trouble. In a few short weeks, the land of the Eburones was decimated, though Ambiorix escaped Caesar's grasp. In the summer of 53 BC, Caesar once again bridged the Rhine to pursue Ambiorix and the Eburones. Labienus soundly defeated this opposition, bringing northeastern Gaul under Roman dominion once again, and Caesar was able to focus his attention on the source of many Gallic disruptions, the Rhine. Winning victory easily, Caesar reinforced Labienus in facing the Treviri and their Germanic allies whom had been crossing the Rhine. He secured a headquarters in central Gaul at Lutetia and marched against the Senones, Carnutes and Menapii.
#CAESAR CUT FULL#
Regardless, Caesar now had ten full legions under his command, and he would begin to put them to use as early as March.Ĭaesar first punished the Nervii for their involvement in the revolt and identified other opposing tribes as the Senones, Carnutes, Treviri, Eburones and Menapii. Clearly Pompey and Caesar hadn't completely fallen out yet, but this could have been done to force Caesar into Pompey's debt. Word of Caesar's victory, and the killing of the Treveri leader Indutiomarus in a Roman raid led by Labienus relieved the pressure, but the situation remained unclear for the entire winter of 54 to 53 BC.Īt the offset of 53 BC, Caesar trained two new legions and borrowed a third from Pompey. At the camp of Labienus, he was under constant pressure from Eburones, Nervii and Treveri cavalry. Nine in every ten men under Cicero's command had been reported as wounded, and Caesar procured them with great military honors for their service.Ĭaesar and Cicero moved to Samarobriva in December to finally settle in to winter quarters. Caesar, with a much smaller force of some 7,000 men was able to defeat the poorly equipped and trained Gallic mob, but found Cicero and his men near utter disaster.
They next moved on the camp of Quintus Cicero, brother of the great orator, and laid siege. The Gauls and Ambiorix found it easy to recruit after this victory, and their army swelled to as many as 60,000 warriors. Only a few scattered remains of the army were able to escape to the camp of Labienus some distance away, and if not for these men, the story of the lost cohorts may have been a complete mystery. 15 cohorts were slaughtered, totaling nearly 7,200 men or just under a quarter of Caesar's total force.
The battle, conducted by Ambiorix, was a prolonged affair in which the Romans fought valiantly to nearly the last man. One camp in particular, that of Cotta and Sabinus, was sent to cover the Rhine area in the territory of the Eburones.Ī surprise ambush dealt Caesar's legions its first major defeat and opened the door for widespread revolution. Legions were scattered throughout Gaul for the winter camps, to not only quell trouble, but to spread the burden of supply throughout the province. With the Gallic revolt on the horizon, and the recent tragic news, 54 BC was shaping into a terrible year for Caesar.įor now though, despite his personal and political losses, Caesar had to deal with revolts in Gaul and renewed trouble with Germanic tribes. Shortly after word of Julia's death, Caesar also received the news of the death of his mother Aurelia. With the death of Crassus at Carrhae two years later, the coming civil war seemed inevitable.
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