The world's leading conquerors

by Wilson Lloyd Bevan

It was not possible for Cæsar to direct these operations in person, for affairs in Rome demanded his presence on the southern side of the Alps. Clodius had mismanaged the affairs of the democratic party in Rome, had proved headstrong, had alienated Pompeius, and had been unable to prevent the return of Cicero from exile. The cause of the senatorial oligarchy was progressing, and a danger point was reached when Crassus drew away from Pompeius, of whose popularity he was jealous, and when Pompeius himself felt that his talents and his position as conqueror of the East were not being sufficiently recognized. Cato, too, was returning from Cyprus, and could be relied upon to give the triumvirs trouble in his rôle of professional obstructionist.

As there was talk already in Rome of the recalling of Cæsar, a consultation between the triumvirs was imperatively needed. Lucca in Tuscany was selected for the place of meeting, which took place in April, 56. A great crowd of officials, magistrates, and senators were present to receive orders from the triumvirs or to hear particulars of the conference. Cæsar by his diplomacy managed to remove the causes of estrangement between Crassus and Pompeius, and the details of a common policy were arranged. By the conference at Lucca, through the adroit manipulation of Cæsar, the old combination that had begun to work haltingly, owing to the estrangement between Crassus and Pompeius, and also to their common lack of political acumen, was re-established and its details settled.

The main thing was to muzzle the Senate; with this done, it would be safe for Pompeius and Crassus to carry out their plans for securing an important province each, together with a military command for a long term of years. The arrangement was that the other two triumvirs (Cæsar of course returning to finish the subjugation of Gaul) should be Consuls in 55; and after their year of magistracy was finished, Pompeius was to have the two provinces in Spain, and Crassus was to go to the East, where there would be a chance of achieving military distinction in a war with the Parthians. In the local affairs of Rome care was taken that Clodius should be kept from continuing his line of irresponsible action, and Cicero was drawn into the sphere of Cæsar’s influence by his brother being given a subordinate military command in Gaul.

Cæsar, when the conference was over, soon returned to the front, to deal with the Veneti in such an effective way that by their example the Gallic tribes might be taught the risks of braving the power of Rome. Divisions of the army were sent to various points of Gaul, where it seemed likely there might be sympathetic uprisings of the populations in favor of the national movement, led by the tribes about the Loire. The Veneti had against them Cæsar himself, and the problem of their subjugation offered some novel difficulties. Their fortified places were usually on headlands; sometimes inaccessible from the mainland except by ship. The country was cut up by many estuaries, and the Veneti, who were practised sailors, showed great mobility in their movements. They withdrew from one post to another, easily cutting themselves off from attack as the Romans, who were not familiar with the country, advanced to meet them with the hope of forcing a decisive engagement. Their power could be destroyed only in a naval battle, and it required both patience and ingenuity on Cæsar’s part before his men could be trained to meet the enemy in their own waters, or even before a fleet could be built suitable to overcome the special difficulties of navigation on the shores of the Bay of Biscay, so unlike the conditions in the Mediterranean. The fleet of the Veneti was finally destroyed; their ships were rendered helpless when the men on the Roman fleet cut their rigging with long poles having at the end sharp hooked knives, and boarding parties disposed of the warriors on the decks. Many of the brave tribe were put to death when they submitted, and the rest were sold as slaves.

In the meantime the operations of the subordinate commanders had been successful, and conspicuous results had been reached in Aquitaine, where the younger Crassus had brought all the tribes to accept Roman sovereignty. Indeed the only failure to be registered this year was Cæsar’s own expedition in the far northern part of Gaul between the Somme and the Rhine, the dwelling place of the Morini and the Menapii. These tribes took refuge in their forests and could not be dislodged, and even some incidental defeats failed to break their obstinacy.

The new year, as it opened, with news of a German invasion on a large scale, brought fresh anxieties to the commander. It was told him that warlike tribes living in and about the Thuringian forest were on the move towards the west, and that others had even crossed the Rhine, dispersing the Gallic tribes in their progress. In Gaul there was a disposition in some quarters to welcome them as deliverers; already some of the Gallic tribes were in communication with them on a friendly basis. (55 B.C.)

Cæsar marched to meet the Germans, and in a conference with their leaders told them they must leave Gallic territory, at the same time offering to make an arrangement by which they could receive land on the right bank of the Rhine. They seemed disposed to accept these terms, but soon hostilities were precipitated because, while the terms were being discussed, the Germans attacked some of the Gallic cavalry attached to Cæsar’s army. The Romans moved suddenly, and according to Cæsar’s own account, butchered in cold blood men, women, and children to the number of 430,000, a hearsay number of course, but there is no reason for doubting that there was a massacre. No Roman was killed and few were wounded. Even in Rome, notoriously insensible to deeds of blood, this wholesale butchery caused disgust. Cato proposed that Cæsar should be given up to the barbarians as an act of justice. But the Senate contented itself with decreeing honors for the victory, although it was proposed, but not carried, that the operations in Gaul should be investigated by a commission.

To finish up the moral effect made on the Germans by the massacre of their kinsmen, Cæsar built a trestle across the Rhine, transported his army into German territory, and for a short time his soldiers were employed in laying waste the country contiguous to the river. He had no intention of penetrating to the interior of the country, and soon returned to Gaul, after destroying the bridge he had built.

This year’s campaign had been marked by daring adventures; it was to have a spectacular close in the expedition to Britain, an island known in a general way to traders from Gaul, but never yet visited by a Roman official or by a Roman army. Cæsar affected to believe that resistance to Roman rule in Gaul was being supported from Britain. In any case a protectorate of the island seemed to offer great material advantages, for exaggerated reports were in circulation as to its wealth and fertility. The expedition was only a partial success. A few tribes made their submission, but the troops had to be hastily withdrawn, because Cæsar desired to be back on the mainland before the equinoctials set in, as the fleet had already severely suffered in a storm.

In the winter preparations were made on a large scale for a second crossing, a large body of transports being prepared and collected at Portus Itius (perhaps Wissant, near Cape Grinez). The troops in the meantime were carefully trained in handling newly constructed vessels specially planned for the waters of the narrow seas. During the winter the periodic signs of disaffection among the Gauls were again plainly visible, this time the Treviri were intriguing with the Germans. An advance in force from Cæsar was needed to put a check to the rising hopes of the anti-Roman party, whose chief, Indutiomar, was forced to give hostages for his good behavior. Much discontent was caused by the necessity of sending contingents to the army; besides, the legions were a burden on the food supplies of the land. The feeling against foreign control grew so strong that Cæsar determined to take some of the Gallic chiefs with him to Britain, to keep them under personal observation. Dumnorix, the Æduan, tried to secure common action among all and to induce the other chiefs not to embark. Only Dumnorix, however, withdrew when the fleet was about to sail. A party was sent back to pursue him. When he resisted, he was slain.