In general, the first stage of the war was in favor of the Cæsarians; Sicily had been abandoned by Cato, and the only dark spot on the record was the decisive defeat in Africa of Curio, who had unwisely attacked the Pompeians near Utica while they were being aided by a Numidian king. On the way to Rome Cæsar had to handle a case of mutiny in one of the legions, the ninth. The soldiers complained of the strict discipline under which they were kept, as no plundering was allowed. A signal example was made of them, for the whole legion was disbanded and the men only taken back on condition that they gave up their ringleaders. Of these one in ten were taken by lot and executed.
During his residence in Rome, in the interval between the first and second stages of the war, Cæsar was returned as Consul for the coming year (48), after serving a few days in the extraordinary capacity of Dictator. Some new legislation was passed, extending the franchise to provincial populations, and an effort was made to relieve the financial situation produced by the civil war. Money was scarce, interest was high, there being, owing to the general uncertainty, a good deal of hoarding of specie; but nothing was done to encourage the wild rumors of a revolution after the Catiline model, under which there would be a general cancellation of debts. Practically the whole administration of civil affairs was in the conqueror’s hands. Only a few senators were left, most of them having fled to Pompeius’ camp in Greece, where their presence was a considerable annoyance to their leader, who found in them inveterate critics and grumblers, anxious to give advice on military matters of which they were supremely ignorant.
Cæsar’s undivided authority was useful to him; before he left Italy he had his consular powers enlarged and the city could be left without fear, as his own partisans were in control. Cæsar’s Spanish victory had given him, on land, decided superiority over his opponents. He had now, in addition to the eleven old legions, seventeen new ones, mostly composed of Pompeian troops, who had transferred their allegiance as the fortune of war had changed. Two had been lost in the disaster in Africa under Curio. About half of his whole strength, twelve legions and 1000 horse, he collected together at Brundisium, intending to sail from that port and meet Pompeius’ army in Epirus. The rest of his forces were scattered about in Italy, Sicily, Gaul, and Spain.
To oppose to the Cæsarian main army, the senatorial party had only eleven legions; two of them had originally served under Cæsar, the rest were recruited in the East or were old units filled out by fresh additional soldiers. Pompeius’ chief hope, after the defeat of his army in Spain, lay in the possession of a superior sea power. In this respect he had decidedly the advantage, for besides the Roman fleet there were the ships of the dependent Eastern states, while Cæsar’s ships in the Adriatic had been either captured or destroyed. Cæsar had, it is true, ordered new ones, but he had no seagoing population to draw from, to secure sailors. Marseilles, it will be remembered, had taken sides with Pompeius and had only been captured with difficulty.
When Cæsar reached Brundisium, he found there were not enough ships there to transport his army to the Greek coast. He adopted, however, the bold plan of using what transports there were, and so, taking advantage of a favorable wind, carried half his available force, seven legions and a corps of cavalry, to the other side. The whole operation took only from twelve to fifteen hours. Pompeius had not brought his land force to the coast of Epirus, and his fleet, as it was the winter season, had not counted on Cæsar’s making the passage at that time. Yet when Cæsar landed, the situation was anything but favorable for him; Pompeius’ army had reached the principal harbor of Epirus, Dyrrhachium, and his fleet had destroyed part of the transports and was keeping vigilant watch to intercept the rest, if they attempted to leave Brundisium with the legions which remained there. Cæsar was cut off from his base, but Pompeius dared not attack him, though his army was numerically superior. The two armies faced one another in inaction, Pompeius waiting for reinforcements, and Cæsar hoping that there would be a chance for the rest of his army to join him, although the way through Illyria was impracticable, the country being mountainous and the population of uncertain loyalty.
On the other hand, the attempt of the Pompeian fleet to blockade Brundisium failed. After waiting two months, Marcus Antonius succeeded in making the passage, at a time when weather conditions made it impossible for the enemy’s ships to interfere with the landing. With this accession of strength, four legions and additional cavalry, Cæsar’s force was now superior to that of his opponent; but Pompeius was strongly intrenched on the shore, close to a city well supplied with provisions, and by means of his fleet, in communication with the rest of the world.
The problem of supplies on Cæsar’s side was a difficult one, since the neighboring country was nearly exhausted. It was probably this reason which induced him to divide his force by sending some three and a half legions into the interior of the country, partly to intercept a Pompeian relieving army under Scipio, and partly to operate in Greece itself with a view of winning adherents for his cause. With the remainder he proceeded to inclose Pompeius’ camp, not so much to force a capitulation, which seemed hopeless because at any time they wished the Pompeian fleet could carry the army away, as to produce a moral effect on the Pompeians, who would be dispirited everywhere, when they learned that their leader was not acting on the offensive.
The siege operations proved calamitous; Cæsar’s veterans suffered a severe defeat, and in some places the lines of the inclosing fortifications were destroyed. The other side, elated by victory, were now prepared for a decisive battle. This hazard Cæsar declined to take; instead of this he gave his troops time enough to recover from the effects of their defeat and then moved off from the coast, taking the road to Thessaly in order there to join the other detachments of his army, who were occupied in trying to force Scipio to an engagement.
He was soon followed by Pompeius, and the great pitched battle of the year took place on the plains of Thessaly. The two sides were far from being evenly matched; probably Pompeius had 40,000 legionaries and 3000 cavalry, while under Cæsar there were 30,000 legionaries and 2000 horse. When the armies came in sight of one another, there was some preliminary manœuvering to get the advantage of a favorable position, but finally Pompeius advanced some distance from his camp on level ground, and Cæsar, who was about to march away rather than attack under unfavorable conditions, decided to give battle. Pompeius’ right wing rested near a brook with precipitous sides. Relying on this to protect his flanks, he placed the light-armed infantry and the cavalry, under the command of Labienus, on the left wing with directions to make a vigorous onslaught on the troops opposed to them. If the enemy gave way, they were then to attack the legionaries on the sides and rear; in the meantime, Pompeius’ own legions were ordered not to advance but to await, where they were, the attack from the other side. It was hoped that Cæsar’s men would be in confusion before the hand-to-hand conflict began, as the distance they would have to traverse was greater than was usual in the battles of this period.
Probably all of Cæsar’s cavalry were disposed in such a way that they faced the opposing cavalry. In order to compensate for his inferiority of numbers in this arm, he had trained some of his best legionaries to fight interspersed with the cavalry, after the practice among the Germans. The cavalry were separated, too, by a division of 3000 men, and behind his whole order of battle there was a considerable reserve force. It was to be supposed that, even without the assistance of this last support, his seasoned veterans would withstand the enemy for a long time. This expectation was all the more likely to be realized, just because of Pompeius’ orders that his own infantry were to be held back from engagement and should maintain their own ground, while his cavalry were at work.