The Gallic Wars is one of the earliest examples of a military science manual, detailing arms technology, tactical maneuvers, battlefield politics, espionage, intelligence and even the role played by luck in ground and sea campaigns.

The Gallic Wars

First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Caesar's Gallic Wars 58-50 BC

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Eight Books of Caesar's Gallic War

*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "Caesar, having stationed his army on both sides of the fortifications, in order that, if occasion should arise, each should hold and know his own post, orders the cavalry to issue forth from the camp and commence action. There was a commanding view from the entire camp, which occupied a ridge of hills; and the minds of all the soldiers anxiously awaited the issue of the battle. The Gauls had scattered archers and light-armed infantry here and there, among their cavalry, to give relief to their retreating troops, and sustain the impetuosity of our cavalry." - Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico The Roman Republic's development from a city state into a world power that controlled large swathes of modern Italy, Gaul and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe is seen by many as being the direct result of Roman fear of the "Celtic Threat." The sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 386 BCE became indelibly imprinted into the Roman psyche, and with this fear came a desire to put as much distance as possible between the city of Rome and any potential enemy. The result was the gradual acquisition of buffer zones that became provinces of an empire that grew without any particular thought out or deliberate strategy of expansion. The Gallic Wars, the series of campaigns waged by Julius Caesar on behalf of the Roman Senate between 58-50 BCE, were among the defining conflicts of the Roman era. Not only was the expansion of the Republic's domains unprecedented (especially when considering it was undertaken under the auspices of a single general), it had a profound cultural impact on Rome itself as well. The Roman Republic, so dynamic in the wake of the destruction of their ancient enemy, Carthage, had recently suffered a series of dramatic upheavals; from the great slave rebellion of Spartacus to the brutal and bloody struggle for power of Marius and Sulla. Rome had been shaken to its very core, and a victory was essential both to replenish the dwindling national coffers and to instill in the people a sense of civic pride and a certainty in the supremacy of the Republic. Quite simply, in terms of scale, the Gallic Wars were unmatched by anything the Roman Republic had witnessed since the Punic Wars. By the end of the campaigns, ancient historians estimated that more than a million people had died, and still more were displaced or enslaved. Even by the more conservative estimates of modern historians, a casualty count in the hundreds of thousands appears possible. Either way, the war was a cataclysm, involving tens of thousands of combatants, and it also marked the greatest displays of skill by one of the greatest battlefield generals history has ever known. Caesar's successful campaigns in Gaul have become the stuff of military legend on their merits, but it helped that he had the foresight to document them himself. Caesar himself wrote a famous firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, apparently from notes he had kept during the campaigns, and he wrote Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War) in the third person. Caesar's account described the campaigning and the battles, all as part of a propaganda campaign to win the approval of the Roman people. As a result, he left out inconvenient facts, including how much of a fortune he made plundering, but the work still remains popular today, and it is still used to teach Latin. Gaul and the Roman Republic: The History of Gaul Before the Rise of Rome looks at Gaul and Caesar's famous conquest. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Gaul and the Roman Republic like never before.

Gaul and the Roman Republic

An ancient historian vividly reconstructs—and persuasively reassesses—the Roman Empire’s most significant victory of the Gallic Wars. In 52 B.C., Julius Caesar pulled off one of the great feats of Roman arms in what is now Burgundy, France. His heavily outnumbered army utterly defeated the combined forces of the Gallic tribes led by Vercingetorix and completed the Roman conquest of Gaul. The Alesia campaign, and the epic siege in which it culminated, was one of Caesar’s finest military achievements, and it has fascinated historians ever since. In Caesar’s Gallic Triumph, Peter Inker reconstructs the battle in graphic detail, combining ancient and modern sources and evidence derived from archaeological research. He questions common assumptions about the campaign, reassesses Caesar's own account of events, and looks again at aspects of the battle that have been debated or misunderstood. His gripping account gives new insight into Caesar the commander and into the Roman army he commanded.

Caesar's Gallic Triumph

The famous Kelsey edition; complete Latin text of the Commentaries, with Intros. notes, grammar, vocabularies, maps & figs.W/ Hirtius text.

Caesar's Commentaries. the Complete Gallic Wars. Revised.

Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great were two of the greatest generals Rome had ever produced. Together they had brought vast stretches of territory under Roman dominion. In 49 BC they turned against each other and plunged Rome into civil war. Legion was pitched against legion in a vicious battle for political domination of the vast Roman world. Based on original sources, Adrian Goldsworthy provides a gripping account of this desperate power struggle. The armies were evenly matched but in the end Caesar's genius as a commander and his great good luck brought him victory in 45 BC.

Caesar's Civil War

In the manner of many Roman generals, Caesar would write his domestic political ambitions in the blood and treasure of foreign lands. His governorship of Cisalpine Gaul gave him the opportunity to demonstrate the greatness of his character to the people of Rome through the subjugation of those outside Rome's borders. The fact that the main account of the subsequent wars in Gaul was written by Caesar himself – by far the most detailed history of the subject, with new reports issued annually for the eager audience at home –is no accident. The Roman Army of the late Republic had long been in the process of structural and change, moving towards the all-volunteer permanent standing force that would for centuries be the bulwark of the coming Empire. Well-armed and armoured, this professional army was trained to operate within self-supporting legions, with auxiliaries employed in roles the legions lacked such as light troops or cavalry. The Roman legions were in many ways a modern force, with formations designed around tactical goals and held together by discipline, training and common purpose. The armies fielded by the tribes of Gaul were for the most part lightly armed and armoured, with fine cavalry and a well-deserved reputation for ferocity. As might be expected from a region made up of different tribes with a range of needs and interests, there was no consensus on how to make war, though when large armies were gathered it was usually with the express purpose of bringing the enemy to heel in a pitched battle. For most Gauls – and certainly the military elites of the tribes – battle was an opportunity to prove their personal courage and skill, raising their status in the eyes of friends and foes alike. Fully illustrated, this study investigates the Roman and Gallic forces pitched into combat in three battles: Bibracte (58 BC), Sabis (57 BC) and Gergovia/Alesia (52 BC). Although charismatic Gallic leaders did rise up – notably Dumnorix of the Aedui and later Vercingetorix of the Arverni – and proved to be men capable of bringing together forces that had the prospect of checking Caesar's ambitions in the bloodiest of ways, it would not be enough. For Caesar his war against the Gauls provided him with enormous power and the springboard he needed to make Rome his own, though his many domestic enemies would ensure that he did not long enjoy his success.

Roman Legionary vs Gallic Warrior

The Roman centurion, holding the legionaries steady before the barbarian horde and then leading them forward to victory, was the heroic exemplar of the Roman world. This was thanks to the Marian reforms, which saw the centurion, although inferior in military rank and social class, superseding the tribune as the legion's most important officer. This period of reform in the Roman Army is often overlooked, but the invincible armies that Julius Caesar led into Gaul were the refined products of 50 years of military reforms. Using specially commissioned artwork and detailed battle reports, this new study examines the Roman legionary soldier at this crucial time in the history of the Roman Republic from its domination by Marius and Sulla to the beginning of the rise of Julius Caesar.

Roman Legionary 109–58 BC

In the 1st century BC, Strabo wrote of the Celts: 'The whole race... is madly fond of war, high-spirited and quick to battle... and on whatever pretext you stir them up, you will have them ready to face danger, even if they have nothing on their side but their own strength and courage'. This book gives an insight into the life of the Celtic warrior, and his experience of battle – on foot, on horseback, and as a charioteer. It also details Celtic society and studies the vital ritual nature of Celtic warfare, from the naked gaesatae to the woad-painted warriors.

Celtic Warrior

The period 31 BC-AD 43 saw the greatest expansion of the Roman Empire. In 31 BC Octavian defeated Antony at the battle of Actium and remodelled the semi-professional Roman army into a permanent force of 28 legions. Octavian became the first emperor (Augustus) and under his leadership the legions conquered northern Spain, all Europe south of the Danube line and Germany west of the Elbe. The legionaries exemplified the heroic culture of the Roman world and this title takes a behind-the-scenes look at their lives, training, weaponry and tactics, including the bloody massacre of the Teutoberg forest.

Roman Legionary 58 BC–AD 69

A detailed glimpse into the weapons, equipment and uniforms worn by Roman Centurions from the Roman Kingdom right through to the height of the Republic. Including new research, photographs of artefacts and the signature Men-at-Arms artwork, this is an essential addition to the series and includes several artwork reconstructions of actual named individuals and two lavish scenes depicting combat between Centurions and a Triumphal procession.

Roman Centurions 753–31 BC

In 390 BC, a Gallic army marched on Rome. A confident Roman army of about 15,000 men that was sent to bar the way, was destroyed. Three days after the Battle of Allia, the Gauls entered Rome, much of which they burned, and demanded a huge bounty of gold to leave the city. During the weighing procedure, Brennus, the Gallic leader, is said to have thrown his sword on to the scales with the words 'Vae victis' - 'Woe to the defeated'. A sentiment the Gauls were soon to experience first hand. This fascinating work by Peter Wilcox explores the history, dress and equipment of Rome's Celtic enemies.

Rome's Enemies (2)

Although the common Roman fighting men themselves have left no account, much literature has survived from antiquity. The wealth of archaeological finds, plus the study of surviving Roman scultpure has allowed hisorians to learn much about the nature of the Roman army which conquered an astonishing expanse of territory. Michael Simkins brings all his substantial knowledge to bear on this fascinating subject, covering such topics as army composition, recruitment, training, campaign routine and providing a wealth of detail on weapons, uniforms and equipment.

The Roman Army from Caesar to Trajan

Gaius Julius Caesar remains the most famous Roman general of all time. Although he never bore the title, historians since Suetonius have judged him to be, in practice, the very first 'emperor' – after all, no other name in history has been synonymous with a title of imperial rule. Caesar was a towering personality who, for better or worse, changed the history of Rome forever. His unscrupulous ambition was matched only by his genius as a commander and his conquest of Gaul brought Rome its first great territorial expansion outside the Mediterranean world. His charismatic leadership bounded his soldiers to him not only for expeditions 'beyond the edge of the world' – to Britain – but in the subsequent civil war that raised him to ultimate power. What is seldom appreciated, however is that the army he led was as varied and cosmopolitan as those of later centuries, and it is only recently that a wider study of a whole range of evidence has allowed a more precise picture of it to emerge. Drawing on a wide range of new research, the authors examine the armies of Julius Caesar in detail, creating a detailed picture of how they lived and fought.

Armies of Julius Caesar 58–44 BC

In 52 BC Caesar's continued strategy of annihilation had engendered a spirit of desperation, which detonated into a revolt of Gallic tribes under the leadership of the charismatic young Arvernian noble Vercingetorix. Major engagements were fought at Noviodunum, Avaricum, and Gergovia, with the last action being the most serious reverse that Caesar faced in the whole of the Gallic War. However, Vercingetorix soon realized that he was unable to match the Romans in pitched battle. Taking advantage of the tribesmen's superior knowledge of their home territory, Vercingetorix began a canny policy of small war and defensive manoeuvres, which gravely hampered Caesar's movements by cutting off his supplies. For Caesar it was to be a grim summertime – his whole Gallic enterprise faced disaster. In the event, by brilliant leadership, force of arms, and occasionally sheer luck, Caesar succeeded in stamping out the revolt in a long and brutal action culminating in the siege of Alesia. Vercingetorix finally surrendered and Alesia was to be the last significant resistance to the Roman will. Never again would a Gallic warlord independent of Rome hold sway over the Celts of Gaul.

Alesia 52 BC

A look at the military might of these ancient warriors who sacked Rome and conquered much of Europe. Although comprised of many distinct tribes and groupings, the Celts shared a distinctive culture that dominated much of Europe for centuries, and enjoyed a formidable reputation as fierce and brave warriors, skilled horsemen, and fine metalworkers. In 390 BC, an alliance of Celtic tribes defeated a Roman army at the River Allia and went on to sack Rome and thenceforth the Romans lived under their threat. In the early third century BC, a Celtic army swept into Macedonia and Greece, won a major victory at Thermopylai, and ransacked the sacred sanctuary at Delphi. Such was their warlike prowess that, when not fighting their own wars, they were sought after as mercenaries by many armies, serving as far afield as southern Egypt. When the Romans invaded Gaul—modern-day France and Belgium—and the British Isles, Celtic armies resisted them fiercely. In this book, Gabriele Esposito studies this fascinating warrior culture, their armies, strategy, tactics, and equipment—they invented the horned saddle and chainmail, and British armies were the last in Europe to use chariots on the battlefield. Also included are dozens of color photographs of reenactors to help bring these magnificent warriors back to life.

Armies of Celtic Europe, 700 BC–AD 106

The Gallic Wars, a pivotal conflict in ancient history, took place between 58 and 50 BCE when Julius Caesar, the renowned Roman general and statesman, led his legions in a successful campaign to conquer the Celtic tribes of Gaul (modern-day France and parts of neighboring regions). This historical saga, chronicled in Caesar's own writings, serves as a vital source for understanding Roman military strategy, diplomacy, and governance. Caesar's astute leadership and triumph over the Gallic tribes significantly expanded Roman territory and power, shaping the course of Western civilization. The Gallic Wars, with their strategic brilliance and enduring impact, remain a timeless testament to the convergence of military prowess and historical legacy in the annals of antiquity.

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