The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September, 52 BC, around
the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the
Mandubii tribe. It was fought by an army of the Roman Republic commanded by
Julius Caesar, aided by cavalry commanders Mark Antony, Titus Labienus
and Gaius Trebonius, against a confederation of Gallic tribes united
under the leadership of Vercingetorix of the Arverni. It was the last major
engagement between Gauls and Romans, marking the turning point of the Gallic
Wars in favour of Rome. The Siege of Alesia is considered one of Caesar's
greatest military achievements and a classic example of siege warfare and
investment. The battle of Alesia can safely be described as marking the end
of Celtic dominance in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy.
The battle site was probably atop Mont Auxois, above modern Alise-Sainte-Reine
in France, but this location, some have argued, does not fit Caesar's
description of the battle. A number of alternatives have been proposed over
time, among which only Chaux-des-Crotenay remains a challenger
today. At one point in the battle the Romans
were outnumbered by the Gauls by four to one. The event is described by several
contemporary authors, including Caesar himself in his Commentarii de Bello
Gallico. After the Roman victory, Gaul was subdued and became a Roman province.
The Roman senate refused to allow Caesar the honour of a triumph for his victory
in the Gallic War, although it did grant a general thanksgiving of 20 days.
Prelude Julius Caesar had been in Gaul since 58
BC. At the end of their consular year it was customary for consuls, Rome's
highest elected officials, to be appointed proconsul by the Roman Senate
and assume governorship of one of Rome's provinces. Following his first
consulship in 59 BC, Caesar engineered his own appointment to Cisalpine Gaul,
and Transalpine Gaul. Although the proconsular term of office is normally
one year, Caesar was able to secure his post in Gaul for an unprecedented ten
years. With a proconsular Imperium, he had absolute authority within these
provinces and had defeated, through an initially unsuccessful campaign, the
Celtic tribes of Northern Italy. One by one Caesar defeated Gallic tribes
such as the Helvetii, the Belgae, and the Nervii, and secured a pledge of
alliance from many others. The ongoing success of the Gallic Wars brought an
enormous amount of wealth to the Republic in spoils of war and in new
lands to tax. Caesar himself became very rich since, as general, he benefited
from the sale of war prisoners. But success and fame also brought enemies.
The First Triumvirate, a political alliance with Pompey and Crassus, came
to an end in 54 BC, with the deaths of Julia in childbirth and Crassus in the
battle of Carrhae. Without this political connection with Pompey, men
dedicated to the Republic like Cato the Younger started a political campaign
against Caesar, arousing suspicion and accusing him of wanting to overthrow the
Republic and become King of Rome. In the winter of 54–53 BC, the
previously pacified Eburones, commanded by Ambiorix, rebelled against the Roman
occupation and destroyed the Fourteenth legion under the command of Quintus
Titurius Sabinus in a carefully planned ambush. This was a major blow to
Caesar's strategy for Gaul, since he had now lost about a quarter of his troops,
and the political situation in Rome deprived him from receiving
reinforcements. The Eburone rebellion was the first clear Roman defeat in Gaul
and inspired widespread national sentiments and revolution. It took
almost a year, but Caesar managed to regain control of Gaul and pacify the
tribes. However, the unrest in Gaul was not over. The Gallic tribes had realised
that only united could they achieve independence from Rome. A general
council was summoned at Bibracte through initiative of the Aedui, once Caesar's
loyal supporters. Only the Remi and the Lingones preferred to keep their
alliance with Rome. The council declared Vercingetorix, of the Arverni, commander
of the united Gallic armies. Caesar was then camped for the winter in
Cisalpine Gaul, unaware of the alliance made against him. The first sign of
trouble came from the Carnutes who killed all Roman settlers in the city of
Cenabum. This outbreak of violence was followed by the slaughtering of all
Roman citizens, merchants and settlers in the major Gallic cities. On hearing
this news, Caesar rallied his army in haste and crossed the Alps, still buried
in snow, into central Gaul. This was accomplished in record time and Caesar
was able to surprise the Gallic tribes. He split his forces, sending four
legions with Titus Labienus to fight the Senones and the Parisii in the North
while Caesar himself set out in pursuit of Vercingetorix with six legions and
his allied Germanic cavalry. The two armies met at the hill fort of Gergovia,
where Vercingetorix held a strong defensive position. Caesar was forced to
retreat to avoid utter defeat, after suffering heavy losses. In the summer of
52 BC, several engagements were fought between cavalries, with Caesar
succeeding in scattering the Gallic army. Vercingetorix decided that the
timing was not right to engage in a major pitched battle and regrouped in
the Mandubii fort of Alesia. Siege and battle
Alesia was a hill-top fort surrounded by river valleys, with strong defensive
features. As a frontal assault would have been hopeless, Caesar decided upon
a siege, hoping to force surrender by starvation. Considering that about
80,000 men were garrisoned in Alesia, together with the local civilian
population, this would not have taken long. To guarantee a perfect blockade,
Caesar ordered the construction of an encircling set of fortifications, called
a circumvallation, around Alesia. The details of this engineering work are
known from Caesar's Commentaries. About 18 kilometres of 4 metre high
fortifications were constructed in about three weeks. This line was followed
inwards by two four-and-a-half metre wide ditches, also four-and-a-half
metres deep. The one nearest to the fortification was filled with water from
the surrounding rivers. These fortifications were supplemented with
mantraps and deep holes in front of the ditches, and regularly spaced watch
towers equipped with Roman artillery. Vercingetorix's cavalry often raided the
construction works attempting to prevent full enclosure. The Roman auxiliary
cavalry proved its value and kept the raiders at bay. After about two weeks of
work, a detachment of Gallic cavalry managed to escape through an unfinished
section. Anticipating that a relief force would now be sent, Caesar ordered
the construction of a second line of fortifications, the contravallation,
facing outward and encircling his army between it and the first set of walls.
The second line was identical to the first in design and extended for 21
kilometres, including four cavalry camps. This set of fortifications would
protect the Roman army when the relief Gallic forces arrived: they were still
besiegers and now also preparing to be besieged.
At this time, the living conditions in Alesia were worsening. With 80,000
soldiers and the local population, too many people were crowded inside the
plateau competing for too little food. The Mandubii decided to expel the women
and children from the citadel, hoping to save food for the fighters and hoping
that Caesar would open a breach to let them go. This would also be an
opportunity for breaching the Roman lines. But Caesar issued orders that
nothing should be done for these civilians and the women and children
were left to starve in the no man's land between the city walls and the
circumvallation. The cruel fate of their kin added to the general loss of morale
inside the walls. Vercingetorix was fighting to keep spirits high, but faced
the threat of surrender by some of his men. However, the relief force arrived
in this desperate hour, strengthening the resolve of the besieged to resist
and fight another day. At the end of September the Gauls,
commanded by Commius, attempted to break in by attacking Caesar's contravallation
wall. Vercingetorix ordered a simultaneous attack from the inside.
None of the attempts were successful and by sunset the fighting had ended. On the
next day, the Gallic attack was under the cover of night. This time they met
with greater success and Caesar was forced to abandon some sections of his
fortification lines. Only the swift response of the cavalry commanded by
Antony and Gaius Trebonius saved the situation. The inner wall was also
attacked, but the presence of trenches, which Vercingetorix's men had to fill,
delayed them enough to prevent surprise. By this time, the condition of the Roman
army was also weak. Themselves besieged, food had started to be rationed and the
men were near physical exhaustion. On the next day, October 2,
Vercassivellaunus, a cousin of Vercingetorix, launched a massive attack
with 60,000 men, focusing on a weakness in the Roman fortifications which Caesar
had tried to hide, but had been discovered by the Gauls. The area in
question was a zone with natural obstructions where a continuous wall
could not be constructed. The attack was made in combination with Vercingetorix's
forces who pressed from every angle of the inner fortification. Caesar trusted
the discipline and courage of his men and sent out orders to simply hold the
lines. He personally rode throughout the perimeter cheering his legionaries.
Labienus' cavalry was sent to support the defense of the area where the
fortification breach was located. With pressure increasing, Caesar was forced
to counter-attack the inner offensive and managed to push back Vercingetorix's
men. By this time the section held by Labienus was on the verge of collapse.
Caesar decided on a desperate measure and took 13 cavalry cohorts to attack
the relief army of 60,000 from the rear. This action surprised both attackers and
defenders. Seeing their leader undergoing such risk, Labienus' men
redoubled their efforts and the Gauls soon panicked and tried to retreat. As
in other examples of ancient warfare, the disarrayed retreating army was easy
prey for the disciplined Roman pursuit. The retreating Gauls were slaughtered,
and Caesar in his Commentaries remarks that only the pure exhaustion of his men
saved the Gauls from complete annihilation.
In Alesia, Vercingetorix witnessed the defeat of his relief force. Facing both
starvation and low morale, he was forced to surrender without a final fight. On
the next day, the Gallic leader presented his arms to Julius Caesar,
putting an end to the siege of Alesia. Aftermath
Alesia proved to be the end of generalized and organized resistance to
the Roman invasion of Gaul, marking the definitive conquest of the Continental
Celtic people by the Roman Republic. After Alesia, Continental Gaul was
subdued, becoming a Roman province, and was eventually subdivided into several
smaller administrative divisions. Not until the third century would another
independence movement occur. The garrison of Alesia was taken prisoner as
well as the survivors of the relief army. They were either sold into slavery
or given as booty to Caesar's legionaries, except for the members of
the Aedui and Arverni tribes, which were released and pardoned to secure the
alliance of these important tribes to Rome.
For Caesar, Alesia was an enormous personal success, both militarily and
politically. The senate declared 20 days of thanksgiving for this victory, but
refused Caesar the honour of celebrating a triumphal parade, the peak of any
general's career. Political tension increased, and two years later, in 50
BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon, which precipitated the Roman Civil War of
49–45 BC, which he won. After having been elected consul, for each of the
years of the war, and appointed to several temporary dictatorships, he was
finally made dictator perpetuus, by the Roman Senate in 44 BC. His ever
increasing personal power and honours undermined the tradition-bound
republican foundations of Rome, and led to the end of the Roman Republic and the
beginning of the Roman Empire. Caesar's cavalry commanders followed
different paths. Labienus sided with the Optimates, the conservative aristocratic
faction in the civil war, and was killed at the Battle of Munda in 45 BC.
Trebonius, one of Caesar's most trusted lieutenants, was appointed consul by
Caesar in 45 BC, and was one of the senators involved in Caesar's
assassination on the Ides of March, 44 BC. He was himself murdered a year
later. Antony continued to be a faithful supporter of Caesar. He was made
Caesar's second in command, as Master of the Horse, and was left in charge in
Italy during much of the civil war. In 44 BC he was elected as Caesar's
consular colleague. After Caesar's murder, Antony pursued Caesar's
assassins and vied for supreme power with Octavian, first forming an alliance
with Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in the Second Triumvirate, then
being defeated by him at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Along with his ally and
lover, queen Cleopatra, he fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide the
following year. Vercingetorix was taken prisoner and
languished in prison for the next five years while waiting to be exhibited at
Caesar's triumph. As was traditional for such captured and paraded enemy leaders,
at the end of the triumphal procession, he was taken to the Tullianum where he
was said to have been strangled, although he was most likely executed in
a Roman dungeon. Importance
Paul K. Davis writes that "Caesar’s victory over the combined Gallic forces
established Roman dominance in Gaul for the next 500 years. Caesar’s victory
also created a rivalry with the Roman government, leading to his invasion of
the Italian peninsula." Identification of the site
For many years, the actual location of the battle was unknown. Competing
theories focused first on two towns, Alaise in the Franche-Comté and
Alise-Sainte-Reine in the Côte-d'Or. Emperor Napoleon III of France supported
the latter candidate, and, during the 1860s, funded archaeological research
that uncovered the evidence to support the existence of Roman camps in the
area. He then dedicated a statue to Vercingetorix in the recently discovered
ruins. Uncertainty has nevertheless persisted,
with questions being raised about the validity of Alise-Sainte-Reine's claim.
For example, the site is said to be too small to accommodate even revised
estimates of 80,000 men with the Gallic infantry, along with cavalry and
additional personnel. It is also alleged that the topography of the area does not
fit with Caesar's description. In the 1960s, a French archaeologist, Andre
Berthier, argued that the hill top was too low to have required a siege, and
that the "rivers" were actually small streams.
Berthier proposed that the location of the battle was at Chaux-des-Crotenay at
the gate of the Jura mountains – a place that better suits the descriptions in
Caesar's Gallic Wars. Roman fortifications have been found at this
site. Danielle Porte, a Sorbonne professor, continues to challenge the
identification of Alise-Sainte-Reine as the battle site, but the director of the
Alesia museum, Laurent de Froberville, maintains that scientific evidence
supports this identification. Classical historian and archaeologist Colin Wells
took the view that the excavations at Alise-Sainte-Reine in the 1990s should
have removed all possible doubt about the site and regarded some of the
advocacy of alternative locations as "...passionate nonsense".
Numbers involved Precise figures for the size of the
armies involved, and the number of casualties suffered, are difficult to
know. Such figures have always been a powerful propaganda weapon, and are thus
suspect. Caesar, in his De Bello Gallico, refers to a Gallic relief force
of a quarter of a million, probably an exaggeration to enhance his victory.
Unfortunately, the only records of the events are Roman and therefore
presumably biased. Modern historians usually believe that a number between
80,000–100,000 men is more credible. The only known fact is that each man in
Caesar's legions received a Gaul as a slave, which means at least 40,000
prisoners, mostly from the besieged garrison. The relief force probably
suffered heavy losses, like many other armies who lost battle order and
retreated under the weapons of the Roman cavalry.
References ^ Allen, Stephen Lords of battle: the
world of the Celtic warrior pg.169. ^ 'http:www.unrv.comsiege-of-alesia.php
^ "Alésia Mandubiorum l'Hypothèse jurassienne". Retrieved May 9, 2011.
^ Julius Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico. Book VII, XC.
^ "...duas fossas quindecim pedes latas, eadem altitudine perduxit..."
Commentarii de Bello Gallico. Book VII, LXXII.
^ Paul K. Davis, 100 Decisive Battles from Ancient Times to the Present: The
World’s Major Battles and How They Shaped History, 56.
^ Hugh Schofield, France's ancient Alesia dispute rumbles on, BBC News, 27
August 2012. ^ Alesia and Kalkriese compared and
contrasted J.F.C. Fuller, Julius Caesar: Man,
Soldier, and Tyrant, Da Capo Press, 1991, ISBN 0-306-80422-0
Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, Harvard University Press.
ISBN 0-674-99080-3 Available online, e.g.: English
translation by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn
Adrian Goldsworthy, Roman Warfare, New York: Collins/Smithonian, 2005
Account of the battle and surrounding events
Livius.org account of the battle External links
official web site of Alesia In the footsteps of Caesar and
Vercingetorix Siege of Alesia animated battle map by
Jonathan Webb Video: Exact location of Alesia at
Alise-Sainte-Reine Photo: Gaulish inscription, which shows
the Gaulish spelling of Alésia: "ALISIIA", found at the "Forum" in
Alise-Sainte-Reine, 1st century B.C., 50 X 34 cm
Julius Caesar: The siege of Alesia