While Caesar had been busy fighting the Helvetii at the battle of Bibracte, elsewhere in Gaul
a new threat had emerged: the Suebi, a fiercely warlike Germanic people who had recently crossed
the Rhine, were now looking to establish a new homeland in Gaul. These fierce warriors
and their leader Ariovistus would challenge the Roman legions and provide Caesar with
another opportunity to prove his mettle.
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The Suebi, led by their king Ariovistus, had first arrived in Gaul in 63 BC as mercenaries
for the Sequani and Arverni in their war against the Aedui, a Roman ally. The 15,000 warriors
that Ariovistus initially brought proved decisive, helping to secure a crucial victory over the
Aedui at the Battle of Magetobriga, which forced the Aedui to become a tributary to
the Sequani. In response to this, the Aedui sent an envoy, Diviciacus, to ask Rome for
help, but the Republic was still recovering from the political shock of the Cataline Conspiracy
and was distracted by an Allobroges revolt. The governor of Transalpine Gaul was ordered
to help Rome’s Gallic allies when possible and in 59 BC the Senate named Ariovistus a
Friend of the People of Rome to pacify him and keep in check.
Ariovistus used that time to consolidate his position. After helping the Sequani, he demanded
a third of their lands as a payment. The Sequani gave in and Ariovistus began moving more of
his people across the Rhine to settle in this new land. By 58 BC, as many as 120,000 Suebi
had now crossed the Rhine and made their home in Gaul. Furthermore, Ariovistus was demanding
more Sequani territory in order to settle an extra 24,000 Germans and had been taking
hostages in order to keep the Sequani and Aedui obedient. Something had to be done.
Following his victory over the Helvetii, Caesar had taken some time to rest in Bibracte. Whilst
encamped there, he was visited by a council of Gallic leaders and diplomats, led by Diviciacus.
They complimented Caesar on his victory, and implored him to intervene in the situation,
pointing out that if the Germans continued their conquests, soon the Suebi would be directly
bordering Roman territory. Caesar, again, was happy to oblige.
As Ariovistus was a “Friend of Rome” however, Caesar could not immediately go to war. Instead,
Caesar’s first invited Ariovistus to meet him, which was declined. He then sent a diplomat
to Ariovistus asking him to return the Gallic hostages he had taken and to stop any hostilities.
Caesar reminded him that if he were to comply, the Romans would still consider him a “Friend
of Rome” and not take any action against him. This was a good deal for Ariovistus;
he’d be allowed to keep the lands that he had already taken from the Sequani without
a fight. Instead of accepting the terms, Ariovistus
doubled down and sent a message back to Caesar saying that if the Romans could conquer where
and how they liked, so could he. At the same time, the 24,000 new Germans who had crossed
the Rhine were allowed to raze and pillage the Gallic lands as they pleased, with more
Germans preparing to cross the river to join Ariovistus.
Caesar now had his justification, as he had a legal decree from the Senate to protect
Rome’s Gallic allies. He could justify that the Suebi were threatening Rome’s borders
and Ariovistus had forfeited his status as a “Friend of Rome” by continuing to pillage
the land of Rome’s allies. Yet again, Caesar had the chance to market himself as the saviour
of Gaul. Gathering his six legions, roughly, 30,000 men, Caesar set out on the warpath.
Both Ariovistus and Caesar recognised the importance of Vesontio, the largest town in
the Sequani territories; well-fortified and well supplied, it would be crucial to the
war effort. Both forces began marching to the town, however the Romans, marching day
and night, were able to get there first. Caesar rested there briefly while supplying the legions.
But as they rested, rumours began reaching the men of the strength and ferocity of the
Germans. Even some of Caesar’s officers began having their doubts and it almost seemed
as if Caesar would have a mutiny on his hands. Casear was, however, able to restore order
by insisting that he would face Ariovistus with just his most trusted 10th Legion, if
none others would follow. This inspired a fanatical loyalty in the 10th Legion whilst
the others, motivated by shame at being thought of as cowards, rallied, and the legions began
to march out to meet the Suebi. Ariovistus, impressed with the speed at which
the Romans had been able to move and take Vesontio, sent messages to Caesar asking for
a meeting with only some cavalry allowed as bodyguards at the place called Vosges, in
modern day Alsace. Caesar agreed, but the meeting did not go
well, with both generals reiterating their positions. Ariovistus even went so far as
to say that if he were to kill Caesar there would be many in Rome that would be grateful,
showing that he knew what the political situation in Rome was. Negotiations broke down after
this and the cavalry on both sides had a minor skirmish before retreating back to their respective
camps. A few days later Ariovistus asked for another
meeting. Caesar, sensing a trap, sent his translators. This was just as well, as Ariovistus
promptly captured the two and even considered burning them alive. With his plan to capture
Caesar having failed, Ariovistus instead moved to battle. His army was composed of 6,000
cavalry, 16,000 light infantry and the rest heavier infantry for a total of around 30,000-40,000
men. Taking Caesar by surprise, Ariovistus marched this force quickly behind Caesar’s
position and set up camp, cutting off the Romans from their supply lines.
For five days Caesar drew out his army in battle formation willing to give battle, but
Ariovistus was content to wait and strangle Caesar’s supply line, only engaging in cavalry
skirmishes. The Suebi cavalry fought in a unique fashion: for every horsemen there was
an infantryman mixed into their formation. These men were lightly armed in order to keep
up with the cavalry and together provided a flexible and difficult force to handle and
the Roman cavalry got the worse of the fighting. Caesar, knowing that he would have to do something
to break the stalemate or else risk being starved out, formed his legions into three
lines. He marched this force past the Suebi position and ordered the third line to begin
construction of a second camp whilst the first two lines formed up to defend them. Ariovistus
sent all of his light infantry and cavalry to harass the legionaries but seemed reluctant
to commit his entire force and so they were easily held off by the Romans. With the second
camp complete, Caesar left two Legions and part of his auxiliaries to defend it, whilst
his other four legions returned to the main camp.
Realising that Caesar would now be able to use this second camp to reconnect with this
supply line, Ariovistus sent part of his army to attack this second camp. The fighting was
tough, lasting from midday into the evening but, eventually, the Romans were able to repel
the attack, and even took some prisoners. Upon questioning these Suebi, Caesar learnt
that Ariovistus had apparently been told by his priests not to commit his army until after
the new moon, which was why he had not used his whole army to prevent the legions constructing
their second camp. Having learnt this Caesar decided to go on
the offensive. Leaving a small garrison in each camp, Caesar formed his 6 legions into
a triple axis formation with his cavalry in reserve and marched on the Suebi camp. The
Germans came out to meet him, forming their wagons and baggage train in a semi-circle
behind them, their women standing on them urging the men on.
Noticing that the German left flank was slightly weaker, Caesar positioned himself opposite
on the Roman right and gave the order for his men to charge. But as he did, the Suebi
also charged. Their assault was so fast and surprising that the Romans had to drop their
pila before they could even throw them, drawing their swords and fighting in hand to hand
combat. The Germans managed to form a shield wall and neither side seemed able to gain
an upper hand. Having been unable to throw their javelins
before charging, the Romans struggled to break the shield wall as easily as they had at the
Battle of Bibracte. They took drastic measures, attempting to wrench away the German shields
with their hands and even throwing themselves against the wall to try and break it.
After some hard fighting, the Roman right, led by Caesar, started to push back the German
left. However, the Suebi on the right outnumbered their Roman opponents and were starting to
get the upper hand. The Roman cavalry, led by the son of the Triumvir Marcus Licinius
Crassus - Publius, had not yet engaged in the battle and from his position he could
see the Roman left starting to crumble. Using his own initiative, Crassus led the third
line, which had been kept in reserve, to support the flank, arriving just in time to avoid
a disaster. With their left flank broken and their right now under severe pressure, the
Suebi army broke and ran. It is not known how many people died in this battle, but the
Germans, attempting to retreat through their wagons, were said to have been packed so tightly
that the dead could not even fall over. The entire Suebi force, including Ariovistus,
fled back across the Rhine, pursued by the Roman cavalry. Caesar had won two important
campaigns in one season. For now, he left Labienus to winter with the legions in Sequani
territory whilst he attended to his governing duties in Cisalpine Gaul. But by wintering
his Legions in Gallic territory, Caesar was making a point: this was beginning to look
less like intervention and more like occupation. With the Germanic threat dealt with, Caesar
would be able to turn his attention to Gaul proper.
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