At the end of the summer of 52 a. C., the armies of the Republic of Rome, led by the most brilliant of its generals, Julius Caesar, faced a confederation of Gallic tribes led by Vercingétorix, chief of the arverni The same one that inspired Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny to create, in 1959, the character of Asterix and the famous comic that began precisely like this: «We are in the year 50 a. C. All of Gaul is occupied by the Romans… All of it? No! A village populated by irreducible Gauls resists, still and as always, the invader.
The comic, which became one of the most famous and sold in history, was partly inspired by this battle that almost crushed Rome in its expansion through that region of Europe. A confrontation framed within the Gallic War which, as a whole and unlike what is reflected in the work of Uderzo and Goscinny, are considered one of Caesar’s great military successes and are still studied as a classic example of siege to a fortification. In recent years, recent archaeological discoveries and studies have shed new light on how the famous Roman general defeated, between 58 and 51 BC. C., to 250,000 Celtic warriors with 50,000 soldiers.
The truth is that, when this seven-year war began, the Romans and the Gauls had been at odds for three and a half centuries. A time in which, according to tradition, the latter came to seize the city of Rome. Since then, invading Gaul had become an obsession for Caesar, the revenge he needed against those cruel barbarians who had captured and humiliated the inhabitants of his capital, many of whom had to flee.
The general left for present-day France in the year 59 BC. C. and immediately extended his mandate in that region made up of a large number of Celtic tribes. Some had agreements with the Republic, others had abandoned their tribal organization and installed their own Roman-inspired republics, and finally, there were those that maintained intermittent confrontations with their conquerors. In other words, Julius Caesar faced a country divided into tribes, which he gradually annihilated.
the union of the Gauls
Two years before the battle of Alesia, the already pacified tribe of the Eburones staged a new attempt at rebellion that reawakened anti-Roman sentiments in Gaul. Julius Caesar, who years later would become the dictator of Rome, had not understood that his initial control over them was much more fragile than he thought, for the simple reason that his victories were accompanied by disproportionate revenues. of taxes. It was then that the Gauls understood that divided they would never regain their freedom.
According to Julio César himself in his famous book ‘The Gallic War’, this union took place under the hand of Vercingétorix, whom the Gauls crowned as their King in Bibracte, the capital of the Aedians. The Roman general soon realized that this young leader would become a very tough opponent to defeat, especially since he understood that in order to face him he had to overcome the tribal political organization and guide his soldiers with discipline and a single command. That is why he was chosen commander of the united armies of Gaul, among which were, along with the Arverni, the Aularians, Audecarans, Turons, Lutetians, Senones and Ruthenians, among others.
Only the oars and the lingones preferred to maintain their alliance with Rome, even knowing that Vercingetorix could lead them to victory against the invader. His father, the great leader of the Arverni tribe, Celtilo, had already faced Rome, but it did not go as he expected and he was executed. At first, and perhaps moved by a desire for revenge, the new Gallic leader had the cold blood to collaborate with the Romans despite having murdered his parent. Many historians believe that he did it to learn his tactics and get the necessary support to become King of Gaul, but failing to get the support of Julius Caesar, he rebelled against him in early 52 BC. C. and did not disappoint.
Hunting
Vercingetorix did not present a pitched battle to the Romans, whose superiority in tactics and weaponry made them virtually invincible, but instead opted for a kind of guerrilla warfare, combined with massacres of Roman citizens throughout Gaul. He soon controlled the independent Gaul and threatened the one controlled by Rome. Julius Caesar moved quickly to crush his ‘Axtérix’. Arriving in central Gaul, he divided his troops, sending four legions north to fight the Parisians and Senones, and taking six himself to check Vercingetorix.
The Roman general tried to suppress the uprising, destroying the richest cities of the rebellious tribes, while the Gallic leader opted for a “scorched earth” tactic, razing crops and villages towards which the proconsul was heading. This is how they managed to ensure that the legions did not find supplies on their march. At first, the play went well for Vercingetorix, who managed to corner Julius Caesar, but then he made his first mistake: upon reaching the capital of the Bituriges, Avaricus, he gave in to the pleas of his bosses and did not set it on fire. Consequence: of the 40,000 inhabitants, only 800 were able to flee and join Vercingétorix.
The Gauls not only were not scared, but more tribes rose up against Caesar. Then, Vercingétorix chose to take refuge in Gergovia, capital of the Arverni, an impregnable fortress. In the spring of the year 52 a. C., the Roman general decided to go after him with his six legions. It was there that he suffered his first defeat, hurt because the Gallic Army was in a higher position, and he had to abandon his siege. The news spread like wildfire across Gaul, with yet more tribes joining the Celtic warrior.
Caesar, vulnerable
Suddenly, Cesar seemed vulnerable. The myth of the invincible general had fallen. This battle was a turning point and the Gauls were now the ones threatening the Romans. After the setback, Julius Caesar joined his northern tribes, since the enemy required it. They were no longer just any savages and in the following confrontations the victories for one another alternated. Both sides learned from their mistakes and successes until they finally met in Alesia, the stronghold of the Mandubians.
There Vercingetorix had withdrawn to await the arrival of reinforcements from the rest of Gaul. All the Gallic tribes that had not previously joined the revolt joined it. All of Caesar’s enemies were in Alesia, occupied by a small plateau 18 kilometers in circumference and 150 meters high, surrounded by valleys and rivers except for the western part, which opened onto a flat area. Cesar began the siege and, as recounted in ‘The Gallic Wars’, he marked the perimeter with twenty-three forts that would serve as protection in case of attack by the Gauls and dug a great ditch six meters wide with his 50,000 men.
The Gauls had thirty days’ supplies. It must have been a nightmare for Vercingetorix to see, from his fortified hill, how he was surrounded by a Roman army of some 50,000 soldiers. He could see how Rome put the noose around his neck, while he waited for the rest of Gaul to come to his rescue, despite the fact that he had 80,000 warriors behind the fortification walls. Soon food became scarce and the Gallic leader ordered the women, children and old people to leave the square to have fewer mouths to feed, trusting that Julius Caesar would feed them, even if he turned them into slaves. But no, he was adamant and left them to starve as they wandered around like zombies.
Painting by Lionel Royer, with Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix, painted in 1899
250,000 warriors
However, the fortunes of the siege changed again. On September 20, 52 B.C. C., on the horizon the vanguard of the long-awaited Gallic relief army was seen. A formidable mass of more than 250,000 warriors ready to launch an attack on the Roman defenses. Motivated by technological advantages, Rome decided to take the initiative and repulsed the Gauls on both fronts. In his account of the battle, Julius Caesar described a weak point through which his enemy could attack him, as it did.
Vercingetorix’s troops hid behind Mount Rhea and launched a first attack with 70,000 men commanded by his cousin, while the chief did so from all angles on the interior fortifications. Cesar was in the middle, apparently trapped. But the Roman general trusted in the discipline and courage of his men and ordered to hold the lines. He personally walked the perimeter encouraging his legionnaires and ended up counterattacking until he managed to drive the enemy back. However, it was his clever tactics and desperate decision to attack the enemy relief army from the rear with the auxiliary cavalry that gave Rome the ultimate victory.
With only 6,000 men, Caesar was willing to defeat 70,000 Gauls. Seeing his chief face such a tremendous risk, Labienus’s men redoubled his efforts. At the most crucial moment of the battle, 50 percent of the Romans were engaged in hand-to-hand fighting, when at the right moment the reserve appeared to crush the Gauls. The dictator-to-be emerged, his distinctive scarlet commander-in-chief’s cloak blowing in the wind and his troop of four hundred Germans leading the final attack himself.
“I ask for mercy”
Panic soon began to spread in the Gallic ranks and there was a general rout that ended in a real slaughter. Caesar noted in his work that only the fact that his men were completely exhausted saved the Gauls from total annihilation. Vercingetorix had lost. His forces inside Alesia and the relief army outside had fought the Romans to the limit. The slopes of Mount Rhea were littered with corpses.
After the victory, César demanded that the Gallic warriors parade before him, laying their weapons at his feet and finally they handed over their leader, who was supremely responsible for the battle. Vercingetorix went to the camp where Caesar was waiting for him, sitting in his curule chair. The scene was depicted by Lionel Noel Royer in a painting from 1899. The Gallic leader approached a dais built for the occasion and, after throwing the crown, his armor and his sword at Julius Caesar’s feet, proudly told him: «You have defeated me, I ask for mercy for my people». And he replied: “You will have it, Prince Vercingetorix.”
He then signed the surrender document and the thousands of Roman legionaries cheered. The Gallic War was over. “You have fought as you could and that honors you, but I hope you have learned the lesson that it is not good to defy Rome,” the general warned this character who Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad -screenwriter and cartoonist successors of Uderzo and Goscinny since 2012—they wanted to honor in their last issue: ‘The daughter of Vercingétorix’ (Salvat).