The Roman Barbarian Wars: The Era of Roman Conquest by Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

Author:Ludwig Heinrich Dyck [Dyck, Ludwig Heinrich]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Ancient / Rome
ISBN: 9781473877887
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2015-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Vercingetorix, the Last Hope of the Gauls

“The Romans have not won by superior courage or in a fair fight … but by their expert knowledge of siege craft, a special technique that we were unacquainted with.”1

Vercingetorix, Warlord of the Gauls

After six years of relentless war, Caesar had killed hundreds of thousands of Gauls and Germans by war and by starvation. Yet the more he tightened his grip, the more Gaul seemed to slip through his fingers. Gaul continued to seethe with hate and resentment for their Roman occupiers. With the Belgae too devastated by Caesar’s terror campaign, the next seeds of rebellion grew in Gallia Celtica, Celtic Gaul.

Secretly the Gallic chiefs gathered in hidden wooden glades, to curse the Romans for reducing their lands to misery. They speculated that victory might be possible if Caesar were cut off from his legions. During the winter of 53/52 BC, Gaul was a landscape of snow-covered woods and frozen rivers and marshes. Vast areas of the low country lay under seasonal floods. With Caesar in northern Italy, separated by inhospitable terrain from his legions stationed in Gaul, the time was ripe to strike. In a solemn rite the Gallic chiefs bound their standards together and took an oath to stand by each other in the coming fight for liberation.

Implicated in these intrigues was none other then Caesar’s old friend Commius, King of the Atrebates. For Commius, who had served Caesar loyally for five years, to turn against Caesar showed how bad the Gauls suffered and how desperate they became to rid themselves of their Roman masters. When Labienus, who remained on the Belgae border, got word of Commius’ deceit he decided to get rid of the traitor. The task was allotted to Gaius Volusenus, the veteran commander who had scouted out Britannia’s coastline. Accompanied by a number of centurions, Volusenus paid a visit to Commius. Commius was in the presence of his friends when he was confronted by the Romans. Volusenus grasped Commius’ hand: the pre-arranged signal for his centurions to begin the attack. Swords rasped out of scabbards, blades flashed and a centurion struck at Commius. The iron Roman blade bit Commius’ skull but failed to kill him outright. His head a bloody mess, Commius fell into the arms of his attendants. Thinking Commius mortally wounded, the centurions drew back. Fearing that more Romans were on the way, Commius’ friends were anxious to escape with their wounded friend. After both sides parted, Commius recovered. If he had not yet fully decided to join the rebels, after that day Commius made up his mind “never again to come into the presence of any Roman.”2

Despite all the oaths taken by the Gallic chieftains, and a massacre of Roman merchants at Cenabum by the Carnutes, the Gallic rebellion showed no great promise until the emergence of a remarkable leader. He was called Vercingetorix and his very name meant king-over-warriors.3 Still a young man, Vercingetorix was the son of the influential Arverni chief, Celtillus. However in 80 BC, when Vercingetorix was but a baby, Celtillus’ ambitions had reached too high.

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