The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - November 08, 2024


PREVIEW： Epochs #184 ｜ Pompey & Caesar： Part IX


Episode Stats

Length

14 minutes

Words per Minute

178.83806

Word Count

2,675

Sentence Count

122

Hate Speech Sentences

11


Summary

In this episode of Epochs, I continue my narrative of the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of Julius Caesar in the late 50s and early 60s, covering the events of the year 56 BC, which was a busy and eventful year in Roman history. Here, we re told about Caesar's campaign in the Alps, and the events that led up to it.


Transcript

00:00:00.160 Hello and welcome to this episode of Epochs, where I shall be once again continuing my narrative of the decline and fall of the Roman Republic,
00:00:07.140 carrying on with Caesar's campaigns in Gaul. I think what I'll do is one episode per book of his narrative of his wars in Gaul.
00:00:16.120 So we're up to book three of eight. And this time we're talking about the very end of 57 BC and the year 56 BC,
00:00:24.460 which was a really, really busy year. I mean, they're all busy years, but this one's particularly busy.
00:00:30.000 And yet it's one of the shorter chapters, so I'll probably read it almost in its entirety.
00:00:33.700 But a lot goes on. So there's an unsuccessful campaign in the Alps. That is right at the end of 57 BC.
00:00:39.020 They have, there's a big fight, continuing fight on the Atlantic coast.
00:00:42.540 If you remember last time, Caesar sort of gave the impression that Crassus, that is the Crassus's son,
00:00:49.760 the son of Crassus, had sort of mopped up everything there. Well, he hadn't, or rather, maybe he had,
00:00:55.200 but rebellions just break out immediately. Also, we're told he has a victorious campaign in Aquitania,
00:01:01.920 which is more central and southern France, Gaul, and then an indecisive campaign against the Marini.
00:01:08.300 So not everything always goes Caesar's way. So far in our story of Caesar and Gaul,
00:01:13.180 he's been more or less undefeated, hasn't he? Everything's essentially gone his way.
00:01:16.980 There was the Hauveti, which he was able to sweep aside, more or less without too much trouble.
00:01:23.280 There was the Ariovistus Affair, which he was also, you know, ultimately completely successful in.
00:01:28.800 Then there was the Belgic Coalition, with one or two minor reverses, or setbacks,
00:01:34.900 but essentially, just completely victorious again. Well,
00:01:39.200 things start to go awry a little bit for Caesar, here or there.
00:01:42.740 So let's start chronicling it. Let's jump straight in. So Caesar tells us this about the,
00:01:47.940 towards the end of 57 BC, about his unsuccessful campaign in the Alps. We're told, quote,
00:01:53.840 When Caesar was starting for Italy, he sent Servius Galba with the 12th Legion and a detachment of
00:01:59.980 cavalry to the territories of the Nantuantes, Varagri, and Sarduni, which extend from the frontier of the
00:02:07.420 Annabrogies, the Lake of Geneva, and the Rome, so the higher Alps. Once again,
00:02:12.620 I'll put a map up so everyone can see exactly what we're talking about here.
00:02:16.060 His object was to open up the route over the Alps, by which invaders travelled only at great risk
00:02:22.520 and on payment of heavy tolls. Galba was authorised to quarter his legion in the district for the winter,
00:02:29.300 if he thought it necessary. After he had won several victories and taken a number of enemy
00:02:34.260 fortresses, and all the tribes had sent envoys and given hostages, he made peace. He then decided
00:02:40.760 to quarter two cohorts among the Nantuates, and to winter with the remainder in a village of the
00:02:47.020 Varagi, called Octodurus, situated in a rather narrow valley and completely surrounded by very high
00:02:53.820 mountains. The village was divided by a river into two parts, one of which he let the natives keep,
00:02:59.720 while the other, which he made them evacuate, was assigned to his cohorts and fortified with a
00:03:05.240 rampart and trench. Several days had been spent in this encampment, and Galba had ordered grain to
00:03:10.760 be brought in, when suddenly he was informed by his patrols that during the night all the Gauls had
00:03:16.720 quitted the part of the village allotted to them, and that the surrounding heights were occupied by an
00:03:21.500 immense multitude of Siduni and Varagri. So, treachery! Various reasons had led the Gauls
00:03:28.460 to form the sudden resolution of renewing hostilities and overpowering the Romans.
00:03:33.740 In the first place, they despised the numerical weakness of the legion, which was understrength
00:03:39.460 owing to the detachment of the two cohorts and a number of individuals who had been sent out in
00:03:44.140 search of suppliers. They just thought we could take these guys, basically. Secondly, they had the
00:03:49.500 advantage of position, being able to run down and hurl their javelins into the valley beneath,
00:03:54.120 and thought that they would carry all before them at their very first charge. They also resented
00:03:59.560 having their children torn from them and kept as hostages. Nobody likes having their kids taken
00:04:04.260 away, do they? And were convinced that the Romans were not merely seeking to open up communications,
00:04:10.020 but intended to occupy the Alpine heights permanently and to annex the district to the neighbouring province,
00:04:15.760 which they were. The work of entrenching the camp was not quite completed, nor had a sufficient stock of grain
00:04:23.780 and other supplies been laid in, because after the enemy's submission and surrender of hostages,
00:04:29.400 Galba did not think that there was any reason to fear an outbreak of hostilities.
00:04:33.520 On receiving the news, therefore, he at once called a council of war and invited opinions.
00:04:38.420 The danger was as serious as it was sudden and unexpected. Nearly all the heights were seen to be
00:04:43.420 already swarming with armed men, and neither relief nor supplies could be brought up because the roads
00:04:48.860 were cut. Several members of the council were inclined to think the case hopeless, and advised
00:04:53.880 that they should abandon the baggage, force their way out, and try to reach a place of safety by
00:04:58.900 retracing their steps. But the majority decided to reserve this plan as a last result, and in the
00:05:04.840 meantime to defend the camp and await developments. One thing to say is that the people of the Alps
00:05:10.340 have historically always been very warlike. During the age of Hannibal, 150 odd years before,
00:05:18.840 they put up a fairly stiff resistance, the best resistance they could. And of course, it's their
00:05:23.120 manner, isn't it? It's their backyard. So they know the terrain perfectly. Able to ambush people and
00:05:31.500 make roadblocks and throw down stones and spears and all sorts of things from the heights.
00:05:37.560 And fighting in mountains is always very difficult, of course, especially if you're the attacker.
00:05:43.960 The narrative continues, quote,
00:05:45.140 After a short interval, which barely gave time for posting the troops and carrying out the measures
00:05:50.120 decided on, the enemy ran down from all sides at a given signal and began to hurl stones and spears
00:05:55.980 at the rampart. At first, while our soldiers were still fresh, they resisted bravely. Every missile
00:06:01.840 they threw from their commanding position finding its mark, and ran to the relief of any part of the
00:06:07.440 camp that was stripped of defenders and seemed to be in danger. But what told against them was that
00:06:12.660 the enemy, when exhausted by prolonged fighting, could retire from the battle and be relieved by
00:06:17.580 fresh troops, which our men could not do on account of their small numbers. Not only had tired men to
00:06:23.500 stay in the fighting line, but even the wounded had to remain at their posts without any chance of
00:06:28.660 respite. Bit of a Rourke's Drift moment, bit of an Alamo moment. After more than six hours continuous
00:06:35.880 fighting, the Romans were at the end of their strength and had scarcely any weapons left to throw,
00:06:41.020 while the enemy was pressing them harder than ever and took advantage of their exhausted state
00:06:45.940 to break through the palisade and fill up the trenches. The situation was as bad as it could be,
00:06:52.480 and Baculus, the chief centurion, who, as already said, was disabled by several wounds in the battle
00:06:59.120 with the Nervi, came running to Galba with Gaius Quadratus, a military tribune and a man of sound
00:07:08.280 judgment and great courage, and told him that their only hope of escape was to try their last
00:07:13.460 resource, a sortie through the enemy's lines, breaking out, breaking out of the siege.
00:07:19.380 Accordingly, Galba summoned the centurions and immediately sent them to explain the new plan
00:07:24.700 to the troops. They were to cease offensive actions for a time, merely using their shields to intercept
00:07:30.140 the enemy's missiles. When they had had time to recover from their exertions, the signal would
00:07:35.400 be given to break out of the camp. Then they would have to rely on their courage to save their lives.
00:07:40.380 These orders were duly carried out. Suddenly they charged out from all the gates, without giving the
00:07:45.340 enemy a chance of realising what was happening, or of preparing to meet their onset. It was a complete
00:07:50.740 reversal of fortune. See, fortune favours the brave. He who dares wins. He who dares wins. The ghouls,
00:07:57.580 who had counted on capturing the camp, were surrounded and cut off. Of the forces that had taken part in
00:08:03.560 the attack, known to number over 30,000, more than a third were killed. The rest fled in terror,
00:08:09.580 and were not allowed to halt even on the mountain heights. Having thus routed and disarmed the entire host,
00:08:14.860 the Romans retired within the shelter of their fortifications, and after this success, Galba did
00:08:20.380 not want to take any more risks. The action which circumstances had compelled him to take was
00:08:25.380 something which had never been contemplated when he was sent there to winter, and there was an
00:08:29.780 alarming scarcity of corn and other suppliers. Next day, therefore, he burnt all the buildings in
00:08:35.840 the village, and started to hasten back to the province, a trans-alpine ghoul. Whenever Caesar
00:08:40.540 talks of the province, he means trans-alpine ghoul, i.e. southern France. No enemy barred his way or
00:08:47.360 delayed his march, and he conducted the legion safely through the territory of the Nentuatis into
00:08:53.000 that of the Alabrogis, where he spent the winter." So fortune really does favour the brave. As you can
00:08:59.800 see there, the Caesar's general, Galba, only really meant to try and break out and flee for his life.
00:09:05.540 But the mere act of doing that, the mere act of taking the initiative of being offensive and
00:09:11.480 aggressive massively, when the enemy doesn't expect you to do that, will completely broke them,
00:09:16.880 even though the Romans were massively, massively outnumbered. Caesar doesn't give us the exact
00:09:21.500 numbers, certainly of the Romans, does he? But they were obviously massively outnumbered. But we can
00:09:26.540 also only infer, they couldn't have had a very, very strong morale or sense of battle order that
00:09:33.540 they were essentially routed straight away. Okay, so Caesar moves on to the year 56 BC now, because
00:09:39.720 we're BC, the numbers count down, so the year 56 is after the year 57. And he tells us all about the
00:09:46.200 fight on the Atlantic coast. So we're told, quote,
00:09:48.920 With the completion of these operations, Caesar had already reason to think that Gaul was pacified.
00:09:54.500 The Belgae were overpowered, the Germans driven out, and the Sidoni defeated in the Alps. He had
00:10:01.040 therefore set out in the winter for Illyria, desiring to extend his acquaintance with the countries
00:10:05.920 under his command by visiting the tribes of that district, when war suddenly broke out again in Gaul.
00:10:11.680 The occasion of the outbreak was the action of young Publius Crassus, who, with the 7th Legion,
00:10:16.900 occupied the winter camp nearest the Atlantic in the territory of the Andes. As food was scarce in
00:10:22.340 that region, he sent a number of auxiliary officers and military tribunes to the neighbouring people to
00:10:27.820 seek a supply of corn and other provisions. Among others, Titus Terrasidius was sent to the Esuvire,
00:10:34.300 Marcus Trebius Gallus to the Coriocletes, Quintus Valenus and Titus Silius to the Veneti.
00:10:41.200 The Veneti are much the most powerful tribe on this coast. They have the largest fleet of ships
00:10:46.040 in which they traffic with Britain. They excel the other tribes in knowledge and experience of
00:10:50.820 navigation, and as the coast lies exposed to the violence of the open sea and has but few harbours,
00:10:57.180 which the Veneti control, they compel nearly all who sail those waters to pay toll. They were the
00:11:02.420 first to take action against the Romans by detaining Silius and Valenius and any others they could catch,
00:11:09.340 hoping by this to recover the hostages they had given to Crassus. Their neighbours followed their
00:11:13.820 example with the impulsive haste that characterises the actions of the Gauls, a bit of a dig there from
00:11:19.000 Caesar, and detained Trebius and Terrasidius with the same motive. Hurriedly dispatching envoys to one
00:11:25.540 another, their leaders pledged the various tribes to take no separate action but to share alike whatever
00:11:31.400 fortune might befall them. They urged the other tribes to preserve their inherited liberties and not submit to
00:11:37.660 the Roman yoke and quickly gained the adherence of all the maritime people who sent a joint embassy
00:11:43.000 calling upon Crassus to return their hostages if he wanted to recover his officers." So a bit of a
00:11:49.380 coalition forming there. Well, definitely a coalition forming there. Seems like Crassus, Crassus the Younger,
00:11:54.780 was just far too hasty when he thought he had subdued that part of Gaul. He just simply hadn't. It seems like
00:12:01.200 he might have taken them unawares. He'd turned up with his cohorts or legions and they hadn't been
00:12:07.300 ready to fight or put up any real resistance and so he'd over-order them. But that isn't defeating a
00:12:14.660 people, is it? Sucker-punching someone when they're not looking and they're not ready is not the same as
00:12:19.600 fighting them and defeating them, is it? It's not the same thing. So now this part of Gaul is going to
00:12:26.200 rise up and try and resist Rome. The story goes on, quote,
00:12:29.920 When Caesar was informed of these events by Crassus, he was far away from Gaul, he was on his
00:12:35.140 way to Illyrium, and therefore instructed his subordinates to use the time that must elapse
00:12:40.620 before his arrival in building warships on the River Loire, which flows into the Atlantic,
00:12:46.840 enlisting crews in the province and procuring seamen and captains. These orders were promptly
00:12:51.860 attended to, and Caesar rejoined his troops as soon as the campaigning season started. On learning of
00:12:57.940 his arrival and the Roman preparations, the Veneti and the other tribes, realising the gravity of the
00:13:03.760 crime they had committed in detaining and imprisoning envoys, an office that all nations
00:13:09.180 had always held sacred and inviolable, began to make ready for war on a scale commensurate with the
00:13:15.100 seriousness of their peril, paying particular attention to the provisions of equipment for their ships.
00:13:20.120 So naval engagements are going to ensue. Their hopes of success were increased by the confidence
00:13:26.360 they placed in the natural strength of their country, the geographical strength, I mean.
00:13:30.500 They knew that the roads were intersected by tidal inlets, and that sailing would be difficult for
00:13:35.600 us, us the Romans, on account of our ignorance of the waterways and the scarcity of harbours,
00:13:41.820 and they felt sure that our armies would be prevented by a shortage of grain from staying there very long.
00:13:47.460 And even if all their expectations were disappointed, they had a strong fleet, while we had no ships
00:13:53.440 available and were unacquainted with the shoals, harbours, and islands of the coast on which we
00:13:58.880 should have to fight. And sailing in a wide ocean was clearly a very different matter from sailing in
00:14:04.140 a landlocked sea like the Mediterranean. Having resolved to fight, they fortified their strongholds,
00:14:10.160 stocked them with corn from the fields, and assembled as many ships as possible on the coast of
00:14:14.640 Venetia, where it was generally thought that Caesar would open hostilities. They secured the alliance
00:14:19.780 of various tribes in the neighbourhood. Long list of tribes coming up. The Ossimi, Loxivire, Namnetes,
00:14:27.160 Ambiolartae, and Diablintes, and of the Merini and Menopi, and summoned reinforcements from Britain,
00:14:33.960 which faces that part of Gaul. End of quote. So, this is a serious coalition. It might not well have
00:14:40.260 been quite on the order of the Belgae coalition in terms of numbers, but it was very, very serious,
00:14:48.260 and there's a naval element to it all. So, it's a completely different kettle of fish.
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