The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters

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. 0.98

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 0.68

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 1.00

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 1.00

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 0.98

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 0.70

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 0.87

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 0.89

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 0.99

00:13:03.760 crime they had committed in detaining and imprisoning envoys, an office that all nations 0.93

00:13:09.180 had always held sacred and inviolable, began to make ready for war on a scale commensurate with the 0.88

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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