Caesar Term 2 Flashcards
Eodem die ab exploratoribus certior factus hostes sub
monte consedisse milia passuum ab ipsius castris octo,
qualis esset natura montis et qualis in circuitu ascensus, qui
cognoscerent misit. Renuntiatum est facilem esse.
De tertia vigilia Titum Labienum, legatum pro praetore,
cum duabus legionibus et eis ducibus qui iter cognoverant
summum iugum montis ascendere iubet; quid sui consilii
sit ostendit.
On the same day when [Caesar was] informed by his scouts that the enemy had encamped at the foot of a hill eight miles from his camp, he sent men to reconnoitre what the lay of the hill was and what the climb was like on the other side. The report came back that it was easy. During the third night-watch he ordered Titus Labienus, a commander with praetorian rank, to scale the topmost ridge of the hill with two legions and those guides who had reconnoitred the way; [and] he revealed what his plan was.
Ipse de quarta vigilia eodem itinere quo hostes ierant ad
eos contendit, equitatumque omnem ante se mittit. P.
Considius, qui rei militaris peritissimus habebatur et in
exercitu L. Sullae et postea in M. Crassi fuerat, cum
exploratoribus praemittitur.
He himself during the fourth night-watch hurried towards them on the same route by which the enemy had gone, and he sent the whole of his cavalry before him. Pubius Considius, who was regarded as highly skilled in military protocol and had been in the army of Lucius Sulla and later in [that] of Marcus Crassus, was sent ahead with scouts.
Prima luce, cum summus mons a Labieno teneretur, ipse
ab hostium castris non longius mille et quingentis passibus
abesset neque, ut postea ex captivis comperit, aut ipsius
adventus aut Labieni cognitus esset, Considius equo
admisso ad eum accurrit, dicit montem, quem a Labieno
occupari voluerit, ab hostibus teneri: id se a Gallicis armis
atque insignibus cognovisse.
At daybreak, when the summit of the hill was held by Labienus, [and] he himself was not further away from the enemy camp than fifteen hundred paces and, as he found out later from prisoners, neither his approach nor Labienus’ had been discovered, Considius, giving his horse free rein, galloped up to him, [and] said that the hill, which he had wanted to be taken by Labienus, was being held by the enemy: [and he said] that he had worked this out from the Gallic arms and crests [of their helmets].
Caesar suas copias in proximum collem subducit, aciem
instruit.
Labienus, ut erat ei praeceptum a Caesare ne proelium
committeret, nisi ipsius copiae prope hostium castra visae
essent, ut undique uno tempore in hostes impetus fieret,
monte occupato nostros exspectabat, proelioque
abstinebat.
Caesar withdrew his troops to the nearest hill, [and] drew up his battleline. Labienus, as he had instructions from Caesar not to engage battle, unless his [Caesar’s] forces had been sighted near the enemy camp, so that the attack on the enemy would happen from both sides at the same time, had taken the hill and was awaiting our men, and was refraining from battle.
Multo denique die per exploratores Caesar cognovit et
montem a suis teneri et Helvetios castra movisse et
Considium timore perterritum quod non vidisset pro viso
sibi renuntiavisse.
Eo die quo consuerat intervallo hostes sequitur et milia
passuum tria ab eorum castris castra ponit.
Eventually late in the day Caesar found out from his scouts both that the hill was being held by his own men and that the Helvetii had moved camp and that Considius, petrified with fear, had reported to him something which he had not seen as something which he had seen. That day he followed the enemy at the distance which he usually did and pitched camp three miles from their camp.
Postridie eius diei, quod omnino biduum supererat, cum
exercitui frumentum metiri oporteret, et quod a Bibracte,
oppido Aeduorum longe maximo et copiosissimo, non
amplius milibus passuum XVIII aberat, rei frumentariae
prospiciendum existimavit; itaque iter ab Helvetiis avertit
ac Bibracte ire contendit.
Ea res per fugitivos L. Aemilii, decurionis equitum
Gallorum, hostibus nuntiatur
On the day after that day, because only two days remained before he was due to distribute the corn-ration to the army, and because he was no more than eighteen miles from the outskirts of Bibracte, by far the largest and best supplied town of the Aedui, he thought that he should attend to the corn-supply; and so he changed course away from the Helvetii and hastened to march to Bibracte. This action was reported to the enemy by deserters of Lucius Aemilius, the decurion of the Gallic cavalry.
Helvetii, seu quod timore perterritos Romanos discedere
a se existimarent, eo magis, quod pridie superioribus locis
occupatis proelium non commisissent, sive eo, quod re
frumentaria intercludi posse confiderent, commutato
consilio atque itinere converso nostros a novissimo agmine
insequi ac lacessere coeperunt.
The Helvetii, whether because they were perhaps thinking that the Romans were moving away from them because they were petrified with fear, more so from the fact that on the previous day although they had controlled the higher ground they had not engaged in battle, or by the fact that they firmly believed that the Romans could be cut off from our corn-supply, changed their plan and altered their route and began to tail and harass our men from the rearguard.
Postquam id animum advertit, copias suas Caesar in
proximum collem subduxit equitatumque, qui sustineret
hostium impetum, misit.
Ipse interim in colle medio triplicem aciem instruxit
legionum quattuor veteranarum; in summo iugo duas
legiones, quas in Gallia Citeriore proxime conscripserat, et
omnia auxilia collocavit ita ut supra se totum montem
hominibus compleret; impedimenta sarcinasque in unum
locum conferri et eum ab eis qui in superiore acie
constiterant muniri iussit.
After he noticed this, Caesar withdrew his forces to the nearest hill and sent his cavalry to hold off an enemy attack. He himself meanwhile drew up a three-fold battleline of four veteran legions halfway up the hill; on the top of the ridge he stationed the two legions, which he had most recently enrolled in Cisalpine Gaul, and all the auxiliaries, in such a way that he filled the whole hill above him with men; he ordered the heavy baggage and packs to be brought together in one place and that [place] to be fortified by those who had taken up position in the higher battleline.
Helvetii, cum omnibus suis carris secuti, impedimenta
in unum locum contulerunt; ipsi, confertissima acie,
reiecto nostro equitatu, phalange facta sub primam nostram
aciem successerunt.
Following with all their wagons, the Helvetii brought their heavy baggage together in one place; they themselves, with a very densely packed battleline, forced back our cavalry, made a phalanx and advanced upon our first line.
Caesar primum suo, deinde omnium ex conspectu
remotis equis, ut aequato omnium periculo spem fugae
tolleret, cohortatus suos proelium commisit. Milites e loco
superiore pilis missis facile hostium phalangem
perfregerunt. Ea disiecta gladiis destrictis in eos impetum
fecerunt.
With first his own horse, then everyone’s horses withdrawn from sight, so that with the danger made equal for all he would eliminate any hope of flight, Caesar encouraged his men and joined battle. With javelins cast from the higher ground his soldiers easily broke apart the enemy phalanx. Once it was in chaos they drew their swords and launched an attack upon them.
Gallis magno ad pugnam erat impedimento, quod
pluribus eorum scutis uno ictu pilorum transfixis et
colligatis, cum ferrum se inflexisset, neque evellere neque
sinistra impedita satis commode pugnare poterant, multi ut
diu iactato bracchio praeoptarent scutum manu emittere et
nudo corpore pugnare.
Tandem vulneribus defessi et pedem referre et, quod
mons suberat circiter mille passuum spatio, eo se recipere
coeperunt.
The Gauls had a big problem in the fighting, because their shields in many cases pierced and locked together by one impact of the javelins, since the iron had become twisted, and they could neither rip it out nor fight sufficiently skilfully with their left hand encumbered, [with the result] that many were preferring, after flailing their arm for a time, to throw down the shield from their hand and to fight with their body uncovered. Finally, worn down by their wounds they began both to retreat and, because there was a hill close by at a distance of around a mile, to withdraw there [thither].
Capto monte et succedentibus nostris, Boii et Tulingi,
qui hominum milibus circiter XV agmen hostium
claudebant et novissimis praesidio erant, ex itinere nostros
ab latere aperto aggressi circumvenere, et id conspicati
Helvetii, qui in montem sese receperant, rursus instare et
proelium redintegrare coeperunt.
Romani conversa signa bipertito intulerunt: prima et
secunda acies, ut victis ac summotis resisteret, tertia, ut
venientes sustineret.
Once they had gained the hill and our men were hot on their heels, the Boii and Tulingi, who with around fifteen thousand men were forming the rear-guard of the enemy column and protecting those at the back, straight from their march attacked our men on their exposed flank and surrounded them, and catching sight of this, the Helvetii who had retreated onto the hill, began to press forward again and get back into the battle. The Romans wheeled about and attacked in two directions: the first and second line, to stand against those who had been defeated and driven off [the Helvetii], the third [line], to hold off those who were coming [the Boii and Tulingi].
Ita ancipiti proelio diu atque acriter pugnatum est. Diutius
cum sustinere nostrorum impetus non possent, alteri se, ut
coeperant, in montem receperunt, alteri ad impedimenta et
carros suos se contulerunt.
Nam hoc toto proelio, cum ab hora septima ad vesperum
pugnatum sit, aversum hostem videre nemo potuit.
There was thus long and intense fighting in a battle on two fronts. Since they were not able with hold off the attacks of our men any longer, those on one front fell back, as they had begun, up the hill, those on the other front made their way to their heavy baggage and their wagons. For in this entire battle, although the fight lasted [it was fought] from the seventh hour until evening, no-one could have seen an enemy [with his back] turned [in flight].
Ad multam noctem etiam ad impedimenta pugnatum est,
propterea quod pro vallo carros obiecerant et e loco
superiore in nostros venientes tela coniciebant, et nonnulli
inter carros rotasque mataras ac tragulas subiciebant
nostrosque vulnerabant.
Diu cum esset pugnatum, impedimentis castrisque nostri
potiti sunt.
Ibi Orgetorigis filia atque unus e filiis captus est
There was also fighting around the heavy baggage until late at night, more so because they had piled up the wagons as a rampart [defensive wall] and were hurling javelins from the higher position upon our men as they were approaching, and several were casting their spears and javelins from low down between the wagons and wheels and were wounding our men. Although the fighting went on for some time, our men gained possession of their heavy baggage and camp. There the daughter of Orgetorix and one of his sons were captured.
Ex eo proelio circiter hominum milia CXXX superfuerunt,
eaque tota nocte continenter ierunt: nullam partem noctis
itinere intermisso in fines Lingonum die quarto pervenerunt,
cum et propter vulnera militum et propter sepulturam
occisorum nostri triduum morati eos sequi non potuissent.
Caesar ad Lingonas litteras nuntiosque misit, ne eos
frumento neve alia re iuvarent: qui si iuvissent, se eodem
loco quo Helvetios habiturum.
Ipse triduo intermisso cum omnibus copiis eos sequi
coepit.
From that battle around 130,000 people survived, and they went without stopping that whole night: with their travel uninterrupted for any part of the night they reached the territory of the Lingones on the fourth day, since our men, delaying for three days both because of our soldiers’ wounds and for the burial of the slain, had not been able to follow them. Caesar despatched letters and messengers to the Lingones, [ordering them] not to help them with corn or anything else: [and saying that] if any did help them, he would treat [them] in the same fashion as the Helvetii. He himself, after an interval of three days (when three days had passed), began to go after them with all his forces.
