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-DIPLOMACY CONDUCTED WITH THE TREVERI-
[V.2] These affairs and assizes concluded, Caesar makes his way back to Hither-Gallia and thence he departs to his army. When he had thither come and made a survey of all the winter quarters, he found that, due to the singular zeal of his soldiers in the utmost paucity of all material, six hundred ships of the kind which we have described above, and 28 warships, all drawn up and not too far from that place whereby they could be launched within a few days. He commended his soldiers and those who had been in charge of the business and then describes what he wisheth be done and bids them all gather at the port of Itius, whence he had learned was the most convenient place to cross over into Britannia, around 30 miles from the Continent. He left enough soldiers he thought best for this plan, while he himself departs with 4 unencumbered legions and 800 horse to the territory of the Treveri, for this people neither came to his council nor obeyed his commands, and they were said to be disturbing the Germani Across-The-Rhine.
[V.3] This state possessed the most powerful cavalry in all of Gaul by far, a great infantry corps, and, as we have mentioned above, borders on the Rhine. In this state are two men striving against each other for the chieftainship: Indutiomarus and Cingetorix. The latter of these, as soon as news of the Caesar and his legions's arrival become known, came to him and declared that he and all his party would continue in their allegiance and not break from friendship with the Roman People, and he makes known to Caesar what was occurring among the Treveri. But Indutiomarus began to gather his horse and foot and made plans for war, once those who were unable to bear arms because of their age were hidden away in the forest of Arduenna, an enormous stretch of forest which starts from the Rhine, cuts through the middle of the Treveri territory all the way to the edge of the Remi. But several chieftains from that state who were influenced by their friendship with Cingetorix and were filled with dread at the arrival of our army did afterwards come to Caesar and begin to ask of him privately concerning the aforementioned affairs, since they were not able to provide for the interests of their state. Fearing that he might be abandoned by all, Indutiomarus sends ambassadors to Caesar to say that it was for a reason that he broke from his fellows and did not want to come to him, namely that easier might he keep the state in its allegiance lest the entire commons, due to the absence of the upper-class, might revolt on account of their inborn foolishness. And so, he further said that the state remained under his power and, if Caesar should allow, he would come to him to his camp and would entrust his own and his state's good fortune to his oath.
[V.4] Caesar, even though he understood for which reason these things were said and what circumstance now distracted him from the plans he had begun, nevertheless, lest he be forced to spend the summer among the Treveri after he had prepared everything for the war in Britannia, bid Indutiomarus to come to him with 200 hostages. When these were brought, among them his son and all his blood-kin whom he had called by name, Caesar consoled Indutiomarus and urged him to keep his allegiance. Nevertheless, after the chieftains of the Treveri had been summoned to him, he won them one at a time over to Cingetorix, because while Caesar understood that such a thing ought to be done by him because of the just merits of the man, he also thought it of great importance that the same man's influence among his own people be as strong as possible, for Caesar had espied that he had such an outstanding inclination towards him. This deed, which had caused his influence among his people to be lessened, Indutiomarus took seriously, and although he already before had borne ill will towards us, now much more gravely burned because of this animosity.
-THE END OF THE DIPLOMACY CONDUCTED WITH THE TREVERI-
-THE REVOLT OF DUMNORIX THE AEDUAN-
[V.5] These affairs settled, Caesar arrives the port of Itius with his legions. There he learns that 60 ships, which had been made among the Meldi, had been thrown back by a storm and had not been able to keep course and so had returned whence they had departed. The remaining ships he finds readied for sailing and equipped for any engagement. In the same place gathers the horse of all of Gallia, in number 4,000, along with the chieftains of all the states. From these very few, whose loyalty towards him did he discern, had he decreed to leave in Gallia and take the rest with him as hostages, because he feared an uprising in Gallia while he was away.
[V.6] There was together with the others Dumnorix the Aeduan, about whom some has been spoken of by us before. This man Caesar had decided to have among his favorites, for him he discovered to be desirous of revolution and power, a man of great resolution and great influence among the Galli. To this was added that in a council of Aedui, Dumnorix had said that a kingdom had been given over to him by Caesar, a pronouncement which the Aedui bore gravely, and yet not did they dare to send ambassadors to Caesar for the sake of either rejecting or complaining about the matter. This fact Caesar learned from his guests. First he hastened to beg by every entreaty that he be left in Gallia, partially because, being unaccustomed to sailing, he was frightened by the sea, and partially because he claimed that he was prevented by some divinities. After he saw that the request was stubbornly denied him, and with every hope of success lost to him, he began to agitate the chieftains of Gallia, to call them apart separately and urge them so that they might stay on the Continent. He then terrified them with a new dread, that not without cause that Gallia should be stripped of all her nobility, but that it was Caesar's design that, since he feared to slay the chieftains in the sight of Gallia, he might murder them once they had made the crossing into Britannia. He pledged his honor to the rest and demanded oaths that they would manage by common deliberation what they perceived to be of benefit to Gallia. These goings-on are reported by several persons to Caesar.
[V.7] Having learned of the situation, Caesar, because he had conferred so much dignity upon the state of the Aedui, decided that Dumnorix must be restrained and deterred by whatever means possible; and because he saw that his madness was progressing further, thought he should be looked after closely lest he be able to harm himself or the state. And so, around 25 days Caesar tarried in that place, because the North wind was hindering the sailing, which wind was accustomed to flare up in a great part of every season in these parts, and he spent his time to keeping Dumnorix in his allegiance, and nevertheless learns all of his designs. Finally, having obtained a favorable wind, he bids his soldiers and knights to board the ships. But, while everyone's minds were occupied, Dumnorix began to make for home, departing from the camp with the knights of the Aedui while Caesar was unawares. When this was reported, Caesar, his departure delayed and all of his preparations postponed, sends a great part of the horse to follow after him and he commands them to bring the man back. If he should make violence and refuse to obey them, Caesar bids his men kill him, having made up his mind that the man would do little sane in his absence, for he was the sort of man who had refused Caesar's power -- even in Caesar's own presence. For Dumnorix, when recalled, began to resist and defend himself with his own hand and implore the oath of his men, often shouting that he was a free man and was a subject of a free state. Caesar's men, as it had been commanded them, surround the man and kill him. But the Aeduan knights all return to Caesar.
-THE END OF THE REVOLT OF DUMNORIX THE AEDUAN-
-THE SECOND INVASION OF BRITANNIA-
[V.8] These affairs managed, he left Labienus on the Continent with three legions and two thousands of knights so that he may watch over the harbor, provide for the grain supply, learn of the affairs occurring in Gallia, and take measures according to occasion and circumstance, while Caesar himself with five legions and an equal number of knights which he left on the Continent disembarked to the west; however, carried on a light southwest wind, he did not maintain his course when the wind died around midnight, and so, carried too far by the tide, espied Britannia passed by on his left as the sun rose. Then back again, after following the changing of the tide, he hastened by oars to make landfall at that part of the island which, as he had learned in the previous summer, was the best to disembark. The valor of his men is to be much praised in this endeavor, for they in the transport and heavy ships equaled the speed of the warships because there was no interruption in their rowing. The arrival at Britannia was completed by all ships by nearly noontime, and not was a single enemy in sight at that place. But, as afterwards Caesar learned from captives, when great handfuls of them had gathered at that place, they became frightened by the large number of ships, some of which were used last year and others were private vessels which Caesar had built for his own convenience, more than eight hundred had appeared at one time, they left the shore and hid amidst the high ground.
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| Caesar's Second Invasion |
[V.9] Caesar, his army disembarked and taken a place suitable for a camp, then learned from captives where the forces of the enemy had gathered, and, having left ten cohorts and three hundred knights at the sea to be a guard for the ships, hastened he about the third watch to the enemy; fearing less for the ships because he left them on even and open shore chosen for anchor, he left Q. Atrius as prefect of the garrison of the ships. Caesar himself left at night and spied the enemy forces around 12 miles away. Their cavalry and chariots having advanced to the river then began to hinder our men from their higher ground and join battle. Repulsed by our horse, they hid in the nearby woods, and then obtained a place outstandingly fortified in both nature and artifice, which had been, as it seemed, built with the cause of civil war in mind. For by means of a great number of felled trees, every one of them entered this place and were shut in. Here and there they kept rushing out and hindered our men as they were entering their fortification. But the soldiers of the Seventh Legion, having formed the tortoise and thrown an agger against the fortification, seized the place and drove the enemy from the forests with few wounds received. But Caesar forbade his men from following after them as they ran in their flight any great distance, both because he did not know the terrain of the place, and also because, since a great part of the day had been spent, he wished to leave time for the fortifying of the camp.
[V.10] On the following day, early in the morning, he sent in three-fold manner his soldiers and knights on an expedition to pursue those who had fled. With these having advanced a little of the way, when already the rear of the enemy was in sight, knights from Quintus Atrius came to Caesar to report that on the previous night, a storm of the greatest size arose, nearly all the ships were shattered and thrown onto the shore because neither the anchors and cables could withstand the force of the storm nor could the sailors and helmsmen; the final report was that due to the collision of the ships, great damage had been received.
[V.11] These matters known, Caesar bids his legions and horse be recalled and cease from their march. He himself returns to the ships. He clearly sees with his own eyes nearly the same things which he had learned from messengers and letters, so that, with about 40 ships lost, the rest seemed nevertheless able to be remade with much trouble. And so, he chose craftsmen from the legions and bids others be summoned from the Continent. To Labienus he writes to build as many ships as possible with the legions which he had with him. Caesar himself, even if the matter was one of great work and toil, nevertheless decided it the most convenient for all the ships to be drawn up and joined with the camp into a single fortification. He spent about 10 days engaged in these affairs with not even any nighttime hours interrupting the toil of the soldiers. With the ships drawn up and the camp outstandingly fortified, he left the same forces which he had left before as the garrison for the ships. He himself sets out whence he had returned. When he had come thither, the greater forces of the Britanni had already gathered algates into that place, with the highest command of managing the war entrusted by common council to Cassivellaunus, whose territories a river which is called the Tamesis (Thames) separates from the seaside states, about 80 miles from the shore. In a time before this, never-ending wars had occurred between him and the remaining states, but the Britanni, moved by our arrival, had put him in charge of the whole war and its conduct.
[V.12] The inner part of the island of Britannia is inhabited by those whom people say that it is handed down in memory to have been born in the island; the seaside part by those who crossed over from Belgium for the sake of plundering and declaring war -- nearly all of these are called by names of those states from which they arrived thither; and so they remained there in Britannia after their war was done and began to plant crops. There is an endless supply of people and their buildings very numerous and nearly in the same manner as the Galli; of cattle they also have a great number. They make use of either bronze or gold or iron rods determined from a certain weight as coinage. White lead (tin) is found in the midland regions, iron in the coasts, but the supply is limited; they make use of imported bronze. Timber they have like every kind in Gallia except the beech and fir. They think it not lawful to taste of hare, rooster, and goose; however, they do breed them for the sake of amusement and delight. The environs are more temperate than those in Gallia, their cold spells being less severe.
[V.13] The island is triangular by nature, one side of which is facing Gallia. One angle of this side is at Cantium (Kent) whither nearly all ships from Gallia are directed, and it faces eastward, the lower part looking out towards the south; this side stretches five hundred miles. The other side looks towards Hispania and the west; on this side lies Hibernia (Ireland), a little less by half than Britannia, as has been reckoned, but the passage thither is equal to that from Gallia to Britannia. In the middle of this voyage lies an island named Mona -- several smaller islands are thought to lie cast all about and concerning which several have written that it is night for thirty consecutive days from the winter solstice. We were able to find nothing concerning such things in our inquiries, except that we did notice by certain measurements of the water that nights were shorter than on the Continent. The length of this side, as is their common opinion, is seven hundred miles. The third side faces the north and no land faces it, but an angle of that side looks mostly towards Germania. This side is thought to be eight hundred miles in length. Thus, the entire island is around two thousands of miles in circumference.
[V.14] Out of all of these peoples, the most civilized by far are those who inhabit Cantium (Kent), which is entirely a seaside area; the inhabits are not different in custom from the Galli. Most of the inlanders do not sow grain, but subsist off of milk and flesh and are clothed in pelts. But all the Britanni wear woad, which dyes them a bluish color and so because of this augmentation appear more horrific in the sight of the enemies in combat. They are long-haired and shave every part of their body apart from the head and upper-lip. Ten and twelve share wives among them in common, very often brothers amongst brothers and parents amongst their children; those who are born from these are considered to be the children of the man who first took the maiden bride to wife.
[V.15] The knights and the chariots of the enemy contested with our horse while on the march; nevertheless the result was that our men had the upper-hand in all respects and drove the enemy into the woods and hills. But, with very many slain, our men followed too greedily and lost some of their number. However, the enemy, some time having elapsed and our men having grown unawares and become busied in the fortifying of the camp, suddenly moved en masse out of the woods and in front of the the camp and fiercely made an attack; two cohorts were thus sent by Caesar to aid them, and when they, though being the First Cohorts of the two legions, stood but a little way from each other then became terrified by the new type of fighting, the enemy thus most violently broke through them and retreated thence in safety. On that day was Quintus Laberius Durus, a Tribune of Soldiers, killed. The enemy, after more cohorts were sent against them, are driven back.
[V.16] In the entirety of this method of fighting, since it happened under everyone's gaze in front of the camp, thus was perceived that our men, on account of the weight of their arms, could neither follow a retreating enemy nor durst leave the standard, so less apt were they to fighting this kind of foe; moreover, that our knights fought with great peril because the Britanni generally would even retreat designedly, and, when they had drawn our men a bit of a ways off from the legions, would jump down from their chariots and fight on foot on ground unfavorable for horses. But our format for engaging on horseback and the danger borne was equal both to those retreating and to those who followed them. To this was added that never were in close quarters, but fought battles in small groups and with open spaces between them; and they had aides stationed in various places about the battlefield who would then work in succession, some picking up the fight where others left off, whole and fresh they would take the place of the wearied.
[V.17] On the following day the enemy took post in the hills at a distance from the camp, and in small groups they presented themselves and more feebly than yesterday began to harass our knights. But at midday, when Caesar had sent three legions and all of the horse with Gaius Trebonius, Lieutenant, in order to forage, the enemy suddenly flew from all quarters upon the foragers such that they could not keep off from the standards and the legions. Our men, after making a fierce resistance, repelled them and they did not cease from following them until the knights, relying on the aid which they saw in the legions behind them, drove the enemy headlong and ended up slaying a great number of them because they gave them chance to neither rally, nor halt, nor leap down from their chariots. Forthwith after this rout, the reinforcements which had gathered algates left and not after that time did the enemy contend with us in very large numbers.
[V.18] Caesar, their plans discovered, led his army to the Tamesis River, the territory of Cassivellaunus. This river can be crossed by foot in only one place and even this with difficulty. When thither he had come, he realized that great forces of the enemy had been drawn up on the other bank of the river, and the riverbank had been fortified by sharp stakes fixed in front and stakes of the same kind were set under the water, covered by the river. These things discovered through captives and deserters, Caesar, his knights sent forth, bid the legions to forthwith follow up. But by such speed and force did our soldiers go with only their heads lifted above the waterline that the enemy could not withstand the onslaught of the legions and also of the knights; therefore they quitted the banks and sounded the retreat.
[V.19] Cassivellaunus, as we have described above, after setting aside all hope of a battle and dismissing a greater part of his forces, with around four thousands of chariots left, kept to keeping an eye on our marches and withdrawing a ways from the road and hiding in intricate and forested places; and he would drive cattle and men from the fields and into the forests in those environs where he found out we were set to march. When our horse had scattered amongst the fields for the sake of plundering and ravaging, he would send out chariots from the woods by all the ways and paths, and he would contest with great danger with our horse and keep them from roaming more widely because of this fear. It was left to Caesar to not allow them to be far off from the main body of the legions, and that harm be dealt to the enemy insofar as the soldiers of the legions ravage the crops and kindle the fires as they could carry out by their own toil and marching.
[V.20] In the meantime, the Trinobantes, nearly the most steadfast of the states of those regions, send ambassadors to Caesar and promise that they will surrender themselves to him and perform all of his bidding. It was from this state that the young man Mandubracius had come to the continent to seek Caesar's protection; his father had once ruled in that state and had been murdered by Cassivellaunus, and the Trinobantes asked that Caesar defend Mandubracius from harm at the hands of Cassivellaunus and send him to their state to take the throne and begin his rule. These Caesar orders four hundred hostages, grain for the army, and he sends Mandubracius to them. They quickly fulfill his commands and send hostages of that number and grain as well.
[V.21] After the Trinobantes were defended and protected from every harm of the soldiers, the Cenimagni, the Segontiaci, the Ancalites, the Bibroci, and the Cassi send embassages to Caesar to surrender themselves unto him. He learns from these that not far from that place is a town fortified by forests and swamps which belonged to Cassivellaunus and where he would find a sufficiently large number of men and cattle. The Britanni call it a town when they have fortified the woods to be a hindrance with rampart and ditch, a place where they are accustomed to gather for the sake of avoiding an enemy invasion. Thence he sets out with his legions and, indeed, he finds the place, fortified outstandingly by nature and artifice; nevertheless, he hastens to assault it from two sides. The enemy tarried for a bit, but did not bear the attack of our soldiers and so burst out from another part of the town. A great number of cattle were found there, and many enemy soldiers were caught in their escape and slain.
[V.22] While these things are happening in these environs, Cassivellaunus sends word to Cantium, which is, as we have mentioned above, faces the sea, and o'er which regions four kings rule: Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus, and Segovax -- anyway, he commands these kings to gather all their forces and assault our naval camp by surprise and besiege it. When they came to our camp, our men made a sally and many of theirs were slain; when even their leader, a noble named Lugotorix was captured, they retreated without taking any damage. When news of this battle was reported, Cassivellaunus, much alarmed by the losses he had received, his borders laid waste, and mostly by the defection of his states, sends ambassadors to Caesar through the mediation of the Atrebatan Commius concerning surrender. Caesar, since he had decided to winter on the Continent on account of the recent stirrings in Gallia, and since not much of the summer remained, and since he understood how easily these matters might be drawn out, orders hostages and decides what tribute Britannia is to pay out to the Roman People. He forbids and orders Cassivellaunus neither to harm Mandubracius nor the Trinobantes.
[V.23] The hostages received, Caesar leads his army back to the sea and finds the ships repaired. Upon disembarking, he decides to convey the army across in two goes, since both he had a great number of captives, and also because several ships had been ruined in the storm. And so it happened that out of such a number of ships and voyages, neither in this year or the last did any ship carrying soldiers go missing. But out of those ships which were sent back empty to him from the Continent, both the ones returning from the previous journey after disembarking soldiers and the others which Labienus had taken care to be built, numbering 60, very few reached their destination and nearly all the rest were driven back. After Caesar waited in vain for these for some time, he then packed his soldiers into rather cramped conditions out of necessity, lest he be closed off from voyaging by the season of the year, for the equinox was nigh, and, with utmost calm ensuing, he set sail at the second hour; at dawn he reached land and all his ships undamaged he brought safely to port.
-THE END OF THE SECOND INVASION OF BRITANNIA-
[V.24] Once the ships were beached and a council of the Galli held at Samarobriva, forced was Caesar to winter his army and divvy up his legions amongst several states in a different fashion as he had in previous years on account of the grain thriving less vigorously than usual that year due to the droughts. So thus, he sent one to be wintered among the Morini under the command of Gaius Fabius; a second under Quintus Cicero went to the Nervii; a third under Lucius Roscius to the Esubii; a fourth under Titus Labienus he bid to winter among the Remi at the borders of the Treveri. Three legions he put among the Belgae, and made Quartermaster Marcus Crassus and Lieutenants Lucius Munatius Plancus and Gaius Trebonius in charge of them. One legion, which he had most recently enrolled across the Padus, he sent along with five cohorts to the Eburiones, whose chief part was between the Mosa River and the Rhenus, and were under the command of Ambiorix and Catuvolcus; o'er these men he bid Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta be put in charge. It was with his legions distributed in this fashion that he supposed that he would be able to hold out against the lack of grain with the greatest ease. And nay even more, the winter camps of all of these legions (save the one which was under Lucius Roscius) he had bid be kept in the most peaceful and calm districts and bound by a distance of not more than one hundred miles. In the meantime, Caesar himself decided to tarry until he had learned that the legions, fortifications, and camps were in place.
-THE REVOLT OF THE BELGAE-
[V.25] Among the Carnutes was a man born into the highest station by the name of Tasgetius, whose ancestors had sat the throne in his state. It was this man whom Caesar had restored to his ancestors' seat for his valor and generosity towards him, for he had been of great use in every campaign due to his remarkable hard work. After ruling for the last three years, his enemies, with the public encouragement of many people in his state, murdered him. The news is relayed to Caesar; and Caesar, afraid because the matter involved many players and that the state might rebel on the whim of these regicides, bids Lucius Plancus to set out with all haste with his legion from Belgium and to the Carnutes; once he sets up winter quarters there, he is to arrest the men whom he has ascertained had involvement in the murder of Tasgetius and send them to him. In the meantime, he was informed by all the Lieutenants and Quartermaster to whom he had given legions that they had settled into their winter camps and their forts were manned.
[V.26] Nearly a fortnight after settling into their winter camps, the beginning of a sudden uprising and rebellion was initiated by Ambiorix and Catuvolcus, who, after attending upon Sabinus and Cotta at the borders of their kingdom and bringing the grain to the winter camps, were driven by messengers from Indutiomarus of the Treveri to stir up trouble among their people; without warning they overwhelmed the woodcutters and then came with a large force to attack the camp. After our men quickly took up their arms, scaled the ramparts and then were victorious in a cavalry battle when our Spanish knights were sent out on one flank, the enemy despaired in this hope and led their men back from the attack. Then, according to their custom, they raised a shout that one of our men should come forth for a parley. They said that they had things of interest to both parties which they wished to discuss, and they had hopes that the disputes between them could be alleviated though such negotiations.
[V.27] Sent is Gaius Arpineius to them for the sake of the parley; a Roman Knight, friend of Quintus Titurius and a certain Quintus Iunius of Hispania, this man had on previous occasions been sent to and fro on Caesar's errands to Ambiorix. In their presence, Ambiorix spoke in the following fashion: he confessed that he was very much indebted to Caesar on behalf of the kindness he had done to him, for he had been set free by Caesar's agency from the tribute which he had been accustomed to pay out to his neighbor the Aduatuci, and because his son and his brother's son, who had been sent in the number of hostages to the Aduatuci and kept in their country in bondage and chains, were sent back to him by Caesar. Next, what he had done in regard to the attack on the camp, he had not done by choice or his own free will, but by the urging of the state, and his power was of the sort which the masses held no less power over himself than he had over them. Furthermore, the state had gone to war for the reason that it could not resist the sudden conspiracy of the Galli; he could easily prove this by the lowliness of his position, because he is not so inexperienced of matters that he trusts that the Roman people could be overcome by his forces. However, this was the common counsel of Gallia, that this was the date for the assaults on every winter camp of Caesar, lest any legion be able to come to the aid of any other legion. Not easily had Galli been able to deny Galli, especially when this plan appeared to have been begun for the recovery of freedom for all. Since he had accomplished these things for the sake of piety, he now had an accounting of his duty for Caesar's good acts. He now warned, nay, prayed because of their past friendship that Titurius should look after his own and his soldiers' well-being. For a great band of Germani had been hired and crossed the Rhenus; within two days it would be at hand. It was their own choice as to whether they should wish their men to retreat from their camp to either Cicero's or Labienus' before their neighbors caught wind of what was going on; the one camp was about fifty miles away, the other a bit of a ways further from their current position. He promised and made assurance by swearing oaths that he would give them safe passage through his lands. Since he did this, saieth he, was both safeguarding the interests of his state by removing the Romans' camps from their environs, and he was repaying Caesar what he deserved. After giving this speech, Ambiorix left.
[V.28] Arpineius and Iunius reported the things they heard to the Lieutenants. They were disturbed by this new development, and even though the information came from an enemy source, they nevertheless did not believe that they could afford to ignore it. They were also deeply alarmed that the lowly and unassuming state of the Eburones had dared to make war upon the Roman People of their own accord -- it scarcely was to be believed. And so, they brought the matter before the council and great was the debate which arose amongst them. Lucius Aurunculeius along with several Tribunes and Centurions of the first rank thought that nothing rash ought to be done, nor should they retreat from the camp without further instructions from Caesar; they also pointed out that a force of Germani of however large a size could be withstood in a fortified camp, and there was evidence of this, for they had gallantly held up against the first attack of the enemy and dealt them many wounds in return. They were not pressed for grain, and eventually help would come from both the nearby camps and from Caesar. And finally, what could be more dimwitted and disgraceful than to make plans based on the advice given by an enemy?
[V.29] Titurius kept shouting in opposition that it would be too late if larger bands of the enemy showed up with Germani in their ranks or if some disaster had already reached the nearby camps. He pointed out that short was the time for debating, and that he guessed that Caesar had set out for Italy, otherwise the Carnutes would not have come up with the idea to kill Tasgetius, nor would the Eburones have come to to our camp if the Commander were present, such was their contempt for us. He was not looking at the enemy being the author of their intelligence, he said, but rather he was examining the facts: the Rhine was nearby; great was the grief the Germani had at the death of Ariovistus and our earlier triumphs; Gallia burned with anger at the insults she had received at the hands of the empire of the Roman People, her former renown in warfare now snuffed out; finally, who could persuade him that Ambiorix had resorted to such a plan as this without sure grounds? As to his own idea, it effected safety in either event: if there was nothing to worry about, then they would arrive with no peril to the nearest legion; if all Gallia conspired with the Germani, then their singular safety lay in speed. Indeed, what was Cotta's plan for withdrawal, or the other people who disagreed with him? If at the present there was no danger, then certainly they ought to fear starvation during a prolonged siege.
[V.30] This debate was split between the two sides, with the previous plan being vigorously resisted by Cotta and the first rank officers. Then Sabinus said in a rather loud voice so a great part of the soldiers could hear him: "Fine, have your way if you all wish it. I am not the man among ye who is so seriously afraid of the danger of death, and these men know it; but if anything ill happens, they may ask an account of you, since it is by your leave if they should join with the nearby camps and weather the course of the war together with their fellows, instead of dying by the sword or of starvation, far removed and separated from the others."
[V.31] The council rose together and laid hands on either general and begged that they not let endanger the matter by their own disagreement and obstinacy; it would be an easy thing, spake they, whether they stayed or left, if only they would all as one agree and approve of one course of action, while on the contrary, they saw no salvation in disagreement. The matter is in dispute until midnight. At last, Cotta throws his hand and gives in; the opinion proposed by Sabinus carries the day. It is announced that they will depart at dawn. The remaining part of night was spent awake while each soldier was looking about for his gear, gathering what he could take with him and what he might leave. Every excuse was thought up as to why they could not wait without incurring any risk and the danger increased because of the fatigue and wakefulness of the soldiers. At dawn they left in such order from the camp, convinced that they had been given information not by an enemy, but by a friend, Ambiorix, so their column was very long and their baggage very heavy.
[V.32] But the enemy, after they perceived from the nighttime commotion and wakefulness which accompanies departure, laid a two-fronted ambush in the woods in a convenient and covered spot about two miles away and awaited the arrival of the Romans; and when a greater part of the column had come down into a large ravine, the enemy appeared suddenly from either side of the valley and began to overwhelm the rear and stop the front from climbing up, where they joined battle on ground very unfavorable to our men.
[V.33] Then Titurius, who had sensed none of this coming, finally began to grow afraid and race about swiftly to post regiments here and there, but even these he did timidly so that all his faculties seemed to fail him, a thing which is often wont to happen to such men as are compelled to come up with a plan in face of trouble. But Cotta, who had already thought that these things could happen while marching and, for this very reason, had not been a proponent for the departure, failed in no way to see to the safety of all, as in naming and encouraging the troops he assumed the commander's role, while in this action a soldier's duties. Since on account of the length of the column were the officers less capable to survey and oversee by themselves everything which needed to be done, they bid the orders be carried down the line to abandon the baggage and close ranks into a circle. This plan, though one would not find fault with it in such a terrible circumstance such as this, nevertheless had an unfortunate result that both it dampened the hopes of our soldiers and bestowed greater zeal to the enemy in fighting, for this action had no appearance other than that of the highest dread and desperation. Moreover, it happened due to necessity that the common soldiery abandoned the standards and hasten to race and snatch up whatever of the baggage each held most dearly. Everything was filled with shouting and weeping.
[V.34] But the barbarians did not lack stratagem, as their leaders bid them pass on through the whole company that each warrior not leave from his post, and that the booty was theirs, and whatever the Romans abandoned was to be kept for them. Thence they reckoned that everything rested on victory. Equal were the barbarians in valor and zeal of fighting, and yet, though our men were bereft of leader and luck, they put every hope on their valor and every time each cohort advanced, a great number of the enemy in that quarter fell. Noticing this, Ambiorix bid the order be given that weapons be cast at a distance and no one approach any closer and to give way to any place where the Romans made an attack (for due to the lightness of their arms and their daily exercise they were in no way able to be harmed), and pursue the enemy retreating to their standards.
[V.35] They very closely followed this command, and whenever some regiment left from the circle and made a sally, the enemy very swiftly pulled back. In the meantime, due to necessity, that part which charged was left open and received a volley of missiles on their exposed flank. When again they returned whence they had charged, they began to be surrounded by both the enemy who had withdrawn and by the ones who had taken up position closest to them. But yet, if the men should fain hold their ground, then there was no room left for valorous fighting, nor were they able to avoid the weapons hurled by so large a force of the enemy. Nevertheless, assailed so many difficulties and having received many wounds, they kept resisting their foes; and, despite a great part of the day was taken up with this fighting, which lasted from morning until the eighth hour, nothing unworthy was done by our men. It was then that Titus Balventius, a man of bravery and great authority who had been First-Rank Centurion in the previous year, was pierced through both thighs by a single slinged-javelin; this was followed by Quintus Lucanius, a man of the same rank, who was slain fighting most gallantly to aid a son who had become surrounded. Lucius Cotta, Lieutenant, took a sling-stone full in the face while he was cheering on all his regiments and ranks.
[V.36] Alarmed by this events, Quintus Titurius, sent his interpreter Gnaeus Pompeius to ask Ambiorix to spare his soldiers, for he had espied him some distance off cheering on his own men. When the man was called out by name, he answered that if he should fain parley with him, he was allowed; further, he hoped that he could impress upon the great number of his men to do that which had the best interest of the soldiers in mind; but in no way would Titurius himself be harmed, and he swore to do this thing. Titurius spoke with the wounded Cotta, asking if he saw fit to leave from the fight and parley alongside him with Ambiorix; he said that he hoped to be able to impress upon the man to do that which was in the best interest of himself and his men. Cotta said that the would not go to an armed foe and was steadfast in his refusal.
[V.37] Sabinus had about him the staff officers present and ordered the centurions of the highest rank to follow him; then, when he had approached closer to Ambiorix and was bid to throw down his arms, he obeyed the order and commanded his men to do the same. In the meantime, while they were treating concerning the conditions, a speech longer by design was given by Ambiorix so that our man could gradually by a slow advance be surrounded and slain. But then, according to their custom, they all gave a victorious cry and raised a loud ululation, and so they put fear into our men's hearts before they renewed the attack. It was there that Lucius Cotta was slain while fighting, as well as the largest part of the soldiery. Those who were left retreated to the camp whence they had departed. In the number of these who were fleeing was Lucius Petrosidius, the aquilifer, who was being whelmed by a very large number of the enemy, and so cast the eagle o'er the walls and into the camp; he himself is cut down while fighting most gallantly before the walls of the camp. Ill did the rest withstand the assault up till sunset, and during the night they killed each other to a man, each having despaired of his situation and lost all hope. A few who had slipped away from the battle, come by unknown paths through the forests to Lieutenant Titus Labienus in his winter quarters; and there they inform him of what had occurred.
[V.38] Elated by this victory, Ambiorix forthwith set outs with all his horse to the territory of the Aduatuci, who were his kingdom's neighbors. Neither during night nor day does he stop, and bids his foot follow after him. After explaining the events to the Aduatuci, he roused them and on the next day he arrives to the territory of the Nervii and urges them not to let pass this occasion to free themselves forever and avenge themselves upon the Romans for the wrongs they had received at their hands. Ambiorix explains that two Roman lieutenants had been slain and a great part of the army had perished, and it would be no trouble for the legion wintering with Cicero to be overwhelmed and destroyed. Additionally, he declares himself up for the task. And so, he easily persuades the Nervii with this speech.
[V.39] Forthwith they dispatch messengers to the Ceutrones, Grudii, the Levaci, the Pleumoxii, the Geidumni, all those who were under their command, and gather as many as possible and fall without warning upon the winter camp of Cicero while not yet had any word of the Titurius' death been brought to him. In the case of Cicero, it also happened that, due to necessity, several soldiers who had left the camp for the forests in order to gather materials for strengthening the entrenchments, were intercepted by the sudden arrival of the enemy cavalry. Once these were taken, en masse the Eburones, the Nervii, the Aduatuci and all of their allies and bannermen begin the assault on the legion. Our men quickly ran to their arms and scaled the rampart. Ill is the day maintained, for the enemy put every hope in their haste and they were confident that if they obtained this victory, they would win for all time.
[V.40] Sent to Caesar forthwith are dispatches from Cicero, and great rewards were offered for their swift delivery; for with all roads being watched, if anything were sent, it was intercepted. By night were one hundred twenty towers built up with great haste using the timber which had been gathered for the fortification; everything considered a weakness in the work is completed by then. The next day, the enemy attack the camp with a much greater force gathered and fill up our ditch. Using the same tactics as they had the day before, our men held them off. Then the same thing was done the following days. No part of of the nighttime hours were broken off from this hard fighting, no relief given to the sick or wounded. Whatever was needful for the next day's assault is readied during the night, many stakes tip-fired, a great number of wall-pikes, towers built storey-by-storey, with adornments and armor attached to them. Cicero, although his own health had been feeble, not even at nighttime had he allowed himself any hours for repose, was finally forced to take a break by the agreement and assent of the soldiers about him.
[V.41] Then are the leaders and chieftains of the Nervii who had some chance of speaking with Cicero and likewise had some reason for being friendly to him said that they wished to parley. When ability was given to them, they recounted the same points which Ambiorix had put to Titurius, that all Gallia was in arms, that the Germani had crossed the Rhine, and that Caesar's winter camp, as well as the rest of them, were in the process of being assaulted. They also add to their list the death of Sabinus. Over and over again do they point to Ambiorix for the sake of establishing trust. It was a mistake, they said, to hope for any relief from people who themselves were in difficulty; nevertheless, they continued, we have in mind towards Cicero and the Roman People to refuse them nothing apart for quartering their legions here during the winter, for we do not wish this practice to become established and long-standing. They finished by saying that is was permitted for the Romans to depart unharmed from their winter camp and set out without any fear whithersoever they wished to go. Cicero replied to these terms by saying only one thing, that it was not the practice of the Roman People to accept terms from any enemy still under arms. If they should wish to step away from their arms, he replied, then they might make use of him as an advocate and send ambassadors to Caesar; then they might hope to obtain what they ask due to Caesar's good justice.
[V.42] Failing in this hope, the Nervii gird the winter camp with a rampart of nine feet and a ditch fifteen feet wide. They were taught these measures both from the traffic they had had with us in the recent years and by those whom they had secretly from our army. But no supply of tools had they suitable for this purpose, and so relied on cutting turf with swords and lifting up earth with hands and cloaks. From such activity was it possible to ascertain the number of their host, for in less than three hours had they completed a fortification some fifteen miles in circumference. In the remaining days, they begin to ready and construct towers in height comparable to the rampart, grappling-hooks and shelters which the prisoners had also taught them.
[V.43] After a week of assaulting the camp, a very powerful wind kicked up, and the enemy began to throw burning hot sling-bullets made from molten potters-clay and blazing javelins upon our huts which had been thatched with straw according to Gallic custom. These quickly caught fire and spread to every part of the camp by the great amount of wind. The enemy gave a very loud shout as if victory had already been claimed and assured, and they began to man the towers and coverlets and scale the rampart with ladders. But so great was the valor of the soldiers and such was their presence of mind that when scorched algates by fire, when pressed by a very large crush of weapons, and when they understood that all of their baggage and fortunes were consumed by the blaze, none not only left from the rampart to flee, but nearly each to a man gave not a single glance behind him and continued to fight fiercely and gallantly. This day was by far the most grave for our men, but yet this was the outcome it held, that out of any day the greatest number of the enemy was wounded and slain, as they had crowded densely under the very walls of the rampart, and those at the back of the crowd gave no quarter to those in the front. While the blaze held off for a space, a tower was wheeled up to a certain place and touched the rampart; the centurions of the third cohort withdrew from where they were stationed, moved all their men back, and they began to call upon the enemy with cries and shouts to enter if they wished. None of them dared to advanced, whereupon they were toppled by stoned hurled from every direction and the tower was set aflame.
[V.44] There were in that legion two very brave men, centurions both, and both approaching the highest ranks, named Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus. These two engaged in never-ending rivalry as to who would be in the first place before all others, and strove every year concerning their rank with the greatest animosity. While one of these, Pullo, was fighting very fiercely around the fortifications, he spake: "Why do you hesitate, Vorenus? Or are you waiting for some chance to prove your valor? This is the day which will decide our rivalry!" Having said this, he went outside the fortifications and dashed to attack whichever part of the enemy seemed most densely packed together. Not even Vorenus then stayed within the walls, but fearing the opinion of the men followed after him. With a decent distance left, Pullo cast a javelin upon the enemy and pierced one as he was running forward from the crowd; this man's fellows covered him with shields after he was struck and rendered unconscious, while the rest of the enemy as a body hurled their weapons upon their foe and gave him no chance to recover. Pullo's shield was pierced and a dart lodged in his belt. This action had turned his sheath aside and kept him from drawing his sword with his right hand; in the meantime, the enemy encircle him as he struggles. Suddenly, up comes the man's rival, Vorenus, and offers aid to him in his distress. The entire crowd forthwith turns from Pullo towards this new foe, for they think the former slain by the dart lodged in him. Fighting sword-to-sword Vorenus holds them off and manages to drive them off a space by killing one. While advancing too eagerly, he tripped in a dip in the ground and fell. And as it was before, when he was being surrounded, Pullo ran to his aid and, after slaying several, both return to the fortification to uproarious acclaim. Thus, Fortune had dealt with their rivalry and contest in such a way that the both rivals had borne his aid and salvation to the other, and no one was able to judge as to which seemed to must needs gain the first place in valor.
[V.45] The more serious and desperate the assault became day-by-day, especially because a great part of the soldiers had become wearied by wounds, and so the matter had come down to the scarcity of the defenders, the more frequent were letters and messengers sent to Caesar. Part of the latter of these had been captured in sight of our soldiers and put to death by torture. There was one amidst their ranks by name of Vertico, a Nervian born into an honorable estate, who had fled to Cicero at the outset of the siege and pledged his loyalty to him. He persuades a slave with promise of freedom and other excellent rewards to bear dispatches to Caesar. He took them bound to a javelin, and, as a Gallus among Galli, went without any suspicion and reached Caesar. It is from this man that the situation concerning Cicero's and his legion's perils were made known.
[V.46] Caesar, once he received the dispatches around the eleventh hour (approx. 5-6 PM), at once sends a message to the Bellovaci to M. Crassus, Quaestor, whose winter camp was 25 miles from Cicero. He bids the legion to set out at midnight and with all speed come to him. Crassus departs with the message. Another he sends to C. Fabius, Lieutenant, to take his legion into the territory of the Atrebates, where he knew he himself would have to march. Writes he to Labienus, that, should it be possible for him to do without doing disservice to the Republic, he come to the territory of the Nervii with his legion. Caesar did not think that he ought to wait for the remaining part of the army, because it was a little further away. Around four hundred horse he gathers from the nearest winter camps.
[V.47] Around the third hour he was informed by the forerunners of Crassus' arrival, and on that day he advanced 20 miles. He put Crassus in charge of Samarobriva, and gives him a legion because in that place were left the baggage of the army, the hostages of the states, the public documents, and all the grain which he had conveyed thither to last the winter. Fabius, as he had been commanded, joined to meet him after a not-long delay on the march. After Labienus learned of the death of Sabinus and the slaughter of his cohorts, he became afraid because all the forces of the Treveri had come to him, and if he made a departure from his winter camp which looked like an escape, he would be unable to withstand the onslaught of the enemy, for he knew they would particularly carried off by this recent victory; so he sends dispatches to Caesar to tell of how dangerous it would be to lead his legion out of winter camp, and he likewise describes in detail what was happening among the Eburones. He finally explains that all the horse and foot of the Treveri had encamped three miles from his own camp.
[V.48] Judging his actions correct, Caesar, even though he was disappointed by not having three legions and instead had to resort to two, nevertheless put the only hope of common salvation in haste. Came he by forced marches into the territory of the Nervii. There he learns from prisoners what was happening at Cicero's camp, in how much danger they were. Thereupon, Caesar persuades a certain man from the Gallic knights with promises of great rewards to bear a letter to Cicero. Caesar sends this letter written in Greek so that, if intercepted, our designs will not be discovered by the enemy. If he could not get close to Cicero, Caesar instructs him to cast a sling-dart with the letter tied to the strap within the fortifications. Within the instructions, Caesar writes that his arrival with the legions shall quickly be at hand; further, he urges him to keep his former courage. The Gaul, fearing the danger in what he was doing, cast the sling-dart as he had been commanded. By chance, this weapon stuck to a tower and went unnoticed by our men for two days -- on the third, it was espied by a some soldier, taken down, and brought to Cicero. The man reads the letter in a council of the soldiery and all feel the greatest joy. It was at that time that the smoke from fires could be seen at a distance, a thing which drove away all doubt as to the arrival of the legions.
[V.49] Having discovered this, the Galli quit their siege and hasten to Caesar with all their forces, about 60,000 armed. Cicero, the opportunity now given to him, asks the Gaul of the selfsame Vertico, the man about whom we have written above, to bear dispatches to Caesar. Cicero instructs this man to go cautiously and with care. He writes in the dispatches that the enemy have left himself and have turned their entire host to him. When the dispatches were relayed to Caesar around midnight, he informs his men and encourages them for the oncoming battle. On the next day, at dawn, he breaks camp and, having advanced about four miles, he espies the enemy host across the valley and stream. There was great danger in such a slender force fighting on such unfavorable ground. Then, since he knew that Cicero was freed from the siege, he was calm and thought that he could lessen his haste. He takes up position and, in the most level place he can find, fortifies a camp. Even if it were small by itself, being that it held scarcely seven thousands persons, who especially had no baggage, nevertheless he draws it inward so the roads were the narrowest possible; by this design, the camp might cause the utmost contempt in the enemy. Meanwhile, he sends spies into all directions to scout which route is it the most convenient to be able to cross the valley.
[V.50] On that day, after a little cavalry skirmish occurred near the water, either side keep to their own place: the Galli, because they were awaiting more numerous forces which had not yet arrived; and Caesar, to see if he might by chance be able to lure the enemy to his own position by pretending cowardice, and, if unable to do that, to scout the routes and cross the valley and stream with less peril. At dawn, the enemy horse approached the camp and joined battle with our knights. Caesar forthwith bids the knights to give way and retreat to the camp; at the same time, he orders the camp on all sides to be fortified by a taller rampart and the gates barred and most importantly, the greatest confusion and pretense of fear possible be assumed in carrying out these duties.
[V.51] Tempted by all these observations, the enemy lead their forces across the valley and station their battle line on unfavorable ground. And then, when our men were drawn back from the rampart, they approach nearer and hurl their weapons from all directions into the fortifications; they then send heralds all and bid them announce that if any Gaul or Roman wishes to come over to their side before the third hour, he would be permitted without any danger; but there would not be an opportunity given afterwards. And so, they despised our men, because the camp did not seem able to be broken into by gates, as they saw each one had been barred in appearance by rows of sod, so some begin to tear at the rampart with their hands and others to fill up the ditch. It was then that Caesar makes a sally from all gates and, with the cavalry sent forth, hastily puts the enemy to flight in such a way that not an enemy stood to resist at all. He slew a great number of them and stripped all of them of their arms.
[V.52] Fearing to pursue any further as forests and marshlands were scattered about, nor yet did he see a place for harming the enemy even a little bit, he arrived with all his forces unharmed to Cicero that very day. Caesar was amazed at what the enemy built, the towers, coverlets, and fortifications. When the legion was brought forth, he learns that not a tenth was left un-wounded; from these facts he guesses in how much peril and how valorously these men conducted their affairs. He calls out Cicero for praise, and his well-deserved legion; the centurions, each by name, and the tribunes he names aloud, all whose outstanding courage he had learned from Cicero. He learned more fully of the downfall of Sabinus and Cotta from prisoners. On the next day he holds a parade and explains what happened, and consoles and comforts the soldiers. He points out the harm done by the fault and rashness of the lieutenant; that such action must be done with a calmer mind; that it was by the kindness of the deathless gods and by their valor that the evil had turned out well; and neither was any lasting happiness left to the enemy, nor any longer-lasting grief to ourselves.
[V.53] In the meantime, the report of Caesar's victory was borne with unbelievable speed to Labienus by the Remi so that, although it was about 60 miles from Cicero's winter camp and Caesar had arrived thither after the ninth hour of that day, a shout rose up before midnight near the gates of the camp which signified victory and congratulations being conferred onto Labienus by the Remi. When this report was borne to the Treveri, Indutiomarus, who had decided to assault Labienus' camp the next day, fled by night and led all his forces back among the Treveri. Caesar send Fabius back to his winter camp with his own legion while he himself decided to winter with three legions in three winter camps around Samarobriva, for, due to such happenings in Gallia as of late, he decided to stay in person with his army the whole winter. For when the ill news concerning the death of Sabinus had been spread, nearly all the states of Gallia were debating war, sending messengers and ambassadors into all directions, and learning what stratagem the rest were hatching and where the war would begin, and holding nighttime meetings in barren places. And nearly no time for the whole of the winter passed without worry for Caesar, for he would receive some messenger concerning the plans and movements of the Galli. Among such news, he was informed by Lucius Roscius, whom he had made in charge of the thirteenth legion, that great forces of the states which are called the Armoricae have gathered for the sake of attacking him, and were no further than eight miles from his winter camp; but when a messenger brought new of Caesar's victory, they departed, and their departure seemed like unto a rout.
[V.54] But Caesar, after summoning the chieftains of those states to him so he might scare some by announcing that he knew what was going on, and while urging others, he kept a large part of Gallia under his control. Nevertheless, the Senones, whose state is firmly among the most important and their prestige great amongst the Galli, tried to publicly slay Cavarinus, whom Caesar had decided should be king among them and whose brother Moritasgus had worn the crown when Caesar arrived in Gallia, as well as his ancestors. When the man had gotten wind of the plot, he fled. The Senones followed him all the way up to the borders and drove him from his kingdom and home and, when ambassadors were sent to Caesar when he bid them all come to him to make satisfaction, they did not obey his command. That some chieftains were found to declare war so much prevailed upon these barbarian peoples and brought about such a utter change of feeling that, apart from the Aedui and the Remi, whom Caesar always held in a particular esteem, the one people due to their old and everlasting loyalty towards the Roman People, and the other for the recent services rendered in the Gallic War, nearly no state was not held in suspicion by us. And I am inclined to think that this is not something to be considered remarkable, since due to several other reasons, it was at that time especially because those people who surpassed all other people in valor of warfare, were most seriously aggrieved that they had lost such an estimation of themselves to endure the power of the Roman People.
[V.55] But the Treveri and Indutiomarus wasted no time throughout the whole winter in sending ambassadors across the Rhine, invite the states, promise funds, and declare that, with a great part of our army slain, a much lesser part survived. Yet no state of the Germani was able to be persuaded to cross the Rhine, for they said that they twice had made an attempt: once in the war with Ariovistus and the other in the crossing of the Tencteri -- they would not tempt Fortune further. Deceived in this hope, Indutiomarus nevertheless began to gather troops, drill them, ready horses from his neighbors, and draw all exiles and condemned throughout all of Gallia to him with promise of great rewards. And he had gathered such prestige for himself in Gallia because of these doings so that algates did embassages rush to him to beg thanks and friendship, publicly and privately.
[V.56] When he realized they were coming to him of his own accord, that on the one hand the Senones and Carnutes were driven on by the knowledge of their crime, while on the other hand the Nervii and the Aduatuci were readying war upon the Romans, that he would not lack forces of volunteers if he began to set out from his own territory, he called a war council. According to custom, this is how the Galli begin war, where by common law all the armed young men are accustomed to gather; the last out of these to gather is, by law, killed in the sight of the multitude after succumbing to tortures. In that council, Indutiomarus declares publicly Cingetorix to be an enemy of the state and confiscates his goods; this Cingetorix was the chieftain of another faction, his own son-in-law, and, as we have written above, kept faith with Caesar and did not abandon him. These affairs finished, he announces in the council that he has been summoned by the Senones and Carnutes and several other Gallic states; hither, he says, he will go through to the territory of the Remi, lay waste to their crops, and, before doing so, assault Labienus' camp. He lays out what he wants to happen.
[V.57] Labienus, since he kept himself to his camp fortified by both terrain and artifice, feared nothing of danger to himself or his legion; he thought that he ought not to lose any chance for conducting an operation well. And so, when he learned from Cingetorix and his relations what Indutiomarus said in his speech which he delivered before the council, Labienus sends messengers to the neighboring states and calls knights everywhence. Meanwhile, nearly daily Indutiomarus was roving with all his horse beneath the walls of the camp with all his horse, sometimes to learn of the situation at the camp, other times to parley or spread terror. Generally, all the knights hurled their weapons within the rampart. Labienus kept his men within the fortification and increased the estimation of his cowardice with every means he was able.
[V.58] While Indutiomarus approached the camp with more contempt day-by-day, Labienus within a single night had taken care that all the horse he had summoned from the neighboring states be kept within the walls, and with such care did he hold all his men inside the camp by means of guards that on no account was the matter reported out or able to be borne to the Treveri. In the meantime, Indutiomarus approached the camp in his daily custom and spent a great part of the day there. The knights cast their weapons and with a great insulting calls, summon our men to fight. When no answer was given by our men and once it seemed best, they scatter before evening and, taking off in disarray, make their departure. Suddenly, Labienus sends all his horse out by two gates. He explained and charged all of them, once the enemy was scared and thrown into flight (which he saw would happen just as he said), to go for only Indutiomarus and no one should wound any before he saw that leader slain, for Labienus did not wish that he escape after obtaining a brief respite of delay; he promises great rewards to whoever fells the man. He sends out cohorts as a backup for the knights. Fortune approves the man's plan, and, when everyone goes for the Indutiomarus alone, they capture him in the shoals of the river itself where he is slain, his head brought back to camp. Upon their return, the knights pursue whomever they are able and slay them. Once this affair is learned, the forces of both the Eburones and Nervii which had gathered depart, and Caesar found Gallia had become a little more quiet.
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