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Battle of Gergovia (52 BCE) took place between the Roman army led by Julius Caesar and the insurgent Gallic army led by Vercingetorix.
Background of events
Battle of Gergovia was one of the episodes of the Julius Caesar conquest of Gaul in 58-52 BCE. In 52 BCE an uprising broke out against the Romans led by Vercingetorix son of Celtyllus, one of the Arvernian lords. This tribe was located in the very centre of Gaul in the Central Massif – today Auvergne. They were a powerful people, trading in their hands with the surrounding tribes. They also controlled two major rivers: Allier and Loire. They tried to create a confederation so that they could influence all the people of Gaul. The name of this tribe – Arveni means farmers.
During the campaign of 52 BCE, after capturing the Avaricum, Julius Caesar travelled to the land of the Aedui. After resolving the issue of leadership over this tribe, Caesar began to pursue the insurgent army of Gauls. Knowing about the enemy’s forces, he divided his troops: Titus Labienus at the head of four Legions (IV, VI, VII, XII) and half of the cavalry, he set off against the Senones and their Parisians. The proconsul himself at the head of the remaining cavalry and six legions (VIII, IX, X, XIII, XV and a legion borrowed from Pompey, a total of about 25,000 men) followed Vercingetorix’s army straight to Gergovia – the capital of the Arverni. The Roman army was advancing on the right bank of the Elaver River (today’s Allier), towards its sources. In order to prevent the Romans from crossing the river, Vercingetorix ordered to destroy all bridges on the river, while marching parallel to the Romans on the other side of the river. Thanks to a cunning manoeuvre, Caesar managed to cross the river, prompting the Gauls to retreat towards the main oppidum Arverni – Gergovia. This situation suited Caesar very much, because, having learned from the experience gained from previous campaigns, he counted on the fact that the Gauls locked in their oppidum would have limited room for manoeuvre, and knowing the Roman advantage in the ability to conquer Gallic strongholds, he had already seen himself the conqueror of the city and victor over the Gallic army.
Five days after crossing the Elaver Caesar stopped at Gergovia. The city was located 774 meters above sea level and had steep slopes, especially on the north and east sides. The difference in levels of nearly 300 meters made the Arverni oppidum seem impregnable. After a careful survey of the terrain in accordance with the rules of the Roman army, a camp was built on the south-eastern side, and then, at Caesar’s orders, fortifications were dug with the aim of girdling Gergovia with a line of dikes and ditches that would cut off the Gauls from the hinterland. To this end, he placed the legion camp closest to the fortifications of Gergovia, possibly on Chanturgue Hill. By surprise, the Romans also occupied a small Gallic camp after a few days on the neighbouring hill La Roche Blanche, located on the southern slope of the mountain on which Gergovia stood. In this way, they partially deprived the defenders of access to fresh water and food. With this in mind, Vercingetorix was afraid that the Romans might master the western, gentle approach to the city, where it was connected with the surrounding hills by a saddle, so he decided to fortify the hill by building another wall intended to stop the Roman advance and prevent them from further progress in siege works.
Roman forces | Gallic forces |
Command: Julius Caesar The strength was around 25,000 people. The army was made up of six legions and cavalry. Caesar also had Edenian reinforcements under his command. | Command: Vercingetorix The force was around 30,000 under his personal command. |
Battle
The battle began on the day when Caesar, after inspecting the fortifications, found that the existing Gauls positions on the southern slope of the mountain were deserted.
For, when he had come into the smaller camp for the purpose of securing the works, he noticed that the hill in the possession of the enemy was stripped of men, although, on the former days, it could scarcely be seen on account of the numbers on it.
– Julius Caesar, Gallic war, VII.44
Caesar, therefore, decided to immediately take advantage of the opportune moment to launch an attack on the fortifications of the city itself. To distract the defenders, Caesar ordered his ride, and then also disguised mule drivers to pretend to be riders and by making numerous manoeuvres to simulate the movements of Roman troops preparing to attack the hill from the west. These manoeuvres were visible both from the place where the Gallic warriors were building the new wall and from the city whose confused inhabitants did not know how to interpret these actions. After this demonstration, one legion in full formation with banners and music marched towards the hill occupied by the Gauls who were building fortifications from the Clemensat creek. This legion then stopped at the edge of a wooded valley to ensure the rest of the army that was about to storm the oppidum. All these manoeuvres really confused the Gauls’ command. Vercingetorix, as a result of panic reports and his own observations, concluded that Caesar actually wanted to attack the hill where the Gallic warriors were presently located. Therefore, he moved his troops towards the expected Roman attack. Seeing the movements of the Gauls, Caesar ordered the remaining legions to secretly move to the small camp. When the legions were ready to attack, Caesar gave the order to attack the hill, at the same time ordering the auxiliary Eduean warriors to move on a longer, roundabout road and attack the city from the southeast from the main Roman camp (According to the Roman army regulations, no stranger could stay in the fortified camp The Edenic warriors had their own separate camp.)
Caesar in his comments on the “Gallic War” does not disclose his plans. Thus, it can only be assumed that he might have wanted to take the oppidum and deprive Vercingetorix of his support in a strongly fortified fortress, or, by simulating an attack on the city, induce the Gauls to open battle in an area unfavourable for the development of large cavalry masses. The Gauls, having a numerical advantage over the Romans (especially in driving), could not use it in relatively narrow valleys between the hills covered with dense forest surrounding Gergovia. It seems, however, that the course of the entire battle may suggest an attempt to conquer the Arvernian oppidum in a situation where most of the Gauls left their camps around the city and built a wall on the other side of the hill, to the west. It should be noted that Caesar began large-scale earthworks from the moment he approached Gergovia with the legions, and soon took the neighbouring hill, on which he built the so-called small camp, consistently striving to surround and capture the city.
