This week we complete our series of articles on the Gallic War (58-51
BC) with an article on the war itself, three biographies of Gallic
leaders and the events of 52-51 BC.
The Gallic War (58-51 B.C.) was the conflict in which Julius Caesar
first emerged as a great military leader, after an earlier career as
an impoverished populist politician. A conflict that began with an
attempt to preserve stability on the borders of the Roman province of
Transalpine Gaul soon turned into a war of conquest which only ended
after Caesar had put down three major Gallic revolts.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_gallic.html
BIOGRAPHIES
Vercingetorix was the best known, and perhaps the most able, leader of
the Gallic opposition to Caesar during the Gallic War of 58-51 B.C.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_vercingetorix.html
Cativolcus (d.53 B.C.) was one of two kings of the Eburones tribe
during the Gallic War.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_cativolcus.html
Ambiorix (fl.54-53 B.C.) was one of the more successful leaders of the
resistance to Caesar during the Gallic Wars, winning one of the few
clear cut Gallic victories of the war when he destroyed a Roman legion
at Aduataca.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_ambiorix.html
52 BC – The Great Gallic Revolt
The siege of Gorgobina (early 52 B.C.) saw Vercingetorix make an
unsuccessful attack on a town that was under the protection of Julius
Caesar. The Gauls were forced to lift the siege when Caesar approached
from the north with his main army and besieged Novidunum, but the
attack had forced the Romans to leave their winter quarters much
earlier than they would have liked.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_gorgobina.html
The siege of Vellaunodunum (early 52 B.C.) was the first of three
Roman attacks on Gallic towns that forced Vercingetorix to abandon his
siege of Gorgobina early in the Great Gallic Revolt of 52 B.C.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_vellaunodunum.html
The siege of Cenabum (early 52 B.C.) was the second of three Roman
attacks on Gallic towns that forced Vercingetorix to abandon his siege
of Gorgobina, and that saw the Romans capture the town where the great
Gallic revolt had begun.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_cenabum.html
The siege of Noviodunum (probably March 52 B.C.) was the third of
three Roman attacks on Gallic towns that forced Vercingetorix to
abandon his siege of Gorgobina. It also saw the first direct clash
between the main armies of Caesar and Vercingetorix, a minor cavalry
action fought outside the town
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_noviodunum.html
The battle of Lutetia (May 52 B.C.) was a victory won by Labienus,
Caesar's most able lieutenant during the Gallic Wars, over the Senones
and Parisii on the left bank of the Seine close to the centre of
modern Paris.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_lutetia.html
The siege of Avaricum (c.March-April 52 B.C.) was the first major
clash between Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix during the Great Gallic
Revolt, and ended with a Roman victory and the sack of the town.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_avaricum.html
The unsuccessful siege of Gergovia (May 52 B.C.) was the only major
setback suffered by an army led in person by Julius Caesar during the
entire Gallic Wars.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_gergovia.html
The battle of the Vingeanne (July 52 B.C.) was a cavalry battle that
saw the Romans and their German auxiliaries defeat a Gallic attack on
their column, a defeat that may have been the main reason that
Vercingetorix chose to defend the nearby town of Alesia.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_vingeanne.html
51 BC – Mopping Up
The siege of Limonum, early 51 B.C., was an unsuccessful attempt by
the Andes, one of the last rebellious tribes in Gaul, to capture the
chief town of the Pictones tribe.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_limonum.html
The battle on the Loire of early 51 B.C. was a Roman victory that
effectively ended the Great Gallic revolt on the west coast of Gaul.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_loire.html
The siege of Uxellodunum (spring 51 B.C.) was the last attempt by the
Gauls to defend a fortified town against a Roman attack during
Caesar's Gallic War.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/siege_uxellodunum.html
The defeat of Comius the Atrebatian, late in 51 B.C., was a minor
cavalry skirmish noteworthy only for being the last recorded battle of
Caesar's Gallic War.
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/defeat_comius.html