CÆSAR INVADES BRITAIN
In 55 B.C. Cæsar resolved to invade our own island home. He knew little
about Britain, save that she was on good terms with the Gauls, and
carried on trade with them.
When he questioned the traders, they told him that he would find tin
and lead in the ground, as well as precious stones scattered over the
land.
Curiosity, the desire for booty, as well as the wish to punish all who
aided the Gauls, drove Cæsar to the adventure, and he ordered a fleet
to be prepared for the great enterprise.
It was autumn when he set sail for Britain, with eighty vessels and an
army of 12,000 men. He had not taken a larger fleet, as he thought that
he would have little trouble in conquering the barbarians of the island.
Rumours had reached Britain of the coming of the great Roman general
with a fleet, and the natives crowded to the shore, eager to keep the
strangers from landing in their country.
As he drew near to Deal, where he hoped to land, Cæsar saw that his
ships were too big to sail close in to shore, so he ordered his
soldiers to jump into the sea and make their way to land as well as
they could.
The Romans looked at the sea and their hearts misgave them, brave
soldiers as they were, for they were not used to the sea, nor did they
love it as the Britons seemed to do.
They were already in the water, some on foot, some on horses, and they
seemed to the astonished Romans as undisturbed as though they were on
land.
And Cæsar had bidden them jump into the sea. Still they hesitated.
Then the officer who carried the eagle of the tenth legion jumped into
the water, crying, ‘Leap, soldiers, unless you wish to betray your
eagle to the enemy.’
The soldiers could not risk their standard being captured by the
barbarians, so now they hastily leaped into the water and followed
their officer.
Then a fierce struggle began, many of the Romans falling before the
battle axes of the Britains, many others slipping on the treacherous
sand and being drowned.
But at length the Romans reached the shore, and the Briton chiefs were
soon forced to submit to Cæsar.
The Roman general was disappointed to find little booty on the island
which he had taken so much trouble to invade, and to see nothing of the
precious stones which he had been told were strewn in plenty on the
ground. And so he soon sailed back to Gaul.
In the following spring, however, Cæsar again returned to Britain. This
time, instead of eighty vessels his fleet consisted of eight hundred,
while his army numbered many thousands.
The Britons had again gathered in great strength to repel the invaders,
but when they saw so many ships they grew afraid and fled to their
forests. So Cæsar landed without difficulty at Romney marsh.
At length, led by a brave chief, called Cassivellaunus, the tribes
determined to try to drive the Romans from their shore.
Cassivellaunus did not conquer the Romans, but he proved a brave and
skilful commander, and constantly harassed them. At last, however, his
capital was taken, and he then sent messengers to treat with Cæsar.
Cæsar received the envoys and demanded from them hostages, and the
promise that their tribes would pay a yearly tribute to Rome.
Then in September 54 B.C., when his fleet, which had been damaged by a
storm, was repaired, he again went back to Gaul.
Here he was greeted with the sad news that his daughter Julia was dead.
Julia had often smoothed away the jealousies of her husband, the
irritations of her father, and both Pompey and Cæsar mourned for her
loss.
Their friends also were troubled. They foresaw that now the beautiful
Julia was no longer alive, it would not be long before the two great
generals quarrelled. And that was a grave thought. For the peace of
Rome depended on the friendship of Pompey and Cæsar.
Cæsar’s work in Gaul was not yet finished. In 52 B.C. the tribes in the
south made one more desperate stand against the power of Rome, which
seemed to be pressing more and more heavily upon them.
The rebellion was led by a young chief named Vercingetorix, who had
seized the town of Gergovia, the capital of his tribe and his own
birthplace.
Cæsar, when he heard that Gergovia was in the hands of the barbarians,
hastened to the town and at once laid siege to it. But to his surprise
the town withstood every effort he made to take it. For the first time
Cæsar was unable to capture a Gallic town, and not only so, but he was
forced to raise the siege.
When Vercingetorix saw the Romans retreating, he believed that now was
the time to attack them, and he led his followers against the foe.
But on the battlefield the Gauls were no match for the legions of Rome,
and Vercingetorix was forced to flee from the field with only a remnant
of his army.
The young Gaul succeeded in reaching the town of Alesia, which he at
once began to fortify.
Cæsar speedily followed the enemy to Alesia, and when he saw the Gauls
within the walls of the town, he determined to keep them there. He at
once ordered his men to set to work to dig trenches, and to build forts
round the walls, that no one might escape.
But one night, when it was dark, the young Gaul sent messengers to
summon the neighbouring tribes to come to his aid.
The messengers passed the enemy’s lines in safety, and galloped swiftly
away to rouse their people. In a short time a large army of 300,000 of
the bravest men in Gaul were marching to the aid of Vercingetorix.
Thus it was that one day, as the Romans worked at the trenches and the
forts, they were unexpectedly attacked by a new Gallic army.
Vercingetorix seized the same moment to sally out of Alesia with his
men, and the Romans were caught between two foes. For four days a
terrible struggle raged, and then, as was almost always the way, Cæsar
and his legions proved victorious.
To save his army, Vercingetorix gave himself up to the Romans, flinging
first his arms and then himself at the feet of the conqueror. But Cæsar
had no pity for the foe he had vanquished, and carried off the brave
young Gaul to Rome to adorn his triumph.
For two years longer Cæsar stayed in Gaul, and although he fought some
battles and put down some rebellions, his chief work was to pass laws
that would make the Gauls content to live under the protection of Rome.
By the end of the two years Cæsar had shown that he was not only a
great general, but that he was also a great ruler of men.