1962 CAESAR THE CONQUERER (The Empire Never Ended)

In 54 B.C., Julius Caesar faces battles on two fronts: in Gaul against the Gauls led by Vercingetorix #KINGFELIX #497 #591

Vercingetorix's revolt
In 52 BC, almost all of Gaul rose up in defiance against Caesar. The many Gallic tribes we led by a chief called Vercingetorix.

Vercingetorix had been an allied commander and had fought alongside the Romans on many occasions. He used his knowledge of Caesar's strategies and tactics to devise a plan that he thought would finally drive the Romans from Gaul.

Vercingetorix ordered his troops to isolate the Roman army from both reinforcements and supplies. The Gauls destroyed their own farmlands and any towns that could be used by their enemies.

Any food and supplies that the Gauls needed were stored in a number of important and defensible cities, such as Alesia.

The idea was that the Romans were forced to attack these towns and, when they did, the Gauls would use overwhelming numbers to attack the Romans.

With the entire region in revolt and his troops cut off from help, Caesar had to act quickly even before winter had ended.

Doing exactly what Vercingetorix thought, Caesar attacked one of the storage cities, Avaricum, and captured it.

Vercingetorix then retreated to Gergovia where he successfully repelled Caesar's attack. This victory encouraged the rebels.

Vercingetorix then moved on to the storage city of Alesia, but Caesar moved quickly and besieged the city.

The following Battle of Alesia is one of the most famous battles in all of the Gallic Wars.

The city of Alesia was naturally protected by two rivers and nearby mountains. Vercingetorix believed he could hold out in the city for long enough for other Gallic armies to come to his aid.
To his surprise, Caesar build an entire defensive wall around the city (17 kilometres long and 3.6 metres high) to stop supplies getting in.

Then, Caesar built another wall, up to 21 kilometres long, around the original wall as a way of defending against any Gallic armies that might come to save Alesia. Vercingetorix was trapped and was running out of food.

Another Gallic army did arrive to help, and they attacked the outer Roman wall while Vercingetorix's forces attacked the inner Roman wall.

They hoped that the simultaneous attacks would overwhelm Caesar's men. However, through discipline and inspiring leadership from Caesar, the Romans were able to defeat both forces and the Gauls were eventually forced to surrender. Vercingetorix himself was sent back to Rome as a prisoner.

The battle was a turning point in the war, as it resulted in a decisive victory for Caesar and his legions.

After this battle, the Gauls were no longer able to mount any serious resistance to Rome.

Caesar spent the years of 51 and 50 BC crushing minor pockets of resistance around the region.