Who Was When
Wars

Gallic Wars

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Sides

Rome and its allies

Ancient Rome, Gallic peoples allied with Rome, among them the Remi and, until 52 BCE, the Aedui, and Germanic horsemen hired by Caesar

against
Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar

Helvetii and their allies (58 BCE), Suebi under Ariovistus (58 BCE), Belgic peoples, among them the Nervii and the Eburones, Veneti and other peoples of Armorica, Britons under Cassivellaunus (54 BCE), and Arverni and the Gallic coalition led by Vercingetorix (52 BCE)

Countries today: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and United Kingdom

What happened

Between 58 and 50 BCE the Roman general Julius Caesar led his legions against the peoples of Gaul, the lands of today's France, Belgium and Switzerland. In 58 BCE he defeated the migrating Helvetii and then the Suebi of Ariovistus, and in 57 BCE the Belgic peoples. A Roman fleet defeated the Veneti of Brittany in 56 BCE. In 55 BCE Caesar bridged the Rhine and crossed to Britain, and he returned to Britain in 54 BCE. Revolts followed: the Eburones destroyed a Roman legion in the winter of 54–53 BCE, and in 52 BCE most of Gaul rose under Vercingetorix of the Arverni. Caesar's troops stormed Avaricum and were beaten back at Gergovia, then besieged Vercingetorix at Alesia until he surrendered. The last strongholds fell in 51 BCE. Plutarch and Appian put the Gauls killed at a million, with as many enslaved; historians disagree on how far to trust such figures.

Outcome: Rome held all of Gaul up to the Rhine; Caesar withdrew most of his troops in 50 BCE as civil war loomed, and Gaul was organised into Roman provinces in 27 BCE.

Key events

Leaders

  • Julius Caesar · Roman governor and commander in Gaul · Rome and its allies
  • Titus Labienus · Caesar's second-in-command · Rome and its allies
  • Publius Licinius Crassus · Commanded the Roman army in western Gaul, 57–56 BCE · Rome and its allies
  • Ariovistus · Leader of the Suebi · Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar
  • Ambiorix · Leader of the Eburones' revolt, 54–53 BCE · Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar
  • Cassivellaunus · British leader who fought Caesar in 54 BCE · Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar
  • Vercingetorix · Arvernian leader of the Gallic coalition of 52 BCE · Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar
  • Commius · King of the Atrebates; served Caesar, then joined the revolt of 52 BCE · Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar
  • Lucterius · Cadurci leader at Uxellodunum · Gallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought Caesar

Deaths

Death tolls are estimates and often contested. Each is a range from its sources; a figure one party gives is marked as theirs.

Battle deaths · Gauls

Cultures it ended or changed

Meanwhile, elsewhere in

Sources