The first moves in the Civil War between Caesar
and Pompey were made. Italy is now under Caesar’s control, while
Pompey has retreated to Greece. Caesar decided to secure his western flank
by destroying Pompeian legions in Spain, and that led to the battles around Ilerda. In this video we will conclude the Ilerdan
campaign and the siege of Massilia, as Pompey’s lieutenants attempt to stop Caesar’s legions. Organizing stories can be hard, but it doesn't
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the link in the description to learn more. Caesar’s campaign in Spain seemed to be
on the edge of disaster. He was stuck in the middle of enemy territory,
cut off from his almost 6,000 auxiliary reinforcements and the precious supplies they were bringing,
and was days from being starved out. If he was to reclaim the situation, Caesar
would need to retake control of the eastern bank of the river Sicoris and secure his supply
line. With the bridges unable to be repaired due
to high water and marauding Pompeian forces, Caesar came up with a different plan. He began construction of several small boats
of the kind he had seen in Brittany, made of lightweight timber and animal hides. He then ordered a small detachment to take
these boats by wagon at night almost 34km up the river. These men then crossed the river, fortifying
a small hill, giving Caesar a small foothold on the eastern bank. Once this was established, a Legion was sent
from the main Caesarean camp up the river to construct a bridge from the western bank,
while the initial detachment assisted from the eastern bank. Within days of beginning, they had the bridge
constructed, providing a route between the eastern bank and Caesar’s camp, stabilising
his supply line and allowing the reinforcements from Gaul to meet up with his Legion encamped
on the west side. With this influx of troops, particularly the
prized Gallic cavalry, Caesar was finally able to harass Pompeian foraging parties on
the Eastern bank and begin to regain control of the situation. While the Ilerdan campaign was underway, the
Siege of Massilia was still being fought. For the most part, the siege had thus far
been uneventful; Ahenobarbus had largely spent his time amassing a larger navy, and the Romans
had been building siege equipment while Brutus’ ships blockaded the port. But once his fleet was suitably built up,
Ahenobarbus sailed his force out of harbour, hoping to break the blockade and thus bring
supplies into the city. He had managed to put together a force of
17 warships, as well as several smaller vessels manned by archers, against Brutus’ 12. The Massilian ships were also lighter and
more navigable, compared to the rather cumbersome ships that the Legions had built. However, Brutus did have the advantage in
quality of fighters. Ahenobarbus’ men were largely farmers and
local Massilians pressed into service, alongside allied archers, while Brutus’ ships were
crewed by legionnaires who had specifically volunteered for the task. If Brutus could catch Ahenobarbus in close
quarters fighting, the battle would be his. As the fleets met, the Massilians used their
agility and range to their advantage, circling the Caesarean ships and peppering them with
missiles, or sailing past to sweep Brutus’ decks with arrows and smash his oars. But when the Massilians got too close in this
manner, the legionnaires would throw across grappling hooks, pulling the Massilian ships
close, holding them fast and boarding them. In these situations, the Legions had a clear
advantage. Their heavy armour and training allowed them
to cut through the Massilians on board, on occasion even boarding two Massilians ships
at once, one on either side. Though Caesar notes the bravery of the Massilians,
they were simply not equipped to fight hand to hand with legionnaires like this. The Massilians were forced back into port
having lost more than half their ships, and the blockade continued. This victory at Massilia coincided with a
continuous change of fortune at Ilerda. With the new bridge completed Caesar’s superior
Gallic horsemen were able to harass the Pompeian foragers, and were even able to force them
to resort to foraging at night. The odds were turning in Caesar’s favour. As a result, numerous local tribes began supporting
him with grain, as well as some more auxiliaries. Seeking to apply even more pressure to Afranius,
he began construction of a number of ditches to divert the river Sicoris and create a ford
close to his camp, which would allow even more of his men easy access to the eastern
bank, rather than taking the circuitous route to the bridge up the river, thus completely
removing the Pompeians’ chances of foraging. Afranius recognised how precarious his situation
was becoming. Running out of food and with local tribes
pledging allegiance to Caesar threatening to surround his position, he decided to make
a tactical withdrawal to Further Spain to continue the fight on his own terms with the
advantage of Varro’s two extra legions. Afranius ordered a few ships on the River
Ebro to construct a pontoon bridge 30 miles to the south, providing an escape route. At the same time, Afranius ordered two Legions
across the stone bridge to the eastern bank, establishing a fortified position in preparation
for the evacuation of the rest of the army. When Caesar learned of this, he saw his opportunity
to catch Afranius. He ordered his men to work day and night on
the river works, managing to lower the water level enough to move his cavalry across the
Sicoris to try and harass the Pompeians. However, the Pompeian Legions had been quick
and were already dug in, leaving little for the cavalry to do. Afranius then moved his full force across
the Sicoris into the new camp, leaving just two auxiliary cohorts to garrison Ilerda itself. In the early hours of the following morning,
Afranius and Petreius began moving their entire army out of camp and to the south, heading
towards the Ebro and the pontoon bridge. Caesar needed to act fast. If the Pompeians could reach the pontoon bridge,
they would be able to escape to Further Spain, merging with Varro’s legions and prolonging
the Spanish campaign. He first sent his cavalry to harass the Pompeians,
attacking the rear of their column, slowing the Pompeian Legions to a crawl as they fended
off the attackers. Though the ford was not wholly completed,
Caesar ordered pack animals to wade into the river to help slow the current, and marched
five of his Legions across, leaving one to guard the camp. Taking these legions, Caesar marched quickly
to try and cut off his enemies’ escape, and, thanks to the harassment of the Caesarean
cavalry, by mid-afternoon his army had caught up with the Pompeian Legions. Both armies were now camped on the western
bank, the Pompeians slightly further south than the Caesareans. Scouts for both sides reported that the only
way south to the Ebro was through the mountain passes, just under 8km away. Whoever controlled these passes would easily
be able to defend them from the other, and a brief standoff ensued. Afranius did not want to risk attempting to
march his army through the narrow defiles with Caesar pursuing him, and Caesar did not
want to try and force a way through the Pompeians to the mountains. Afranius did consider attempting a night march
to the mountains but decided that, with Caesar’s cavalry patrolling the area at night, they
would quickly be found out. Night battles were extremely risky and difficult,
and so Afranius decided that it was better instead to attempt a fighting retreat the
next day. Caesar, meanwhile, had also concocted a plan. At first light, he feigned a withdrawal to
the Sicoris and Ilerda, then rapidly changed direction, marching quickly for the mountains. Seeing this maneuverer, the Pompeians immediately
broke camp, racing towards the mountain passes. The Caesarean route was a harder march, with
the terrain slowing down the Legions, but the Pompeian forces found themselves constantly
harassed by Caesar’s cavalry, and this proved, once again, to be the difference. Caesar reached the passes first, drawing his
army into a line, cutting off the Pompeian escape. Afranius tried sending light auxiliaries to
quickly seize high ground ahead of his main force, but the Caesarean cavalry was quickly
able to surround them, and, without support, they were easily cut down. With his opportunity to escape cut off, Afranius
saw little choice but to encamp on a small hill and contemplate his next move. Caesar was happy to let him do so and saw
no point in risking the lives of his men in another battle. With the road south now blocked, it would
only be a matter of time before Afranius ran out of food and water. The Pompeians could try and retreat back to
Ilerda, but Caesar’s Legion left in the camp would be able to cross the ford and block
the stone bridge, whilst Caesar’s main force could attack them from behind. If the Pompeiians stayed, they would eventually
run out of supplies. If they retreated, they would be caught in
a pincer. Caesar fortified his position, setting up
outposts in the mountains, and awaited his enemy’s next move. Afranius’ priority was to secure his water
supply. He had sent men to the river to gather water,
but they had faced constant harassment from the Caesarean cavalry. In response, his Legions had built a rampart
from his camp to the river, allowing his men to collect water from behind the defences,
bringing the fighting to a pause. As the Caesarean troops also came to the river
for water, men from both sides began talking to the other. Caesar’s Legions contained many Iberians,
and they began to ask the Pompeian Legions about family, friends, and discussed the politics
of the war. Old friends and acquaintances from both sides
met, bringing them back to their camps to drink and reconnect. Some of Afranius’ Spanish allies, and even
some officers, went over to Caesar’s camp to speak with Caesar personally. Caesar attributes these actions to his not
having committed to a full pitched battle the day prior, and that the Pompeians saw
this as an act of leniency. While this might be true to an extent, the
main motivator was more likely that the Pompeian forces understood the situation they were
in; that it was only a matter of time before they would be starved into defeat and were
losing the will to fight. Afranius did little to quell such stirrings. It seems that he too had lost the desire to
continue the battle. Petreius, however, had not. To restore discipline in the camp, he demanded
oaths of loyalty from Afranius and the entire army, and then ordered any Caesarean soldier
found in the camp to be executed. There had been a brief moment of peace in
the chaos of the Civil War where men, who just the day before had been fighting each
other, had come together in peace. But now the peace was broken. The soldiers returned to their respective
camps and prepared once again for battle. In a last-ditch attempt to retake control
of the situation, Petreius attempted to retreat back to Ilerda. The entire way the Pompeians were harassed
by Caesar’s cavalry, and shadowed by his legions, blocking them from crossing the Sicoris
at every turn, and slowing them down to a gruelling pace. On the third day of this harassment, the Pompeians
were forced to set up camp on unfavourable terrain. Caesar saw his opportunity and began work
on his own earthworks surrounding the Pompeian camp, a similar tactic to Alesia, cutting
off any possibility of foraging. Blockaded on all sides, devoid of water and
having been harassed for days, the Pompeians finally sued for peace. Caesar, never one to miss out on a public
relations opportunity, promised leniency for all the men and officers, including Afranius
and Petreius, in exchange for the complete surrender of the army and the promise that
none of them would take up arms against him. The Pompeians gratefully accepted. With the surrender of this main Pompeian army,
Caesar assigned 4 legions, the 6th, 9th, 11th, and 14th, to accompany the Pompeians to a
safe location and disband them, before heading back to Italy. Caesar, meanwhile, took the 10th and 7th into
Further Spain to confront Varro. Varro, who had initially been encouraged by
the early reports of Afranius’ success at Ilerda, had been gathering more forces, raising
another two legions, giving him a total of four. When news came to him of Caesar’s victory
at Ilerda, he began to march 2 legions to Gades, where he planned to hold out and prolong
Caesar’s war in Spain. However, news of Caesar’s victory at Ilerda
had spread fast and the locals had seen the writing on the wall. The chiefs of local tribes met Caesar at Corduba
and pledged allegiance to him, and the chief of the Gades closed the gates of the city
to Varro. To make matters worse, one of Varro’s legions
that was with him mutinied, striking their colours. Having lost the support of his army and the
locals, Varro sent word to Caesar that he was ready to surrender. Cassius Longinus was assigned as governor
of Spain by Caesar, and assumed command of Varro’s four legions, making them the 21st,
22nd 23rd, and 24th. Pompey’s entire Spanish army had now either
been disbanded, or had sided with Caesar, after just a couple of months. Taking his two veteran Legions, the 7th and
10th, Caesar left Hispania to re-join his forces at Massilia. The siege of Massilia was still ongoing. Trebonius, who had been left in command of
legions during the siege, had constructed trenches, walls and towers blocking off the
peninsula upon which the city stood. Brutus maintained the blockade from the sea,
so together they effectively surrounded Massilia. The city would not be easy to take though. Its position was ideal for defence, funnelling
any land forces on to one front, and the city was protected by high, strong walls, topped
with ballistae. Trebonius had ordered the construction of
a siege ramp, as well as a battering ram, but the Massilian ballistae and numerous sorties
had been effective in slowing the Romans’ construction of their engines and had, so
far, dissuaded any serious assault on the city's walls. The Massilians had also made repairs to their
fleet following their previous defeat, bringing the number of warships back up to 17. However, most of these ships were refitted
merchant vessels or old warships, crewed by lightly armed archers. The Massilians simply could not afford to
move their best infantry from the walls to the ships. Fortunately for them, however, Pompey had
sent a fleet of 16 ships to reinforce them. These were commanded by Lucius Nasidius, and
though most were hastily built smaller ships, some had bronze rams, presenting a serious
threat to Brutus’ navy. A small vessel was sent to the Massilians
to alert them of the coming reinforcements, and Ahenobarbus seized the opportunity. Sending the Massilian navy out, they slipped
Brutus’ blockade and met Nasidius’ fleet at Taurois, just down the coast from Massilia. Brutus too had increased the size of his fleet,
having captured 6 ships in the previous battle, and manned them with legionnaires. Though outnumbered almost 2:1 by the combined
navies of Nasidius and the Massilians, Brutus had the distinct advantage in quality when
it came to hand to hand fighting. Buoyed by his previous victory, Brutus gave
chase and set sail for Taurois. The Massilian ships were stationed on the
right, with Nasidius and his fleet on the left. Knowing that the Massilians would favour a
missile battle, Brutus determined that it would be best to engage the Massilians first,
catching them in close quarters, before facing Nasidius’ ships. He therefore determined to focus almost all
his ships on the Massilians. As they had done previously, the Massilians
attempted to use their agility and superior seamanship to outmanoeuvre and separate Brutus’
ships. This was an effective tactic, and when they
could separate a Caesarean ship, they would pepper it with javelins and arrows, inflicting
numerous casualties. However, once again, whenever they drifted
too close, Brutus’ men would cast their grappling hooks, pulling their foes close
and boarding them. Once boarded, despite the bravery and determination
of the Massilians and their allies, they were simply outclassed by Roman discipline and
weaponry and were butchered on the decks. In a frantic attempt to win the engagement
in one decisive move, the Massilians targeted Brutus’ own ship, distinguished by its standard. Two Massilians ships attempted to ram the
ship from either side, catching Brutus in a pincer. Just as they closed in though, Brutus’ ship
darted forward, the two Massilian vessels colliding into each other head on. Now disabled, they made easy prey for Brutus’
ships who quickly set on them, sinking them both. It was at this point that Nasidius abandoned
the battle, taking his entire fleet with him. Seeing there was no chance of victory, the
Massilians quickly followed suit. Brutus had won without losing a single ship
and sustaining only light casualties, while the Massilians lost a total of 9 ships; 5
sunk and 4 captured. It is unknown why Nasidius did not commit
his men. Caesar blames it on cowardice, however, given
that he and the fleet sailed to Spain immediately following the battle, it is possible that
Nasidius, upon seeing the Massilians being decimated by Brutus’ men, thought it better
to pick a later engagement where the odds would be more in his favour. Whatever the reason, he had not lost a man,
never having engaged in the battle. The remainder of the Massilian fleet limped
back to its home port and would not emerge from it again. Caesar was consistently complimentary of the
Massilians who manned their ships, most only being citizens wanting to fight for their
city, and he admired their bravery and determination. Against the skill and heavy arms of Roman
legionnaires however, they simply did not stand a chance. With the naval battle won, the Romans turned
in earnest to the land assault. A way was needed to assault the walls without
risk of missile fire, and without risk of the siege engines being burnt during a sortie. As such, Trebonius began work on a huge tower. The tower was 9 metres each way with walls
almost 2 metres thick of brick and clay. The Romans built the first layer of this tower,
topping it with a lid with long screens attached to the sides. They then used screws and levers to raise
this lid, the screens hanging down to cover the gap between lid and wall and would then
build the wall up to the height of the lid. They continued this process until the tower
was 6 stories, building in shooting platforms for archers and ballistae as they did, allowing
their men to fire down on the enemies on the wall. With this completed, Trebonius’ men next
began work on a 20m long gallery, starting from the base of the tower, which provided
protection. In effect, this was almost like a huge, covered
sledge. It could be pushed forward and backward and
was topped by a sloped roof covered in tiles and clay to prevent it being burnt down. When it was completed, it was pushed forward
from the base of the Roman tower, to the base of a tower in the Massilian wall. Under this protection, legionary engineers
began the work of undermining the Massilian tower, removing bricks with crowbar and chisel. The Massilians attempted to throw rocks and
pitch down onto the engineers, but the Roman defences proved sturdy and the men were protected. In due time, the undermining began to pay
off; the Massilian wall began to crumple and tilt. The Massilians quickly came out of the city. They acknowledged that Trebonius had now won
the siege, realising that as soon as their tower collapsed, the Legions would flood the
city. They requested a truce, asking if they could
await Caesar’s arrival to negotiate with him personally. Trebonius, seeing little reason in risking
his men’s life, accepted, and the Legions pulled back from the walls to wait for Caesar. But the Massilians were bluffing. Once the Romans’ guard was down, they sallied
out at night, burning down the Roman siege ramp and battering ram. Though Trebonius’ and his men quickly caught
on to what was happening and tried to fight back the sortie, missiles from the Massilian
walls prevented them from doing so effectively. The Massilians were even able to set fire
to the Roman tower from the inside, as well as the gallery, destroying months of work
in a single night. However, this was only a small success for
the Massilians. The siege had been going on now for 4 and
a half months. With their navy destroyed, they had no means
of bringing in fresh supplies into the city. The supplies they did have were running low,
and disease had begun to spread among the populace. Moreover, the Romans had once again started
constructing siege works, this time building a gallery extending to the walls made of brick. To make matters worse, Caesar arrived with
his two extra Legions. His arrival also made it clear to the Massilians
that Spain had indeed fallen to Caesar, and that they would not be receiving any reinforcements
or supplies. Diseased, starved and now horrifically outnumbered,
the Massilians finally surrendered. Just before they did, however, Ahenobarbus
escaped. He was still not ready to give up the fight
and, commandeering 3 ships, made a daring dash past Brutus’ blockade during a storm. Brutus’ ships pursued, catching 2, but the
one Ahenobarbus was on slipped away in the storm. He would live to fight another day. Caesar left the 18th and 19th legions to garrison
the city, while he marched to Italy with the 5th, 7th and 10th to rejoin his main army. In 7 months, Caesar had chased Pompey from
Italy, secured his western flank, disbanded 5 of Pompey’s Legions and absorbed a further
4. So far, the war was going very much in Caesar’s
favour. But this was still just the start. Ahenobarbus had managed to escape to Greece
to re-join Pompey, and was soon followed by Varro, Afranius and Petreius, despite the
latter two’s oath to Caesar. Pompey was amassing a vast army in Greece,
and he still held the lucrative territories in the East, as well as the important grain
hub of North Africa. The war in the West might have been over for
now, but the war for the rest of the Roman world was about to begin, so make sure you
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