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Julius Caesar · Gallic War §2.19.1-2.19.8

Roman March Formation and the Nervii Ambush

Passage 73 of 404 · Latin

Summary

Caesar's march formation is described, followed by the sudden and rapid ambush of the Nervii and their allies, who quickly overwhelm the Roman cavalry and charge toward the camp under construction.

§2.19.1Caesar equitatu praemisso subsequebatur omnibus copiis; sed ratio ordoque agminis aliter se habebat ac Belgae ad Nervios detulerant.
Caesar, having sent the cavalry ahead, was following with all his forces; but the arrangement and order of the column was otherwise than the Belgae had reported to the Nervii.
§2.19.2Nam quod hostibus adpropinquabat, consuetudine sua Caesar VI legiones expeditas ducebat; §2.19.3post eas totius exercitus impedimenta conlocarat; inde duae legiones quae proxime conscriptae erant totum agmen claudebant praesidioque impedimentis erant.
For because he was approaching the enemy, according to his custom, Caesar was leading six unencumbered legions; behind them he had placed the baggage of the entire army; next, the two legions which had been most recently recruited closed the entire column and served as a guard for the baggage.
§2.19.4Equites nostri cum funditoribus sagittariisque flumen transgressi cum hostium equitatu proelium commiserunt.
Our cavalry, having crossed the river with the slingers and archers, joined battle with the enemy's cavalry.
§2.19.5Cum se illi identidem in silvis ad suos reciperent ac rursus ex silva in nostros impetum facerent, neque nostri longius quam quem ad finem porrecta [ac] loca aperta pertinebant cedentes insequi auderent, interim legiones VI quae primae venerant, opere dimenso, castra munire coeperunt.
While they repeatedly retreated into the woods to their comrades and again made a charge from the wood upon our men, and our men did not dare to pursue the retreating enemy further than the limit to which the level open grounds extended, in the meantime the six legions which had arrived first, having measured out the work, began to fortify the camp.
§2.19.6Ubi prima impedimenta nostri exercitus ab iis qui in silvis abditi latebant visa sunt, quod tempus inter eos committendi proelii convenerat, ut intra silvas aciem ordinesque constituerant atque ipsi sese confirmaverant, subito omnibus copiis provolaverunt impetumque in nostros equites fecerunt.
When the first baggage of our army was seen by those who lay hidden in the woods, which was the time that had been agreed upon among them for beginning the battle, just as they had arranged their line of battle and ranks within the woods and had encouraged themselves, they suddenly rushed out with all their forces and made an attack upon our cavalry.
§2.19.7His facile pulsis ac proturbatis, incredibili celeritate ad flumen decucurrerunt, ut paene uno tempore et ad silvas et in flumine [et iam in manibus nostris] hostes viderentur.
These having been easily repulsed and thrown into confusion, they ran down to the river with incredible speed, so that almost at one and the same time the enemy were seen both at the edge of the woods, and in the river, [and already close at hand].
§2.19.8Eadem autem celeritate adverso colle ad nostra castra atque eos qui in opere occupati erant contenderunt.
With the same speed, moreover, they rushed up the hill toward our camp and those who were occupied in the work.

Notes

  1. 2.19.1aliter ... ac — The adverb aliter (otherwise) and the conjunction ac (than) are used correlatively to express comparison, meaning "otherwise than" or "different from."
  2. 2.19.3praesidio impedimentis erant — Double dative construction. praesidio is the dative of purpose ("as a guard"), while impedimentis is the dative of reference ("for the baggage"), meaning "they served as a guard for the baggage."
  3. 2.19.5longius quam quem ad finem — An instance of noun attraction into the relative clause. While one would expect "longius quam ad eum finem, quem...", the antecedent "finem" has been attracted into the clause introduced by "quem," meaning "further than the limit to which [the open spaces] extended."
  4. 2.19.5cedentes — Present active participle of cedo (to retreat) in the accusative plural masculine. In this context, it functions as the direct object of the infinitive insequi (to pursue), modifying the implied noun hostes (the retreating enemy).
  5. 2.19.6quod tempus... convenerat — A parenthetical relative clause referring back to the entire preceding situation (the sighting of the first baggage train). The noun tempus is attracted into the clause with the relative pronoun quod, providing supplementary information: "which was the moment that had been agreed upon among them..."
  6. 2.19.7et iam in manibus nostris — The idiom "in manibus" (literally "in the hands") here means "at close quarters," "at hand," or "in close combat," vividly describing how the enemy had already rushed close enough to engage in hand-to-hand fighting.
  7. 2.19.8adverso colle — Ablative of route or direction. Using the ablative of adversus collis (the opposing hill / the slope facing them), it indicates movement against the slope, translating to "up the hill."

Cite this passage

Julius Caesar, Gallic War §2.19.1-2.19.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0448.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.19.1-2.19.8

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