Chapter 551: Chapter 419: The Battle of Pharsalus
In the face of the widespread rebellion, although the Roman Legion Commander was somewhat panicked, due to the previous experience (during the last major rebellion of the Gaul Tribe, the legion led by Cotta abandoned the camp and retreated, eventually being annihilated; while the legion led by Cicero’s brother Quintus held onto the camp and was ultimately rescued by Caesar), he did not choose to retreat with his army back to the Western Fa Province but instead gathered his forces, fortified the camp, and waited for reinforcements.
The troops of various tribes in Northern Gaul surrounded the Roman Camp, but they lacked unified command and fought individually. Meanwhile, the Roman Camp had ample supplies and complete and strong defensive facilities. Several strong attacks by the Gaul Army failed to capture it, and instead, they suffered significant casualties in counterattacks by the Roman Soldiers.
When they were at a loss, Vercingetorix arrived with a large army.
With his prestige, Vercingetorix indisputably became the supreme commander of the entire Gaul Army. After repeatedly investigating the defenses of the Roman Camp, he discussed with the leaders of various tribes multiple times and formulated a new plan to attack the camp.
............
Caesar led his army from the East Adriatic Coast to the heartland of Greece.
Since it was already summer, most wheat fields were ripe, and the hungry soldiers could harvest them on the spot, saving the trouble of requisitioning grain.
During the march, previously dispersed troops gradually reunited with the main force, replenishing Caesar’s strength.
However, as news of his defeat at Dyrrachium spread, some towns in Greece felt that aiding such a Roman General, who was likely to lose the war, was a mistake.
So, when they reached Gomphi City, not only did the city’s administrative officer close the gates, but also publicly declared: No entry for Caesar’s army! Also ordered them to leave immediately!
Caesar was furious and immediately led the army to attack the city, quickly capturing it.
Under his tacit consent, the soldiers not only looted the city thoroughly but also wantonly killed, raped, and plundered. The city’s administrative officer was also forced to commit suicide.
This was the first time after the outbreak of the civil war that Caesar allowed soldiers to ravage the civilians of an occupied city, exposing his ruthless side to the people of the Roman provinces, but it significantly boosted the morale of the army, which had experienced the defeat at Dyrrachium.
Other Greek towns, fearing the same tragic fate as Gomphi, openly welcomed Caesar’s army.
This greatly improved the food supply of Caesar’s army, significantly improving the soldiers’ health, giving Caesar more confidence to engage in a decisive battle with Pompey to end the civil war in Rome thoroughly.
However, Pompey’s Army followed closely behind but consistently avoided direct confrontation.
Caesar did not expect Pompey to be so cautious even after gaining victory, realizing that Pompey was employing a Fabian strategy (during the 2nd Punic War, Roman Army Commander Fabian used a non-confrontational but close-following tactic against Hannibal’s repeatedly victorious army, greatly limiting the power of Hannibal’s army, playing a crucial role in the eventual defeat of Carthage), trying to wear him down.
Caesar was not panicked, having already received news that Pompey’s father-in-law, the new Provincial Governor of Syria Metellus, was leading troops into Macedonia Province to support Pompey.
He immediately marched his army to intercept, forcing Pompey to engage him in battle.
Pompey, understanding Caesar’s intention, continued to execute his previously formulated strategy, following Caesar’s army unhurriedly, attempting to wear him down.
However, he now faced some trouble; despite using the pretext to leave Cato in Dyrrachium to command the garrison there, avoiding his interference, criticism from a large group of conservative elders within his army did not diminish.
They accused Pompey of deliberately delaying military action to maintain his exalted position and even called him "Agamemnon."
Even the highly admiring Cicero publicly declared: This civil war is essentially a power struggle between Pompey and Caesar.
Suspicion among the elders grew heavier, increasing the pressure on Pompey.
Both armies entered the Thessaly region successively, and under Caesar’s deliberate leniency, Pompey smoothly met up with his father-in-law Metellus, and his forces swelled again.
This greatly encouraged the Conservative elders, coupled with the previous victory at Dyrrachium, leading them to believe that victory was near. Some even began deciding on their share of the spoils, with some sending aides to Rome to purchase estates belonging to Caesar’s Party near the forum, while key conservative elders like Domitius, Metellus, and Lantulus were already arguing over who should succeed Caesar as the High Priest.
There was an overwhelming atmosphere of victory in the camp, even affecting Commander Pompey, and the Elders also quickened their urge for him to eliminate Caesar quickly to share the fruits of victory post-war.
Pompey finally decided to engage Caesar in frontal combat, but his remaining rationality drove him to choose an opportune moment.
In the following days, both sides continuously maneuvered at close range in accordance with the conventional methods of warfare at the time. Meanwhile, Caesar repeatedly led his troops out of the camp to line up and invite battle, but Pompey consistently raised the no-battle flag.
Later, both armies arrived at the flat and open Pharsalus Plain. Once again, Caesar routinely lined up and invited battle, but Pompey did not respond.
Caesar had to withdraw his troops, preparing to find another opportunity to fight.
Just then, Pompey led his troops out, beginning to form a line on the plain.
Caesar, unwilling to miss such a prime opportunity, immediately ordered his already marching troops to return and re-form the line, resulting in Caesar’s troops generally having expended more energy before the battle even started.
At this point, the opposing forces:
Pompey’s total strength was about fifty thousand men. He divided his forces into three parts: left, center, and right flank. The right wing was closely adjoining the Enipeus River, commanded by Lantulus; the center was the main force, under Metellus’s command; the left wing was commanded by Amityus, and on the far left wing, six thousand four hundred cavalry were concentrated, led by Labienus.
Pompey arranged his troops in a conventional three-line formation, but each main division was ten rows deep, exceeding typical depth, to withstand and neutralize the fierce attacks of Caesar’s elite units for a considerable period.
He focused the key to victory on the massive cavalry on the left wing, capitalizing on his numerical advantages over Caesar’s cavalry to make them romp on the open plain, aiming to first crush the enemy cavalry and then sweep through the enemy ranks.
Pompey’s tactics were straightforward, and Caesar, observing the enemy, realized it at a glance, so he began strategically forming his own lineup.
Caesar’s total strength was close to thirty thousand men (though in historical records, only 22,000), also correspondingly dividing his forces into left, center, and right divisions. The left wing was adjacent to the Enipeus River, led by Anthony; the center was led by Calvinus; and the right wing, nominally under Little Sula’s command, was actually overseen by Caesar himself sitting in the rear.
While also adopting the traditional three-line formation, due to fewer troops than the opposition, each main division had a depth of four to six rows. On the far right wing, cavalry was similarly deployed, seemingly to fend off Pompey’s cavalry, but in reality, Caesar secretly placed ten infantry divisions behind the right flank cavalry, standing obliquely. Due to the cover of the forward cavalry and the dust clouds during lineup, Pompey’s side did not detect this deployment of Caesar’s.
Before the battle began, Caesar specifically reviewed the entire army, and many veterans and Centurions expressed their determination to secure victory for Caesar and finish this final battle!
Highly motivated soldiers marched forward in an orderly manner upon Caesar’s command, and cried out throwing javelins at the enemy upon approaching.
They found that the enemy did not rush forward to engage in close combat but stood still.
Thus, Caesar’s soldiers demonstrated terrifying discipline, stopping, calmly realigning their ranks at the front, and then continued advancing. They arrived at a suitable position, threw a second javelin, and charged while shouting.
The fierce onslaught of Caesar’s troops caused chaos in the front lines of Pompey’s formation. Still, Pompey’s numerically superior forces with significant depth eventually resisted the charge, plunging the infantry of both sides into a violent melee.
While Pompey’s infantry stood firm without advancing, from the start, he had Labienus lead the cavalry to charge against the numerically inferior opposing cavalry.
Caesar’s cavalry quickly fell back, drawing Pompey’s forces into pursuit.
Pompey’s cavalry was numerous, but being from different regions, they lacked coordinated cooperation, and many of the commanders of these cavalry were zealous yet lacked experienced young Roman Nobles.
Labienus understood the shortcomings of this cavalry. Therefore, before charging, he ordered all cavalry units to control the speed of their horses to maintain formation.
Initially, Pompey’s cavalry executed well, but after routing the opposing cavalry, they became conceited with their perceived superiority. In pursuing the enemy, they became disorderly and crowded.
Labienus and his officers quickly lost control over their troops.
Caesar seized the opportunity and ordered the ten divisions deployed at the rear to attack.
Armed with javelins used as long spears, the soldiers launched a fierce assault on Pompey’s cavalry, who had slowed due to excessive disarray.
Pompey’s cavalry were swiftly routed, fleeing chaotically to the rear.
The ten divisions of Caesar’s infantry demonstrated their impressive discipline once more. They refrained from chasing too far and quickly turned to attack Pompey’s infantry left flank.
Pierced by a pincer attack, Pompey’s troop morale was shaken.
Caesar promptly deployed the third-line reserves into the battle.
Under immense pressure, Pompey’s army retreated step by step, and their lines gradually disintegrated, eventually collapsing...
Once the battle began, Pompey was stationed at the rear of the cavalry, intending to witness the failure of Caesar’s army firsthand. The first to be defeated, however, was his own cavalry, sinking his heart to the bottom.