Gallic Wars

Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410. The Romans referred to the... imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia . Before the Roman invasion, begun in AD 43, Iron Age Britain already had established cultural and economic links with Continental Europe, but the Roman invaders introduced new developments in agriculture, urbanisation, industry and architecture. Besides the native British record of the initial Roman invasion, Roman historians generally mention Britannia only in passing. Thus, most knowledge of Roman Britain has derived from archaeological investigations, and the epigraphic evidence lauding the Britannic achievements of an Emperor of Rome, such as Hadrian and Antoninus Pius , whose walls demarcated the northern borders of Roman Britain. The first extensive Roman campaigns in Britain were by the armies of Julius Caesar in 55 and in 54 BC, but the first significant campaign of conquest did not begin until AD 43, in the reign of the Emperor Claudius.
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Germania was the Greek and Roman geographic term for the geographical regions inhabited mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most... often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube. The areas west of the Rhine were mainly Celtic and had become part of the Roman Empire. Some Germani, perhaps the original people to have been referred to by this name, had lived on the east side of the Rhine. At least as early as the 2nd century BC. This area was considered to be in "Gaul", and became part of the Roman empire. These were the so-called germani cisrhenani, who in modern terms lived in the region of modern eastern Belgium, the southeastern Netherlands, and stretching into Germany towards the Rhine. During the period of the Roman empire, more tribes were settled in areas of the empire near the Rhine, in territories controlled by the Roman Empire. Eventually these areas came to be known as Lesser Germania, while Greater Germania was the larger territory east of the Rhine.
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The Battle of the Sabis, also known as the Battle of the Sambre or the Battle against the Nervians , was fought in 57 BC in the area known today as... Wallonia, between the legions of the Roman Republic and an association of Belgic tribes, principally the Nervii . Julius Caesar, commanding the Roman forces, was surprised and nearly defeated. According to Caesar's report, a combination of determined defense, skilled generalship, and the timely arrival of reinforcements allowed the Romans to turn a strategic defeat into a tactical victory. During the winter of 58/57 BC rumours that the Belgian tribes wanted to combat the Romans came to Caesar's ears. These reports provided him with a good pretext for conquering more than Gaul "itself", and for this Caesar raised two more legions and convinced the Remi tribe to side with him. Julius Caesar considered the Belgii to be the most warlike of the Gallic tribes.
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The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief town of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republic army,... led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix. The Gauls won the battle. The site is identified with Merdogne, now called Gergovie, a village located on a hill within the town of La Roche-Blanche, near Clermont-Ferrand, in south central France. Some walls and earthworks still survive from the pre-Roman Iron Age. Vercingetorix had earlier been expelled from Gergovia. In winter 53 BC, whilst Caesar was gathering his forces for a strike against the Gauls, Vercingetorix attacked Gergovia. Caesar states that this left him with a difficult decision, between keeping his forces safe over the winter but showing Roman weakness in defending her allies the Aedui and thus losing their support, or bringing Vercingetorix to open battle but risking running out of supplies - he chose the latter. Leaving two legions and all his baggage train behind in Agedincum, Caesar led the remaining legions to Gergovia's aid.
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The Battle of the Arar was fought between the migrating tribes of the Helvetii, and three Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar, in... 58 BC. This was the first major battle of the Gallic Wars. The Helvetii were a tribe that originated from what is modern day Switzerland, who, prior to battle with Caesar, had been migrating through Roman Gaul. At Geneva, the Romans destroyed the wooden bridge across the Rhone and constructed nineteen miles of fortifications. The Helvetii tribe tried to migrate by another route, and were crossing the river Arar using rafts and boats. Caesar was informed by his scouts and proceeded to engage the Helvetii. Three parts of the Helvetii forces had crossed the river and Caesar routed the fourth part left on his side of the river, killing a great many and driving the rest into the woods. The Helvetii Caesar killed were part of the clan of the Tigurini which in 107 BC had slain Lucius Cassius Longinus Consul at the time of his death. As well as Lucius Calpurnius Piso who was the grandfather of another Lucius Calpurnius Piso, the father-in-law of Caesar.
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The Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the second major... battle of the Gallic Wars. After following the migration of the Helvetii and defeating them, Caesar, around 20 June, moved towards Bibracte to obtain the supplies promised by his allies, the Aedui. Informed by deserters of Lucius Æmilius, commander of the cavalry, the Helvetii took this occasion to turn and harass Caesar's rear guard. When Caesar observed this, he sent his cavalry to delay the attack. He placed the Seventh , Eighth , Ninth , and Tenth legions , organized in Roman fashion , at the foot of a nearby hill, the top of which he occupied himself, along with the Eleventh and Twelfth Legions and all his auxiliaries. The baggage train was also assembled near the summit, where it could be guarded by the forces present there.
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