WritesidesofHistory

Every military campaign of Julius Caesar in Gaul and Britannia

Distinct operations between 58 and 50 BC, including those fought by Caesar's legates in his name. Every row cites its ancient source to book and chapter, so each entry can be checked against the text rather than taken on trust.

  • 35operationsevery row in the record
  • 9campaign seasonsdistinct values in the year column
  • 3Roman reversesoutcome recorded as "Roman defeat" or "Roman withdrawal"
  • 2crossings to Britanniaoperations of type "Expedition" located in England

Caesar arrived in his province in 58 BC with the legal authority to defend it and a political need for a war that would pay his debts and match Pompey's reputation. Over the next nine campaigning seasons he fought his way from the Rhône to the Rhine and twice crossed to Britannia, and he wrote the account of it himself, in the third person, for readers in Rome whose votes he needed.

That account is the reason the Gallic War is knowable season by season, and the reason it must be read carefully. This record lists every distinct operation of the campaign, including those Caesar delegated to Labienus, Crassus and Sabinus and reported briefly, alongside the sieges he described at length because they showed him at his best. Each entry carries a reference to the book and chapter where it appears, so any claim here can be checked against the text rather than accepted on the strength of the table.

All 35 rows. Source file: caesar-campaigns-58-50bc.csv (CC BY 4.0).
58 BC Crossing of the Arar Battle Helvetii River Saône, near Lyon, France Caesar Roman victory BG I.12
58 BC Battle of Bibracte Battle Helvetii Mont Beuvray, Burgundy, France Caesar Roman victory BG I.23–26
58 BC Campaign against Ariovistus Battle Suebi and allied Germanic tribes Alsace plain, near Belfort, France Caesar Roman victory BG I.38–54
57 BC Battle of the Axona Battle Belgic confederation River Aisne, near Berry-au-Bac, France Caesar Roman victory BG II.5–11
57 BC Reduction of the Suessiones and Bellovaci Siege Suessiones, Bellovaci Soissons and Beauvais, France Caesar Roman victory BG II.12–15
57 BC Battle of the Sabis Battle Nervii, Atrebates, Viromandui River Selle or Sambre, northern France Caesar Roman victory BG II.16–28; site disputed
57 BC Siege of the Aduatuci stronghold Siege Aduatuci Namur region, Belgium Caesar Roman victory BG II.29–33
57 BC Submission of the Armorican tribes Pacification Veneti, Osismi, Curiosolitae and others Brittany, France Publius Crassus Roman victory BG II.34
57 BC Defence of Octodurus Battle Seduni, Veragri Martigny, Valais, Switzerland Servius Galba Roman withdrawal BG III.1–6
56 BC Naval campaign against the Veneti Naval Veneti Gulf of Morbihan, Brittany, France Decimus Brutus Roman victory BG III.7–16
56 BC Campaign against the Venelli Battle Venelli Cotentin, Normandy, France Titurius Sabinus Roman victory BG III.17–19
56 BC Conquest of Aquitania Campaign Sotiates, Vocates, Tarusates Gascony, southwest France Publius Crassus Roman victory BG III.20–27
56 BC Operations against the Morini and Menapii Campaign Morini, Menapii Flanders, Belgium and northern France Caesar Inconclusive BG III.28–29
55 BC Destruction of the Usipetes and Tencteri Battle Usipetes, Tencteri Rhine–Meuse confluence, Netherlands Caesar Roman victory BG IV.1–15; disputed
55 BC First crossing of the Rhine Expedition Sugambri, Suebi Near Neuwied, Rhineland, Germany Caesar No engagement BG IV.16–19
55 BC First expedition to Britannia Expedition Cantiaci and allied Britons East Kent coast, England Caesar Inconclusive BG IV.20–36
54 BC Second expedition to Britannia Expedition Catuvellauni under Cassivellaunus Kent to Hertfordshire, England Caesar Roman victory BG V.8–23; site disputed
54 BC Crossing of the Thames Battle Catuvellauni Middle Thames, west of London, England Caesar Roman victory BG V.18
54 BC Ambush at Atuatuca Battle Eburones under Ambiorix Tongeren region, Limburg, Belgium Sabinus and Cotta Roman defeat BG V.26–37; site disputed
54 BC Siege of Quintus Cicero's camp Siege Nervii and allies Nervian territory, Hainaut, Belgium Quintus Cicero Roman victory BG V.38–52
54 BC Campaign against Indutiomarus Battle Treveri Moselle valley, near Trier, Germany Labienus Roman victory BG V.53–58
53 BC Winter offensive against the Nervii Campaign Nervii Hainaut, Belgium Caesar Roman victory BG VI.3
53 BC Subjugation of the Senones and Carnutes Pacification Senones, Carnutes Sens and Chartres, France Caesar Roman victory BG VI.4
53 BC Campaign against the Menapii Campaign Menapii Rhine delta, Netherlands and Belgium Caesar Roman victory BG VI.5–6
53 BC Defeat of the Treveri Battle Treveri Moselle valley, near Trier, Germany Labienus Roman victory BG VI.7–8
53 BC Second crossing of the Rhine Expedition Suebi Near Neuwied, Rhineland, Germany Caesar No engagement BG VI.9–10
53 BC Punitive expedition against the Eburones Campaign Eburones under Ambiorix Ardennes, Belgium Caesar Roman victory BG VI.29–43
52 BC Siege of Avaricum Siege Bituriges under Vercingetorix Bourges, central France Caesar Roman victory BG VII.13–28
52 BC Siege of Gergovia Siege Arverni under Vercingetorix Near Clermont-Ferrand, France Caesar Roman defeat BG VII.36–52
52 BC Battle of Lutetia Battle Parisii, Senones Paris, France Labienus Roman victory BG VII.57–62
52 BC Cavalry action on the Vingeanne Battle Gallic confederation Near Dijon, Burgundy, France Caesar Roman victory BG VII.66–67
52 BC Siege of Alesia Siege Gallic confederation under Vercingetorix Alise-Sainte-Reine, Burgundy, France Caesar Roman victory BG VII.68–89
51 BC Campaign against the Bellovaci Campaign Bellovaci under Correus Beauvais region, Picardy, France Caesar Roman victory BG VIII.6–23
51 BC Siege of Uxellodunum Siege Cadurci under Lucterius and Drappes Puy d'Issolud, Lot, France Caesar Roman victory BG VIII.32–44; site disputed
50 BC Final pacification of Gaul Pacification Remaining Gallic communities Gaul, general Caesar Roman victory BG VIII.46–49

How this record was compiled

An operation is included when it meets all three tests: it took place between Caesar's arrival in Cisalpine Gaul in the spring of 58 BC and his departure for Italy at the end of 50 BC; it was fought under his imperium, whether he commanded in person or delegated to a legate; and it involved a distinct military objective rather than a manoeuvre within a larger action.

The primary source is Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, books I to VII, with book VIII supplied by Aulus Hirtius after Caesar's death. Where Cassius Dio, Plutarch or Suetonius supply a detail the Commentarii omit, that is noted in the source column. Book and chapter references follow the standard Teubner numbering.

What was deliberately left out

  • Manoeuvres within a single campaign. The crossing of the Arar and the battle at Bibracte are listed separately because each had its own objective; the several river crossings during the pursuit of the Helvetii are not.
  • Diplomatic settlements without force. The surrender of tribes who submitted on Caesar's approach is recorded in the pacification entries rather than as individual operations.
  • The civil war. Operations from 49 BC onward fall outside the Gallic command and belong to a separate record.
  • Hirtius's own campaigning after Caesar left. Book VIII covers 51 and 50 BC under Caesar's command; the later governorship is excluded.

Disputed entries

Five entries are contested in the modern literature and are marked in the source column. The scale of the Usipetes and Tencteri killings in 55 BC rests on Caesar's own figure of 430,000, which Cato attacked in the Senate at the time and which most modern historians treat as inflated. The location of Cassivellaunus's stronghold is unidentified; Wheathampstead is a proposal, not a settled identification. The site of Uxellodunum is most often placed at Puy d'Issolud, but the case there is archaeological rather than textual.

Two locations in the table are given as the conventional identification rather than a secure one. The river Caesar calls the Sabis was long read as the Sambre, but the topography he describes fits the Selle better, and excavation near Saulzoir has strengthened that reading without settling it. Atuatuca, where Sabinus and Cotta were destroyed, is usually placed in the neighbourhood of Tongeren, though the winter camp of 54 BC is not the later Roman town of that name and its site is unlocated.

Supporting reading on this site

Reuse. This dataset may be republished, adapted and built upon, including commercially, with attribution to writesidesofhistory.com and a link to this page. The CSV carries the same terms. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

Cite as: Writesides of History, “Every military campaign of Julius Caesar in Gaul and Britannia”, https://writesidesofhistory.com/datasets/caesar-campaigns-gaul-britannia/ (CC BY 4.0).