Chapter 197: The Gallic Civil War 3
< 197. The Gallic Civil War 3 >
Sextus had no more hesitation.
He put his plan into action as soon as he made up his mind.
If he could not win, he would retreat.
It seemed like an obvious choice, but it was not easy to make such a decision.
He had led his legion with great momentum and launched a preemptive strike, but he was counterattacked and driven away.
It was a huge blow to Sextus’s reputation and dignity as the commander-in-chief.
In Rome, the civil war was ultimately about showing one’s prestige to the clients who followed him.
If he showed a poor performance, the foundation that Pompey had left him could be shaken in an instant.
That’s why the Roman commanders could not easily choose to withdraw without fighting at all.
The retreat was also a heavy burden for Sextus.
As soon as this news reached Rome, he would be ridiculed and shamed.
But he could not risk a battle that had a much higher chance of losing because of his pride or dignity.
As long as he survived and retreated, the opportunity would come again.
Sextus decided to endure any criticism that would pour on him.
The important thing was to seize the final victory.
A miserable winner was better than a glorious loser.
That was the conclusion that Sextus, who carried the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, had reached.
His lieutenants did not raise any objections either.
The retreat was swift and secret.
If he tried to pull out his troops clumsily, Caesar would not miss the gap and attack him.
Sextus, who had read Caesar’s tactics, knew well how one of the Gallic tribes had perished like that.
So Sextus moved his troops as if he was going to engage in a battle, drawing Caesar’s attention.
Caesar did not forget to block the south route, thinking that Sextus might try to escape.
But Sextus overturned Caesar’s expectations and turned his troops eastward.
His legion, which joined with the fleet that had been waiting to transport the supplies, immediately began to retreat.
The supplies that were overloaded to transport the soldiers were thrown into the sea without hesitation.
Caesar’s legion arrived a step late and could only watch Sextus’s legion disappear into the sea.
There was no way to catch the enemy who went out to sea because the naval power was overwhelming on the other side.
Caesar’s eyes sparkled as he watched the stern of the ship disappearing in the distance.
“He doesn’t care about his face and runs away like this.”
He had to admit it.
Caesar realized that Sextus had more excellent qualities than he expected.
Sextus’s retreat was neat and flawless.
He did not just run away, but sent some cavalry back to counterattack Caesar’s pursuers.
It turned out to be futile due to Caesar’s appropriate response, but thanks to that, many soldiers were able to board the ship in time.
He had driven away the enemy, but he did not inflict any fatal damage in reality.
As soon as he returned to the camp, Labienus asked him about his next plan.
“What will you do? Will you march to Hispania right away?”
“There is no reason to give the enemy a chance to breathe. If they reorganize their forces, the civil war may last longer than expected.”
“Sextus’s economic power is overwhelming. He didn’t suffer a terrible defeat either, so his clients won’t turn their backs on him because of this one loss. I also think it will be difficult for me if the war drags on. I will prepare the legion so that we can chase them right away.”
Caesar had six legions available at the moment.
Sextus had a little over seven.
But if Sextus reformed his line and replenished his troops in Hispania, he could easily mobilize ten legions again.
Caesar had no choice but to station some troops in Germania, so his military power would inevitably fall behind over time.
Moreover, the area that Caesar ruled did not match Sextus’s territory yet.
The land of Gaul and Britannia was still being reclaimed, so their productivity was not high enough yet.
It was enough for each tribe to be self-sufficient, but it was too much to feed Caesar’s legion and prepare for a long expedition.
He inevitably had to import food from Rome, but the person who held the naval supremacy in the Mediterranean was Sextus.
Of course, if he kept fighting like this, public opinion in Rome would not be good, but Sextus probably didn’t care about that right now.
Caesar agreed with Labienus’s opinion that it was best to march to Hispania with six legions right now.
But a sudden and unexpected variable caught him off guard.
Just as he was about to send out his legion, a messenger came across the Rhine in a hurry.
He almost fell off his horse as he approached and opened his mouth.
“Imperator, a large number of immigrants are crossing from the east of the Elbe River. We are responding, but their number is so large that it is not easy to defend with only two legions.”
“Immigrants have invaded?”
Caesar’s face hardened as he heard the report.
Caesar had wondered if it was the start of the massive invasion of the nomads that Marcus had mentioned before.
Fortunately, the messenger shook his head and said it didn’t seem like that.
“It feels more like they are just pushing in without any order. They didn’t have many riders, so they didn’t look like nomads.”
“Then they must be barbarians who were driven out by a power struggle…”
It was not an unfamiliar case.
The Helvetii tribe that Caesar had encountered in the first year of the Gallic War had been in such a situation.
They had been so harassed by the Germanic tribes that they could not bear it any longer, and the whole tribe tried to migrate westward.
The various troubles caused by that made Gaul restless, and Caesar had no choice but to clash with the Helvetii to settle it.
This time it didn’t look much different.
Then there was one question.
Who were the ones who drove out the Slavs who had been living in the far east?
“Previously, the scouts who went east of the Elbe River said they didn’t find anything strange. Then they must have come from further east than what the scouts had seen…”
“Please give me your instructions on what to do. For now, we are blocking them from coming over.”
“Of course we have to stop them from coming over. No matter what the situation is, we can’t let barbarians settle in Rome.”
Caesar answered without any hesitation.
Germania was a backward area that had not been properly reclaimed yet.
It was a bad move to accept more barbarians in this area, as it would cause food problems.
Besides, the Slavs had never had contact with Rome before, so they were harder to romanize than the Germanic tribes.
But no matter how he thought about it, two legions were not enough to control the movement of the Slavs.
The Germanic tribes were also cooperating to prevent any more invaders from entering their land, but it was a fact that they needed more help.
Caesar reluctantly decided to station one more legion in Germania.
He also took measures to bring one more legion from Britannia if necessary.
But then he didn’t have enough legions to attack Sextus.
Labienus seemed to be worried about that, and hesitantly offered his opinion.
“If we send more troops to Germania, we only have five legions available here. Is that enough to deal with Sextus’s army in Hispania?”
“Of course it is. I’ll wrap up the matter on the Elbe side by deploying the eleventh legion, and we’ll march to Hispania as planned.”
“I’m sorry to say this, but you might suffer a great loss if you are careless.”
“Careless? Do you think I’m underestimating Sextus?”
“…”
Labienus could not answer anything to his incredulous question.
Caesar was not attacking Sextus with five legions because he looked down on him.
To be precise, it was the opposite.
“I assume Sextus as an enemy who has the potential to grow as much as Pompey. That’s why I have to settle this with a short-term decisive battle. If Sextus can devise a strategy comparable to Pompey, I will be at a disadvantage as time goes by.”
It was something that Labienus had agreed on a while ago, that there was nothing good if time dragged on.
But he still couldn’t shake off the thought that it would be difficult if there was too much difference in military power.
“Do you think Sextus can become like Pompey Magnus?”
“Not right now, but if he has enough experience and time, he might grow as much as Magnus. That’s why I don’t want to give him any more time. And I can reverse the strategic disadvantage with tactics. You don’t have to worry about anything, just trust me and follow me.”
Labienus did not continue his doubts after hearing Caesar’s confident words.
So far, Caesar had done everything he said.
If he said he would do this, then that was it.
For ten years, Caesar and his subordinates had never lost a battle.
Sometimes things went wrong and they were in trouble, but every time Caesar overcame every situation with overwhelming tactics.
He would break into the heart of the enemy who had more than seven legions with five legions?
If Caesar said he could win, then he could win.
“But Sextus might also know that it’s better for him to keep dragging on time. Will he fight us?”
“We have to create a situation where he has no choice but to fight. This time Sextus won’t be able to escape without coming out.”
Labienus nodded and jumped on his horse.
Hurry up and get ready to march. His voice echoed.
It was a voice that trusted the commander’s decision and ability completely.
He had long forgotten the worry that it might be dangerous.
※※※
The news of Caesar’s march also reached Sextus’s ears.
He had safely arrived in Hispania and was replenishing his troops to fend off Caesar’s counterattack.
Thanks to that, the number of legions under his command had reached nearly nine.
So when he first heard the report, he wondered if he had heard something wrong.
“Five legions? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Right now, the immigrants are pouring in from the east of the Elbe River, so we have deployed additional troops to defend against them.”
“And yet, he dared to march this way with only five legions? Does he think so little of me…?”
Sextus bit his lip slightly, feeling resentful.
On the other hand, Gabinus and Pompey’s faces were full of color.
“This is a clear blunder by Caesar. No, rather than a mistake, he is undoubtedly underestimating us.”
“That’s right. No matter how brilliant Caesar is in battle, we have almost twice as many troops as him on this side.”
They had a completely opposite attitude from when they were pushed back by Caesar and in a state of panic until recently.
That was natural, since the difference was only one legion before, but now they had four more legions than him.
Moreover, unlike before, the area where the battle would take place was their own backyard.
It would be strange if they didn’t feel confident.
As a result, many clients who followed Pompey and Gabinus urged Sextus to attack.
In fact, Sextus wanted to be more cautious and make Caesar impatient by dragging out the situation.
He had the advantage of time, so there was no reason to go out and fight him.
But the clients were adamant.
The enemy was right in front of them, but they only had half as many troops as them.
If they didn’t confront them here, they would be branded as cowards.
Moreover, Caesar’s army was loudly taunting Sextus as a coward who ran away from a fight with his tail between his legs.
If he kept tolerating this, it was only a matter of time before his reputation as a patronus would be shaken.
Being prudent was good, but if it went too far, it became indecisive.
Sextus had already shown his back and fled once in Gaul, so he needed to show something at this point.
Swayed by the earnest requests of his subordinates, Sextus finally made a decision.
“…Fine. Let’s go out to the plain and fight Caesar’s army.”
“Wow!”
As soon as his words fell, cheers erupted from the audience.
The clients who followed Sextus clapped and praised him for making the right decision.
But Sextus didn’t hear any of that.
His mind was focused solely on Caesar’s five legions that were slowly approaching.
‘I had no choice. If I kept ignoring the clients’ words here, I wouldn’t have earned their trust. I had to fight.’
What had already happened was done. Now he had to think about how to win.
Still, Sextus didn’t feel the crushing pressure he had felt before.
The difference in troops was almost two to one, and the area where the battle would take place was familiar Hispania.
All the conditions were in his favor.
There was no way he would lose in this situation.
This was the thought that had been in Sextus’ mind since he set out for war.
< 197. Gallic Civil War > End
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