Suebi (Germania): Vosges Mountains (Ariovistus)
Caesar was now approached by a delegation of Celtic leaders who asked for Roman aid against Ariovistus. Learning that Ariovistus intended to seize the Sequanian stronghold of Vesontio (east) on the Dubas (=Doubs) as his base against the Romans, Caesar made a series of rapid day and night marches and succeeded in occupying the town himself. This convinced Ariovistus that he should meet with Caesar. He argued that he had crossed the Rhine at the invitation of the Celts and that the Romans were invading his legitimate Celtic province; but neither man was willing to make any concessions. After quelling the growing fears among his soldiers about German prowess in battle, Caesar continued northwards following the route suggested by his ally, Divitiacus, the leading Aeduan.
Caesar marched through the Belfort Gap, a fifteen-mile-wide plateau between the northern edge of the Jura Mountains and the southern rim of the Vosges, and made camp on the southeast of the Vosges. It seems that at this time Ariovistus’ army was to the north in the land of the Belgic Treveri, guarding the crossing of the Rhine by his Suebian reinforcements.
Ariovistus now marched south along a route east of the Romans and continued westwards to take up a position two miles south of Caesar’s camp (Caesar must have been aware of this but he took no action). In his new position Ariovistus cut Caesar off from his convoys of the corn supplied by the Sequani and Aedui from the southwest, but his communications with Leuci and Lingones to the west were not affected.
Caesar’s force cannot have been more than fifty thousand men; Ariovistus’ probably much exceeded that. For five successive days Caesar emerged from his camp and offered battle, but Ariovistus, satisfied with his position, kept to his camp, his soothsayers having decided that his army could not win if it fought before the new moon.
To force a decision Caesar formed his army into three lines advanced towards the German camp. Halting at less than a mile from the enemy, he held the first two lines in readiness to resist a possible attack and sent the third to the west of the German camp to entrench a new camp and surround it with the usual rampart.
Ariovistus sent sixteen thousand troops and all his cavalry to prevent this operation, but this force was driven off with both sides suffering heavy losses. When the new camp was completed Caesar left two legions and returned with the other four legions to the old camp. His communications with the southwest had been established and he now had the better position. If Ariovistus attacked either camp then the troops from the other would attack his flank.
The next day Caesar, having formed his army into its three lines, in front of and extended so as to shield both Roman camps, advanced to attack the German camp directly. When Ariovistus’ multi-tribal coalition emerged for the final confrontation, the Roman right wing smashed through the German left, while the German right smashed through the Roman left. At this crucial point, 16Licinius Crassus (c.32; fl.58-53 BC) took command of the third line, which had been held in reserve, and led it quickly to reinforce the Roman left. Ariovistus’ troops were gradually outfought and eventually broke, after which they were pursued back across the Rhine.
This marked the end of the first year’s campaign. Roman influence had been extended northwards bringing most of the more centralised Celtic tribes within Rome’s orbit. Caesar put his army under his lieutenant Labienus and sent them into winter quarters in Sequanian territory while he himself returned to Cisalpina to be nearer to events in Rome.
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