In the late summer of 55 BC Caesar made up his mind to prepare an expedition to Britain -he tells us he thought it would be advantageous politically to him to obtain more knowledge about this island and its people.
The only information he had regarding the south east coast was from Traders and this was scant – he had no idea of what the size of the island was, what customs they used, or even which harbours were convenient for a number of large ships.
He says in his work
‘ For neither does anyone expect traders go thither, not even to them was any portion of it known, except the sea coast and those parts, which are opposite to Gaul’
To obtain this information as quickly as possible before the expedition Caesar sent Caius Volusenus with a warship to do a reconnaissance along the Southeast coast.
In the meantime Caesar moved with all of his forces to the country of the Morini in Gaul where there was the shortest crossing over the channel to Britain. He ordered the ships from the fleet, which he had built the previous year for his war against the Veneti, as well as ships from all neighboroughing countries to assemble there.
Traders meanwhile had told the Britons the news of Caesar’s intentions – A number of the tribes of Britain sent envoys to Caesar offering hostages and submission to the government of the Roman people. Caesar met with them
‘ he after promising liberally, and exhorting them to continue in that purpose, sends them back to their own country’.
Caesar sent them back to Britain along with Commius. Caesar had made Commius the king of the Atrebates after the conquest of that tribe. Caesar obviously thought highly of Commius – his work states
‘ a man whose courage and conduct he esteemed and who he thought would be faithful to him, and whose influence ranked highly in those countries’.
Caesar orders him to visit as many of the tribes as he can and urge them to entrust themselves to the protection of Rome and to announce his forthcoming arrival.
Caius Volunus who had reconnoitered the coast without disembarking, returned to Caesar on the fifth day and reported what he had observed – we are not told of his findings in Caesar’s works.
While Caesar’s fleet were being assembled, a large section of the Morini tribe in Gaul sent envoys to Caesar –
In Caes gal 4.22
‘ to please their excuses respecting their conduct on the latter occasion, alleging that it was as men uncivilised, and as those who were unacquainted with our custom, that they had made war upon the Roman people, and promising to perform what he should command ‘.
From Caesar’s point of view this must have seemed fortunate timing – he did not want to leave a hostile tribe behind him,
‘nor considered that employment in such trifling matters was to be preferred to his enterprise on Britain’.
He decided therefore to demand a large number of hostages from the Morini and accepted the tribe’s submission.
In the meantime Caesar assembled his troops of 2 legions of infantry and auxiliaries – the VII and X legions. These were to be transported to Britain in eighty ships. A further eighteen ships which were needed to carry the cavalry were unable to reach the harbour Caesar was in due to winds. Caesar left the harbour in the protection of his Lieutenant Publius Sulpicius Rufus with an adequate garrison force.
Caesar set sail to Britain around midnight and ordered the cavalry to march the eight miles along the coast to their ships, set sail and follow him. The cavalry however conducted this operation too slowly and missed the tide.
As Caesar reached the coastline of Britain he saw before him tall white cliffs with the massed war parties of chariots and cavalry watching and waiting above him.
In caes.gal 4.23 he tells us
‘ the nature of the place was this; the sea was confined by mountains so close to it that a dart could be thrown from their summit upon the shore’.
This was an unsuitable place for landing so the ships set anchor and waited for the rest of the fleet to arrive. Caesar held a meeting with his most senior staff, telling them of Volusenus’ findings from his reconnaissance and explained his plans. He reminded them that when he issued orders they must be carried instantly once given. As the weather and tide were in his favour, the ships set off for about 7 miles along the coast until they were along side an open and level shore. The Britons however had followed them along the coast and were waiting for the Romans.
The size of the Roman ships meant they could only anchor in fairly deeper water and the Roman soldiers were unwilling to jump into the water as they were held back by the weight of their armour and the effect of the waves. However the enemy with their cavalry and charioteers were on familiar ground and were able to hurl their weapons from the shallows and the dry ground. Understandably the Roman soldiers, who were unaccustomed to this type of warfare and had never fought against charioteers, were not exactly enthusiastic to leap from their ships into the water. Caesar was quick to notice their reluctance and ordered the ships of war to be removed from the ranks of the transport ships and positioned towards the open flank of the enemy – these ships contained siege engines as well as being equipped with men using slings and arrows.
This action caused the enemy to falter – in Caes.gal.4.25 – ‘for the barbarians being startled by the form of our ships and the motions of our oars and the nature of our engines, which was strange to them, stopped, and shortly after retreated a little.
Caesar’s men still hesitated in their advance onto the beach – but the Aquilifer (who was the most important standard bearer in a Roman legion – a legions eagle standard was its identity and its loss a mortal disgrace) called out prayers to the gods and exclaimed “Leap, fellow soldiers, unless you wish to betray your eagle to the enemy. I, for my part, will perform my duty to the commonwealth and my general.”
With this he leapt into the water and made his way towards the enemy. This motivated the Roman troops into action and they too leapt into the water and advanced against the enemy. The battle which followed was fought hard– but the Romans could not keep within their ranks or get a firm foothold.
They were unable to follow their own standards and joined under the first standard they came across causing great confusion amongst themselves. The enemy however were at home in the shallows and took advantage of their confusion , using their cavalry to ride up and attack them , surrounding them with larger numbers and also throwing their weapons on the exposed flank of the whole group. Caesar ordered that the warships boats and the spy sloops were filled with soldiers and sent to help the men in distress.
This help made all the difference to the beleaguered troops – as soon as they all had a footing on dry ground, they attacked the enemy and put them to flight. Caesar’s troops were not able to follow them for any distance however as the Roman Cavalry had still not arrived.
Caesar tells us next that after the enemy had regrouped they sent him envoys to ask for peace. With these envoys they also sent along Commius the Atrebatian, who Caesar had sent to Britain earlier to visit all the tribes in an attempt to persuade them to submit to Rome before his arrival. Commius had been seized on his arrival in Britain after delivering Caesars message and held in chains. The British claimed to Caesar that this had been done under the instructions of ‘ the common people’. The chieftainship of these tribes was an elected office not a hereditary one, and the chiefs were duty bound to carry out the democratic wished of the peoples.
Peace negotiations between the British chieftains and Caesar went on for 4 days – Caesar demanded hostages from them – some were given immediately but the rest were promised in a few days, as they were to come from remote places.
On the fourth day the sails of the eighteen cavalry ships were spotted from the Roman camp when a sudden storm sprang up. Some of the ships were driven back to their port of departure whilst others were blown down the channel, to the west, where they tried to anchor but the ships started to fill with water from the waves. They had no choice but to put out to sea during the storm and made for the coast of Gaul.
For Caesar the disaster did not stop there. That night the moon was full and the tides particularly high – a fact he states was unknown to the Romans. The ships of war which he had drawn up on the beach were waterlogged by the tide and the storm continued to batter the heavier anchored transports until they were dashed together – several ships broke up an the remainder lost their cables, anchors and rigging. The Roman soldiers could only watch helplessly.
The outlook for the Romans must have seemed bleak – they had no provisions for a stay of any length, and no facilities to repair the damaged fleet. This plight was apparent to the Britons still remaining within the Roman Camp and they started to leave in small groups to regroup their forces – this time they did not attack the Romans in force, but changed to guerrilla warfare tactics to prevent the legions from foraging for grain and provisions.
Caesar in the meantime had begun the task of repairing his fleet by demolishing the worst damaged ships and using the wood and brass to repair the rest – twelve ships from the eighty were beyond repair. He tells us in caes.gal.4.31 ‘ since that business was executed by the soldiers with the greatest energy, he effected that, after the loss of twelve ships, a voyage could be made well enough in the rest’
Whilst this work was being carried out, members of the VII legion were sent out to reap corn – suddenly the troops on duty at the gate of the camp reported to Caesar that clouds of dust could be seen in the direction the legion had marched. He ordered two cohorts to join him and went to the scene of the action. It was apparent the VII were in great difficulties and were surrounded by the British cavalry and chariots who had ambushed the legion after hiding themselves in the woods. A small number of the legion had been killed and the rest thrown into confusion.
When Caesar arrived the British hesitated giving him time to check his panicking legion. Caesar was unable to do much more than withdraw his men back to the camp.
At this point in his commentaries he gives us a first hand description of the War chariots of the British tribes were used in battle. He states in caes.gal.4.33 ‘ Their mode of fighting with their chariots is this: firstly, they drive about in all directions and throw their weapons and generally break the ranks of the enemy with the very dread of their horses and the noise of their wheels; and when they have worked themselves in between the troops of horse, leap from their chariots and engage on foot. The charioteers in the meantime withdraw some distance form the battle, and so place themselves with the chariots that, if their masters are overpowered by the number of the enemy, they may have a ready retreat to their own troops. Thus they display in battle the speed of horse, the firmness of infantry; and by daily practice and exercise attain to such expertness that they are accustomed, even on a declining and steep place, to check their horses at great speed, and manage and turn them in an instant and run along the pole, and stand on the yoke, and thence betake themselves with the greatest celerity to their chariots again.’
The war chariots seemed to create havoc among the roman troops – The chariot as a weapon on war was new to the Romans – the Gaels did not use them.
A number of days of extremely bad weather followed this incident which prevented any further hostilities – however the ‘barbarians’ as Caesar called the British had gathered in force for what they considered to be the decisive opportunity for liberating themselves from the Roman invaders and they approached the fortified camp.
The Romans were however prepared for them and under Caesar’s command were drawn up in disciplined ranks. This time they were on ground of their own choosing. When the action began the outcome was almost inevitable – the British were unable to sustain the attack for long and were pursued across the countryside by about 30 Roman Cavalry led by Commius the Atrebatian
Caesar tells us they slew a great number of the British.
Caesar met with British envoys the same day, demanding double the number of hostages and that they be delivered to the continent. Caesar knew that the equinox was near and was not prepared to wait any longer than necessary to return to Gaul. The weather was in his favour and he set sail for Gaul in his repaired ships just after midnight.
Caesar clearly took risks in this punitive expedition – we are shown in his commentaries that he did not know how dangerous the conditions of the North Sea were in comparison to navigation in the Mediterranean – what is surprising however is that his experiences didn’t teach him a lesson and it wouldn’t be long before he made the same mistakes again…
by Corinne Mills and Richard Hayton