Marching With Caesar - Civil War Read Online Free

Gallic chaos rolling at its own leisurely pace, covering barely ten miles a day, on a good day. There is no way to hide such a large number of wagons under the best of circumstances, and it was not long before Afranius learned of the convoy. Late one night, he sent a force of cavalry and three of his Legions across the stone bridge to intercept the wagons. By all logic, the train should have been ripe for the plucking, even with the force of archers and cavalry, but somehow, the Gauls managed to survive more or less intact, with the loss of a handful of cavalry who sacrificed themselves to allow the convoy to withdraw to a hill and take up defensive positions. It was a victory for us, but it was hollow. While the supply train survived, it was still unable to reach us because of the state of the river, keeping any work on reconstruction of the bridges from happening. All in all, we were in a tight spot, and as we were to learn later, both Afranius and Petreius were not shy about letting Rome know that they had Caesar ready for the death blow, that it was just a matter of time. Because of the repulse of our assault on the mound and our supply problems, couriers were issued almost every day from the Pompeian camp, hurrying to Rome with what were undoubtedly highly exaggerated claims of our woes. I will not deny that we were in serious trouble; the problem for the Pompeians was that we had been in trouble before and despite our hunger, we had every confidence in Caesar, and before long, that confidence was justified.
    During our time in Britannia, we saw many new and different things. One of those things that we saw on that accursed island, Caesar put to use here. I know not what they are called by the Britons, but they are small, round boats made of hide stretched over a wicker frame. They are extremely light but sturdy craft and are easy to steer. Most importantly, they are easy to make and transport, and these boats proved to be our salvation, thanks to Caesar’s ingenuity and willingness to try new things. He ordered a number of these craft built, then using double wagons and under the cover of night, marched out with five Cohorts of the 10th, including mine, making a hard march to the north, slipping past the town and Afranius’ camp undetected. We moved to a spot almost 20 miles upriver, finally stopping where the river was narrow enough and would provide a suitable site for a bridge. Unloading the boats, we paddled across, taking position on a small hill overlooking the riverbank, with a good command of the surrounding terrain. Immediately, the rest of the 10th was sent for, along with the 7th, and within two days we had built a new bridge across the river. Word was sent to the Gallic column, and they crossed the bridge. Under escort, they made it to our camp. With this stroke, our supply situation was now solved.
    Now that we had regained both sides of the river, Afranius’ foragers were in jeopardy. A party of them was captured by our cavalry, and in Afranius’ attempt to liberate them, he suffered a sharp defeat, losing a full Cohort of men in the process. Just as quickly as the gods turned their faces from us, they now returned their favor to Caesar. It was almost dizzying how quickly things turned around. Somewhere in this time period, Caesar also received word that Decimus Brutus had succeeded in defeating the combined fleet of Massilia and the personal fleet of Domitius Ahenobarbus. It was clear to all, especially the natives, that Caesar’s fortune was restored, thereby making it even more difficult for Afranius to obtain supplies, with all five tribes in the region reaching an agreement with Caesar to supply only us. After the capture of the foraging party, it was almost impossible for Afranius to find volunteers for that duty, and soon men were being turned out of the camp gates at the point of a sword to go forage. Naturally, their hearts were not in it, most of them immediately deserting to us, never