Siege of Uxellodunum facts for kids

The Siege of Uxellodunum was one of the very last battles of the Gallic Wars. It happened in 51 BC at a place called Uxellodunum. This battle was the final big fight of the Gallic Wars. It meant that Gaul was now truly under Roman control. The Romans won a clear victory.

Why the Siege Happened

Two Gaulish chiefs, Lucterius of the Cadurci tribe and Drapes of the Senones tribe, went to the hill fort of Uxellodunum. They wanted to stay safe inside its strong walls. They hoped to wait until Gaius Julius Caesar was no longer governor of Gaul. Their plan was to start a new rebellion against the Romans later.

Uxellodunum was a very strong fort. It had natural defenses because a river almost completely surrounded the hill it was built on. The Cadurci tribe had also built impressive walls. One side of the fort was protected by a steep mountain, making it impossible to attack from there. Because of these strong defenses, the Romans could not attack it like they did at the Battle of Alesia the year before.

Roman Commanders Arrive

The Roman general in charge near Uxellodunum was Gaius Caninius Rebilus. He knew his two legions were eager to win glory, just like Caesar had at Alesia. So, he split his legions into three camps around the fort. He placed them on high ground. This way, he hoped to stop the Gauls from escaping. He planned to completely block off the city.

Gaulish Mistakes

A map showing the Roman siege of Uxellodunum

The Gauls inside the fort, called an oppidum (which means "town" or "city" in Latin), had learned a tough lesson about starvation from the Siege of Alesia. Lucterius had been there. So, they planned to leave the fort at night to find food.

Lucterius and Drapes left about 2,000 men to guard Uxellodunum. They took the rest of their fighters to gather food all at once. Some local Gauls helped them with supplies. But much of the food was taken by force. The Gauls then tried to sneak past the Roman guards. But the Romans spotted them.

General Caninius Rebilus quickly gathered his legions. He attacked the Gaulish group. Lucterius, who was leading the food convoy, immediately ran away with his fighters. He did not even tell Drapes. Most of the other Gauls were killed. Some reports say as many as 12,000 Gauls died in this attack.

Caninius Rebilus left one legion to guard his camps. He took the rest of his soldiers to chase Drapes. He defeated Drapes' remaining Gaulish forces. Drapes was captured and later executed.

Roman Reinforcements Arrive

Now, the Romans knew that no more Gaulish help would come to Uxellodunum. This was because of Lucterius and Drapes' mistakes. So, Gaius Caninius Rebilus made his siege works around Uxellodunum even stronger.

Soon after, Gaius Fabius arrived. He was another of Caesar's generals in Gaul. He had just won a victory at the Battle of the Loire. He brought 25 groups of soldiers, which was about two and a half legions. With these new soldiers, the Roman forces grew to four and a half legions. This was enough to build strong siege lines and completely surround the fort.

Caesar's Arrival and Water Cut-Off

While all this was happening, Gaius Julius Caesar was in another part of Gaul. He heard about the rebellion by the Cadurci and Senones. Caesar wanted to make sure there would be no more rebellions in Gaul. So, he immediately rode to Uxellodunum with his cavalry. He left his main legions behind. He arrived so quickly that he surprised his own generals.

Caesar decided that the city could not be taken by force. This was a problem because deserters had told the Romans that the city had plenty of food. So, Caesar decided to attack the city's water supply.

The fort's land made it impossible to move the river closer to Uxellodunum. The water flowed straight from the mountain into the valley. Digging new canals was not possible. However, Caesar noticed that the Gauls had trouble getting water. They had to go down a very steep slope to reach the river. Caesar used this weakness. He placed archers and ballista (large crossbows) near the river. This stopped the Gauls from getting water from this main source.

Blocking the Second Spring

There was another water source. It flowed down from the mountain directly under the fort's walls. It seemed almost impossible to block this second source. The land was very rough, and it would be hard to take it by force.

Soon, Caesar learned where this spring started. With this knowledge, he ordered his engineers to build a ramp of earth and rock. This ramp was strong enough to hold a ten-story siege tower. He used the tower to shoot at the spring's source. At the same time, another group of engineers dug a tunnel system. This tunnel also ended at the same spring.

The Battle for Water

The Gauls saw the tall tower and attacked it right away. They set it on fire and kept shooting at it. This stopped the Romans from putting out the fire. Caesar then sent a fake attack up the ramp. The narrow path meant a tough fight.

After a lot of fighting on the ramp, Caesar ordered his legions around the city to let out a loud war shout. This tricked the Gauls into thinking a direct attack on the walls was about to happen. The Gauls had to stop their attacks and go back to defend the walls.

Soon after, the Roman tunnelers reached the water source. They finished cutting off the Gauls from their water. This forced the Gauls to give up their difficult position.

What Happened Next

Caesar accepted the Gauls' surrender. But he wanted to make sure this was the very last rebellion in Gaul. So, he set a harsh example. He decided not to execute the survivors or sell them into slavery, which was common back then. Instead, he had the hands of all the surviving men of fighting age cut off. But he let them live. He then sent these defeated Gauls to different parts of the province. This was so everyone could see that they would never be able to fight against him or the Roman Republic again.

After dealing with the Gaulish rebels, Caesar took two of his legions. He marched to spend the summer in Aquitania, a place he had not visited before. He briefly passed through the city of Narbo Martius in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. He also marched through Nementocenna.

Caesar felt that Gaul was now peaceful, as no more rebellions happened. He then took the 13th Legion and marched to Italy. There, he famously crossed the Rubicon river. This started the Great Roman Civil War on December 17, 50 BC.

See also

• Gaius Julius Caesar
• Gallic Wars
• Uxellodunum
• Lucterius
• Roman Legion