The gallic wars
58-50 bce

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the german threat

gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres...
with these words, caesar begins the bellum gallicum, his own account of the gallic wars. the books of this unique work, which were written at the end of each year, were sent to the senate in rome, probably as supplements to an eventual application for a triumph. the excuse for the war was the supposed crossing of the helvetii into roman sphere of influence and the invasion of gaul by the german tribe of the suebii. the reality was that caesar needed to build up an army and a reputation to match pompeiuss, which would secure him another consulship upon his return to rome.
there can be no doubt that caesar was an extremely competent general, probably one of the best ever. he understood strategy and tactics, and he could handle the brutish and greedy legionaries of his time. he was almost always aware of the...