Overview

Caesar's first visit was very short. Before he had progressed very far inland, a storm destroyed half his ships, so he hastily repaired the rest and got back before he was cut off altogether.

The following year he started earlier in the summer, and a larger force. He pushed his way into the Thames basin, where he won a battle against a British chief named Cassivelaunus. But he was again recalled by a mishap to his fleet - this time an attack by the Southern tribes.

As he withdrew, he accepted a promise of tribute from the local chiefs, and returned to Gaul. He never came again.

During the following years he was engaged in a war with his leading rival, Pompey; and then, just as he was on the point of becoming Emperor, he was assassinated by political opponents, 10 years after his first visit to Britain.

The following narative is from Caesars own writings

Preparations

'Summer was now drawing to a close, and winter sets in rather early in those parts ... Nevertheless, I hurried on preparations for an expedition to Britain, knowing that Britain had rendered assistance to the enemy in nearly all my Gallic campaigns. Although it was too late in the year for military operations I thought it would be a great advantage merely to have visited the island, to have seen what kind of people the inhabitants were, and to have learned something about the country with its harbours and landing-places. Of all this the Gauls knew virtually nothing; for no one except traders makes the journey with any regularity, and even their knowledge is limited to the sea coast immediately facing Gaul.

Information

'Interviews with numerous merchants drew nothing as to the size of the island, the names and strength of the native tribes, their military and civil organisation, or the harbours which might accommodate a large fleet. Nevertheless it seemed essential to obtain this information before risking an expedition, and Caius Volusenus appeared to me the best man for the job. He travelled in a warship with orders to make a general reconnaissance and report back as early as possible.'

Cast-off

'Arrangements were now complete, the weather was favourable and we cast off just before midnight. The cavalry had been ordered to make for the northern port, embark there, and follow on; but they were rather slow about carrying out their instructions, and started, as we shall see, too late. I reached Britain with the leading vessels at about 9 a.m., and saw the enemy forces standing under arms all along the heights. At this point of the coast precipitous cliffs tower over the water, making it possible to fire from above directly on to the beaches. 'It was clearly no place to attempt a landing, so we rode at anchor until about 3.30 p.m., awaiting the rest of the fleet. During this interval I summoned my staff and company commanders, passed on to them the information obtained by Volusenus, and explained my plans. They were warned that, as tactical demands, particularly at sea, are always uncertain and subject to rapid change, they must be ready to act at a moment's notice on the briefest order from myself. The meeting then broke up: both wind and tide were favourable, the signal was given to weigh anchor, and after moving about eight miles up channel, the ships were grounded on an open and evenly shelving beach.'

The Landing

'.. the enemy's cavalry and war chariots were sent ahead, while the main body followed close behind and stood ready to prevent our landing. The troops had their hands full: weighted with a mass of heavy armour, they had to jump from the ships, stand firm in the surf, and fight at the same time. But the enemy could hurl their weapons from dry land or shallow water, and gallop their horses which were trained to this kind of work. Our men were terrified; they were inexperienced in this kind of fighting.'

Tactics

'The warships, however, were of a shape unfamiliar to the natives; they were swift and easier to handle than the transports. I ordered them to go slightly astern then full speed ahead, bringing up on the Britons' right flank. From that position they were to open fire and force the enemy back with slings, arrows and artillery. The move was of help to the troops. The Britons were scared by the strange forms of the warships by the motion of the oars, and by the artillery which they had never seen before: they halted, then fell back a little; but our men still hesitated, mainly because of the deep water.'

Courage

'At this critical moment the standard-bearer of the Tenth Legion, after calling on the gods to bless the legion through his act, shouted: "Come on, men ! Jump, unless you want to betray your standard to the enemy! I, at any rate, shall do my duty to my country and my commander". He threw himself into the sea and started forward with the eagle. The rest were not going to disgrace themselves; cheering wildly they leaped down, and when the men in the next ships saw them, they too quickly followed their example.'

Engagement

'The action was bitterly contested on both sides. But our fellows were unable to keep their ranks and stand firm; nor could they follow their appointed standards, because men from different ships were falling in under the first one they reached, and a good deal or confusion resulted. The Britons, of course, knew all the shallows; standing on dry land, they watched the men disembark in small parties, then galloped down, and attacked them as they struggled through the surf, and surrounded them with superior numbers while others opened fire on the exposed flank of isolated units. I, therefore, had the warships' boats and scouting vessels filled with troops, so that help could be sent to any point where the men seemed to be in difficulties. When everyone was ashore and formed up, the legions charged: the enemy was hurled back, but pursuit for any distance was impossible as the cavalry transports had been unable to hold their course and make the island. That was the only thing that deprived us of a decisive victory.'

A truce

'The natives eventually recovered from their panic and sent a delegation to ask for peace, promising to surrender hostages and carry out my instructions. Their envoys brought with them Commius, who, it will be remembered had preceded us to Britain. When he had landed and was actually delivering my message in the character of an ambassador he had been arrested and thrown into prison. Now, after their defeat, the natives sent him back.'

Catastophy & panic

'It happened to be full moon that night; and at such times the Atlantic tides are particularly high, a fact of which we were ignorant. The result was that the warships which had been beached, became waterlogged; as for the transports riding at anchor, they were dashed one against another, and it was impossible to manoeuvre them or to do anything whatever to assist. Several ships broke up, and the remainder lost their cables, anchors, and rigging. Alarm naturally seized the troops, for there were no spare ships in which they could return and no means of refitting. It had been generally understood, too, that we should winter in Gaul, and so no arrangements had been made for winter food supplies in Britain.

Caesar Prepares

'I had not yet been informed of the Britons' intention [to attack]; but in view of the disaster to our shipping and the fact that they had not delivered hostages, I had a suspicion of what might happen, and was prepared for any emergency. Corn was brought in every day from the fields; timber and bronze from the badly damaged vessels were used to repair others; the necessary equipment was ordered from the Continent; and thanks to the energy and efficiency of the troops, all but twelve ships were made tolerably seaworthy.'

Suprise

'One day while these repairs were in progress the Seventh Legion was doing its turn in the harvest field; nothing had occurred as yet to arouse suspicion of an impending attack, for many of the natives were still at work on the land and others were frequent visitors to our camp. Suddenly, however, the sentries on the gates reported an unusually large dust cloud in the direction in which the legion had gone. My suspicions were confirmed; the natives had hatched some new plot.'

The Seventh under attack

'The battalions on guard duty were detailed to go with me to the scene of action, two others were ordered to relieve them, and the rest to arm and follow on immediately. We had not been marching long before I noticed the Seventh was in difficulties. They were only just managing to hold their ground with their units closely packed and under heavy fire. The fact was, the enemy had guessed their destination, as the fields were already stripped elsewhere: they had hidden themselves in the woods by night, and attacked while the men were unarmed and busy reaping. A few were killed. The rest were in confusion before they could form up, and found themselves hemmed in by cavalry and war chariots.'

(Extra information)
British Charioteers

'The following will give some idea of British charioteers in action. They begin by driving all over the field, hurling javelins; and the terror inspired by the horses and the noise of the wheels is usually enough to throw the enemy ranks into disorder. Then they work their way between their own cavalry units where the warriors jump down and fight on foot. Meanwhile the drivers retire a short distance from the fighting and station the cars in such a way that their masters, if outnumbered, have an easy means of retreat to their own lines. In action, therefore, they combine the mobility of cavalry with the staying power of foot soldiers. Their skill, which is derived from ceaseless training and practice, may be judged by the fact that they can control their horses at full gallop on the steepest incline, check and turn them in a moment, run along the pole, stand on the yoke, and get back again into the chariot as quick as lightning.'

(Back to the story)
Romans Unnerved by Chariots

'Our troops were unnerved by these tactics, and help reached them only in the nick of time: for as we approached, the enemy halted, and the legion recovered its morale. The moment, however, was clearly inopportune to precipitate a general engagement; so I advanced no further, and shortly afterwards led the troops back to camp. This episode kept us all fully occupied, and such natives as were still at work in the fields made off.'

Caesars Camp is Attacked

'There followed several days of bad weather, which confined us to camp besides preventing an enemy attack. But during this interval the Britons sent runners all over the countryside to inform the population that our force was very weak, and that if it could be driven from its base they had every chance of obtaining valuable loot and of securing their freedom once and for all. A strong British force of arms was assembled and marched on our camp. It was fairly evident that what had happened before would happen again - even if we routed them, their speed would enable them to get clear of further danger. Nevertheless, there were now available some 30 horses brought over by Commius. So the legions were drawn up in battle formation in front of the camp, and after a brief action the enemy was overwhelmed and fled. We followed as far as our speed and endurance allowed, killed a large number of them, then burned all their dwellings over a wide area, and returned to base.'

Goodbye Britain

'That same day envoys came to sue for peace; they were met with a demand for twice as many hostages as before, and were ordered to bring them over to the continent, because the equinox was close at hand and the ill condition of our ships made it inadvisable to postpone the voyage until winter. Taking advantage of fair weather we set sail a little after midnight, and the whole fleet reached the mainland in safety.'
Caesar: de Bello Gallico IV.

After thoughts

Remember, this is a 'true' story. It was written by someone who was there!