Battle of Ilerda
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Ilerda took place in June 49 BC
between the forces of Julius Caesar
and the Spanish army of Pompey the Great, led by his legates
Lucius Afranius
and Marcus Petreius
. Unlike many other of the battles of the civil war, this was more a campaign of maneuvre than actual fighting.
from Italy, in March 49 BC, Caesar turned his attention to the Republican army in the Spanish provinces. On his way to Spain, Caesar was delayed when in April the port city of Massilia rebelled under Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
. Leaving the siege of Massilia
to be conducted by Gaius Trebonius and Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
, Caesar moved on to Hispania Citerior
to reinforce the three legions he had sent there as an advance guard under his legate Fabius.
passes from the republicans and march into Spain. Near Ilerda, the Pompeians made camp on a hill and Caesar endeavoured to camp about 400 paces from the foot of the hill. While the Pompeians under Afranius threatened to give battle, Caesar decline, but had his first two lines of troops form up for battle anyway, while the third line was ordered to dig a wide ditch behind the lines, unseen. As night came, Caesar withdrew his army behind the ditch and spent the night under arms.
The next day was spent creating the rest of the ditch and the rampart which would form the defences of Caesar's camp. For this operation Caesar kept a part of his force on guard.
In the midst of the plain there was a portion of rising ground which Caesar wanted to occupy. As he tells it:
The contest for this hill led to a protracted battle.
This minor reverse would result in a renewed attack spurned by Caesar, and this in turn led to a longer engagement. As Caesar tells it (in the third person, as was his style):
was started.
Caesar ordered a pursuit which overtook the retreating rear guard of the republican army and he was able to block the route on which the republicans were retreating. The two armies again camped close to each other and confraternization between the two armies started. Petreius, wanting to stop this confraternization, had the Caesarian soldiers who had wandered into the republican camp rounded up and killed. After this the republicans again retreated towards Ilerda, only to become besieged by the Caesarians in their new camp. By July 30, Caesar had completely surrounded Afranius and Petreius's army. On August 2, the Pompeian 5 legions strong army in Ilerda surrendered to Caesar.
After the surrender of the republican main army in Spain, Caesar then marched towards Varro in Hispania Ulterior
, who at once without a fight submitted to him and surrendered another two legions. After this Caesar left his legate Quintus Cassius Longinus
- the brother of Gaius Cassius Longinus
- in command of Spain with four of the legions, partly made up of men who had surrendered and gone over to the Caesarian camp, and returned with the rest of his army to Massilia and its siege.
49 BC
Year 49 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Marcellus...
between the forces of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and the Spanish army of Pompey the Great, led by his legates
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
Lucius Afranius
Lucius Afranius (consul)
Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman legatus and client of Pompey the Great. He served with Pompey during his Iberian campaigns against Sertorius in the late 70s BC, and remained in his service right through to the Civil War. He died after the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.-Early career:Lucius...
and Marcus Petreius
Marcus Petreius
Marcus Petreius was a Roman politician and general. He cornered and killed the notorious rebel Catiline at Pistoria.-Career:...
. Unlike many other of the battles of the civil war, this was more a campaign of maneuvre than actual fighting.
Introduction
After having driven the optimatesOptimates
The optimates were the traditionalist majority of the late Roman Republic. They wished to limit the power of the popular assemblies and the Tribunes of the Plebs, and to extend the power of the Senate, which was viewed as more dedicated to the interests of the aristocrats who held the reins of power...
from Italy, in March 49 BC, Caesar turned his attention to the Republican army in the Spanish provinces. On his way to Spain, Caesar was delayed when in April the port city of Massilia rebelled under Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC)
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul 54 BC, was an enemy of Julius Caesar and a strong supporter of the aristocratic party in the late Roman Republic.He is first mentioned in 70 BC by Cicero as a witness against Verres...
. Leaving the siege of Massilia
Siege of Massilia
The Siege and naval Battle of Massilia was an episode of Caesar's civil war, fought in 49 BC.Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus had become proconsul of Gaul and was sent to gain control of Massilia in order to oppose Caesar...
to be conducted by Gaius Trebonius and Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination...
, Caesar moved on to Hispania Citerior
Hispania Citerior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...
to reinforce the three legions he had sent there as an advance guard under his legate Fabius.
The Ilerda Campaign
When he arrived on the Spanish border, Caesar was able to seize the PyreneesPyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
passes from the republicans and march into Spain. Near Ilerda, the Pompeians made camp on a hill and Caesar endeavoured to camp about 400 paces from the foot of the hill. While the Pompeians under Afranius threatened to give battle, Caesar decline, but had his first two lines of troops form up for battle anyway, while the third line was ordered to dig a wide ditch behind the lines, unseen. As night came, Caesar withdrew his army behind the ditch and spent the night under arms.
The next day was spent creating the rest of the ditch and the rampart which would form the defences of Caesar's camp. For this operation Caesar kept a part of his force on guard.
In the midst of the plain there was a portion of rising ground which Caesar wanted to occupy. As he tells it:
Between the city of Lerida, and the hill where Petreius and Afranius were encamped was a plain of about three hundred paces, in the midst of which was a rising ground, which Caesar wanted to take possession of; because, by that means, he could cut off the enemy's communication with the town and bridge, and render the magazines they had in the town useless.
The contest for this hill led to a protracted battle.
The Battle
Both armies sent detachments towards the hill and the Pompeians occupied it first. This, combined with their skirmish-like combat technique overwhelmed the Caesarian detachment, and his troops were forced to give ground, eventually retreating to safety.This minor reverse would result in a renewed attack spurned by Caesar, and this in turn led to a longer engagement. As Caesar tells it (in the third person, as was his style):
Caesar, contrary to his expectation, finding the consternation like to spread through the whole army, encouraged his men, and led the ninth legion to their assistance. He soon put a stop to the vigorous and insulting pursuit of the enemy, obliged them to turn their backs, and pushed them to the very walls of Lerida. But the soldiers of the ninth legion, elated with success, and eager to repair the loss we had sustained, followed the runaways with so much heat that they were drawn into a place of disadvantage, and found themselves directly under the hill where the town stood, whence when, they endeavoured to retire, the enemy again facing about, charged vigorously from the higher ground. The hill was rough, and steep on each side, extending only so far in breadth as was sufficient for drawing up three cohorts; but they could neither be reinforced in flank, nor sustained by the cavalry. The descent from the town was indeed something easier for about four hundred paces, which furnished our men with the means of extricating themselves from the danger into which their rashness had brought them. Here they bravely maintained the fight, though with great disadvantage to themselves, as well on account of the narrowness of the place, as because being posted at the foot of the hill, none of the enemy's darts fell in vain. Still however they supported themselves by their courage and patience, and were not disheartened by the many wounds they received. The enemy's forces increased every moment, fresh cohorts being sent from the camp through the town, who succeeded in the place of those that were fatigued. Caesar was likewise obliged to detach small parties to maintain the battle, and bring off such as were wounded. The fight had now lasted five hours without intermission, when our men, oppressed by the multitude of the enemy, and having spent all their darts, attacked the mountain sword in hand, and overthrowing such as opposed them, obliged the rest to betake themselves to flight. The pursuit was continued to the very walls of Lerida, and some out of fear took shelter in the town, which gave our men an opportunity of making good their retreat. At the same time the cavalry, though posted disadvantageously in a bottom, found means by their valour to gain the summit of the mountain, and riding between both armies, hindered the enemy from harassing our rear. Thus the engagement was attended with various turns of fortune. Caesar lost about seventy men in the first encounter, among whom was Q. Fulginius, first centurion of the Hastati of the fourteenth legion, who had raised himself by his valour to that rank, through all the inferior orders. Upwards of six hundred were wounded. On Afranius's side was slain T. Caecilius, first centurion of a legion; also four centurions of inferior degree, and above two hundred private men.
Aftermath
The spring storms and the melting snow from the mountains then caused flooding, which particularly affected the lower situated Caesarians whose camp was flooded. This meant that the Caesarian troops were unable to forage and famine struck the army, accompanied by disease. When the flood of the river Sicoris finally withdrew, the Caesarians built a bridge over it and caused Petreius and Afranius to abandon their camp and the city of Ilerda and a retreat towards a second republican army under Marcus Terentius VarroMarcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro was an ancient Roman scholar and writer. He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus.-Biography:...
was started.
Caesar ordered a pursuit which overtook the retreating rear guard of the republican army and he was able to block the route on which the republicans were retreating. The two armies again camped close to each other and confraternization between the two armies started. Petreius, wanting to stop this confraternization, had the Caesarian soldiers who had wandered into the republican camp rounded up and killed. After this the republicans again retreated towards Ilerda, only to become besieged by the Caesarians in their new camp. By July 30, Caesar had completely surrounded Afranius and Petreius's army. On August 2, the Pompeian 5 legions strong army in Ilerda surrendered to Caesar.
After the surrender of the republican main army in Spain, Caesar then marched towards Varro in Hispania Ulterior
Hispania Ulterior
During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...
, who at once without a fight submitted to him and surrendered another two legions. After this Caesar left his legate Quintus Cassius Longinus
Quintus Cassius Longinus
Quintus Cassius Longinus, the brother or cousin of Cassius , was a governor in Hispania for Caesar....
- the brother of Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
- in command of Spain with four of the legions, partly made up of men who had surrendered and gone over to the Caesarian camp, and returned with the rest of his army to Massilia and its siege.