In 58 BCE, Julius Caesar started the conquest of Gaul, to put an end to the (perceived) Gallic threat of to Italy. After two campaigns, he had reached the Middle Meuse and the Ocean, which was sufficient to boast that the mission had been accomplished. However, when Caesar was trying to invade Britain, the Gauls started to reorganize themselves.
In the winter of 54/53, the tribes of Gaul revolted. The Belgians, in the north, started the rebellion. Eburones, commanded by Ambiorix, destroyed the Fourteenth legion and it took Julius Caesar a whole year before he had restored order - or better: before he had killed all inhabitants of the general area between the rivers Meuse and Rhine.
Next year, 52, the Gauls unitedly rebelled under Vercingetorix, a young, charismatic nobleman. The second insurrection was well-timed, because the situation in Italy was unquiet too, and Caesar could not be reinforced from the south. Vercingetorix tried to cut off the lines of contact of Caesar's twelve legions (about 50,000 legionaries, with allies). The Gauls destroyed their towns and stored their food supplies in several well-defended towns. The Romans would be forced to attack these towns, which implied that they would have to find their food in a restricted, well-defined area, where the legionaries would be easy targets for the Gallic cavalry. For the first time during this war, the Romans had to defend themselves.
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