Notes on the Battle of Gaul —— Analysis of Gaul Tribes

In my previous article about Caesar, I once commented that being good at summing up is Caesar's outstanding point. The first sentence at the beginning of the Battle of Gaul was the division of Gaul summarized by Caesar with the dichotomy. Culturally and geographically, Caesar divided Gaul into three parts, namely Belgar Gaul in the northeast (Belgar is also the etymology of Belgium), Aquitani Gaul in the southwest and Celtic Gaul (Celtae, actually Gaul Gallia is Celtae's Latin translation, originally Gaul was a part of Celtic in a broad sense).

However, judging from the whole content of the Battle of Gaul, Caesar's dichotomy seems a little rough. The author thinks that Brittany Peninsula and some coastal areas should also be strictly separated from Celtic Gaul as a unit.

From the current research, at least in Caesar's time or even earlier, the Celts (Gauls) in Brittany Peninsula are different from other Celts in language. It is said that their language has something to do with Iberians in Iberian Peninsula, but it is not entirely Celtic. This may be because a considerable part of their ancestors immigrated from Iberian Peninsula. At the same time, in the third year of the Gaul War (56 BC), the tribes along the Atlantic coast, led by the Veneti tribe in Brittany Peninsula, formed an alliance to resist Caesar's rule in Gaul, but most Celtic Gauls in Gaul did not follow suit. As can be seen from the above, the culture of Brittany Peninsula is special, characterized by marine civilization, which is different from the tribes in the hinterland of Gaul. These Atlantic tribes with Brittany as the core also have a close alliance trend. Therefore, from a more scientific point of view, Brittany Gaul should be independent from Celtic Gaul.

Among several major Gaul ethnic groups, it is said that the Bergai people are of mixed Germanic descent and often face the invasion of the lower reaches of the Rhine, so they are the strongest and unyielding of the whole Gaul race. Celtic Gauls are the most populous and powerful. The Gauls in Aquitani basically played the role of soy sauce. Except in the third year of the Gaul War (56 BC), they rebelled against Caesar in response to the Venetian's call, and were later conquered by a small crassus legion (about no more than 6,000 men) and more than half of Caesar's cavalry (about no more than 3,000 men), and there was basically no large-scale resistance against Caesar. Throughout the eight-year Gaul War, Caesar fought mainly with the Belgai in the early stage and some Celtic Gauls in the later stage.

An important Gaul tribe

Belongs to Celtic Gaul, tied with Kovanyi. It is also the two most powerful tribes in Gaul and the friendliest tribe in Rome. Before Caesar became governor of Gaul, Ai Du Wei had just been defeated by the Germans introduced by Cesar Kovanyi and fell from the position of the overlord of Gaul. After Caesar came to power, he focused on supporting Wei to establish Roman hegemony in Gaul and serve the major tribes in the whole Gaul region. To put it bluntly, it is one of the most loyal Gaul leading dogs raised in Rome.

It belongs to Celtic Gaul, and its strength is second only to Ai Du. Because he refused to accept Ai Du's hegemony in Gaul, he became a German guide dog, lured the wolf into the room and was enslaved by the Germans. After Caesar defeated the Germans, he also took the initiative to admit Roman hegemony and basically never rebelled against Rome again. Although the strength of the second child, but in the Gaul War, the sense of existence is not strong.

It belongs to Celtic Gaul, and its strength is good. Vercingetorix was the most famous Gaul leader in the Battle of Gaul, Caesar's most challenging opponent in Gaul, and a nobleman of this tribe. It's also the etymology of Overwien.

Gaul, which belongs to Belgium, may be the third or second strongest tribe among Belgians. Among the three major ethnic groups in Gaul, the Belgauls fought against Rome the most fiercely, while the Narvi people sacrificed the most. The most unique thing about Narvi people is that all of them have almost no cavalry, and all of them fight on foot. In the second year of the Gaul War (57 BC), during the Belgian resistance against Caesar, Narvi ambushed Caesar's army on the Sambul River and was finally defeated. Of the 50,000 troops, less than 500 survived (or maybe less, for reasons to be analyzed below), and only 3 of the 600 tribal Council nobles survived. In the winter of the fifth year of the Gaul War (54 BC), Narvi attacked Cicero's winter camp with 60,000 men, but failed to conquer it. Caesar defeated it with two legions (7,000 men) and 400 cavalry reinforcements.

They were the first and second tribes of Gaul and Berger, respectively, and served as leaders in the course of the second year of the Gaul War (57 BC) when the Bergers rebelled against Caesar. However, Caesar suddenly killed him and surrendered without a fight. Since then, he basically did not resist Rome on a large scale, but only played soy sauce in the all-Gaul rebellion in the seventh year of the Gaul War (52 BC) (because he refused to accept Vercingetorix's leadership, he was not enthusiastic about participating in the war).

The tribe closest to Celtic Gaul in western Belgium may rank fourth in Belgian Gaul, and it is also the etymology of today's famous French city of Reims. Because it was the closest force to Caesar in Belges, Caesar was the first to surrender without a fight, and there was no resistance from then on. He was the friendliest vassal of Belgium Gaul to Rome, and also the most loyal guide dog of the Belgium people, Caesar.

Belonging to Gaul and Belgium, it is the most powerful cavalry tribe in Gaul and an important source of auxiliary cavalry in Caesar's army. The two nobles of this department competed for power with Mareus and Qin Jie Ricks, and Caesar supported the latter. In the sixth year of the Gaul War (53 BC), because Caesar lost 65,438+05 troops in the previous winter, Duju Mareus led a tribal rebellion, which was later designed by Labille Yunus. Caesar supported Chinyedo Ricks to become a vassal of Treviri again.

Gaul, which belongs to Belgium, is not strong itself. Because it is located at the mouth of the Rhine River and protected by swamps and forests, Caesar's army was forced to return in vain several times by clearing the field with solid walls and hiding in the forest deep in the swamp. However, it was swept away by the "three light" policy three times before and after, and finally sought surrender from Caesar.

Important Germanic tribes

Germans originally lived east of the Rhine. In the Marius era (about 1 10 BC), due to environmental deterioration or internal population pressure, they crossed the Rhine to the west and entered Gaul, which was defeated by Rome, but the invasion and occupation of Gaul did not stop. Especially in the lower reaches of the Rhine, a large number of Germans crossed the Rhine to drive away the Gauls in Belgium and took root here. Before Caesar became governor of Gaul, Sekwani led the wolf into the room, and 6,543,800 people led by Allevi Hostos invaded from the middle reaches of the Rhine River, eroding the territory from the middle of Gaul to the Alps.

Allevi Hostos

Allevi Hostos, a Germanic leader introduced by the Secwanians, whose specific Germanic tribe he came from is unknown. Perhaps the Germans crossing the river at that time came from many tribes, and Allevi Hostos was the recommended leader. When Caesar was a consul (59 BC), he was awarded the title of "Roman Friendship Union". In the first year after Caesar became governor of Gaul, war broke out and Allevi Hostos was defeated and killed.

The most powerful tribe among the Germanic tribes on the east bank of the Rhine. Caesar crossed the Rhine twice, and Su Weihui fled into the forest without fighting, forcing Caesar to return in vain. Hundreds of years later, during the barbarian invasion during the decline of the Roman Empire, this tribe still existed and entered Rome, occupying the northern Iberian Peninsula and establishing a country.

Ubi (Vbii)

The tribe with the largest population and the second strongest strength on the east bank of the Rhine River is also the most friendly tribe to Rome among the Germanic tribes in Caesar's time. It is a Germanic ally supported by Caesar and the leading dog raised by Rome in Germanic countries. Caesar's Germanic cavalry may mainly come from this department.

One of the Germanic tribes that crossed the Rhine, took root on the west bank of the lower Rhine and lived in Belgium. In the sixth year of the Gaul War (53 BC), its tribal leader, Ambiaud Rix, attacked Sabinus and Kota Winter Camp, annihilating the 14 Legion and five new brigades (at least 6,000 people), which caused Caesar's heaviest losses in the Gaul War. After being defeated by Caesar, Amborix went into exile and disappeared everywhere.

The population and strength of Gaul tribe

The Battle of Gaul recorded the troops deployed in a battle and the total population of some tribes. What is more valuable is the great migration of several tribes near the Alps led by the Helvetians in the first year of the Gaul War (58 BC). According to Caesar's records, the total population of this migration was 368,000, including 92,000 combatants. This data should reflect the proportion of soldiers and population in most Gaul tribes. It can be seen that the soldiers who can fight in the Gaul tribe account for about 25% of the tribal population, that is, a quarter. Combined with the historical data of China, this mobilization efficiency is also in line with the military mobilization efficiency of many nomadic, fishing and hunting peoples. For example, in the heyday of Xiongnu, the population was one million, and the string controller was 300,000. In the heyday of the Turks, the basic population was one million or more, with 400,000 serial control. The basic mobilization efficiency is also between a quarter and a third.

However, this high mobilization rate is at the expense of a lot of productivity, and it can only be an extreme mobilization situation in a short time and a short distance. Once the war is too long, or the expedition is beyond our own territory, it is difficult to mobilize such a large proportion of the population as soldiers. At the same time, many of these soldiers are civilians, even slaves with poor equipment and low morale.

Apart from this campaign, we can see that the largest number of mobilized troops was recorded in the Gaul War. In the second year of the Gaul War (57 BC), Belovac, the strongest tribe in Belgium, mobilized 65,438+10,000 troops. According to the above mobilization efficiency calculation, it can be seen that Belovac province has a population of at least about 400,000. The west of Belova belongs to Ai Du's most powerful peacekeeping department in Gaul. It can be seen that in Sai Kovanyi, which ranks second in peacekeeping in Ai Du, the tribal population is at least 400,000, and the fighting capacity is no less than 65,438+10,000.

Similarly, in the war of the Berger League against Caesar, the book also recorded that Belovac had 654.38+10,000 troops at that time, of which 60,000 were very effective. It is estimated that Belovac may send about 60,000 troops. At the same time, the book records that Sue Essien and Narvi each sent 50,000 troops at that time. It can be estimated that the strength of Su Essien and Narvi, which rank second and top three in Belges, is about 80% of that of Belovac, the strongest tribe in Belges, so the population of the two departments may be above 300,000 and below 400,000, and the number of soldiers who can fight is between 80,000 and 6,543,800+. Among them, Narvi people were almost completely annihilated in the Sampur River War between the Berger League and Caesar. But in the winter of the sixth year of the Gaul War (53 BC), when attacking Cicero's brother camp, another 60,000 people were assembled. If the people of Narvi reimbursed the 50,000 people who were dispatched in that year in the Battle of Sambuer River, wouldn't it be that Narvi dispatched 1 10000 people before and after? The author thinks that perhaps in the Battle of Sambuer River, Narvi people did not put all the 50,000 people dispatched in that alliance into it. At the same time, in the next four years, the population of other tribes may be absorbed, and their strength will recover slightly. Or attack Cicero's brother's camp with other tribes.

It is also worth mentioning how many cavalry there are among Gauls. In the Battle of Gaul, it was recorded that Caesar had 4,000 to 5,000 cavalry. There were usually 5,000 men in the early stage, and only 4,000 men in the sixth year of the Gaul War (53 BC), because 1 0,000 cavalry were assigned to crassus Jr. and brought to the east to join crassus's army (unfortunately, they were all killed in the Battle of Calais). Except for about 400 recorded Germans, most of these cavalry came from Gaul ministries. Moreover, many of them may be noble knights selected from the hostages handed over to Caesar by various ministries, so their combat effectiveness is particularly strong. In addition, in the seventh year of the Gaul War (52 BC), Vercingetorix got the support of most tribes in Gaul, and concentrated 6.5438+0.5 million cavalry to attack Caesar's supply line. It can be estimated that the number of cavalry in Gaul may not be less than 30 thousand.

To sum up, the ministries of Gaul can mobilize a quarter of the population to participate in the war. Tribes are large and small, and the strongest tribes, such as Wei and Sekwani, have a population of over 400,000. The dominant tribes in Belovac, Sussein and Narvi have a population of 300,000 to 400,000. Hervetia, Avini, Remy and other powerful tribes have a population of 200,000-300,000. Other small and medium-sized tribes have populations below 200,000. The population of Gaul as a whole is at least 3 million, and the total mobilization force is about 700,000-800,000. The author's estimation is basically consistent with Plutarch's record in the biography of celebrities in ancient Greece and Rome. However, in the Biography of Caesar, Plutarch said that Caesar destroyed 6.5438+million people and enslaved 6.5438+million people in the Gaul War, which was somewhat exaggerated.

As for the number of Germans in Gaul. As mentioned earlier, the Germans who invaded Gaul were divided into two factions: one was the ministries located in the lower reaches of the Rhine River, which had long been rooted and lived with Bergel people (such as Heyblon mentioned above); The other part is the Germanic tribe headed by Allevi Hostos, who just moved and invaded the west bank of the middle reaches of the Rhine shortly before Caesar became governor of Gaul.

According to "The Battle of Gaul", there are 6,543,800 Germans led by Allevi Hostos. If the efficiency of military mobilization is similar to that of Gaul, the number of soldiers who can fight is estimated at around 30 thousand. With a total population of120,000 and 30,000 soldiers, the German army actually defeated Ai Du Wei and Sekvani, the two strongest Gauls with a population of more than 400,000, invaded a third of Sekvani's territory and forced the Herveti family with 263,000 people to move westward. It can be seen that the Germans are less than 10 thousand and can't be enemies.

As mentioned above, in the second year of the Gaul War (57 BC), in the war in which Bergel formed an alliance against Caesar, German ministries living in the lower reaches of the Rhine always sent 40,000 people to fight side by side with Bergel. According to the above estimate, in this war, Suseon and Narvi, with a population of over 300,000, each sent 50,000 troops. Therefore, it can be estimated that the total population of Germanic ministries on the west bank of the lower Rhine River is between 250,000 and 300,000, and the number of soldiers participating in the war is between 60,000 and 70,000.