Camp in winter and cross the snowy mountains?

In the last month before the end of winter, when Caesar gave such an order from his tent, the centurions and soldiers of the legion were once again amazed at the decision of their leader, even incomprehensible. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Even Anthony, who had always strictly followed Caesar's orders, couldn't help but ask—"Caesar? ”

"Don't question my authority and judgment, Antony, as with all previous orders, you just need to carry them out, the Roman legions have reached the most critical moment, you may not be aware of it, but I can feel it."

Anthony wanted to ask, but Caesar directly refused. Even before Anthony could speak, Caesar knew what he was trying to say.

"But Caesar, you have to tell me why, at least I can command my troops with more peace of mind and go into battle on the battlefield. When my soldiers complain, maybe I can find an excuse to comfort them? ”

Anthony did not stop asking questions because of Caesar's attitude, in fact, his personality has always been like this, he likes to do things straightforwardly, and he does not like to speculate around the bush about others, even his own leader's thoughts.

"Antony, you must know that the greatest difficulty in our deep Gaul battle is not that the Roman soldiers cannot fight and are not strong enough, on the contrary, the Roman legions are much stronger than the rabble of Gaul. In the autumn, as I said, we have defeated the Vicintoli tribes, but more of them have not yet surrendered, they are still on the side of Vicintoli, and after this winter, the campaign will be very difficult, and we will not have sufficient supplies of food and grass, if these Gallic tribes do not surrender. Therefore, I will march my legions into their lands before Vicintoli instigates more of the Gallic tribes to rebel against Rome, conquer them once and for all, and then seize the food reserves I need, the food reserves that my legions need. ”

"But you don't have to climb over the snowy mountains before the end of the winter? Beyond this snow-capped mountain, I'm afraid we won't have much to supply. The baggage convoy could not cross the snow-capped mountain in winter, and the soldiers would suffer from frostbite, and by the time they went down the snowy mountain, they might not even have much food left. ”

Anthony was still a little puzzled, his sad face was like a withered branch in winter, but his eyes still revealed loyalty, and whether Caesar could convince him or not, Anthony was willing to follow Caesar's side.

"When the rations were gone, they needed to plunder, and in order to survive, the soldiers would kill the enemy at all costs, climb the enemy's walls, and enter the cities of the Gauls to steal the food. Because retreat means death. ”

Caesar once again convinced Antony with this tactic, which was still a dangerous move, as all the legions feared, if a week later, the legions crossed the snowy mountains and could not conquer the Gaul towns, then the Roman legions would be in a more passive situation, and even if the large forces of Vicintoli besieged again, the four Roman legions would be buried in this wild land. However, Caesar had actually sent men into the Gaul town under the snow-capped mountains before he sent out his legions, and noticed that the Gauls there were almost unguarded, because in winter everyone used the high mountain in front of them as a natural barrier.

……

"Soldiers, take up your shields and swords, and we will set out tomorrow to cross the snow-capped mountains and attack the towns of the Gauls. Bring seven days' worth of food, or you will starve to death on the way up the mountain. ”

Caesar's order was announced, and all the legions began to set out and pack their bags. Even the centurion was extremely reluctant to declare such an order, and like the soldiers, they did not want to climb over this damn snow-capped mountain in winter, let alone end this happy winter camp life early, but they were Roman legionnaires, and all actions had to be under the orders of the commander, and their supreme commander was Julius Caesar. No one will be able to refuse his orders, no one.

Appis was in the crowd and saw some legionnaire veterans begin to prepare the materials and items necessary to cross the snowy mountains. They kept warm by stuffing rags, cotton wool, straw, and everything else that could keep them warm by stuffing them into the gaps between their armor and clothing. Some veterans also stuffed rags into the helmets to keep the iron helmets and heads closer together, so as to avoid the cold wind penetrating the cold armor and frostbitten skin when climbing over the snowy mountains.

They also prepared high-strength spirits and stuffed them into their pockets, maybe when they couldn't stand it, they could take out a sip or two to warm their bodies for a while.

Compared to the calm and neat movements of the veterans, the recruits of the Legion seemed overwhelmed at such moments, they did not know what it meant to leave the camp in winter, and they did not know what difficulties and dangers they would encounter next, and most of them just packed their bags as usual. Since the baggage convoy could not cross the snowy mountains with the large army, the soldiers were allowed to wear three to four more days' rations, which was more than double the rations they usually carried. As a result, most recruits only know how to fill their pockets as much as possible, stuffing more food into them, and not preparing anything else.

Appis followed the example of the veterans, stuffing the rotten rags into the heavy armor, and then picking up the straw piled up next to the stable, and stuffing it into the gap between the rags and the armor, so that the thick cloth blocking the straw will make the whole garment more comfortable to wear, although this is also relative, you know, no matter what the weather, it is not much more comfortable to fill the clothes with these miscellaneous things. But this was in ancient Roman times, and the textile industry could not be expected to be much invented and advanced.

Another thing that is the most troublesome thing for the veterans before the expedition is the disposal of the trophies, because no one thought that Caesar would send troops before the end of the winter, so most of the legion veterans have not yet disposed of the trophies, that is, they have not yet been sold in the temporary market outside the barracks.

And some loot cannot be kept for the winter, such as slaves and various precious metal ornaments.

Slaves stay in the barracks, to ensure their ration supply every day, and when you are not there, no one will care about your slaves, winter over the snow mountains such a thing must not carry slaves, that will not only magnify the target, but also slow down the speed of the army, the Roman legionary infantry in peacetime is to receive strict physical training, at least two a week in the field of rapid march training, each rapid march distance is not less than five miles, about seven or eight kilometers of distance.

Under such high-intensity training, they have the physical fitness of the infantry of the legion, and the slaves of those legions, they usually have not received any professional physical training at all, when fighting, those who can run with the legion can survive, and those who can't run with the legion must be killed on the spot. And these current slaves in the barracks, in the past half a year, or even a whole year, have not experienced a single battle, and their physical strength can be imagined, so they can't take them with them when they climb over the snowy mountains, and Caesar doesn't allow them, so they can only be sold temporarily. But the temporary disposal of assets will only turn something that was once valuable into garbage in an instant. A large number of legionnaires sold their slaves at the same time, causing the price of slaves in the bazaar to plummet, and some slave traders did not even bother to bargain with the soldiers......

Fortunately, this did not happen to Appis, and there was no such loss. Because Apis had no slaves at all, and the only Germanic slave was to set him free as early as Britain. Secondly, Appis also had no unprocessed loot in his hands. As early as the beginning of the winter camp, Apis disposed of all his loot and exchanged it for a currency dinar, which he carried with him. Simple and convenient......