After two days of pursuit, the Roman legions finally pursued the defeated Vicintoli army to a precarious Gallic town. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoThe remnants of the Gallic tribes poured into the city, and it was only then that Apis learned from the captured Gallic soldiers that this town on a high hill was the famous Alesia!

When he first reached the beneath the town, Apis couldn't believe his eyes. Alesia, more than a town, is more of a fortress. The nearly five-metre-high wall enclosed the town along the cliff, and was sixteen feet tall according to Roman measurements. The point is that the roads into the city are all dangerous ways to climb. Around this huge fortress is the dense woods of Gaul.

It is not difficult to understand why the Gallic town chose to build on such terrain. Because Gaul was not a unified whole before Caesar's conquest of it, there were frequent battles between the tribes. Therefore, in Gaul, almost all the tribal capitals chose to build their cities in the dangerous mountainous terrain. In this way, once the surrounding tribes raise their troops to attack, they can be quickly spotted in high places, and take advantage of the terrain on the high ground to crush the invading enemy. This design was also adopted by the early Romans, but later the Roman kingdom continued to develop, the defensive function of the city wall became more and more perfect, and during the royal period, the Romans had an army that could fight well, so the construction site of the town, the defensive function was reduced to a less important position, replaced by the transportation and land of the place, and the water source. to see if it can supply a huge urban development. Probably the development and origin of all human civilization must go through such a process, Apis looked at the tall Alesian city walls, and couldn't help but sigh that the more developed the civilization and the stronger the country, the more his city was not protected by the city wall, just like Rome......

"Apis, Caesar has commanded that within two days we will cut down all the trees here and build a double siege net. Encourage your soldiers, this will be the last battle between Rome and Gaul. ”

When it was dark to camp him, Rabienus approached Apis and told him what Caesar had come to after a day of reflection. In fact, when he first arrived, he knew that with the terrain and fortifications of Alesia, Caesar's legions would not be able to conquer this solid fortress in one battle. The only way to destroy the remnants of the Gallic army in the city is to trap the enemy inside. Because the Roman legions at this time were no longer starving, the soldiers captured the baggage of the Vicintoli Gallic army. The food and grass that was originally used to supply the army of 200,000 tribes was enough to feed the Roman legions, which only had 40,000 men. On the contrary, Vicintoli led many defeated Gallic troops to flee into the city, and the food supply must have become the biggest problem, so the situation of the war was reversed, and the Roman legions, which were originally short of food, became the side with no worries about food and clothing, and the Gallic coalition army, which was originally rich in food and grass, became the side with a lack of food and grass. Therefore, the siege has become the best choice, or the only option, in the current environment.

History aside, Apis finally understood why the Battle of Alesia had evolved into the final siege and defensive battle.

At dawn the next day, the legionnaires, under the command of the centurion, began to sweat and rain down the woods near Alesia, which were used as raw materials for the creation of a double siege net.

It was an arduous task, and the amount of work was almost equivalent to building a small Roman town on a flat piece of land. And there was not much time left for the Roman legions. Because last night, Vicintoli had already let his cavalry, taking advantage of the night, break out. Now, the Gauls and the Roman legions are once again on the scales of time, depending on how quickly Caesar's siege fortifications are repaired, or whether reinforcements from the Gallic tribes will come quickly.

And to see such a vibrant, high morale of the legion here. Appis no longer had to doubt his time and the historical events he was experiencing...... Yes, what was supposed to come came after all, and there was no deviation, and the next battle was one of the most famous sieges in the history of Rome, and indeed in the history of all of Europe, the Battle of Alesia. As for whether the outcome of this battle will be consistent with history or deviate from history at this moment, Apis does not know. However, the situation is perfectly consistent with and reproduced in the history books.

"We need more wood, wood!"

Yes. It was the most centurion shout Apis had heard in two days. They themselves went into the woods and worked with the soldiers to cut down these thick trees in Gaul. It is then cut on the spot and made into the desired pattern of the siege fence. Appis is not good at engineering construction, so in the face of huge projects, Apis is more often to convey orders to various centurions, and then stand there and watch, or go to do some coolies. Because in terms of specific construction links, Appis knew that he was a layman.

The soldiers of the Roman legions, however, were not. They are experts in construction projects. All roads led to Rome, and most of these dense Roman roads in later empires were built by Roman legions. Some of the famous military routes are even used in modern times. It is still in use after 2,000 years. It can be seen how practical and solid these Roman buildings and roads were.

And the siege of Alesia, the double-walled siege network that Caesar hoped to build, probably meant something like this. First, cut down all the woods around Alesia. Then, using this timber, siege fortifications were built around this Gallic town. Surround the whole town. However, in order to prevent the arrival of Vicintoli reinforcements and to flank the Roman army on the wall, Caesar ordered his soldiers to build a double siege network, that is, after the first siege network was built, to build a large wall on its perimeter. Two walls enclose the entire Alesia. Seal all routes that Vicin Toli wants to break through.

In addition, in order to prevent the arrival of Gallic reinforcements, the enemy would climb the wall on a large scale. Caesar also ordered his soldiers to build trenches and traps around the perimeter of the siege network.

These trenches must be dug deep enough and wide enough. And not a small trench dug by the infantry of the Legion as Apis improvised on the battlefield. Caesar's plan was to build a siege ditch ten feet deep and sixteen feet wide on the periphery of the siege network. Then, in these trenches, sharpened stakes were laid, and in order to prevent the Gauls from attacking the siege nets, the stakes were pulled out, and Caesar ordered his soldiers to make planks under these stakes to join all the stakes together. In this way, the Gauls lost the opportunity to dismantle the Roman legionary fortifications.

After the traps had been arranged, the Roman soldiers had to spread a layer of tar around the perimeter of the trench. and cover it with forage. When Gallic reinforcements arrived, the archers of the legion could shoot traps from high ground and set the ingredients on fire. Deterrence of the Gallic soldiers of the besieging legions.

All facilities, one circle on the outside and one circle on the inside. The sheer volume of work was almost unimaginable. But the soldiers of the legion still didn't think about it, and threw themselves into the big construction in full swing.

And perhaps, in their hearts, they also knew that this was the last battle between Rome and Gaul. Vicintoli, the leader of the anti-Roman alliance in Gaul, was already trapped in the city, and as long as the battle was won, it would be over. They could return to their homeland, retire comfortably, use the money they had earned over the years in Gaul, settle a house in their home, hire a few slaves, and have a happy life like a knight. Yes, this is indeed what most legionnaires think. (To be continued.) )