Battle of Pharsalus. The preliminaries
Pompey, who had his camp on a height, confined himself to arranging his troops in battle array at the foot of the hill, doubtless waiting for Caesar to engage in some disadvantageous post. Caesar, thinking he could never lure Pompey into battle, thought it best for him to decamp and keep on the march; he hoped that by constantly changing camp and traveling around the country, he would find it easier to obtain provisions; that on the way he might perhaps find some good opportunity to come to blows; or that at least he would exhaust by this continual movement the enemy army, little accustomed to fatigue.
This decision taken, the signal for departure given and the tents folded, Caesar perceived that the enemy army, contrary to his custom, had just advanced a little further out of the intrenchments, and that he could fight it without disadvantage. Then addressing his troops, who were already at the gates of the camp:"We must, he said, postpone our departure for the moment, and think of combat, if, as we have always wished, we are ready to to come to blows:it will not be easy for us to find such an occasion later." And immediately he marched his troops forward.
Pompey's speech
Pompey, for his part, as we have since learned, yielding to the entreaties of his people, had determined to give battle. He had even said, a few days before, in full council, that Caesar's army would be defeated before it came to blows. And as, at these words, most were astonished:"I know," he said, "that in this I promise an almost incredible thing; but listen to my plan, and you will march with more assurance to the enemy.
According to my advice, our cavalry engaged, when it should be within range of the enemy's right wing, to take it in flank, so that, the infantry enveloping it from behind, the army of Caesar is routed before we have fired a single dart. (4) Thus we shall end the war without exposing the legions and almost without drawing the sword; which is easy for us, being so superior in cavalry."
At the same time he exhorted them to be ready, and, since at last they were going to fight as they had often requested, not to deny the opinion which had been formed of their experience and their courage.>
Speech of Labienus
Labienus then speaks, and, affecting to despise Caesar's troops and to exalt Pompey's project:"Do not believe, he said, O Pompey! that this is the same army that conquered Gaul and Germania.
I attended all the fights, and I don't talk lightly about things I don't know. Only the smallest part of this army remains:most have perished in so many battles, as it must have been; a large number have been swept away by the bad air which reigns during the autumn in Italy; many have retired to their homes; many more were left behind on the mainland.
Haven't you yourselves heard that of those who remained ill at Brindes, cohorts were formed? The troops you see are made up of those levies that have been made in recent years in Citerior Gaul, and most of them in the Transpadan colonies. Besides, everything that made it strong perished in the two battles of Dyrrachium." After this speech, he swore to return to the camp only as a winner, and invited the others to take the same oath.
Pompey, who approved of it, hastened to swear the same, and not one hesitated to follow this example. After that the council separated full of joy and hope:they thought they had already won the victory; the word of such an able general, and in such a decisive circumstance, left them in no doubt.
Pompey's order of battle
Caesar, having approached the camp of Pompey, observed his order of battle. On the left wing were the two legions named the First and Third, which Caesar had sent to Pompey at the beginning of the troubles, by virtue of a decree of the Senate; this is where Pompey stood.
Scipio occupied the center with the legions of Syria. The Cilician legion, joined to the Spanish cohorts brought by Afranius, was placed on the right wing.
Pompey regarded these last troops as the best. The rest had been distributed between the center and the two wings, and the whole amounted to one hundred and ten cohorts, which numbered forty-five thousand men. About two thousand veterans, previously rewarded for their services, had come to join him; he had scattered them throughout his army. The other cohorts, seven in number, had been left to guard his camp and neighboring forts. Its right wing was covered by a steep-sided stream; so he had put all his cavalry, his archers and his slingers on the left wing.
Caesar's order of battle
Caesar, still keeping his old order of battle, had placed the tenth legion on the right wing, and the ninth on the left, although greatly weakened by the battles of Dyrrachium; he joined to it the eighth legion, so that the two joined together made almost one, and he recommended them to support each other. He had eighty cohorts in line, about twenty-two thousand men. Two cohorts had been left to guard the camp. Caesar had given command of the left wing to Antony, that of the right to P. Sylla, that of the center to Cn. Domitius. For him he placed himself in front of Pompey.
But, having reconnoitred the disposition of the enemy army, fearing that his right wing would be enveloped by Pompey's numerous cavalry, he drew as soon as possible from his third line one cohort per legion, and formed a fourth line of them for the oppose the cavalry; he showed her what she had to do and warned her that the success of the day depended on her worth. At the same time he ordered the whole army, and in particular the third line, not to set off without his order, reserving, when he thought fit, to give the signal by means of the standard.
Caesar's exhortations
Then, haranguing the soldiers according to military custom, and having reminded them of the benefits with which he had showered them at all times, he called them to witness the ardor with which he had constantly sought peace, of the conferences of Vatinius, of those of Clodius with Scipio, of the negotiations begun at Oricum with Libo for the dispatch of the deputies. He added that he had never wanted to lavish the blood of the troops, nor to deprive the republic of one of its armies. This speech ended, as the soldiers, full of ardor, demanded combat, he sounded the charge.
Beautiful attitude of a centurion
There was in Caesar's army a veteran named Crastinus, who the year before had been principal of the tenth legion, a man of rare valor. As soon as the signal is given:"Follow me," he said, "you who were formerly my companions, and serve your general with the zeal which you have promised him. This is our last combat; after he will have recovered his honor, and we freedom." At the same time, turning to Caesar:"General, he said to him, I will conduct myself today in such a way that, living or dead, I will be praised by you." (4) At these words he sprang forward first from the right wing, and about one hundred and twenty volunteers of the same century followed him.
Pompey's tactic
There remained between the two armies only as much space as was necessary for the clash; but Pompey had recommended to his people to wipe our first effort without shaking, and thus to let our line open:it was, they say, C. Triarius who had given this advice, in order to deaden our momentum. and to exhaust our forces, to throw our ranks into disorder, then to fall on us, close together, when we were half open:he flattered himself that our javelins would have much less effect, his troops remaining at their post, than if they themselves marched in front of our blows; and that our soldiers, having doubled the race, would lose breath and fall exhausted.
In this, it seems to us, Pompey acts without reason; for the emulation and vivacity natural to man are still inflamed by the ardor of combat.
Generals must excite and not repress this momentum; and it is not for nothing that from time immemorial it has been established that before the battle all the trumpets would sound and that great cries would be uttered by the troops:thereby an army terrifies the enemy and comes to life itself. same.
The battle. Rout of the Pompeians
However, our soldiers, at the given signal, rush forward, javelin in hand; but, having noticed that those of Pompey were not running towards them, instructed by experience, and trained by preceding combats, they slowed down their pace and stopped in the middle of their race, so as not to arrive. out of breath; and, a few moments later, having resumed their course, they threw their javelins, and then, according to Caesar's command, seized their swords.
Pompey's soldiers put up a good face; they received the discharge of the darts, withstood, without breaking, the shock of the legions, and, after throwing their javelins, also put their swords in their hands. At the same time Pompey's cavalry, which was on the left wing, rushed forward as ordered, and the crowd of archers spread out on all sides. Our cavalry did not sustain the shock and gave way a little:that of Pompey only pressed it more vigorously, and began to develop its squadrons and envelop us by the flank. At this sight, Caesar gave the signal to the fourth line, consisting of six cohorts.
They set off immediately, and charged with such vigor the cavalry of Pompey, that not one held firm, and that all, having turned back, not only left the place, but fled hastily towards the most haunted mountains. .
When they left, the slingers and archers found themselves defenseless and without support, and all were cut to pieces. At the same pace, the cohorts moved to the left wing, whose center still supported our efforts, surrounded it and took it from the rear.
At the same time Caesar advanced the third line, which had hitherto remained quiet at its post. These fresh troops having relieved those who were tired, the soldiers of Pompey, moreover pressed on their backs, could not resist, and all fled. Caesar was not mistaken when he predicted to his troops, haranguing them, that these cohorts, which he had placed in the fourth line to oppose them to the enemy cavalry, would begin the victory. It was indeed by them that the cavalry was first repulsed; by them the archers and slingers were cut to pieces; by them the left wing of the enemy was surrounded, which decided the rout. As soon as Pompey saw his cavalry repulsed, and that part of the army on which he counted most seized with terror, trusting little to the rest, he left the battle, and rode back to his camp, where, addressing the centurions guarding the praetorian gate, he said to them aloud to be heard by the soldiers:"Guard the camp well, and defend it zealously in case of misfortune; for my part, I will go around it and secure the posts. " That said, he retired to the courtroom, despairing of success, and yet awaiting the event.
The Pompeian camp is stormed. Pompey's Escape
After forcing the routed enemies to throw themselves into their entrenchments, Caesar, persuaded that he should not give them time to recover, urged the soldiers to take advantage of their advantage and attack the camp; and these, although overcome by the heat, for the combat had been prolonged until the middle of the day, refused no fatigue and obeyed. The camp was at first very well defended by the cohorts guarding it, and especially by the Thracians and Barbarians; for, as for the soldiers who had fled from the battle, full of fear and overwhelmed with fatigue, they had thrown down their arms, their standards, and thought much more of escaping than of defending the camp. Soon even those who had held firm in the entrenchment could not resist a cloud of darts; covered with wounds, they abandoned the place, and, led by their centurions and their tribunes, they took refuge on the heights near the camp.
In Pompey's camp were found tables with three beds laid, sideboards laden with silverware, tents covered with fresh turf, some even, like that of L. Lentulus and some others, decorated with ivy, and many other things that announced both excessive research and the hope of victory. It was easy to see that they had no doubts about the success of the day, since they allowed themselves this frivolous luxury. And yet they were not afraid to accuse of weakness this army of Caesar, so poor and so strong, which had always lacked the most necessary things. Pompey, as soon as he saw us cross his intrenchments, mounted the first horse he found, stripped of the insignia of command, escaped through the Decuman gate, and ran at full speed to Larisa. He did not stop there; but, having collected, with the same celerity, some of his fugitives, he ran all night, accompanied by about thirty horsemen, arrived at the sea, and climbed into a transport vessel; complaining, on several occasions, it has been said, of having so strangely deceived himself, that he had seen himself in some way betrayed by those very people from whom he expected victory, and who had been the first to flee.
Pursuit of the remnants of the Pompeian army. Their surrender
Caesar, master of the camp, urged the soldiers to leave the pillage and complete the success. Having obtained what he asked for, he drew a line around the hill where Pompey's troops had taken refuge. These, not finding the position favorable, because there was no water, abandoned it of their own accord, and wanted to retire to Larisa. Caesar doubted this project; he divided his troops, left part of them in his camp, another in the camp of Pompey, took with him four legions, ran to meet the enemy by a more convenient route, and, arriving at a distance of six thousand not, lined up his troops in line. At this sight, Pompey's people stopped on a mountain, at the foot of which flowed a river. Caesar encouraged his soldiers, and though they were exhausted from a long day of fatigue, and night was approaching, they drew a line which cut off all communication with the river and prevented the enemy from going into the water for the night. The work completed, the enemies deputed to him to surrender. Some senators, who had joined them, protected by the night, sought their safety in flight.
At daybreak, by Caesar's order, all those who were posted on the mountain had to descend into the plain and lay down their arms. They obeyed without delay, and having thrown themselves at his feet, arms outstretched and tears in their eyes, they asked him for life:he raised them up, consoled them, said a few words of his clemency to reassure them; he saved them all, and forbade his troops to do them the slightest harm or to take anything from them. (3) After taking these measures, he summoned other legions from the camp, sent back those he had brought with him to take some rest, and the same day he arrived at Larisa.
Result of the battle
He lost in this battle only two hundred soldiers; but about thirty of the bravest centurions were killed there. There also perished, fighting valiantly, that Crastinus of whom we have mentioned above; he was killed with a sword blow to the face. So what he had said at the time of the battle turned out to be true; for Caesar admitted that Crastinus had behaved with a courage above all praise, and that he had rendered him eminent services. Of Pompey's army about fifteen thousand men perished, and more than twenty-four thousand surrendered; for the very cohorts which had been placed in the fort submitted themselves to Sulla; in addition, many took refuge in neighboring towns. They brought to Caesar nine eagles and one hundred and eighty standards taken in this combat. L. Domitius, while fleeing from the camp to reach the mountain, fell from weariness and was killed by the cavalry.
Lélius' attempt in front of Brindes
At the same time, D. Lélius came to Brindes with his fleet, and seized the island located at the entrance to the port of this city, by the same means that we have seen used by Libon. On his side, Vatinius, who commanded at Brindius, having laid down and fitted out some boats, tried to attract the ships of Lelius; and a five-row galley having gone too far, he took it with two other lesser ones in the narrow part of the harbour. He also spread his cavalry on the coast to prevent the enemies from making water; but, as Lelius found himself in the most favorable season for navigation, he had the cargo ships brought in from Corcyra and Dyrrhachium. Nothing distracted him from his design; and neither the news of the battle given in Thessaly, nor the loss of several of his vessels, nor the lack of the most necessary things, could drive him from the port and the island.