Gaul in the 1st Century BC

The Defeat of Gaul

When Caesar invaded Gaul he found 3 Celtic tribes squabbling for power. Internal Roman politics gave Julius Caesar the lands known as cis-Alpine Gaul in 59 BC. He then set about the systematic attacking of all the individual Celtic tribes that loosely made up Gaul. He attacked and defeated the Helvetii and captured Lugdunum and Bibracte in 58 BC. Sweeping north in an anti-clockwise direction his armies attacked the Belgae (Belgic Celts) and Nervii the following year. At the same time the germanic tribe the Suevi invaded from what is now Western Germany. The peoples of Gaul were caught in a classic 'pincer' movement. Reaching the Channel coast the Romans attacked the Veneti of Armorica. The Veneti were a powerful tribe who made most of their camps along the coasts in impressive cliff castles and were great sailors. It is thought that they may have also called for help from their close cousins in South-west Britain [see Timeline]. In 56 BC the Veneti assembled a great fleet of over 200 ships in Morbihan Bay and put all their efforts into this one battle. The smaller Roman vessels were more manoeuverable and soon dealt with the larger Celtic force. Many of the defeated Celts then fled west to the Channel Islands and north to the southwest peninsula of Britain for safety [see Culture]. Once Caesar had successfully defeated the Veneti his armies now crossed the Channel to probe south-eastern Britain in 55 and 54 BC. The remaining Celts (Gauls) under Vercingetorix put up great resistance but their revolt was finally put down in 51 BC. Gaul had been conquered.

The Roman Invasion of Britain    The Celtic Tribes of Britain