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Battles and Campaigns

Battle of Alesia

Ancient

The Battle of Alesia (September 52 BC) was the climactic engagement of the Gallic Wars, fought when Julius Caesar's army of roughly 10 to 11 legions besieged the Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix and his confederation of tribes inside the fortified hill town of Alesia. Caesar's troops built a double line of fortification, an inner wall to blockade the town and an outer wall to hold off a large relieving Gallic army, and defeated both the besieged garrison and the relief force. Alesia proved to be the end of generalized and organized resistance against Caesar's conquest of Gaul. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Battle Type
Siege, with a pitched battle against a relieving army 1
Year
52 BCE 1
Location
Alesia, a fortified Gallic hill town in what is now France 1
Outcome
Decisive Roman victory; Vercingetorix surrendered, ending organized Gallic resistance to Caesar's conquest 1
Battle Type
Battle Type (category)
Siege 1
Battle Type (category)
Pitched Battle 1
Connections

Associated With

Double-Wall Siege (Circumvallation and Contravallation), Strategy and Doctrine
Source Wikipedia: Battle of Alesia

Led By

Julius Caesar, Commanders
Source Wikipedia: Battle of Alesia
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: France, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Battle of Alesia
Wikipedia
  • Lead and Siege sections
    The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia (September 52 BC) was the climactic military engagement of the Gallic Wars...Alesia proved to be the end of generalized and organized resistance against Caesar's invasion of Gaul.
  • Lead section
    fought around the Gallic oppidum (fortified settlement) of Alesia in modern France
  • Infobox and Aftermath section
    With the revolt crushed, Caesar set his legions to winter across the lands of the defeated tribes to prevent further rebellion.
  • Siege section
    Over the span of a month, some 25 miles of fortifications were built. They included a trench for soldiers, an anti-cavalry moat, towers at regular intervals, and booby traps in front of the trenches.
  • Led By: Julius Caesar
  • Associated With: Double-Wall Siege (Circumvallation and Contravallation), Siege section, circumvallation paragraph
    To prepare for the arrival of the Gallic relief forces, Caesar constructed an outer fortification (a circumvallation) with the same specifications but facing the opposite way as protection against the external attack by this relief force.
View the Source
Wikidata: Battle of Alesia
Wikidata Q131386, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
Wikipedia: Gallic Wars
WikipediaPart Of: Gallic WarsView the Source
Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Caesar build two walls around Alesia instead of one?

One wall blockaded the besieged town; the other, facing outward, held off the Gallic relief army marching to break the siege.

Caesar's army besieging Alesia was itself outnumbered by the combined forces inside the town and the Gallic army marching to relieve it. A single wall facing the town would have left his own troops exposed to attack from behind once the relief army arrived, so he built an inner wall (contravallation) to blockade Vercingetorix's Gauls and a second, outer wall (circumvallation) facing away from the town to hold off the relief force, letting his smaller Roman army fight both without being caught between them.
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