Battle of Ilerd

Moving quickly from the Rubicon to Italy, Caesar, thanks to surprise, took control of the Apennine peninsula in a matter of weeks. But the enemies of Guy Julius, not having time to resist him in Italy, gathered great strength both east and west of it. In the Balkans , a large army was formed by the head of Senate supporters, Gnei Pompey . In Spain, three of his legates controlled the troops: Mark Petreus and Lucius Afranius with five legions stood on the Iber River (modern Ebro), and two more legions lodged in southern Spain under the command of the third legate, the famous scientist Mark Terence Varron .

Pompey has not yet finished gathering his troops. It was not necessary to wait for his attack on Italy , and Caesar decided with his usual speed to secure his rear by neutralizing the Spanish armies. Leaving Mark Antony and Mark Emilius Lepidus in Italy, having sent Kourion and Asinius Pollion to Sicily against Cato the Younger , Caesar moved to the Pyrenees . Decimus Brutus and Guy Trebonius with three legions, he left to besiege the Greek colony of Massilia , faithful to the Senate and Pompey. And with six legions and cavalry himself, he rushed to the Iberian ridge, took control of its passages and approached Ilerda (modern Lleida), near which on the right bank of Sikor (Segre), one of the Ebro tributaries, settled fortified camp Petreus and Afrany.

Their position , which was located on a ridge of hills, slightly higher than the city of Ilerda by the river, was strong, and they had a large supply of provisions. Caesar’s troops crossed two fragile wooden Sikor bridges, occupied the lowland peninsula formed by the confluence of this mountain river with another, Tsinga , and already had several skirmishes with the enemy when Caesar himself appeared there (June 49). He immediately made an attempt to take possession of the hill located between Ilderda and the enemy camp in order to cut off the Pompeyans from the city and, thus, deprive them of the possibility of transporting food. But the attack was repelled, and Julius Caesar was forced to retreat to his former position between the two rivers. Melting snow in the mountains led to a serious increase in the water of these rivers; by their rapid course, wooden bridges were torn down and all Caesar's communications with Spain and Gaul were cut off. His army, locked at Ilerda in a very small space, soon began to suffer from a lack of food, diseases began. The Caesarians were overcome by despondency: before their eyes Afranius defeated and drove into the mountains a garrison coming to them from Gaul with a convoy, extending along with other troops joining it, up to 6,000 men.

In Rome, the hopes of optimists hostile to Caesar came to life, as all his communications with Italy were interrupted. But Athranius did not dare to take advantage of the difficult situation of the enemy. According to Cassius Dion , he “was better able to dance than command troops ”: apparently, Afraniy counted on the fact that the army of Julius Caesar, locked between the spilled rivers, would die from hunger and disease. But the victorious commander showed dexterity , coming out of a desperate situation: he ordered the boats to make wooden frames, braided with rods and covered with cowhides, in the manner of British battle rafts. Having loaded these boats on carts, at night they approached Sikor; part of the army crossed them over the river. The Caesarians began to build a bridge from both banks, and in two days it was ready. The communications with Gaul were restored; the large convoys sent from there arrived with food and went to the fortified camp at Ilerda , the famine ceased. Caesar immediately took advantage of his improved position and successful actions erased the impressions made by previous news, encouraging his enemies. The soldiers who fled to the mountains from Afrania crossed over to his side. Moreover, the Caesarean cavalry was more experienced than the enemy: the commander often sent her on patrols along the left bank of the Sikor, she intercepted the convoys going to the Pompeians . The cities located between the Ebro and the Pyrenees - Oska , Tarracon , Dertosa and others - willingly made deals with Caesar, began to send food to him. Soon, several cities of more distant areas followed their example. The legions of Pompey , in turn, little by little suffered from a shortage of provisions - it was necessary to fear that it would completely stop. Afraniy and Petreus decided to leave the dangerous position, hurriedly throwing the boat bridge over the Iber (Ebro) at Oktogeza . Dodging the battle, they intended to go to the southern coast of Iberus and connect with Varron , where they could replenish food supplies. Protected by Iberus from sudden attacks, Pompey's henchmen hoped to hold out until the winter and believed that the Caesarians, staying north of Iberus, in a mountainous area ravaged by war, would soon begin to suffer from hunger.

The legions of Pompey left their camp at midnight, crossed the bridge at Ilerda to the left bank of Sikor and were already approaching the mountains of the northern bank of the Ebro, when they suddenly noticed a Caesar's cavalry rushing behind them. However, she could not stop the enemy march; Having reached the mountains, they would continue the path to the Ebro quite calmly, and the passage through the river would remain free. However, the Pompeans were weary of the night campaign from Ilerda and the continuous attacks of the enemy cavalry. Therefore, they decided to give themselves rest on the plain, and go the next morning, which separated them from the mountains, where they sought and where they could be safe. Caesar's infantry, seeing that the enemy began to retreat from Ilerda, demanded that he lead her across the river, although there was water on the shoulder. Thus, when the army of Pompey stopped at the halt , the enemy infantry was already chasing after him: late in the evening and at night, it overtook him and became the camp opposite. It was impossible to continue the retreat without a battle.

The next day, the troops stood watching each other. At night, the Pompeans wanted to leave secretly, but the future dictator vigilantly watched all sorts of enemy movements, and this undertaking failed. On the third day, Caesar, finding a guide who knew the area well, took a courageous march along the rocky mountains to the heights that dominated the path to the Ebro, and cut off the enemy from this river. His warriors noisily demanded a battle, and if his position was advantageous, it would no doubt have been decided in his favor. But he opposed their desire: the proconsul, because of his inherent mercy, did not want to shed blood of citizens without inevitable necessity. In order not to become cut off from the water and the supply of provisions, the Pompeans defended the road to them from the Ilerda with trenches. Between the warriors of the two camps who were preparing for battle, friendly greetings suddenly began, acquaintances and friends began to shake hands with each other. Soon the centurions , military stands approached; and in general, they talked about reconciliation. At the same time, the only condition for the Pompeyans was to spare their own commanders. Gaius Julius Caesar willingly promised her and remained firm in his peacefulness even when Petreus treacherously attacked the Caesarians negotiating with the Spaniards and slaves and ordered to kill those of them whom he captured. Nevertheless, the troops of Pompey soon began to experience hunger : Peter and Athranius decided to return to Ilerda, where there was still a lot of provisions. The rearguard was light and sometimes heavy infantry, while the cavalry was completely discouraged by the constant attacks of the enemy, so I had to put it in the middle of the column. The retreat was extremely difficult because the Caesarians carried out continuous attacks; due to an acute shortage of food, convoy cattle had to be cut. Julius Caesar actively supervised the trench work, and soon the Pompeans were in danger of being completely locked up: they again tried to secretly escape through Sikor, but Caesar's vigilance upset this attempt.

A major battle never took place. The Pompeians were forced to surrender at Ilerda for surrender (August 2, 49). This decision was facilitated by his meekness and generosity of Caesar. He promised freedom to all, not just ordinary soldiers , but also to the commanders, left them all the property, even returned what was captured by his soldiers, which he gave a reward for the returned items. Julius Caesar did not force any of the veterans to enter his service; He released the Spaniards immediately after the Pompeian army laid down their arms and sent the Italians to Narbonne Gaul (the latter returned to their homeland with tales of his victories and generosity). Afranius, Petreus and their retinue left with nothing to Pompey.

The capitulation of the northern army at Ilerda also decided the fate of southern Spain. Varron with his two legions wanted to go to Hades (now Cadiz ), where he collected ships, provisions, looted money and other property. But after the battle at Ilerda, the Spanish cities obeyed Caesar one by one; in addition, one of Varron's legions before his very eyes went into the subjugated ex-triumvira of Gispalis (modern Sevilla), and Italika completely locked the gate in front of him. Finally, even Hades was driven out by the Pompeian garrison standing in it. Therefore, Varron was forced to make peace with a winner. Caesar appointed Quintus Cassius Longinus ruler of southern Spain , and through Hades and Narbon went to his besieging Massilius.

• Guy Julius Caesar . Notes on the Civil War , I, 37–55 and 59–87.

1. ↑ ^{1 2} Mark Tullius Cicero . To Attica , CCCXCV [X, 13], (3);
2. ↑ This is the date on the Roman calendar before the reform carried out by Caesar. In the Julian calendar, it corresponds to the date of May 23 - July 2, 49 BC. e.

• Battle of Ilerda, May-2 July 49 BC