THE INVASION OF GAUL Read Online Free PDF

mighty Rome on their way to another part of gods-forsaken Gaul and are already on the move. Caesar, along with the Eighth, who are coming up from Massilia, and a few of the senior officers, will be heading for Geneva tomorrow for the initial negotiations and conflicts. The three legions here will make for Vienna and will stay there and await the almost certain arrival of the Helvetii.”
    One of the centurions from the Seventh Cohort leaned forward.
    “ Sir, if he expects a big fight, why not take all the legions to Geneva and finish it there.”
    Fronto swallowed. He knew the truth of course, but couldn’t allow word of the General’s future plans to leak out. He hated lying to his men.
    “ The General does not want to meet them in a defensive situation by the river. Siege warfare has rarely been a bonus for the legions. He would much rather drive them into open land and then meet them on a field where our full tactics can come into play. Caesar feels they might need to meet the full force of Rome in order to deter them and, if they will not be deterred, to chastise them appropriately. Do you all get my drift?”
    The rest of the room’s occupants nodded their understanding, the gestures half-lost in the increasing steaminess of the room. Priscus was the only one to speak.
    “ Sir, you’ve heard about these Helvetii. They say they’re the fiercest of all the tribes in the east. They’re not going to turn round and go home, even if we put all the legions in their way. This is going to come down to a hard fight, and you know it. And I’m sure Caesar will know it. That’s why he’s preparing a trap, isn’t it?”
    Fronto smiled a grim smile.
    “ Very astute Priscus. Yes. I think it’s safe to say there’s a fair fight coming our way in a few weeks, and I intend the Tenth to be ready for it and to do our traditional job of showing up any other unit in the campaign. To this end, I want all drills doubled, even while on the march. Every evening in camp, the men will be put through their paces. I’m afraid, however, that I’ll have to leave the details to you, Priscus. I am one of the people the General intends to take to Geneva, so you’ll all be reporting to Priscus here as senior officer. There’s a lot of upheaval coming, but I have procured for the legion twenty amphorae of good Campanian wine and two cows for butchering. At the end of every day’s march and at the end of the training sessions, the top three men will dine on choice beef and drink good wine as a reward for their efforts.”
    Velius, renowned for his crude and occasionally brutal humour and his heartless training techniques, and the only officer to have brought his vine staff into the baths, looked up at his commander.
    “ Sir. What else? You’re not the sort of man to call a meeting in the middle of important work to give us orders you could have given in front of the men and in the morning. What’s the murderous bastard got planned for us?”
    “ Velius,” Fronto replied through gritted teeth, “your mouth is going to be the death of you. Regardless of your opinions, that is no way to speak of the General, and I’ll caution you against doing it again.”
    He sighed and looked around.
    “ You are, on the other hand, entirely correct.”
    “ This is on a strictly need-to-know basis, and I believe Caesar would not consider it necessary for you to know. You will not, under any circumstance, pass this information on to another living soul.”
    The tension in the room was tangible.
    “ I can’t say too much at this time, but prepare yourselves for a long and drawn-out campaign. I believe it is very unlikely indeed that we will return to Cremona in the near future, or even at all. Sell anything you can’t take tonight, and make sure the men aren’t carrying useless extras with them.”
    “ We’ll be going on beyond the Helvetii then? Perhaps having a go at the Gauls?” Priscus was nearing the edge of his seat, anticipation clearly