etii, meeting them at
a place called Bibracte. Here he showed how skilfully he could direct
the Roman legions, for in a comparatively short battle the Helvetii
were entirely overthrown, and a terrible slaughter followed. Caesar
himself, in writing of this battle, says that out of three hundred and
sixty-eight thousand men, women and children, who composed the tribe of
the Helvetii, only one hundred and ten thousand were left after the
battle. The poor beaten remnant of the tribe he ordered at once to
retrace their steps into Switzerland and to enter Gaul no more.

His success in dealing with the Helvetii turned the eyes of all Gaul
upon the conqueror. Many tribes then asked his aid against Ariovistus,
a German chief who came from across the river Rhine and with his yellow
haired followers, clad in the skins of animals, was plundering the
Gaulish province. Caesar, with the quickness that always won him success
in battle, advanced against Ariovistus and completely defeated him,
driving his men in confusion back across the Rhine to the lands they
had come from.

In the following spring there was great danger that all Gaul would
revolt to free itself from the control of the Romans. Of all the tribes
that were opposed to him, Caesar considered that the Belgae, the people
who lived in what is now Belgium, were the bravest and the most
dangerous enemies against whom he must fight. So he marched against
them and placed his legions behind strong fortifications until he could
gain a favorable moment to come forth and attack them. The Belgae tried
all sorts of tricks and ruses to draw Caesar from his position, but they
did not succeed in doing this. Then, perhaps because they had not
sufficient food, they commenced a retreat back to their own country,
from which they had issued to attack Caesar. On their heels rode the
Roman cavalry, who harassed them constantly, darting in and killing
stragglers and attacking the rear guard whenever the opportunity
offered.

One night, however, when the Romans were about to encamp in some wooded
country on the River Sambre, three tribes of the Belgae fell upon them
in a surprise attack that came so swiftly and so violently that the
Roman legions were almost routed. Caesar's force was not wholly composed
of Romans, and all the soldiers under his command except the Romans
fled pell mell from the field, but the Roman soldiers, in spite of
everything, stood firm, displaying the marvelous disciplin