thus to prevent the two bands from aiding each other, and
others to guard the possessions of those that were under treaty for fear
they too might cause some disturbance: he himself meanwhile went
straight against the Veneti. He constructed in the interior boats, which
he heard were of advantage for the reflux tide of the ocean, and
conveyed them down the river Liger, but in so doing used up almost the
entire season to no purpose. Their cities, established in strong
positions, were inaccessible, and the ocean surging around practically
all of them rendered an infantry attack out of the question, and a naval
attack equally so in the midst of the ebb and flow of the tide.
Consequently Caesar was in despair until Decimus Brutus came to him with
swift ships from the Mediterranean. And he was inclined to think he
would be unable to accomplish anything with those either, but the
barbarians through contempt for the smallness and weakness of the
cutters incurred defeat. [-41-] For these boats, with a view to rapid
progress, had been built rather light in the prevailing style of naval
architecture among us, whereas those of the barbarians, because in the
constant reflux of the ocean they often needed to rest on dry ground and
to hold out against the succession of ebb and flow, surpassed them very
much in both size and stoutness. For these reasons the barbarians, never
having had any experience with such a fleet, in view of the appearance
of the ships believed their effectiveness of no importance; and as soon
as they were lying at anchor they set sail against them, thinking to
sink them in a very short time by means of their boathooks. They were
carried by an extremely powerful wind, for their sails were of leather
and so received greedily the full force of the wind. [-42-] Now Brutus
for a time paid good heed to that fact and did not dare to sail out
against them because of the number and size of the ships and the sweep
of the wind and their impetus, but prepared to repel their attack near
the land and to abandon the boats altogether. When, however, the wind
suddenly fell, the waves were stilled, and the boats could no longer be
propelled even with oars but because of their great heaviness stopped
almost motionless, then he took courage and sailed to meet them. Falling
upon them he wrought them many serious injuries with impunity, using
both flank and smashing tactics,[55] now ramming one of them, now
backing water, in whatever wa