The battle of Octodurus took place in the winter of 57–56 BC in the Gallic town of Octodurus in what is now

Martigny Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octoduriens ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

, Switzerland. The battle was the result of a Roman attempt to open the

Great St. Bernard Pass it, Colle del Gran San Bernardogerman: Grosser Sankt Bernhard , photo = Great St Bernard Pass.jpg , photo_caption = View of the pass and hospice from Great St Bernard Lake with Mont Vélan in background , elevation_m = 2469 , elevation_ref = ...

over the Alps. It was a Roman victory, but the ferocity of the fighting ended with the Roman legion moving back out of the Alps.

Background

When Caesar was in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

(57–56 BC) he sent Servius Galba with the Twelfth Legion and some cavalry to

Gallia Transalpina Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

, into the country of the

Nantuates The Nantuates or Nantuatae (Gaulish: ''Nantuatis'', 'those of the valley') were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Massongex, in the modern Canton of Valais (Switzerland) and adjacent areas of France, during the Iron Age and the Roman peri ...

Veragri The Veragrī (Gaulish: *''Ueragroi'', 'super-warriors'; Greek: ) were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Martigny, in the Pennine Alps, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Along with the Nantuates, Seduni and Uberi, they were part ...

, and

Seduni The Seduni were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Rhône valley, around present-day Sion, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Along with the Nantuates, Veragri and Uberi, they were part of the Vallenses, a group of tribes living betwe ...

. His purpose in sending this force was to protect the Poeninus Pass over the Alps. Roman merchants could travel over the pass, but were sometimes attacked and were forced to pay tolls to the mountain tribes. Galba, after taking many strong places, and receiving the submission of the people, sent two cohorts into the country of the Nantuates, and wintered with the remaining cohorts in a town of the Veragri named Octodurus, which was in a narrow valley, surrounded by mountains and divided by the Dranse river. Galba gave one part of the town to the Galli (

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

) to winter in, and assigned the other to his troops. He fortified the Roman portion of the town with a ditch and rampart and prepared for winter. However, a few days after they moved into camp, a Gallic army attacked the fortifications. Caesar gives a number of reasons for this attack, among them a belief that the Romans would not limit themselves to keeping the pass open, anger that a number of their children had been taken as hostages, and a belief that the single under-strength Roman legion was vulnerable to attack.

The battle

Several days after going into winter quarters the Romans woke to find the Gallic half of the town deserted and the slopes above the town covered with a large force of

and

. The Roman fortifications were incomplete and he had only limited supplies. The Romans defended themselves from the fortifications for about six hours, at which time, fearing that they would not be able to keep the enemy out, they sortied. The Roman attack was successful and Caesar states that about one-third of the 30,000 tribesmen were killed.

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

mentions that due to the narrowness of the valley, the Gallic army might have been much smaller than Caesar records and that the casualty figures might also be inflated.

The aftermath

Despite the Roman decisive victory, Galba didn’t feel strong enough to remain at Octodurus. He was running short of supplies and worried about foraging in the Alps during winter. He may have also feared raids by the scattered fragments of the Gallic army, which had retreated into the mountains. After burning the village, Galba marched out of the Alps and spent the rest of the winter in the lands of the

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; grc, Ἀλλοβρίγων, Ἀλλόβριγες) were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. ...

References

External links

Battle of Octodurus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Octodurus 1st century BC in Switzerland Octodurus Octodurus History of Valais Military history of Switzerland 57 BC 56 BC 1st century BC in the Roman Republic Octodurus