In the last days of the Civil War in the United States, Confederate General Joe Johnston (no slouch himself as a military leader) was awestruck by the inexorable progress of Sherman's armies, racing through the swamps and impossible terrain of North and South Carolina as if an unstoppable machine. Johnston, like many military men before and since, knew Caesar's campaigns by heart. He said later that he had made up his mind then that no such army as Sherman's had ever existed since the legions of Julius Caesar swept the world.

Thousands of books have been written over millennia by men and women who analyze every movement of Caesar's armies, finding him the most brilliant general ever to command Roman legions, finding his reputation largely luck and legend, and every position in between. Few dispute, however, that Caesar's bond with his armies was extraordinary in his own time and in all history. They also agree that Caesar's reputation as a military leader is sublime; even if there are quibbles about his recklessness and how much his fabled luck had to do with his reputation, Caesar's ability to analyze terrain and logistics, anticipate what his opponents would do, move like the wind, take advantage of the unexpected, take calculated risks, win the undying love of his army, and never, ever give in, makes him one of the two or three greatest commanders in western history.

Map showing some of the major battles of the late-Republican period.

Several battles touched on in the biographical portions of this site are dealt with here in greater detail, including:

An overview of Caesar's entire 8-year Gallic campaigns in The Gallic War;

An discussion of the critical Winter Rebellion of 54/53 BC;

The remarkable Siege of Alesia in 52;

Caesar's two expeditions to Britain in 55-54 BC;

The Civil War battles of Dyrrachium;

The fundamental Battle of Pharsalus (summer, 48 BC).

To pass directly to Chapter 9, with individual biographies of all Caesar's great contemporaries, click "Next."

SOURCES: Particular thanks for the map to the copyright-free division of the Ancient World Mapping Center, one of the web's best resources for ancient maps.