Chapter 14 Alexandria War 1-20

1.The Alexandrian War broke out.Caesar summoned all the fleets from Rhodes, Syria, and Cilicia, and went to Crete to recruit archers, and went to King Marcus of Nabataea to ask for cavalry, and ordered to recruit war machines everywhere. , Ship food, mobilize reinforcements.At the same time, fortifications were being expanded every day on the defense line, and those parts of the city that did not appear to be sufficiently fortified were reinforced with barricades and parapets.The ram moves through the hole in the wall, from one house to the next.Fortifications were extended to include all areas that had been destroyed or taken by force.Alexandria is almost completely immune to fire, for its buildings have no inoculations of wood, joists, etc., but are built on arches, and the roofs are covered with plaster or tiles.Caesar's particular concern was to erect fortifications and shield chariots to isolate that part of the city as compactly as possible from the rest, which was already closely surrounded by a marsh on the south.What he hopes is: first, although his army is divided in two parts of the city, it must be able to have a unified combat deployment and a unified command; second, if they are in trouble in one part of the city, the other part must Can come to help.In particular, what concerns him the most is to have a very sufficient water supply and grass fodder. Of the two, his supply is extremely insufficient, and the latter has been completely cut off. With this swamp, he can Both of these things are plentifully supplied.

2.For the Alexandrians, this did nothing to delay or hinder their kingship.As a matter of fact they had sent out envoys and conscription officers to all the territories of the kingdom of Egypt and wherever they commanded to recruit troops, and brought to the cities great numbers of light spears, crossbows, and countless soldiers.The same is true in the city, where large-scale weapon workshops have been established.The slaves, except those who were minors, were all armed, and their daily food and wages were provided by their richer masters.They place this great force on fortifications in the more remote places, and place the veterans in the most frequented places, and leave them idle there, so that they can be brought to the fortress in case of fighting wherever it may occur. Sent to support as a new force.All the streets and alleys were separated by a triple wall of square stones, not less than forty feet in height.The lower parts of the city were fortified with tall towers with ten stories.In addition, they built a tower of the same number, with wheels attached to it, which were connected to the animal by ropes, so that it could run straight down the road to that point, if any place required it.

3.This city is very rich and prosperous, so everything is extremely well-equipped, and the inhabitants are also very clever and clever. When they see what we do, they can learn to do it with their own ingenuity. It looks like we learned from them. It looks like it was copied over there.They also spontaneously devised many ways of defending their own while constantly attacking ours.Their leaders, both in assemblies and meetings, always incited them by saying that the Romans were slowly forming a habit of encroaching on their kingdoms, and that not many years ago, Aulus Gabini Uz came to Egypt with an army, Pompey came here in flight, Caesar now came with an army, and even Pompey's death could not stop him from staying with them.If they could not drive him out, their kingdom would become a Roman province.It is necessary to expel him as early as possible. Because of the season, he is currently blocked here by wind and waves, and cannot receive reinforcements from overseas.

4.At the same time, as mentioned above, Achilles, who commanded the veteran army, and Arsinore, the youngest daughter of King Ptolemy, conspired with each other in order to win the highest ruling power into their own hands. other side.Arsinore preemptively killed Achillas through his nurse eunuch Ganimedes.After killing him, she took all the power by herself, and had no one to govern alongside her, nor anyone to guard her, and the army was handed over to Ganymedes.After accepting this position, he increased the reward of teaching soldiers, and did the rest of the work with equal dedication.

5.Almost everywhere in Alexandria there are canals dug underground, leading to the Nile, through which the water flows to private houses.After a period of gradual sedimentation, this kind of water becomes very clear, and the owners of the building and their families are used to using this kind of water.Because the Nile River is full of muddy water, causing many various diseases.However, ordinary people and the masses can only be satisfied with this water out of helplessness, because there is no other spring in the whole city.The river was in that part of the city which was occupied by the Alexandrians, and this circumstance led Ganimedes to think of cutting off the water from our army.The soldiers of our army who are scattered in the streets and alleys to guard the fortifications use the water drawn from the channels and gutters in the private houses.

6.As soon as this plan was approved, the great and difficult work was set in motion. He first cut off the aqueducts, and separated the part of the city that was in their hands, and then pumped up a large amount of sea water from the sea with water wheels and other machinery. The part occupied by Caesar was continuously poured from a relatively high place.As a result, the water drawn from the nearest house tasted a little saltier than usual, which aroused great surprise among our soldiers, for unknown reasons.They couldn't believe their ears when they heard people from lower places say that the water on their side was still the same as they were used to, and the taste was the same.They all talked together and tasted the water to see how different it had been.But not long after, the water near the enemy was completely undrinkable, and the water in the lower places was gradually deteriorating and gradually becoming salty.

7.This situation dispelled their doubts and caused great panic. It seemed that everyone was suddenly in a very dangerous situation.Some complained that Caesar was too far behind and should have been ordered to disembark at once; others feared something worse, since the Alexandrians were so near that they could not be deceived if they were to withdraw. They rushed down to catch up, and there was no chance of retreating to the boat.Moreover, in this part of Caesar's control, there are also a large number of local citizens, who Caesar did not let them move out of the house, because they openly showed loyalty to us and had no communication with their own people.However, it would be a waste of words and labors, if I were asked to defend the Alexandrians, that they were neither cunning nor rash, once they have ascertained their people and their No one will deny that they are the race that is best at betraying people.

8.Caesar allayed the fears of his men by comforting and reasoning.He affirmed that sweet waters would be found by digging wells, and that every seashore has natural springs of sweet waters, and that it did not matter if the shores of Egypt were of a different nature from the shores of all other lands, for the shores were being set free by him. The enemy does not have a fleet, so it cannot prevent him from going out to fetch water by boat every day. On the left, he can go to Palatonium, and on the right, he can go to the island. The two places sail in opposite directions and will not be blocked by headwinds at the same time .Running away is indeed not the best policy, not only for those who think about their own dignity first, but also for those who don't think about anything other than their own lives.They took great pains to block the enemy's attack behind the fortifications. Once they left the fortifications, they were not enough to fight the enemy regardless of the terrain or the number of people.Embarkation involves a great deal of delay and difficulty, especially where dinghies are used.The Alexandrians, on the other hand, are just the opposite. They move quickly, and they are very familiar with the terrain and buildings. Especially when they are victorious and arrogant, they will rush to occupy relatively high places and buildings to stop us. Run away and intercept our ships.Therefore, they must never have such thoughts in their hearts, and must do everything possible to win.

9.Having spoken these words to his men, and having lifted the spirits of all, he assigned the task to the centurions to suspend all other work, and devote themselves first to digging the well, even at night. Don't stop for a moment.As soon as the work began, everyone went into it with high spirits, and overnight a great deal of sweet water was discovered.In this way, the painstaking planning and hard work of the Alexandrians were offset by our army without spending much time working.On the second day, Domitius Calvinus arranged for the Thirty-seventh Legion, composed of soldiers who had surrendered under Pompey, to board the ship with food, weapons, light spears, and combat machinery. Wait, sail to the coast of Africa, a little above Alexandria.They were prevented from entering the port by an easterly wind which blew several days in succession, and luckily all places in and around that area were anchored safely. A speedboat sailed to Caesar to report the news.

10.What to do, Caesar boarded the ship himself in order to make a decision himself, and ordered the entire fleet to go with him.Because he had to leave for a long time, he didn't want to leave the fortifications empty, so he didn't take any soldiers on board.When he reached the place called Xoninthus, he sent some oarsmen to land in order to fetch water.Some of them ran too far from the ship in order to plunder, and were intercepted by enemy cavalry.From them the enemy learned that Caesar himself was coming in a ship without any troops on board.As soon as they discovered these circumstances, they all thought that this was a good chance that fate brought them to succeed in one fell swoop, so they loaded all the ships ready to sail with combatants, and they met Caesar on the way back with his fleet. .On this day, Caesar had two reasons for not wanting to fight. One was that he had no soldiers on board, and the other was that at the tenth hour, the dark night would bring greater confidence to those who believed they were familiar with the terrain, and it would also make them feel more confident about their subordinates. The agitation loses its morale-boosting effect, because no brave man can tell the difference from a lazy person, and the agitation is completely out of place.For these reasons Caesar brought his ships as close to shore as possible in a place where he thought the enemy could not follow.

11.On Caesar's right flank, a Rhodesian ship lay at a distance from the other ships.As soon as the enemy saw it, there were four decked ships and many open ships, and they couldn't help but rushed towards it.Caesar was compelled to rush to the rescue of the ship, lest it should be made a public disgrace by its enemies, though he believed that if any misfortune befell her it would be her own fault.As soon as the two sides met, the Rhode Islanders fought with all their might.Although they always prevailed with their skill and bravery in every battle, this time they were even more willing to bear the full weight.I am afraid that if I lose the battle, I will be considered bad by others and deserve to be unlucky.That's a big win.One enemy quadreme was captured, another was sunk, and the crews of two were wiped out, as well as a large number of combatants on the other ships.If the night had not interrupted the battle, Caesar would have captured the entire fleet of the enemy.Confounded by this calamity, Caesar returned to Alexandria with his victorious fleet, and several transports in tow, in a slight adverse wind. 12.The Alexandrians were so shaken by this catastrophe that it was not bravery in battle but the skill of the sailors that prevailed over them, and they could no longer believe that they could defend themselves in those buildings—which would have been the same as those The highlands are also what they rely on.They used all their lumber to make palisades, as if afraid that our fleet might even come to land.Nevertheless, when Ganymedes assured at the meeting that he would not only make up for the number of lost ships, but also increase them, they set about repairing the old ships with great hope and confidence, and everyone Concentrate on this work with a lot of energy.Although they lost more than a hundred ships in the port and docks, they still did not give up their plan to re-equip the fleet.They saw that if their own fleet was strong, Caesar would have neither reinforcements nor provisions to support him.Especially since men of the cities and coasts are born sailors, trained from childhood in the daily field operations, eager to find their way out of their inborn housekeeping skills, while remembering how they used small boats to gain Success, therefore, they poured all their enthusiasm into preparing the fleet. 13.At all the outlets of the Nile there are patrol boats stationed there to collect customs duties, and in the hidden royal docks there are old ships that have not been used for many years to sail, and they repair the latter and call the former to Alexandria. ria.Oars were wanting, and they threw away the roofs of colonnades, stadiums, and public buildings, and used their beams for oars.Innate ingenuity on the one hand, and the abundance of supplies in the city on the other, are at work.Generally speaking, they were not preparing for a long voyage, the battle seemed to them to be in port, and they were therefore preparing only for the immediate necessity.In a few days, twenty-two quadremes, five quinqueremes, and many smaller open ships were added, to everyone's surprise.After trial drawing in the port and testing the effectiveness of each of them, they were equipped with suitable soldiers, and everything needed for battle was prepared for themselves.Caesar had nine ships from Rhodes—there were ten ships, one of which was wrecked on the coast of Egypt during the voyage—eight ships from Bendu, five ships from Lycia, seven ships from Asia of ships.Ten of these ships were quinquereme and quadrereme, and the others were not so large, and most of them were open.Even so, although Caesar already knew the strength of the enemy, he still prepared to fight because he believed in the valor of his men. 14.Both sides are now very confident.Caesar led his fleet and sailed around the island of Pharos. Facing the enemy ships, they lined up, with the ships of Rhodes on the right flank and the ships of Pontus on the left, leaving a gap of 400 paces in between. It seemed enough to spread his ships apart.After this line, he also set up the rest of his ships as backup, and he made regulations and gave them instructions on who should follow whom and who should support whom.The Alexandrians also did not hesitate to bring out their fleet and set up their battle formation, placing twenty-two ships in front, and the rest in the second row as a backup.Besides this, a great number of boats and speedboats were laid out, loaded with spears and kindling, hoping to frighten our army by the number of their ships, and by their shouts and flames.Between the two fleets there were shallows through which only a very narrow channel could pass, and these stretched as far as the borders of Africa—in fact, it is said that half of Alexandria belonged to Africa—and for a considerable time the two sides looked at each other. , refused to step forward, and wanted to wait to see who would cross the waterway first, because the party that entered first would encounter obstacles whether it wanted to disperse the fleet or withdraw in case of defeat. 15.At the head of the Rhodes fleet was Euphranor, whose boldness and valor are comparable not only to the Greeks, but even to our Romans.He was so famously skilled and heroic that he was chosen by the Rhodes to be the leader of the fleet.When he saw that Caesar was hesitating, he said: "It seems to me, Caesar, that you are afraid that once you enter the shallows with your ships first, you will lose the rest of the fleet before you have time to deploy the rest of the fleet. Forced to fight. Leave it to me, and we'll hold up the fight until the other ships catch up, and we'll live up to your expectations. It makes us feel good to keep these guys strutting before us. Great shame, great anger." Caesar encouraged him, and said many words of praise to him, and then issued the call to battle.Four Rhodes ships passed through the shallows, and the Alexandrians immediately surrounded them and attacked them.The Rhode Islanders withstood them, and with skill and wit, the line scattered.They were so skillfully trained that, despite the great disparity between the enemy and the enemy, not one of them was willing to expose her side to the enemy, and not one of them allowed the enemy to squeeze her oars away, and always turned her head to face the enemy. Catch up with the enemies.At the same time, the rest of the warships followed, but due to the narrow sea, everyone had to give up their maneuvering skills and fight with courage alone.Indeed, in Alexandria, whether our soldiers or the townspeople, whether they are working or fighting, all run to the highest rooftops, or choose one of all available places to watch from afar. This battle, and with prayers and wishes beseeched the Immortal God to grant their side victory. 16.How the battle ends will have a completely different impact on the future of both parties.As far as we are concerned, once we are repulsed or defeated, there will be no place to escape, whether on land or at sea. If we win, our future is still uncertain and unpredictable.On the contrary, if the opponent's ship wins, they can win all; even if they lose, they can try their luck again next time.It seems equally serious and sad that the battle for the success of the whole and the safety of all is fought by only a few, and if any of them wavers even a little in spirit or in courage, the others have no chance of participating. He who fights to defend himself is left to fend for himself.Caesar has repeatedly explained this truth to his subordinates in recent days, letting them know that everyone's safety is pinned on them, so that they can fight with all their strength.In the same words each of them begged his fellow accountants, friends, and acquaintances, not to disappoint him, or to let those who had chosen him for battle on their recommendation people disappointed.Hence the indomitable energy of battle, which, though seafaring peoples inhabiting the coast, could not benefit in the slightest from their cunning and skill, nor take advantage of the overwhelming majority of their ships, they The best fighters, though chosen for their bravery from so many, were no match for the valor of our army.In this battle, one of their five-remeremes and one two-remereme, together with their soldiers and oarsmen, were captured by our army, and three more ships were sunk, none of our ships were captured. damage.The rest of the enemy ships fled towards the city which was near by, and were covered by the breakwaters and neighboring buildings, preventing our approach. 17.In order to avoid such a situation, which might often happen to him, Caesar thought it necessary to do everything he could to keep the island and the jetty which led out to it into his own hands.The fortifications of the city were largely complete, and he believed that an attack might now be launched on the island and in the city at the same time.Having made up his mind, he put ten battalions, and some selected light soldiers, and such as he thought fit from among the Gallic cavalry, into several boats and rowboats.In order to disperse the forces on the island, he attacked the other side of the island with some decked ships.He also promised a great reward to whoever would occupy it first.At first, their attack on our army was evenly matched, fighting on the roofs of buildings while armed men resisted on the coast.Because the local terrain is very rugged, it is not easy for our army to advance.The other party still had many small boats and five warships guarding the narrow sea, and they moved very lightly and skillfully. But once some of our army understood the terrain, tested the depth of the beach, and established a foothold on the coast, the rest of them also They all followed behind them, and resolutely launched an attack on the enemies lined up on the flat ground by the shore.All the Pharos turned and fled.After these people were defeated, they gave up guarding the port, moved the boats closer to the shore and the village, left the boats by themselves, and hurried to guard the buildings. 18.It's just that they couldn't hold those strongholds for a long time, although those buildings were not much different from Alexandria's except for some differences in size.When our troops came, they had neither ladders nor wooden fences and other things to attack them.But terror deprives people of their will and intelligence, and paralyzes their limbs. This time it is those who are confident that they can compete with us in a flat and open place. Seeing that some people fled and a few people were killed, They were all terrified, and they didn't even dare to defend the thirty-foot-high building. They could only dive into the sea one after another from the breakwater, swim a distance of 800 steps, and flee to the city.Nevertheless, many of them were captured or killed, and the total number of captives amounted to as many as six thousand. 19.Caesar gave all the spoils to the soldiers, ordered the houses to be demolished, and built a blockhouse by the bridge closer to Pharos for defense purposes, and deployed defensive troops.This bridge was abandoned by the inhabitants of Pharos when they fled.Another bridge, narrower and closer to the city, was being guarded by the Alexandrians.The next day, Caesar attacked it with the same purpose, because after the capture of these two bridges, all the actions of the enemy ships to break through and break out to plunder can be blocked.He therefore, with his trumpets and arrows fired from the ship, drove out the troops which had remained in the defense of the place, and drove them into the city, and sent about three battalions ashore there--the place was melancholy, There was no room for more—the rest of the troops stayed on the ship over there.Having thus fortified, he ordered that on the side of the bridge facing the enemy, a rampart should be erected as a cover, and the arches supporting the bridge, that is, the passages for the ships to enter and exit, should also be blocked with stones.The latter work was done, and not a single boat was able to get out.While the previous work was still in progress, the entire army of Alexandria rushed out of the city and lined up on a relatively flat place facing the fortifications at the head of our bridge.At the same time, they also arranged the small boats that were often sent through the bridge hole to burn our army's transport ships to the breakwater.Thus began the battle on the bridge and the breakwater, and the enemy on the ground facing the bridge and in the boats facing the breakwater. 20.While Caesar was absorbed in these matters, and encouraging his soldiers, suddenly a multitude of oarsmen and boatmen left our ships of war and rushed up to the jetty.Some of them are eager to visit, and some are eager to participate in the battle.They at first drove the enemy's skiffs away from the vicinity of the breakwater with stones and catapults, and the profusion of arrows which they fired seems to have done much.But later, a few Alexandrians ventured to land on their exposed flanks some distance away from that side, just as they came with no definite troop and formation, and no specific plan. , they began to retreat to the ship in a panic at this time.The Alexandrians were encouraged by their retreat, and many more landed, and pursued still more vigorously our retreating hordes.At the same time, those who stayed on the battleship, fearing that the enemy would occupy our ship, hurriedly pulled the gangplank and propped the ship off the land.All these things terrified the three battalions of our soldiers stationed on the bridge and at the head of the breakwater, when they heard the shouts behind them and saw their comrades retreating, and at the same time had to hold back When a large number of arrows and stones came oncoming, they were afraid that they would be surrounded from behind, and that all retreat routes would be cut off as soon as the ship left, so they abandoned the bridgehead fortifications that had already started, and rushed to the ship.Some of them overtook the nearest boat, but the boat sank due to the weight of the crowd.While resisting, some people hesitated as to what to do, and were finally killed by the Alexandrians.Some people were lucky enough to catch up with the empty boat that was anchored on the shore and left safely.There were also a few people who raised their shields high and made up their minds to rush in, but they were actually swam all the way to the nearby boat.