Chapter 20 Africa War 41-60

41．After these things had happened, Caesar brought out the battalions from all the garrison places on the next day, and arrayed his army on the level ground.Scipio, because of the setbacks his troops suffered, and with many dead and wounded, began to lock them up in the fortifications and not let them come out.Caesar spread out his battle array, and slowly approached Scipio's fortification along the foot of the mountain.By this time Caesar's legions were less than a mile away from the town of Uzita, which was under Scipio's control, and Scipio feared losing it, as his army had always been supplied with water and other supplies from this town. And he also brought out all his army.These armies are arranged in four rows according to his own habits. The first row is composed of a large group of cavalry, and war elephants with shooting towers on their backs and armed personnel are interspersed among them.Having thus laid out, he hastened to the rescue of the city.When Caesar saw it, he thought that Scipio was ready for a decisive battle; this time he came with determination, so he stopped at the place before the town we have just mentioned.Scipio placed the center of his battle behind and concealed by this town, and placed his left and right flanks towards Caesar, and his herd of elephants on the other side.

42．Caesar waited until the sun had almost set, and he didn't see Scipio's intention to leave the place where he stopped and push towards him. It is estimated that if it is not a last resort, Scipio would rather use the terrain as his own. Guarantee, never dare to go to the plains and engage in hand-to-hand close combat.However, it would not be the best policy for him to advance to that town one day.Because he knew that there was a huge Numidian defender in the city, and the central part of the enemy's line used it as a barrier. The enemy's left and right wings are fighting, and the soldiers have been standing here on empty stomachs and holding on to weapons since morning until now, so they must be very tired.He therefore brought his army back to camp, and resolved to extend his fortifications beyond the enemy's position tomorrow.

43．Meanwhile Considius took with him eight battalions and some Numidian and Gaetulian mercenaries.Siege of Aguila, where Gaius Mercius is sitting with three battalions.-He tried for a long time in various ways, and again and again extended great sieges all the way down to the city, but the townspeople set fire to them all, and made no progress.When the news of the cavalry battle came to him suddenly, he was so shocked that he set fire to the bulk of the food stored in the camp, destroyed all the oil, wine and other things that were ready for living, and abandoned the attacking Ah. Kira then led the army through Yuba's kingdom, and after distributing part of the army to Scipia, returned to Hadrumetum.

44．Meanwhile, in the second fleet sent by Alinus from Sicily, there was a ship carrying Quintus Cominius and a Roman knight named Lucius Tikida, which Lost her course, she left the rest of the fleet, and was blown to Tapsus by the wind.They were intercepted by Vigilius's skiffs and rowboats, and escorted to port.Another trireme of the same fleet also made it to voyage, and was caught by a gust of wind against Aegimulus, Povarus, and Marcus, Octavian's fleet.There were some veterans on this ship, a centurion and some recruits.Varus took them into custody, but without insulting them, sent them to Scipio.When they came before Scipio, and stood before his throne, Scipio said: "I am sure that you have not come voluntarily, but under duress and command of your wicked commander. Those who persecute citizens and decent people outrageously, since fate has let you fall into my hands, if you are willing to go on the right path from now on and defend the Republic with decent people, I will definitely spare your lives and give you Bounty. Now, show your hearts!"

45．Having said this, Scipio thought that these people would undoubtedly be grateful for his kindness, and gave them a chance to speak.Among these was a centurion of the Fourteenth Legion, who said: "For your kindness, Scipio—I don't want to call you commander—I am grateful. You have allowed life and Safety to a man like me who is your prisoner by the right of war. Perhaps I would have accepted your kindness if it hadn't been for the vicious conditions attached to it. Shall I go armed to the side of the enemy against me? My own commander, Caesar, under whom I commanded an army, shall I stand against his army, for whose fame and victory I have fought thirty-six years. No, I will not Do, and I will do my best to dissuade you from this delusion. If you haven't seen it before, now is your chance to see whose army you are fighting against, and take out one of the battalions in your army that you think is the strongest Come, let them face to face with me and try it. I only need to pick no more than ten people from the brothers who are now in your hands. From our bravery, you will understand your self-confidence. What will happen to the army?"

46．When Scipio heard the centurion speak so bravely and beyond his own expectations, he was extremely indignant and frustrated, and he nodded to his centurions, Showing them what he wanted them to do, the centurion was killed right in front of him.He ordered the rest of the veterans to be separated from the recruits, and "take away these fellows, all stained with the sin of god and man, and fattened with the blood of the citizens." The veterans were taken outside the ramparts and brutally killed.He ordered that the recruits be distributed among the various regiments.As for Cominius and Tikitas, he did not even want to see them.This event agitated Caesar, and he punished those whom he ordered to keep watch off Tarsus with his ships to protect his transports and ships.For their neglect of duty, he expelled them all from the army, and issued a very severe proclamation condemning them.

47．It was about that time that an event, as incredible as it sounds, befell Caesar's army.Although the constellation of the Seven Sisters in the sky had already set, it was about the second watch of the night when suddenly it rained cats and dogs, mixed with large pieces of hail.To make matters worse, Caesar did not place all his soldiers in winter camps as usual, but moved forward every three or four days to move closer to the enemy, build another camp, and start anew. Building fortifications, therefore, the soldiers seldom have the opportunity to take care of themselves.Besides, he disembarked the soldiers in Sicily, so that no luggage, any slaves, or anything the soldiers were accustomed to take on board, except themselves and their weapons.Plus.When he arrived in Africa, he not only failed to buy or prepare anything for himself, because of the high price of food.Even some of their previous savings were wiped out.So in these annoying situations only a few had a real tent to sleep in, and the rest took shelter in huts made of cloth, or woven of reeds, branches, etc.Therefore, when the storm came suddenly, followed by hail, their tents could not bear the weight, collapsed, or were swept away by the current, and in the middle of the night, the storm extinguished all the fires, and all the fires they told All the living things were lost, and they could only cover their heads with shields and wandered in the camp in a daze.On the same night, the spearheads of the soldiers of the Fifth Legion ignited themselves.

48．At the same time, King Yuba learned of the battle of Scipia's cavalry, and obeyed his letter to summon Qixia Sabra to lead a part of the army to deal with Shantius, and left the kingdom to support Scipia.To add some momentum to Scipio's army, and to terrify Caesar's army, he brought three legions, eight hundred saddled cavalry, a large number of saddleless Numidian cavalry and light infantry, and thirty When he came to Scipio, he divided his camp, and the army of which I have spoken, not far from Scipio's camp.Before this, Caesar's camp was very anxious. When Yuba did not come, his army was worried about the huge army of the king, and they were a little nervous, but when the king really followed them When camped face to face, they again despised the army, and all fears were forgotten, so that all the prestige he had had in his absence had been lost.Now that he had arrived in person, he had vanished into thin air.But it was easy for all to see that the presence of the king had given Scipio a great deal of courage and confidence, for on the next day he led out of the camp both his own and the king's whole army, including sixty elephants. To lay the ground, to make as much noise as possible, and then, after advancing a little further than usual from his fortifications, to stay there for a while, and then retreat back to the camp.

49．When Caesar saw that the reinforcements Scipio was expecting were almost at hand, and that there was nothing to delay him, he began to advance with his troops up the ridge, extending his fortifications straight ahead, and fortified them with Before fortifying the bunker, we tried our best to seize a hilltop close to the Sipia camp first, lest the enemy have too many people, and after occupying this hilltop close to them, our army would have no chance to advance.But Labienus, too, had made up his mind to take this hill, and his proximity to it enabled him to take it quickly. 50．There was a wide valley with steep and steep walls, and in many places there were caves that seemed to have been dug out. Caesar had to pass through that before reaching the hill he wanted to occupy.On the other side of this valley, there is an ancient and extremely dense olive-coconut grove.Labinus used his familiarity with this area, knowing that if Caesar wanted to occupy that place, he must first pass through this valley and this raging wood.He took some of his cavalry and light soldiers to ambush there.In addition, he hid another cavalry beyond the hill, so that when he himself should surprise the legionaries, this cavalry could come out from behind the hill and flank Caesar and his army on both sides, so that they could not retreat. , There is no chance to advance, and it is bound to be surrounded and annihilated in panic.Caesar didn't know about the ambush, so he sent a cavalry ahead. When they arrived at this point, Labienus' troops either misunderstood or forgot his instructions, perhaps because they were afraid of being trampled to death by the cavalry. In the trench, they ran out from behind the cliff in small groups, even one by one, and fled to the top of the mountain.Caesar's cavalry pursued them, killed some, and took others alive;Labienus and some of his cavalry managed to escape to safety by galloping away.

51．After this battle of the cavalry, Caesar erected a fortified camp on the hill he had captured, a task which he assigned to the various legions.Then, starting from his own camp, he built two fortifications, passed through the center of the plain, and stretched towards the town of Uzita, extending to its left and right corners.The town lay on a level land between Scipio's camp and his own, but was under Scipio's control.His purpose in building these two fortifications was to allow his troops to be covered by their own fortifications on both sides when they advanced towards the town and began to attack it, so that they would not be surrounded by a large number of enemy cavalry and hinder the siege; , It can also make the dialogue between the two sides more convenient. If someone wants to escape, he can escape very conveniently without taking any risks. In the past, it was very dangerous.He also wondered if they were determined to fight as he drew closer to the enemy.In addition to these other reasons, there is another point, that is, the place is a lowland.Several wells can be dug. At this time, water is very scarce and has to be fetched from far away places.While the legionaries were building the above-mentioned fortification, a part of the army stood in front of the fortification, very close to the enemy, and stood ready.Because their barbarian cavalry and light soldiers are constantly making close contact with our army.

52．When it was evening, and Caesar was leading his troops back to the camp from the fortifications, Juba, Scipio, and Labienus, with all their cavalry and light soldiers, rushed at our legionaries and attacked them violently.Under the sudden onslaught of a large number of enemy soldiers across the board, Caesar's cavalry could not withstand the momentum and retreated slightly.But the situation developed differently from the enemy's paint, for Caesar led his army back again on the way; helping his cavalry.The arrival of the legions refreshed the cavalry, and they turned and attacked the Numidian cavalry, who had been thrown into disarray by pursuing them, and having routed them, pursued them as far as the king's camp, and killed many of them. people.If it weren't for nightfall.The battle was interrupted, and everyone's sight was blocked by the dust rolled up by the strong wind.Juba and Labienus might be captured and fell into Caesar's hands, and their cavalry and light soldiers might be wiped out.At the same time the soldiers of Scipio's fourth and sixth legions fled in incredible numbers, some to Caesar's camp, some to wherever they could go. .The cavalry who had been under Curio in the past also lost faith in Scipio and his troops, and fled with many others. 53．While the leaders of both parties were engaged in these matters near Uzita, the Tenth and Ninth Legions, sailing from Sicily in transport ships, were sailing not far from Ruspina, and they saw that Caesar had placed The ships on the watch at Tapsus suspected that the enemy's ships were deliberately staying there in order to play tricks, and feared that they would fall into their hands recklessly, so they sailed to the sea.After many days, after long tossing, drowsiness, and fatigue, they finally sailed to Caesar. 54．So the two legions disembarked and landed.Caesar remembered the poor discipline of these armies in Italy in the past, some even marauding.On the pretext of seizing upon a trivial matter of Gaius Avinus, the legionary commander of the Tenth Legion, he exploded.The commander occupied a ship on this voyage exclusively for his own slaves and horses, and not a single soldier was brought from Sicily.The next day, Caesar summoned all the legion commanders and centurions of the legions to his altar, and said to them: "I very much hope that those who are uninhibited and too free will be able to restrain themselves. , I can recognize my generosity, gentleness and patience. However, because these people have always refused to discipline and restrain themselves. So I have to follow the practice in the army and set them up as an example so that others can Do not follow their path. Therefore, you, Gaius Avinus, who in Italy stirred up the soldiers of the Roman citizens against the republic. And also committed robbery in several autonomous towns, you Still a man of no use to me or to the country, you did not take soldiers on board, but your domestic slaves and cattle, because of you there were no soldiers when the country needed them most. For these reasons I dismiss you from my army, and order you to leave Africa today as quickly as possible. And you, Appius Fontius, you are a rebellious legionary commander. A disloyal citizen, I fire you from my army. Titus Salinus, Marcus Tiro, and Chaius Clucinas, you are not where you are today because Your own strengths, but because of my grace, but your performance is: not brave in war, not loyal in peace, and also useless, your zeal is to stir up soldiers to rise up against your commander, but Not shame and modesty. I do not consider you fit to lead in my army, so I dismiss you and order you to leave Africa as soon as possible.” So he handed them over to the centurions, each They appointed only one slave to them, and sent each of them to a ship. 55．At the same time, those Getulian fugitives who we said were sent back by Caesar with letters and instructions returned to their own people, and the authority they represented easily pulled their fellow countrymen over.All these people, attracted by Caesar's reputation, abandoned King Yuba without hesitation, and soon took up arms against him in unison.Upon hearing this situation, Yuba had no choice but to fight on three fronts at the same time.From this army which he had led against Caesar he sent back to his kingdom six battalions to serve as a garrison against the Gaetulians. 56．Caesar had now completed his two branches of fortification, extending them as far as the arrows from the town could not reach; Facing the town, constantly harassing those guarding the city walls.He also sent here five legions from the old camp.With such an opportunity, some people of great status and reputation on the other side kept asking to see their friends and relatives, and they even started talking to each other.Of course, Caesar would not ignore the effect that this kind of thing could have.Among the king's cavalry, some noble-born Getuli, including his cavalry commander, took advantage of the night when the lamps were lit, took their horses and their own camp slaves, about a thousand people, fled to Come to Caesar's camp on the plains near Uzi Tower.The commander's father had served under Marius before, and was rewarded with farms and lands for his meritorious service, and it was only after Sulla's victory that he was handed over to King Himpsar as a subject. 57．It was about this time that Scipio and those who were with him became aware of these circumstances, and just as they were shaken by this serious setback, they saw Marcus Aquinus talking with Gaius Sassina talks.Scipio sent word to Aquinus that there was no need to talk to the enemy.But he went on speaking, and the messenger brought back his answer to Scipio, saying: Wait until he has done what he wants to do.Besides, Yuba also sent a herald to him, and even though Sasena was also listening, he said: "The king forbids you to talk." This announcement frightened Aquinus, and he immediately obeyed the king opened.A Roman citizen, and one who has honorably received office from the Roman people, though his country is safe and all his property is safe, prefers to obey the orders of Uba, the barbarian, than Scipy. Ah's notice, that he would rather kill all his comrades together, but not come back to his compatriots, it is really an incredible thing.Moreover, Yuba's arrogance is not only manifested in his treatment of a humble elder like Aquinus who was born in the Han race, but even for a man like Scipio who is superior in terms of family status, status and honor. People, too.Before the king came, Xi Ying'a had always been wearing a handsome purple robe. It is said that Yuba brought up this matter and said that he should not wear the same clothes as himself. A very incompetent person, Scipio changed to white clothes from then on. 58．The next day the enemy drew all their troops from all the camps, and took possession of a hill not far from Caesar, and having formed their formation, they halted there.Caesar likewise brought out his troops, and quickly arrayed them before his fortifications on the plain.He believed that the enemy, with such a large force and such strong support from the king, had rushed out without any scruples before, and this time he would undoubtedly rush to him to confront him.After riding round to encourage his legions," he gave his orders and waited for the enemy to come up, not without reason that he himself did not want to leave the fortifications and advance, for the Uzita in Scipio's hands The town, where the armed forces of the enemy were stationed, was on his right flank, and he feared that if he pushed forward past it, the enemy would burst out of the town and storm his flank. Besides. One reason made him stop. It turned out that there was a rough place in front of Scipio's line, which he thought would not be conducive to his men's initiative to attack. 59．How the armies of both sides are arranged in the positions, I think it should not be ignored.Scipio's line was laid out like this: placed directly in front.His own and Yuba's legions, and behind them the reserve army of Numidians, drawn in great array.Sparse, but elongated, so that to a person at a distance it appears that its central part consists solely of a single column of legionnaires.He placed his elephants at equal distances, one by one, on the left and right flanks, and behind them the light soldiers and allies of Numidia served as reinforcements.He placed all his saddled cavalry on the right flank, since the town of Ouzta was covering his left, and there was simply no room there for them.In addition, he placed some Numidians and countless light soldiers as cover on the right side of the line, at least a mile away, and they stretched down to a place far below the foot of the mountain, far from the enemy and his own troops. The place.He did this because he thought that when the two armies approached each other and the battle was about to begin, his cavalry could, by virtue of their numbers, keep Caesar's army as long as they continued to stretch out from the flanks for a short distance. Surrounded unknowingly, under the attack of arrows and stones, they became chaotic. This is Scipio's plan for this day's battle. 60．Caesar's lines, on the other hand, were laid out like this.I counted from his left flank to his right; on the left were the Tenth and Ninth Legions; Six legions.As for the right wing itself, he placed there battalions drawn from the Legion of Veterans, as well as battalions drawn from the Legion of Recruits.He concentrated his third column on the left flank, extending as far as the corps lined up in the center.This formation made his left flank consist of three tiers.The reason why he did this was that his right flank was supported by fortifications, while his left flank faced the enemy's huge cavalry, which was extremely difficult to deal with, so he also deployed all his cavalry here. Two sides.In this way, his confidence in them was still not enough, and he sent the Fifth Army to support these cavalry, and selected some light soldiers to intersperse among the cavalry.He arranged the archers in twos and threes in various places on the battle line, mainly on the flanks.