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Battle of Alesia

en.wikipedia.org

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Re: Battle of Alesia

#2
> The battle of Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in France and Belgium.

Well, not entirely... One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders.

Re: Battle of Alesia

#3
In France, this event is well known and taught in class (at least it was in the 80's).

As I remember it now, this was taught as a bittersweet moment in our history. We united, we were brave and fought a stronger army but still we were defeated and our chief was captured and killed by the enemy.

As a result we were colonized and we lost almost all our Celtic culture (Celtic culture remains present notably in Bretagne — Britain). But we were "civilized" by the Romans. I think this was taught as being a tough but positive thing.

Today I find it interesting to think about how "civilization" spreading if often a gruesome process and how it's seen centuries, if not (in this case), milleniums later.

Re: Battle of Alesia

#4
Not sure why this was posted here, but this is one of Caesar's greatest victories in the Gallic wars. The engineering capabilities of the Roman legions were very impressive. For those who don't know, Caesar had built a wall around the city of Alesia to blockade the defenders in. When a relief force was dispatched to attack the Romans and break the siege, Caesar built another wall and line of defenses to hold off the attacking relief force. The Romans were able to defeat the Gauls and add it to the Roman Empire (Republic).

Re: Battle of Alesia

#6
post #3

In France, this event is well known and taught in class (at least it was in the 80's). As I remember it now, this was taught as a bittersweet moment in our history. We united, we were brave and fought a stronger army but still we were defeated and our chief was captured and killed by the enemy. As a result we were colonized and we lost almost all our Celtic culture (Celtic culture remains present notably in Bretagne…

> As I remember it now, this was taught as a bittersweet moment in our history. We united, we were brave and fought a stronger army but still we were defeated and our chief was captured and killed by the enemy.

Isn't modern France mostly a descendant of the Frankish kingdoms, where the Franks are quite different than the Gauls and in any case arrived in the area far later than the Battle of Alesia?

Re: Battle of Alesia

#8
post #2

> The battle of Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in France and Belgium. Well, not entirely... One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders.

And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium. [1]

[1] let's not get into this particular can of translating worms :P

Re: Battle of Alesia

#9
post #7
post #2

> The battle of Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in France and Belgium. Well, not entirely... One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders.

Who?

This is a quote from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix - the best selling French/Belgian comic, first published in 1959, translated into 111 languages, and adapted into 13 films.

"The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely... One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium"

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