By May 1940, Germany controlled most of the European Continent. With Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark and Norway being under Nazi control, Britain and France now stood alone as the last enemies of Germany, for the time being. One key problem in Germany’s path was the Maginot Line
A photo of a fortification on the Maginot Line
Between the late 1920s to mid 1930s, the French had built a large line of forts across their border with Germany. These forts were nigh impenetrable, so Hitler needed to think of a new strategy. He had two options. To breach south through Switzerland or to go North through the Low Countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Hitler chose the latter.
However, there was much bickering in army high command about how to attack. Whilst most advocated for a mere replica of the Schlieffen Plan in World War 1, Hitler and Erich von Manstein, Chief of Staff for Army Group A, requested a battle plan be made through the Ardennes, a dense forest region in Belgium and Luxembourg. Eventually, a compromise is reached, wherein Army Group B would attack from the Dutch border, whilst Army Group A would swoop in through the Ardennes.
A map of the Battle Plans
Meanwhile, the British and French were prepping for a hypothetical counter attack. Whilst the Belgians and Dutch refused to allow French and British troops to immediately enter territory, for fear of provoking the Germans, they came up with a plan to hold the line and hopefully counter attack. However, the plan left little in the means of defence in the Ardennes, which British and French high command believed is impassible for armoured units, despite intelligence that sugggested the German’s plans to do just that.
On May 10th, 1940, Germany began to invade the Low Countries. They began with the pretence of just attacking the Netherlands, forcing Allied forces to organise up there. However, they were delayed in their response by mass numbers of refugees fleeing the opposite direction. Meanwhile, German forces began pushing through the Ardennes in mass numbers, forcing traffic jams 250km back from the front. All too late, the Allies realised their response in the Ardennes had been far too weak. The Blitzkrieg tactic worked once more in the Lowlands, with Stuka dive bombers, Messerschmidt fighters and Panzer divisions all working together in order to hit fast and hard.
The tension in France was felt on the home front too. With much of the British Public and government believing that Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement policies in the lead up to the war, with Czechoslovakia, has done nothing but think Hitler he can do what he wanted, Chamberlain resigned and was replaced by First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill.
By May 24th, Allied forces had been forced into a pocket in Belgium and Northern France. In a fighting retreat, Allied forces moved to Dunkirk, planning to evacuate forces there. Many French commanders viewed this as an abandonment and betrayal. Fearing a Southern counter attack, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt requested a cease of a direct assault on Dunkirk, to which Hitler agreed. Many say that if the Nazi forces had advanced on Dunkirk, Britain would’ve been more likely to surrender. Hitler defended this decision later, saying he did not want to humiliate the British, in hopes of initiating peace talks. Runstedt later claimed that it was not his order but Hitler’s. Regardless, nearly 340,000 troops were evacuated from Dunkirk in a spectacular feat in co-operation with land, air and sea, both civilian and military.
A photo of troops lined up at Dunkirk
After the troops were evacuated and Belgium surrendered, without the consultation of the British and French, Germany launched an all out assault on the south. Only 10 days after the last troops left Dunkirk, German forces entered Paris on June 14th, 1940. On the 16th of June, the French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, resigned, and was immediately replaced by Phillipe Petan, who immediately began peace talks with Germany.
Many protested to this, including Charles de Gaulle, who broadcasted a radio message from Britain, urging his fellow country men to fight. Whilst Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Secretary, was calling for peace talks through neutral Italy, Mussolini began forcing troops through the Alps on June 21st. The armistice eventually took effect on June 25th, 1940. The puppet of Vichy France was established whilst some overseas colonies remained under Allied French Control. However, Britain and the Commonwealth, with the assistance of a fractionalised France, now stood alone against the might of the German Army.
A photo of Hitler in front of the Eiffel Tower
Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. And even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old.
Churchill’s famous speech to Parliament before Dunkirk
By 1938, Adolf Hitler had turned his attention toward Central Europe. His policy of uniting ethnic Germans within a “Greater Germany” had already been proclaimed for years, and Austria was a central target of this ambition.
Austrian Nationalist Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg had attempted to preserve Austrian independence while easing tensions with Germany. When the two met in February 1938, Hitler made clear that Austria’s sovereignty was no longer acceptable.
What is all this nonsense about your independence? Whether Austria is independent or not is not the question. There’s only one thing to discuss. Do you want the Anschluss brought about with bloodshed or without?
Hitler speaking with Schuschnigg
Schuschnigg announced a referendum on independence for 13 March, believing that a majority of Austrians would reject union with Germany. In response, Hitler ordered military preparations and demanded Schuschnigg’s resignation. Under threat of invasion and without support from Britain or France, Schuschnigg stepped down, and German troops entered Austria unopposed.
A photo of German soldiers driving through the Austrian streets
Although the annexation was achieved through intimidation and political coercion, it was not imposed on an entirely unwilling population. Austrian Nazis had been active for years, and many Austrians welcomed German forces with public celebrations. Another referendum held in April 1938 reported that 99.7 percent of voters approved of union with Germany, but the vote was conducted under conditions of propaganda, intimidation, and the exclusion of Jewish voters and political opponents. While many Austrians opposed annexation, a significant proportion supported it, particularly among German nationalists and Nazi sympathisers.
The consequences were immediate. Austrian Jews and political opponents were subjected to public humiliation, violence, and dispossession, often carried out by Austrian civilians as well as German authorities. In the weeks following the annexation, hundreds of Austrian Jews committed suicide, fearing worse under Nazi rule. Austria’s independence was destroyed, and its population was absorbed into the structures of the Nazi state.
Czechoslovakia was a democratic state with a modern army and extensive border fortifications, particularly in the Sudetenland, a mountainous region inhabited largely by ethnic Germans and held much of Czechoslovkia’s industry. With Austria annexed, Germany now surrounded the state of Czechoslovakia on three sides, who had open intentions about wanting to take Czechoslovakian territory. It was allied to France and had an agreement with the Soviet Union, but geographic and political realities weakened these arrangements. Soviet assistance would have required passage through Poland or Romania, both hostile to communism, and France showed little willingness to fight without British support.
A map of Czechoslovakia
Hitler claimed that ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland were oppressed and demanded that the territory be transferred to Germany. While minority grievances existed, the demand went far beyond cultural rights and threatened Czechoslovakia’s territorial integrity and security. Czechoslovakia appealed to Britain and France for support. Instead, both powers sought to avoid war by encouraging territorial concessions.
However much we may sympathise with a small nation confronted by a big and powerful neighbour, we cannot, in all circumstances, undertake to involve the whole British Empire in war simply on her account. If we have to fight, it must be on larger issues than that. I am myself a man of peace to the depths of my soul. Armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me. But if I were convinced that any nation had made up its mind to dominate the world by fear of its force, I should feel that it should be resisted. And that such a domination like the people who believe in liberty, would not be worth living. But war is a fearful thing, and we must be very clear before we embark on it, that it is really the great issues that are at stake, and that a call to risk everything in their defense, when all the consequences are weighed, is irresistible.
Chamberlain’s statement on Czechoslovakia
In September 1938, Britain and France convened a conference with Germany and Italy to resolve the crisis. Czechoslovak representatives were not invited to attend. At the conference, Germany was granted the Sudetenland in return for Hitler’s promise that he would make no further territorial claims in Europe. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned home declaring that the agreement had secured “peace in our time.” The settlement dismantled Czechoslovakia’s defences and transferred major industrial resources to Germany.
Neville Chamberlain waving the agreement
The loss of the Sudetenland left Czechoslovakia strategically and politically crippled. Hungary seized southern Slovak territories soon afterward, while Germany supported a separatist movement in Slovakia that resulted in the creation of a dependent Slovak state under German influence. In March 1939, German forces occupied the remaining Czech lands and transformed them into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. This action demonstrated that Hitler’s promises at Munich had been tactical rather than sincere, and that his objectives extended beyond the unification of German-speaking populations.
At the same time, Germany exerted pressure on Lithuania over the Memel region, a small territory with a German-speaking population that had been detached from Germany after the First World War. In March 1939, Germany issued an ultimatum demanding its return. Lithuania, diplomatically isolated and facing overwhelming military superiority, ceded the territory without resistance.
Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party in Germany, was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg on January 30th, 1933. He proposed a foreign policy ideal when he was appointed, that being the ‘Heim ins Reich’ or ‘Back Home to the Reich’ in English. It was the idea that all German speaking peoples should be united under a “Greater Germany”. One of the main targets of this policy was Austria.
A photo of Hitler addressing a crowd after his appointment to Chancellor
Austria has an almost entirely German speaking population and is the second largest population of German speakers. The First Austrian Republic was established in the aftermath of the First World War and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Due to much political instability, massive violent riots and economic hardship, Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss of the Fatherland Front, a right-wing conservative, authoritarian, nationalist, corporatist, and Catholic organisation that opposed what it called “heathen” Nazism, took power in March 1933. Dollfuss suspended parliament in 1933 and gradually established an authoritarian state, replacing Austria’s democratic system by 1934. However, political instability persisted, leading to a short civil war between the Fatherland Front and social democrats in February of 1934, ending in Dollfuss’ assassination by Austrian Nazis in July. Because of Hitler’s policy regarding the Austrians, they began receiving political and economic backing from Fascist Italy.
Italy, governed by Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini, was the birthplace of fascism which German Nazism came from. It stemmed from groups of veterans of the First World War, who believed that much of the territory that Italy gained in the Treaty of London was not worth the struggle, especially considering it was a lot less than what was originally promised to them by the British and French in 1915. They were organised into the National Fascist Party by Benito Mussolini, a former socialist journalist, and seized power by marching on Rome in 1922, demanding that Mussolini be appointed Prime Minister by the King. He would often threaten political opponents through extrajudicial violence through a violent fascist paramilitary group known as the Blackshirts. These threats materialised with the murder of Giacomo Matteotti, an anti-fascist, socialist opposition leader in the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies. When the Blackshirts met with Mussolini after the murder, they demanded that he crush the opposition or they would undermine his position and do it themselves. At a speech in the Chamber of Deputies, Mussolini took responsibility for the murder and other political violence waged by the Blackshirts and challenged the Deputies to depose him. When nobody did, he assumed absolute power and transformed Italy into a one party state.
Fascism, the Government and the Party, is at its highest efficiency. Gentlemen, you have deceived yourselves! You thought that Fascism was over because I was restraining it, that the Party was dead because I was holding it back. If I would use one one-hundredth part of the energy that I used to contain the Fascists, to unleash them…. Oh! You would see, you would see then…
An excerpt from Mussolini’s Speech to the Chamber of Deputies, 1925
A photo of Mussolini standing in front of a statue of Julius Caesar
Attempting to establish a Greater Italy, Mussolini waged war against Libyan rebels, leading to the Libyan Genocide, with estimates ranging from 40,000 to over 70,000 killed. He also bombed Corfu and secured Fiume through the Treaty of Rome in 1924 after diplomatic pressure. Mussolini feared that German action in Austria would threaten the Italian province of South Tyrol, as it is a German speaking former territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This led to Italian and German relations being initially sour by the first half of the 1930s.
In 1934, Hitler met with Mussolini in Venice, where he promised him that he would leave Austria alone, at least for now. However, after Dollfuss’ assassination and the failed Nazi coup, Mussolini, feeling his position to be insecure, turned to France for an alliance. He was eventually pushed away after the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and was sanctioned. However, when Hitler remilitarised the Western Rhineland province of Germany, he demonstrated the weakness of British and French opposition, encouraging Mussolini to seek closer ties with Germany as sanctions collapsed. This softened Mussolini’s initially hardline stance on Austria and began speaking of a potential Rome-Berlin axis by 1936. German Italian relations would soon be brought closer together by the Spanish Civil War.
Hitler and Mussolini standing together upon Hitler’s state visit to Rome in 1938
Entering the 20th Century, Spain was strongly divided between a growing liberal movement and the old elitist collective of bureaucrats, landowners and the clergy, the latter of which manipulated politics in order to remain in power. Eventually, General Miguel Primo de Rivera seized power in a coup in 1923, which had backing from King Alfonso XIII. However, his military dictatorship alienated the leftists and the conservative elite and was eventually forced into resigning in 1930 after great economic downturn that led to civil unrest.
After the loss of Rivera, support for the monarchy collapsed, Alfonso fled the country and the Second Republic was born. Leftists sought radical change, by curbing the power and influence of the clergy, army and landowners, which the right saw as an existential threat. After an attempted coup by General José Sanjurjo in 1932, leftists began to suspect that there was a fascist conspiracy to stop their reforms. By 1933, a right wing government undid much of the leftist reforms and led to mass civil unrest. However, by 1936, the leftists had narrowly won a majority. However, the right and military factions believed that this government, which some suspected had committed fraud in the election, was unacceptable so organised a coup in July 1936. However, it failed in capturing Madrid, so a civil war was born between the right-wing Nationalists and the left-wing Republicans.
A group of Republican fighters in the Spanish Civil War
Both Germany and Italy began assisting the side of the nationalists. Mussolini and Hitler both supported the fascist elements of the nationalist movement whilst also opposing much of the socialist, Marxist, Stalinist and anarchist sects of the republican movement. Specifically, Hitler wanted to create an ally south of France in the event that France acted upon his planned annexations of Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. One of the first key operations was helping General Francisco Franco, a key leader of the nationalist movement and commander of the elite and brutal colonial Moroccan forces, bring his troops out of Morocco and across the strait of Gibraltar. However, this, as well as many other actions taken by German and Italian forces, was in violation of the Non-Intervention Committee of 1936, organised by the British and French which aimed to stop intervention by foreign powers in the Spanish Civil War. Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following Stanley Baldwin’s resignation in 1937, especially prioritised Italy in the agreement, as he saw keeping Mussolini on side as incredibly important. However, as the war continued, Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union consistently violated the Committee ruling. France also was prone to violating it from time to time.
A leaky dam, better than no dam at all.
Anthony Eden, British Foreign Secretary (1935-1938)
A Soviet officer photographed with Spanish Republicans in 1936
Specifically, Soviet intervention on the side of the republicans came at a price, forcing communist voices, especially those who were pro-Stalin, to become more influential in the movement, enabling the nationalists to decry that the Republic was nothing more than a Bolshevist movement set on destroying Spain. This further envigorated the firmly anti-socialist Germany and Italy to continue their support for Spain, which also helped their relationship. One notable instance of assistance was at the bombing of Guernica during a northern Campaign.
Guernica was an old town in North Spain with, at the time, a population of 7,000 people. At around 4:30 in the afternoon on the 26th of April 1937, Luftwaffe and Italian planes blotted out the Sun as the whistling of bombs echoed through the streets. For an hour and a half, Italian and German planes flew over and bombed the town, killing between 170 and 300 people. The indiscriminate nature of the attack caused the bombing to become a symbol of fascist terror. This event was immortalised by Pablo Picasso in one of his most well-known works, simply titled ‘Guernica’. Picasso was in Paris at the time of the German Occupation of France. When a German Officer came into his apartment, he spotted ‘Guernica’. The officer asked Pablo, “Did you do that?” to which Pablo replied, “No, you did.”
A reproduction of Guernica on a tiled wall
The outcome of the Spanish war was settled in London, Paris, Rome, Berlin – at any rate not in Spain.
George Orwell in ‘Looking Back on the Spanish War‘
The war would continue for another 3 years. Whilst Franco, who later became the leader of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975, was not a fascist, he practiced a very authoritarian and dictatorial government, incorporated much fascist symbolism into his regime and did appreciate Hitler. Spain never formally joined the Axis powers and were never involved in direct fighting in the Second World War, with only limited logistical support given to the Germans. As Spain was otherwise occupied, Hitler turned his attention elsewhere, specifically to the far east and the Empire of Japan.
After the First World War, Imperial Japan had claimed many of the former German territories of the Pacific Ocean. However, by the 1930s, the Great Depression had caused a global trade halt, key to the economy of the island nation of Japan. After a far-right military faction instigated a false flag operation, the Japanese conquered Manchuria, an eastern Chinese province, and established the puppet state of Manchukuo, which was also created to establish dominance against the Soviet East. However, this conquest was done without oversight from the civilian government, undermining their influence in Japanese governance.
The Imperial Japanese Army celebrating a victory at Shanghai
In February of 1936, the Kōdōha faction, or the Imperial Way, in the Japanese Military had attempted to organise a coup by murdering a series of government and police officials. Once the uprising was suppressed, the faction purged and the partakers executed, the Japanese military began exerting more control over the civilian government, weaponising their role in the suppression of the coup in order to gain more influence. They pressured the new Prime Minister, Kōki Hirota, about his cabinet appointments and demanded that only active duty officers could serve in ministerial defence positions, a role only reserved for retired officers before this. This meant that a defence Minister could resign and refuse to appoint a successor and a government would bend to their will, shown when Hisaichi Terauchi resigned as Minister of War when Hirota refused to dissolve the Japanese Parliament, the Diet. Whilst Hitler believed that he could secure neutrality with the British, he believed that an alliance with the Japanese would be more prudent, as he thought that Japan was under threat from a Jewish plot and that securing them as an ally would stop the Jews from whatever plans he believed they had.
It was not in the interests of Great Britain to have Germany annihilated, but primarily a Jewish interest. And to-day the destruction of Japan would serve British political interests less than it would serve the far-reaching intentions of those who are leading the movement that hopes to establish a Jewish world-empire.
Hitler in Mein Kampf
Both Japan and Germany also shared a hatred of communism, demonstrated through their war plans against the Soviet Union, further strengthening Hitler’s want for an alliance. Hokushin-ron, the Japanese doctrine, and Lebensraum, the German doctrine, both stated that expansion into the Soviet Union was inevitable. Soon, the pair agreed upon and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, an agreement to undermine the Communist International, a Soviet international body committed to global revolutionary socialism. The Nazis officially qualified the Japanese as those it considered to be honorary Aryans. Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu, brother of incumbent Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), visited the Nazi Party Congress, more commonly known as the Nuremberg Rally, of 1937. Mussolini later signed the pact, one of the first stepping stones in the creation of the Axis Powers, that would come to terrify the world in years to come.
Joachim von Ribbentrop (German Minister of Foreign Affairs, central) signing the Anti-Comintern Pact, with Kintomo Mushanokōji (Japanese Ambassador to Germany, left, seated)
After the Siege of Toulon, and a subsequent crushing of a Parisian Royalist uprising, Napoleon had managed to land himself the rank of Major General, one of the highest ranks in the French Revolutionary Army. He was assigned his own army and decided that, in order to rise the social hierarchy, he needed a woman. Despite many women finding him creepy and disgusting, he managed to marry Josephine de Beauharnais, an older widow with two children and a rather promiscuous background, on March 9th, 1796. Only two days later, the French Government ordered an all out offensive against Austria. Napoleon was assigned to a southern campaign through Italy as more of a distraction away from Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and Jean Victor Marie Moreau. This would be his first major campaign, and it would be the first of many successes for Napoleon, at only 28-years-old.
You to whom nature has given spirit, sweetness, and beauty, you who alone can move and rule my heart, you who know all too well the absolute empire you exercise over it!
A letter Napoleon sent to Josephine in Februrary of 1797, during the Italian Campaign
The army assigned to him was demoralised, underpaid and in desperate need of equipment. However, Napoleon lifted their spirits with inspirational speeches, something that would become a staple of his career to come. Severely outnumbered, he would split his enemies into two and take them on separately, which would later become the iconic Napoleon strategy of dividing and conquering. Using this strategy, Sardinia was knocked out of the war and the Austrians were sent running. During the Austrian retreat, Napoleon was in the fray himself at the famous Battle of Lodi, aiming cannons and getting covered in mud, earning the respect of his men, to such an extent to the point where he ordered an almost suicidal charge over a river, they followed and succeeded.
A painting of the Battle of Lodi (May 10th, 1796)
Napoleon swept through Northern Italy, being welcomed in town after town with open arms, believing them to liberating the people from their Austrian oppressors. However, Napoleon would plunder towns and send riches back to France. It is estimated that Napoleon collected 45 million Francs in money, 12 million Francs worth of jewellery and precious metals, as well as an additional 300 art pieces, such as sculptures and paintings. He also used some of the money he plundered to pay his men, some of the first real money they had seen in ages.
During the campaign, Napoleon also became more influential in French politics. He created two newspapers, one for circulation amongst soldiers and the other for the French populous. Recognising his ambition, French Royalists warned that Napoleon may be on the path to becoming a dictator. In response, Napoleon sent General Charles-Pierre Augereau to Paris to support a coup that purged royalists from legislative councils. This meant that Paul Barras, one of the Directors of the Executive Branch of the French Government, had a firm grip on power but was now more dependent on Napoleon.
A drawing of Generals being rounded up during the coup
Whilst the northern front was at a stalemate, Napoleon began making a bee-line straight for Vienna. Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, had to withdraw forces to Vienna, despite gaining a successful victory against the northern forces, due to Napoleon’s assault. After losing to Napoleon at the Battle of Tarvis, the Austrian government sued for peace when they learnt that Napoleon had arrived at Leoben, a city just 100km (62 miles) away from Vienna. With Napoleon overseeing negotiations himself, Austria allowed France to take control of much of Northern Italy as well as the low countries. He managed the establishment of many Sister Republics for the French Republic, of which he wrote constitutions and organised governments. Napoleon’s first success had been a great one, and it was only the beginning of his military career.
From that moment, I foresaw what I might be. Already I felt the earth flee from beneath me, as if I were being carried into the sky.
Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Lodi
Casualties
First French Republic – 45,000 killed, captured or wounded
Coalition Forces (Sardinia, Habsburg Empire, Papal States, Venice) – 27,000 killed, 160,000 captured
Over many many years, the Pope had been used as a puppet by European countries to gain leverage and power in politics. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Charlemagne requested of the Pope to be nominated Holy Roman Emperor. This formed a circular power struggle, wherein the Pope had power over the Holy Roman Emperor but the Holy Roman Emperor had power over the Pope. This created multiple feuds spanning over centuries in Europe, especially in Northern Italy.
Northern Italian City states began becoming independent, picking an either pro-Emperor (Ghibelline) or pro-Pope (Guelph) side. Many states switched between the two. One famous conflict was between the Ghibelline Mondena and the Guelph Bologna. The two cities had been feuding for years and this conflict between the Pope and the Emperor was the final push.
The first thing that needs to be established is that Bologna had a well. A traditional well with a bucket. By this time, this system of collecting water had become antiquated, but by lord did Bologna love this bucket.
In 1249, a large battle ensued, ending in a Bolognese victory, to which they catapulted a live donkey into Modena
Yes, someone actually drew this image of a live donkey, prepped on the catapult. He looks so shocked and bemused. I don’t think he knew what was about to happen
Ever since the battle, the two cities would take groups into each other’s territory and wreak havoc on the other side. On one such trip in 1325, perpetrated by the Bolognese, the Modenese had enough
In the South West of their territory, the Bolognese had two forts guarding their area, Monteveglio and Zappolino. The Modenese lay seige upon and eventually captured Monteveglio
Around this time, a myth circulated that Bologna’s bucket had been stolen by Modena and this was the real reason for the war, whilst actually the bucket was most likely never stolen and the reason for the war was probably just their fort being taken.
Bologna split their forces. One half was to take back Monteveglio and the other half was stationed at various points along the river dividing the two territories. Modena managed to bait the Bolognese forces into going North before crossing the river at the south. Whilst the Bolognese expected them to break the siege at Monteveglio, they instead took Zappolino. Not being able to afford the loss of both of their forts, Bologna moved all their forces to defend Zappolino.
The forces encountered one another outside Zappolino and after a fight at sunset, the Modenese won, and chased the Bolognese back to Bologna. Upon arrival, they did not lay siege. Instead they set up camp and partied for the next three days, before stealing Bologna’s bucket and leaving.
A peace treaty was agreed upon, wherein Bologna would pay war reparations to Modena if Modena agreed to give back all stolen territory. Modena kept the bucket. It sits on display in Modena City Hall to this day.
In 509BC, the son of the king of Rome raped a noblewoman who then committed suicide. In response, Lucius Junius Brutus staged a coup and overthrew the king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. Brutus swore that no single man should hold absolute power, establishing the Roman Republic. Brutus became one of Rome’s First Consuls, a position in the Roman Republic where 2 people would share power to keep the other in check with advise from the Senate compromised of 900 Senators, before dying later that year.
A painting of Brutus swearing the oath that no one man should rule Rome, next to the body of the raped noblewoman
Nearly five centuries later, that principle would be tested. By 44 BC, Rome had been transformed by the rise of Julius Caesar. A highly successful general, Caesar had expanded Rome’s territories through his campaigns in Gaul before defeating his rival, Pompey, in a civil war. In the years that followed, he accumulated unprecedented political power. Caesar introduced a number of reforms, including land redistribution and debt relief, which earned him strong support among the Roman people.
At the same time, he received a growing number of honours from the Senate, with statues were erected in his likeness, and his authority continued to expand. In 44 BC, he was appointed Dictator Perpetuo, or dictator for life, a title that placed him above all other officials. To many senators, this development was deeply alarming. The Republic had been founded in opposition to monarchy, and Caesar’s position appeared to move Rome closer to one-man rule. Whether or not he intended to make himself king, the fear that he might do so was enough to provoke action.
A painting of Caesar
A group of senators, later known as the Liberators, formed a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Among their leaders were Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, and Marcus Junius Brutus. Cassius had previously fought against Caesar during the civil war before being pardoned. Decimus Brutus had been one of Caesar’s most trusted generals, making his involvement particularly significant. Marcus Brutus, meanwhile, faced a personal and political dilemma. Though he had also opposed Caesar in the past, he had been forgiven and promoted. Caesar treated him with respect, and the two were closely connected. However, Brutus was also influenced by the ideals of the Republic and by his family’s historical role in overthrowing Rome’s last king.
The conspirators were not united by a single motive. Some feared tyranny, others resented Caesar’s dominance, and some were concerned about the loss of the Senate’s authority. In total, around 60 senators joined the plot. The conspirators chose to act during a meeting of the Senate on March 15th, known as the Ides of March. The meeting was to be held at the Theatre of Pompey, due to maintenance on the main Senate building. In the days before the meeting, Caesar is said to have received several warnings. A soothsayer, Spurinna, reportedly advised him to beware the Ides of March. His wife, Calpurnia, experienced troubling dreams of his death and urged him not to attend the Senate.
On the morning of the 15th, Caesar initially decided to remain at home. However, Decimus Brutus persuaded him to attend, arguing that it would be inappropriate to dismiss the Senate and that his absence might damage his authority. Caesar eventually agreed and set out for the meeting. When Caesar arrived at the Senate chamber, he was surrounded by the conspirators. At a prearranged signal, one of them approached him with a petition, while others moved into position. The first blow was struck by a senator known as Casca. In the moments that followed, the other conspirators joined in, attacking Caesar from all sides. Overwhelmed by the number of attackers, he was unable to defend himself.
A painting of the assassination. Julius is depicted on one knee in the orange and red toga
Ancient writers such as Suetonius and Plutarch report that Caesar was stabbed 23 times, though only one of the wounds is believed to have been fatal. The exact sequence of the attack and the identity of those who delivered each blow remain uncertain. According to some accounts, Caesar stopped resisting when he saw Brutus among the attackers. His final words are not known for certain. The famous phrase “Et tu, Brute?” comes from William Shakespeare’s later play and is not confirmed by historical sources. Caesar fell at the base of a statue of Pompey, the former rival he had defeated years earlier.
The conspirators believed that killing Caesar would restore the Republic. Instead, it created instability. Rather than celebrating, many in Rome reacted with shock and anger. Caesar had been popular with the public, and his assassination led to unrest. At his funeral, Mark Antony delivered a speech that turned public opinion against the conspirators. Fearing retaliation, many of them fled Rome. In the years that followed, a series of civil wars broke out. Brutus and Cassius were eventually defeated in 42 BC, after which both men died by suicide. The Republic did not recover. In 27 BC, power was consolidated under Augustus, marking the transition from Republic to Empire.
A painting of the body of Brutus
The assassination of Julius Caesar remains one of the most debated events in history. Some view Marcus Junius Brutus as a defender of liberty, acting to prevent tyranny. Others see him as a traitor who betrayed a friend and helped bring about the end of the Republic. What is clear is that the conspirators failed in their ultimate aim. In attempting to preserve the Republic, they instead accelerated its collapse. The system they sought to protect proved unable to survive the removal of one man who had come to dominate it.
By 50BC, Julius Caesar had cemented himself as one of the most powerful, most wealthy and most influential men in Rome. Following his success in conquering Gaul, he had amassed vast quantities of personal wealth. Prior to his conquest, he had formed an informal political alliance with Pompey, Rome’s most famous general, and Marcus Licinius Crassus, the richest man in Rome, which allowed Caesar to govern the territories of Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum and Gallia Narbonensis.
A painting of Caesar accepting the surrender of Gallic leader, Vercingetorix
Historians call this arrangement the First Triumvirate. Although it had no legal basis, together the three men dominated Roman politics. Caesar gained the consulship in 59BC before securing an unprecedented five-year command in Gaul, while Pompey and Crassus used their influence in Rome to protect his interests. To strengthen the alliance further, Caesar married his daughter Julia to Pompey. By all accounts the marriage was a happy one, and for several years it helped maintain a genuine friendship between the two men. But the Triumvirate was built more on mutual advantage than mutual trust. Once that advantage disappeared, so too did the alliance.
The first blow came in 54BC when Julia died during childbirth. Pompey was devastated by her death, but politically it also removed the personal bond that had tied him to Caesar. A year later, Crassus invaded the Parthian Empire in search of military glory, only to be killed alongside much of his army at the disastrous Battle of Carrhae. With Crassus dead and Julia gone, the Triumvirate effectively ceased to exist. Rome’s two remaining strongmen were now left to compete against one another.
A depiction of Julia, daughter of Caesar
While Caesar continued winning spectacular victories in Gaul, Pompey remained in Rome. Increasingly, the Roman Senate viewed Pompey as the man best placed to defend the Republic against Caesar’s growing popularity. Many senators, particularly the conservative faction known as the Optimates, feared that Caesar’s immense wealth, battle-hardened army and popularity with the people would allow him to seize absolute power. They rallied behind Pompey, appointing him sole consul in 52BC during a period of political violence and unrest. Although Pompey still claimed to support the Republic, he was now closely aligned with many of Caesar’s fiercest political enemies.
As Caesar’s governorship of Gaul neared its end, the conflict came to a head. Under Roman law, a governor enjoyed legal immunity while commanding an army. The moment Caesar entered Italy as a private citizen, however, he could be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed during his consulship years earlier. His political opponents had made little secret of their intentions. Caesar believed that surrendering his command would almost certainly mean exile, political ruin, or even death.
An illustration of Senators urging Pompey to become sole consul
Caesar proposed a compromise. Both he and Pompey would simultaneously lay down their military commands, allowing neither man to possess an army while elections took place. Pompey showed some willingness to negotiate, but many senators refused to accept the proposal. Instead, they demanded that Caesar alone dismiss his legions and return to Rome unarmed. When he hesitated, the Senate passed the Senatus Consultum Ultimum – the “Final Decree of the Senate” – granting Pompey extraordinary powers to defend the Republic against what they declared to be a threat from Caesar.
To Caesar, the message was unmistakable. The Senate had chosen Pompey over him. If he obeyed, he would stand trial at the mercy of his political enemies. If he disobeyed, he would become an outlaw. After years of political manoeuvring, there appeared to be no peaceful solution left. The fate of the Roman Republic would now depend upon a single river separating Caesar’s province from Italy itself: the Rubicon.
A map of the Rubicon river
For centuries, the Rubicon had been little more than a modest river in northern Italy. It was neither particularly wide nor especially deep. Yet politically, it was one of the most important rivers in the ancient world. The Rubicon marked the southern boundary of Caesar’s province of Cisalpine Gaul and, beyond it, lay Italy itself. Under Roman law, no governor was permitted to lead an army across this frontier. The Republic had imposed this rule centuries earlier to prevent ambitious generals from marching on Rome and seizing power by force. A governor crossing the Rubicon with his legions was effectively declaring war against the Senate and the Roman state. There was no legal defence, no compromise and no turning back.
For several days in early January 49BC, Caesar lingered near the river, weighing his options. To obey the Senate meant dismissing the army that had loyally followed him through nearly a decade of campaigning in Gaul. Without its protection, he would enter Rome as a private citizen and almost certainly face prosecution at the hands of his political enemies. To cross the Rubicon, however, meant becoming an outlaw and plunging the Republic into civil war. It was a decision that would determine not only his own fate, but that of Rome itself.
Caesar at the bank of the Rubicon
On the night of January 10th 49BC according to the modern calendar (January 11th in the Roman calendar then in use), Caesar finally made his choice. Accompanied by the veteran soldiers of the Thirteenth Legion, he rode to the banks of the Rubicon. Ancient writers describe him pausing one final time before ordering his men across the river. According to both Suetonius and Plutarch, Caesar then uttered the words that would echo through history:
Alea iacta est. [The die is cast.]
Caesar’s famous words before crossing the Rubicon
With that, the legion crossed the river. In military terms, it was a relatively small movement of troops. Politically, it was revolutionary. Caesar had deliberately broken one of the Republic’s oldest constitutional laws and openly defied the authority of the Senate. News of the crossing spread rapidly through Italy, causing panic in Rome. Pompey and many senators, believing they lacked the forces to stop Caesar’s battle-hardened veterans, abandoned the capital and fled south before eventually escaping across the Adriatic Sea to Greece.
An illustration of Caesar crossing the Rubicon
The Roman Civil War had begun. Within a generation, it would destroy the Roman Republic that had governed the Mediterranean for nearly five centuries and pave the way for the rise of the Roman Empire under Caesar’s adopted heir, Augustus. Even today, the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” survives as an expression meaning to pass a point of no return – a decision so momentous that its consequences cannot be undone.
The year was 52 BC. For six years, Rome’s armies had fought a relentless campaign to conquer Gaul, defeating one tribe after another and extending Roman power ever deeper into Western Europe. Now, that long struggle was approaching its decisive moment at the fortified hill town of Alesia, in what is now the Burgundy region of France. The settlement, capital of the small Mandubii tribe, was one of the largest strongholds in Gaul, with an estimated population of between 80,000 and 170,000 people once the surrounding refugees arrived during the siege. The previous year’s campaigns had been among the bloodiest of the Gallic Wars, convincing many tribal leaders that Roman conquest threatened not only their political independence but their entire way of life. Although Julius Caesar had originally governed only the Roman provinces of Cisalpine Gaul, Illyricum and Gallia Narbonensis, his victories increasingly made it clear that he intended to bring the rest of Gaul under permanent Roman control. Roman armies occupied Gallic territory, demanded tribute, took hostages and intervened in local politics. Many Gauls also feared what Roman domination could mean for their traditional customs and religious institutions. Amid growing resentment, a young Arvernian noble named Vercingetorix succeeded where countless leaders before him had failed. Setting aside centuries of rivalry, he forged an unprecedented alliance between dozens of Gallic tribes, united by a single goal: to drive the Romans out of Gaul once and for all.
A statue of Vercingetorix near the village of Alise-Sainte-Reine, France
On Caesar, he had been a great political and military force in Rome for a long time. After serving as consul in 59 BC, Caesar secured an unprecedented five-year command as governor of the prior mentioned territories through his alliance with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, more commonly known as Pompey, and the immensely wealthy Marcus Licinius Crassus through an informal political partnership later known as the First Triumvirate. The command granted him four veteran legions and, more importantly, an opportunity. Burdened by enormous debts and surrounded by political rivals in Rome, Caesar needed military victories to enrich himself, reward his soldiers and build the prestige necessary to dominate Roman politics. Over the next six years, his campaigns transformed him into one of the Republic’s greatest generals, but they also made him powerful enough to alarm many members of the Senate.
By 52 BC, everything Caesar had built was at stake. A united Gallic revolt under Vercingetorix threatened to undo six years of campaigning and destroy the reputation that his political future depended upon. Victory at Alesia would not simply secure the conquest of Gaul; it would provide Caesar with the wealth, glory and military prestige that could ultimately bring a rise to absolute power. Defeat, by contrast, would likely have ended both his military career and his political ambitions.
A statue of Julius Caesar in the Louvre in Paris, France
Vercingetorix knew that he could not defeat the Roman legions in a conventional pitched battle. Caesar’s army was among the most disciplined and experienced fighting forces in the ancient world. Instead, the Gallic leader adopted a ‘scorched-earth’ strategy, ordering tribes to burn their own villages, crops and food stores before the Romans could seize them. His hope was simple: if Caesar’s army could not feed itself, it would be forced to retreat. The strategy was proving effective until the wealthy city of Avaricum pleaded to be spared. Reluctantly, Vercingetorix agreed. Caesar immediately besieged the city and, after capturing it, his starving troops massacred much of its population and replenished their supplies. Although Vercingetorix soon recovered with a significant victory over Caesar at Gergovia, proving that the Romans were not invincible, he refused to risk another major engagement in open ground. Instead, after a series of cavalry clashes, he withdrew with roughly 80,000 warriors into the heavily fortified hill settlement of Alesia, believing its formidable natural defences would force Caesar to abandon the pursuit. Instead, Caesar made one of the boldest decisions of his military career: rather than retreat, he resolved to besiege the city itself.
This decision to besiege the city did not initially concern Vercingetorix, as he believed that he could effectively perform a pincer manoeuvre on the Roman army. What he did not expect, however, was the intensity of the siege. The Romans wasted no time. Within hours, thousands of legionaries had begun digging trenches and marking out what would become one of the greatest siege systems ever constructed. Over the next few weeks, Caesar encircled the entire town with a ten mile long wall which reached 12ft high. This wall, called the Circumvallation, was not without its defences. If the Gauls wanted to assault the wall, they would first have to cross a 20ft wide trench, before they would encounter two more trenches, both 15ft deep and one filled with water from the nearby rivers. This defence was littered with countless hidden defensive traps. If they did reach the wall, sharpened stakes projected from the earth would tear apart anyone attempting to climb the defences.
A recreation of the rampart of the Circumvallation
The construction did not come without opposition. Caesar wrote that, during the construction of the siege fortifications, a cavalry battle took place in the three mile stretch of land between the wall and the town. The fight initially leaned in favour of the Gauls, before Caesar sent forth his infamous Germanic cavalry, who launched a devastating charge with such vigour and terror that it sent them running back to their encampment. As the men attempted to claw their way back through the city gates, some even attempting to climb the wall, Vercingetorix, fearing the Romans would exploit the confusion and force their way into the town, opted to close the gates, leaving countless terrified soldiers to be massacred at the gates of Alesia.
As construction of the fortifications continued, Vercingetorix concocted a plan to relieve his men. Under the cover of night, he ordered his cavalry to sneak past Roman lines and gather as many reinforcements as they could from across the Gallic lands to crush the Roman siege and bring a swift end to the war. According to Caesar, the relief force eventually numbered over 240,000 warriors, although modern historians generally believe the true figure was considerably smaller. Caesar, who learnt of this from captives and Gallic deserters, took a bold measure. In an effort to repel any would be attackers, he built a second wall around the first, effectively trapping his own army between two vast defensive lines. The second wall, called the Contravallation, had many of the same fortifications the Circumvallation did but instead faced outwards from Alesia, pushing the Roman army in between the two walls.
A map of the fortificiations surrounding Alesia
By now, the conditions within the city had grown grim. Their food supplies had begun dwindling and Vercingetorix not only had to feed his own army but the citizens of Alesia as well as countless refugees who had fled there following the Roman conquest. He offered a solution that would allow the citizens safe passage and food: allowing all people who couldn’t fight into the ‘no-mans land,’ hoping they would be allowed to pass through the Roman defences or feed them himself. Whilst partially an act of mercy, it was also a logistical decision to allow him to prioritise supplies for his own men. However, upon their reaching of the wall, Caesar denied the group, largely consisting of women and children, passage through his line. Vercingetorix also refused to readmit them, knowing that every extra mouth consumed precious food that his warriors needed if they were to survive until the relief army arrived. For days, the abandoned civilians wandered the narrow strip of land between the Roman and Gallic defences, begging both sides for food. Neither relented. Many eventually died where they stood, victims of a siege in which starvation had become another weapon of war.
Hoping to overwhelm the Romans, the Gallic relief army launched a major assault under the cover of darkness while Vercingetorix ordered simultaneous attacks from inside Alesia. Making use of ladders and wicker hurdles to bypass trenches and hooks to destroy the spikes, some of the Gallic army managed to begin to scale the wall, while arrows and other projectiles kept the Romans at bay. However, they were met by disciplined Roman legionaries, who fought from behind the ramparts and cut them down as they attempted to crest the peak of the wall. The onslaught lasted until dawn, with the morning light of day revealing the scale of the carnage. Both side suffered losses but the Romans held the line. The wall was still standing.
An illustration of Gallic warriors and Roman Legionnaires fighting at Alesia
Meanwhile, Commius, one of the commanders of the reinforcements, recognised that one section of Caesar’s outer line, built across steep and uneven ground, was less formidable than the rest. On high ground now commonly identified as Mount Réa, some of his scouts had identified a weak point where the Romans had failed to construct adequate fortifications due to hilly terrain. Commius deduced that if Caesar could be distracted by a more direct assault that a force, led led by Vercassivellaunus – a cousin of Vercingetorix according to Caesar, could breach the Roman line and liberate the town.
The attack went ahead at daybreak, with both the inner and outer wall under assault simultaneously. Caesar, notified of the assault near Mount Réa, took decisive action, going into the field of battle himself to confront the assault, Donning his distinctive scarlet commander’s cloak so his men could see him, Caesar rode to the threatened sector and ordered his cavalry to break from the fortifications and flank the force at Mount Réa from behind. Their final chance at repelling Rome dwindled in a second as the cavalry cut down the men behind them. The Gauls panicked, broke rank and were massacred in what had now quickly turned into a slaughter. The scene of them being trampled and cut to death caused the rest of the army to flee. They lost the battle. The next day, Vercingetorix surrendered to Caesar. Later Roman writers claimed he rode from the city in full armour before laying his weapons at Caesar’s feet, although whether the surrender unfolded exactly this way remains uncertain. The Gallic wars were over and Caesar was triumphant.
A painting of Vercingetorix surrendering to Caesar
Vercingetorix remained a prisoner for six years before being displayed in Caesar’s triumph through Rome in 46 BC. Once the celebrations ended, he was executed by strangulation in the Tullianum prison. His defeat marked the effective end of organised Gallic resistance and brought almost all of Gaul under Roman rule. For Caesar, Alesia was the crowning achievement of the Gallic Wars. The conquest made him unimaginably wealthy, won him the unwavering loyalty of his veteran legions and transformed him into the Republic’s most celebrated general. Yet his growing prestige alarmed many senators back in Rome. In many ways, the siege of Alesia did not simply decide the fate of Gaul; it set Rome itself on the path from republic to empire.
