Caesar

by Theodore Ayrault Dodge

Book Overview

The Gallic campaigns firmly established Julius Caesar (100 B.C.--44 B.C.) as one of the greatest commanders of all time. After success there, Caesar turned his loyal army back toward Rome. Crossing the Rubicon, he initiated a civil war, marched triumphally to the capital, besieged Pompey at Brundisium, and pacified Spain. With a tiny army he routed Pompey's far larger forces at Pharsalus, pursued him to his death in Egypt, and established Cleopatra...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306807874
• ISBN13: 9780306807879
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 818 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

True title should be: CAESAR'S ART OF WAR

No politics, no love story featuring that useless midget Cleopatra. This book is a hard-core military book. Features very detailed accounts of the Campaigns of Julius Caesar. Buy this book if you want to learn about how Caesar fought wars. Detailed information about on how he designed defensive perimeters, how he made camp, how long trenches were, etc.. Also includes how he made siege on enemy fortifications and laid waste to way too many peoples. You will learn the many goods, a few bads, and the one ugly (exterminated a whole race in Gaul) on Caesar.

How the West Was Won

You will enjoy Dodge's grand study of Caesar's military career once you accept its central premise: this is "purely" a military study. Dodge NEVER strays into either a description of the political scene, and is loathe to render moral judgments. This may be occasionally frustrating: the Egyptian sojourn, for instance, is merely a lesson on why a general should not separate himself from his main legion. Cleopatra is little more than a marginal note. The clashes with Pompey, and the fateful decision to cross the Rubicon, are purely a matter of assessing the strengths and dispositions of the competing legions. Once or twice, Dodge will stray from his pedantic terms of reference, for example, he joins many others in condemning Caesar's cruel and dastardly massacre of around 430,000 German tribesfolk during the Conquest of Gaul. But Dodge - like any good West Point man of the c.19th - is far more interested in the engineering feats, of fording and bridging rivers, of marching armies vast distances in a day, of fortifying camps, of digging trenches and of building elaborate siegeworks. In this respect, Dodge's study is methodical and brilliant.

A book that has stood the test of time

Some time ago I read Dodge's book on Hannibal the Carthaginian General. It was an amazing book. For that reason I purchased and read his book on Caesar. This book was originally published in 1892 its author died in 1909. Although I have only a paper back edition the book is full of maps and line drawings. These illustrate many things. There are drawings of roman military formations, illustrations of how ships worked detailed drawings of siege lines, towers and the like. The work that has gone into the book is simply staggering. Dodge has not only compiled a history of Caesar's campaigns but he has written a treatise on war and how it was conducted towards the end of the Roman Republic. The narrative is fresh easy to follow and has not dated like so many other books from that long ago. Caesar is one of the more significant figures in history. He is known as an author who's works used to be the basis of teaching Latin to schoolchildren. His name initially became the title for the first Roman Emperors. His name became the title of the Russian autocrats "The Tsar" and somewhat later the title of the German Emperor "the Kaiser". His historical legacy was the end of the Roman Republic and the creation of the Imperial system. His career is remarkable. At the time he first assumed military command Gaius Pompeius (Pompey) was Rome's foremost citizen. Pompey had cleared the Mediterranean of pirates and had waged a successful campaign in the middle east. Caesar was given a military command of what is now northern Italy and Croatia. He used his army to expand that command conquering Gaul effectively an area that is equivalent to modern Switzerland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.Dodge describes every battle that Caesar fought in detail. The Gauls had been Rome's enemies for time immemorial. They were brave and talented fighters and their leader Vercingetorix was a first class soldier and a man who was charismatic and able to raise all of Gaul behind him. They key to Caesar's generalship was meticulous planning and the use of field fortifications. Again and again in his life Caesar was able to beat larger armies though careful planning and well thought our tactics. Prior to Caesar's victories the central authority of Rome had collapsed. The power was divided amongst a small number of eminent citizens who controlled armies in the provinces. Italy was neutral ground. By emerging victorious from Gaul Caesar had forged an instrument that would enable him to become the sole master of the entire Roman world. His armies who had by this time developed a fierce loyalty to him. Caesar decided to move on Rome and to provoke a civil war with Pompey. Pompey was not only a competent general but had armies in Spain and Greece that were loyal to him. Caesars actions must have seemed at the time foolhardy. However by meticulous planning Caesar was able to emerge victorious. He again used extensive field fortifications to even up the odds against Pompey's troops. After

This is a worthy addition to your library!

I use this as a reference work, but it is also written on a level where I can offer it to people with only a basic interest in Caesar, Rome or Ancient Warfare. A must for ancient's wargamers, historians and students of military history. There have been conflicting opinions, but this work is well worth the reading. If you came here looking for a good work on Caesar's military, or the Roman Army of the 50's BC, buy this one!

Exhaustive Detail On Caesar & Roman Arms.

In his typical simple & clear substantial style of prose Dodge presents the history of Roman arms & details Caesar's campaigns in impressive & compelling manner.He begins by the changes that took place during the time of Marius from the 2nd Punic War,highlighting then to the life of Caesar & effortlessly narrates his campaigns.His analysis of Ceasar' personality & military skill & with his comparison of the man & his other fellow greats in military antiquity Hannibal & Alexander make some very moving reading,none the least to say truly inspiring.Dodge is one of the greatest military historians ever, & in the case of this book he has travelled to all the battle sites Caesar was involved in,giving more soundness & validity to his account.All of his books are definitely recommended.