Military career of Julius Caesar

Historians place the generalship of Julius Caesar (100 BC-44 BC) on the level of such geniuses as Alexander the Great, Hannibal and Napoleon Bonaparte. Although he suffered occasional tactical defeats such as Gergovia during the Gallic War and Dyrrhachium during the Civil War, Caesar's tactical brilliance was highlighted by such feats as his circumvallation of Alesia during the Gallic War, the rout of Pompey's numerically superior forces at Pharsalus during the Civil War, and the complete destruction of Pharnaces's army at Zela.

Caesar's successful campaigning in any terrain and under all weather conditions owes much to the strict but fair discipline of his legionaries, whose admiration and devotion to him was proverbial. Caesar's infantry and cavalry was first rate, and he made heavy use of formidable Roman artillery; additional factors which made him so effective in the field were his army's superlative engineering abilities and the legendary speed with which he maneuvered (Caesar's army sometimes marched as many as 40 miles a day).

Caesar levied several Roman legions and most of them remained strategically important until the 5th century. They were: Legio I Germanica, III Gallica, IV Macedonica, V Alaudae, VI Ferrata, VII Claudia, VIII Augusta, IX Hispana, X Equestris (his favorite legion), XI Claudia, XII Fulminata and XIII Gemina (which accompanied him across the Rubicon).

Roman battles fought by Caesar:

• 58 BC:
  • June – Battle of the Arar (Saone): Caesar engages and defeats the Helvetii
  • July – Battle of Bibracte: Caesar engages and defeats the Helvetii
• 57 BC:
  • Battle of the Axona (Aisne): Caesar engages and defeats the Belgae
  • Battle of the Sabis (Sambre): Caesar defeats the Nervii.
• 52 BC:
  • Avaricum: Caesar takes this city by siege and then allows his soldiers to massacre its 40,000 inhabitants
  • Battle of Alesia: Caesar lays siege to Alesia and is simultaneously lain under siege by the Gallic leader Vercingetorix; Caesar defeats Vercingetorix
• 51 BC
  • Battle of Uxellodunum: Caesar lays siege to Uxellodunum, the last Gallic outpost in open revolt. Caesar defeats these last rebels, and then proceeds to cut off the hands of all those who survived the siege, and scatter them throughout Gaul.
• 48 BC:
  • July 10 – Battle of Dyrrhachium: Caesar lays siege to Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) at Dyrrhachium and withdraws before his forces can be decisively beaten
  • August 9 – Battle of Pharsalus: Caesar engages and defeats Pompey
• 47 BC:
  • February – Battle of the Nile: Caesar engages and defeats King Ptolemy XIII of Alexandria and Egypt
  • May – Battle of Zela: Caesar engages and defeats King Pharnaces II of Pontus ("I came, I saw, I conquered")
• 46 BC, February – Battle of Thapsus: defeats the Pompeian army of Metellus Scipio in North Africa.
• 45 BC March 17 – Battle of Munda: defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Gnaeus Pompeius