Gergovie Oppidum Caesars defeat 52BC

Gergovie Gallic Oppidum

 On our holidays this year we had the opportunity to visit the site of Gergovie the 46 hectare Gallic Oppidum and capital of the Averni tribe. It is a very impressive site, set in the mountains of the Masif Central overlooking the Puys valley. The museum is excellent and has quite a good collection of artifacts and models of the city based on some archeological evidence of the battle. The site is huge and uneven so bring good walking shoes. Thought to be the first defeat of Caesar by the Gauls, in Caesars accounts 46 centurions died in the battle on the assault of the hilltop fortification of Gergovie. 

Map of the site of Gergovie with the gates maked with arrows, the southern gate has the square on the left for the entry, a lane still exists today so you can walk it back to the base of the mountain, a warning it is quite treacherous....

Caesars main fortified encampment occupied this hill controlling the entry to Gergovie, it was also the supply route for the city controlling the water supply, to the left was the river. Originally occupied by Gauls it was seized in a night raid by two legions.  after seizing the hill a Roman fortification was built. To the right they built a wall some 6klm long with forts along it and 2 legions  were stationed at both ends

This is the centre of the view, the Roman wall was built across the valley to the centre to join with the gallic settlement in the middle which became the main Roman encampment then to the right hill on which a third fortification was built. This is also the spur that the Roman and allied troops advanced up (photo from the lower Gallic stone and wooden wall) as you can see it is quite steep.

Looking from the south gate to the right you will see one of the hills captured then fortified by the Romans during the siege at the extreme end of the flank, this is the location that the 10th Legion advanced from to halt the fleeing Roman legions and the departure of the cavalry feint to the left of the Roman lines up the Rizolles ridgeline.

The Roman assault on the fortifications was carried out by four legions and all of the allied Gallic auxillia including the mounted allied Haedui (Aedui) cavalry (who had dubious loyalty after recently rebelling and were on the Roman right flank) meanwhile on the Roman left, a feint was made with more Gallic cavalry, mule riders dressed as roman cavalry and a legion of infantry toward the Rizolles ridge and the northern gate of the Oppidum. The Roman feint was meant to draw off Vercingetorix's cavalry who were on the Rizolles ridgeline defending the only supply route left open to the city. 

When the romans assaulted the fortifications they broke through the outer wall of stone and wood with ease, pillaging the gallic campsites and forcing the defenders back to the main walls. During the fighting Lucius Fabius centurion of the legio VIII is said to of mounted the walls near the South gate before being slain (by a women French legend has it). Marcus Petronius Centurion of the VIII sacrificed himself in front of the South gate to save other members of his maniple when they were surrounded. Gallic reserves arrived in time to save the gate from being taken.

 It is then thought that Vercingetorix lead the gallic cavalry from the western gate against the roman left flank of Caesars assaulting legions. Vercingetorix riding between the outer and inner wall pinning the romans against the walls. At this point the Roman Allied cavalry of the Haedui (Aedui) arrived on the Roman right flank, the Roman legionaries mistaking them as more Gallic cavalry broke and fled back down the mountain

Caesar he may of lost the entire four legions had not the reserve centuries of XIII lead by Titus Sextius the commander of the siege line walls in the centre and the 10th Legion lead by Caesar arriving on the left flank stopped the pursuing Gallic cavalry as the romans routed back down the mountain towards their own lines. 

In Caesars accounts he only lost 700 men and 46 centurions (1/3 of the centurions in the army), but modern scholars think including allies as many as 6000 perished.  After the defeat he withdrew his army and Vercingetorix followed him north trying to prevent his link up with Labineius legions fighting south east of Paris against the Parisi, Carnutes and the Aulerci tribe confederation. 

Caesar's army consisted of 6 legions during the siege 

1. Legio V (recruited in Cisalpine Gaul, possibly commanded by Quintus Tullius Cicero) 
2. Legio VI (recruited in Cisalpine Gaul, possibly commanded by Mark Anthony)
3. Legio VIII (highest casualties at the battle)
4. Legio X commanded by Caesar personally
5. Legio XI
6. Legio XIII (commanded Quaestor Lucius Roscius)
7. Gallic Auxiliary Infantry, Slingers and javelins
8. Cretan archers
9. Numidian cavalry ?
10. Balearic slingers
11. Germanic Auxillia and cavalry
12. Gallic cavalry (Aedui) plus other allied tribal cavalry

Averni

Scholars think the tribe may of had as many as ten thousand people within the walls and several thousand cavalry and infantry outside the walls (4000 is quoted)

Gergovie Oppidum Walls

The Gallic walls were a mix of stone and timber with an out and inner set of fortifications plus the use of the incline and cliffs made it almost impregnable on two sides, it was not some simple wooden and earthen fort we often think of when we think of gallic fortifications.

The walls of Gergovie with the outer and the inner walls

Cross section of a inner gallic wall

artist impression of the walls, interesting they think that the timber palisade leans inward

typical gallic construction of a Gallic Oppidum walls

Artist Impression of the South Gate that was assaulted by the Romans

Archaeological dig of the south gate 

Artist impression of the south gate, a typical pincer gate built by the Gauls, we have one also at Moulay capital of the Aulerci Diablintes 

a model based on the archeological dig of the site in the 1980s

profile of the outer wall

Onager balls, these are the earliest example of caesarean period ones.

Torsion Balista found in the stone walls

Art and weapons

I also was astonished at the beauty of some of the vases found on the site with typic Gaulois type artwork, they certainly were gifted artisans in metal, put the pottery was something new to me.

Astonishing piece of work this is 

Deer representations

great inspiration for painting shields 

common design in simple household pottery, I have seen these in Paris and Rennes

buckles and cloak pins

Helmet band in bronze

shield boss

Gaulois drinking bowl

Buildings and structures

I also was shocked by the round theatre found on a nearby oppidum, archaeologists date it to before Roman occupation, they are not sure if it was used as a parliament or as entertainment or both, perhaps not the Barbarians that the Roman propaganda machine places in front of us!

The Averni Theatre, Parliament entertainment or both?

Layout of the village

Market square

village houses

Farms

I will be using these building images for my Gallic fortress build 

I think it was well worth the trip, there is so much more to be discovered in the region and we hope to return soon and visit the Averni capital south of Clermont Ferand. 

cheers

Matt

Gallic Auxillia

I have really concentrating on the completion of projects in my project drawers that sit in my work area, these chaps have been awaiting completion before I move to France and were the beginnings of my gallic project before Victrix came along with the huge bags of plastics. Originally I planned to build my Gaulois tribes from metal ranges from various manufacturers to get the variants I wanted in the tribe. These are 32 of the 80 odd figures I commenced with which are a mix of Old Glory, Crusader, Warlord metals, and Gripping beast. They basically have had the base coats completed for three years, but were never finished as the shiney new Victrix figures came along to change my focus. Last week when I was restocking my 6 project drawers that sit on my workspace these guys came from the back to the front of the project table and were basically  completed in three days, the hand painted shields were another two days and basing a further one. I have added some victrix bits including plumes, weapons and a carnax.

These three units will join my other three completed Gallic Auxillia bases (which, possibly also need a review now I have completed these) as Gallic Allies for my Republican, Caesarian and Imperial Roman armies. I tried to paint them a little differently so they looked more southern or eastern Gallic in appearance with horizontal striped germanic type tunics. I really enjoyed completing these and will try to resist buying some ore as this takes my Gallic totals to over three hundred figures........

Cheers

Matt 

Breton compaignie d'ordonannce archers Guerre Folle, the Mad War 1

The Breton Guerre Folle -Mad War

My next medieval project will be the Breton Guerre Folle, or the mad war, it will be part of our "walk the Battlefield in the morning, Wargame in the afternoon" wargame holidays here in France. 

the battlefield tour is here Breton War

The "Mad War" was the struggle of major feudal lords against centralised royal power. As part of these power struggles, in 1484-1485, Louis II of Orléans tried to seize the crown supported by Francis II of Brittany and a certain number of border lords of Anjou-Maine and Normandy, attempting to depose the regent, Anne de Beaujeu. On 2 November 1485, the Peace of Bourges suspended the hostilities for eight months.

The second phase commenced June 1486 to November 1488, is sometimes called the War of Bretagne (Brittany), this is the period I will concentrate on as all of the major clashes and sieges occur within 1 hour of L'Hotel de Hercé-French Wargame Holidays HQ. 

The first army I will build will be the Bretons, along with the Gascon, Béarnaise, Aragonese, English, Castilian and German Mercenaries, followed closely by the French, Swiss mercenaries along with Germans and Italians. The armies will focus on the field battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488. I predominantly will be using the Perry range of WOTR plus the mercenaries pack along with some other bits and pieces from other manufacturers

My first unit off the table is done is Breton archer Skirmishers based for Impetus, the figures are Perry Plastics. 

cheers

Matt

More Gaulois Aulerci Diablintes XIII

Gaulois XIII

Adding more Gaulois to my local tribe the Aulerci Diablintes, with another 40 close to completion in the last week or so I am close to painting the entire 220 miniatures I purchased for the project, I have also refurbished 30 odd old glory, and crusader Gauls which I will use as allies of my Caesarian Romans.

While on Holidays we visited the Oppidum at Gergovie, so i will do a short post on it next, it has a great museum (like most french museums) with some fabulous short explanations of the siege and battle.

cheers

Matt

28mm HUGE Castle -Chateaux build Part 1

Huge 28mm Castle/Chateau Epic Build

28mm Castle Project Part 1

Last week at French Wargames Holidays Phillipe and I joined forces for an afternoon of working on the new 28mm Chateau terrain. This terrain board is based on Chateau Sant Suzanne which is a famous medieval hill top defensive Chateau and town. This very early circa 1060AD stone castle dominates the valley and the pass north from Maine into Normandy. Most famous for its siege by William the Conqueror in the 1059s and the 1080s which became the only Chateau in Maine he could not capture.

Saint Suzanne is only 30 min from French Wargames Holidays and is one of our top destinations for visitors, being listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France. It really captures the reason why such a castle controls the landscape as far as the eye can see....


I have spent a lot of time planning this piece as I want it to be able to swap out the fortifications over a lot of periods, I have already started filming and will post it on Youtube in stages so you can follow what I am thinking and planning. I really want it to be very versatile options will include:-A Gaulois oppidum, of either the Aulerci Diablintes or Cenomani (Le Mans) the first siege in the 1st century BC (of which only the roman siege camp remains outside the walls and burnt remains on the dig)A Carolingian Fort and watch tower, based on remains that was found during the archaeological digs from the 6th century-9th century.10th century stone Donjon and timber Motte and Bailey walls, the chateau was sieged William the conqueror during his wars with his son and the duke of Anjou. And again during the Plantagenet wars of Stephen and Matilda and then again during Richard the Lion hearts rebellion against his father Henry and finally by Arthur of Brittanys Claim to the crown over John Lackland.15th century Hundred Years War being sieged three times in the period.Wars of Religion sieged by the duke of Mayenne against the Protestants.possibly also used as a big mountain for 20mm WW2 Swiss-Normandy hills (Domfront to Flers ridge) or large mountain 28mm games for French Revolution or Napoleonic Games.
For scale the terrain piece will be 1.50m long x 1.2m wide, and about 50cm high. The board will be broke into the upper Chateau and the lower town, with permanent pieces that lift on and off for ease of storage, plus with additional pieces could have a mountain grass land on top or even perhaps ruins for landscape games.
Some pictures for inspiration

The planning of the layout begins.....




wish me luck


cheers
Matt

Sword Beach reloaded!

Sword Beach Reloaded Rapid Fire

Due to Covid we thought we would have no Holidays this year, a fellow wargamer and saviour came along, Paul and Stella offering us to holiday with then down south in the Massif Central on the edge of the Alps. Paul and I have similar collections in the same scales 28mm Napoleonic, Ancients and 20mm WW2 and use the same rules, I guess we have chatted on forums over the last 15 years or so, but had never met face to face. 

I think Paul’s collection of 28mm Napoleonic collection eclipses mine by quite a lot and you will find him regularly posting on General de Brigade and Rapid Fire forums. We decided to conduct a Sword Beach game using the Rapid Fire rules from the D-Day scenario book. Paul has a huge collection of ships, including large destroyers down to the landing craft and support ships, and a lovely table set up for D-day landing scenarios plus the specific funnies for the landing along with the Sherman DD tanks, and the normal French villages etc. 

I elected to be the attacking Brits and Paul the defending Germans. The scenario calls for the capture and destruction of three of the bunkers and hard points along the beach plus one inland, a very tough ask. 

the start line!

The initial landings go bad with a lot of the leading tanks hitting land mines and either destroyed or heavy damaged. 

some of the landing craft are also hit with artillery on the way in

another heavy damage.......the story of the game for me lots of 1s and 2s rolled

half of the DD tanks made it ashore only to be brewed up by the AT guns

A second vehicle pushes pas the first only to hit another mine!

I managed to get all of my landing craft ashore unscathed but the unloading of the funnies was problematic with each one hitting a mine and being disabled or hit while still on the boats in the counter battery artillery fire. In the end only one made it up the beach. The Shermans wading ashore three were swamped and three made it ashore, all either getting taken out by mines or AT fire not a good start!  

Next turn Paul makes sure of the funnies destroying the heavy damaged ones with AT fire......it was one of those days.........

the infantry make it ashore relatively unscathed

On the left I land two companies to take on the left bunker complex

On the right another two companies, these guys do get cut up a little in the crossfire

 The infantry stormed ashore and surprising took very light casualties, however the remaining tanks were all knocked out except one which i leave covered by the other two tanks and await support

more infantry reinforce the right, plus some support elements arrive including the naval landing party arty observors 

 Again I lose the supporting tanks to mines!

but the infantry clear the trenches and with grenades destroy most of the hard positions by the 5th turn on the right

murder in the centre, most of two companies are cut down by MG and artillery fire, I managed to get one tank forward with a bridge alsmost making the wall.....

landing party is ashore finally radio contact and shelling begins....although very few targets

Finally on the left the commandos arrive in force to take on their objective

the commandoes make short work of the position, fabulous grenade work again clears the way

meanwhile a patrol boat moves in for close fire support

Finally we clear the right, at this stage we call it a draw, I am in control of the beach, but failed to have enough turns to capture the inland bunkers, still a good game, we nearly restarted in the fifth turn as I had lost all of my armour by then except one vehicle........a great time never the less.

I have never really been a fan of actual landing games, but really enjoyed this, it really was a spectacle. Paul is planning a visit to mine place in the spring to play either on my Pegasus Bridge table or Arnhem...or something else we shall see!

cheers

Matt