Caswallon
British patriot chieftain against Caesar
After his first abortive expedition to Britain in 56BC, Gaius Julius Caesar retreated back to his base in Gaul. It wasn’t long however before he returned and when he did he was to face the most powerful chieftain in the land, Caswallon or Cassivellaunus as the Romans called him, chief of the Cateuchlani tribe and leader of a tribal coalition against the Romans.
On the 21st of July 55BC, after a delay caused by strong winds, Caesar set sail from Boulogne at the head of the biggest fleet ever to invade Britain. (Bigger than any Viking Fleet, bigger than that belonging to William the Conqueror and bigger by far than the Spanish Armada). 800 ships containing five legions; thirty thousand infantry, two thousand horse and if Polyaenus is to be believed, a fighting Elephant. The Fleet landed unopposed the following day on the beach at Deal. (According to Caesar’s captives, the British had fled on seeing the size of the invading force. The question is, if he was unopposed, from whom did Caesar capture his captives?)
Whoever these captives were, they agreed to lead Caesar to the enemy positions and leaving only ten cohorts and three hundred cavalry to guard the ships he set off on a twelve mile, overnight, forced march. At daybreak they sighted the enemy on a ridge of high ground at the other side of a largish stream, (Napoleon believed the hill to have been Barham Down and the stream to be the Lesser Stour).
To secure passage of the stream, the Roman cavalry were ordered across, but they were driven back by a downhill charge of British cavalry and chariots and retreated to the banks of the stream where they rejoined the twenty four thousand legionaries and seventeen hundred horsemen of Caesar’s force. The British outnumbered had no choice but to give way, some scattered in confusion but the larger number retreated in good order to a stronghold fortified by felled trees, in the nearby woods.
The Defenders fought long and hard, while other tribesmen harassed the Romans from another nearby forest. In the end after first throwing up trenches, the Seventh legion formed a tortoise with their shields and succeeded in taking the fortification. The British were forced into flight across the downs leaving them open to attack from behind. Despite the fatigue of his men, who’d had no rest for two days and nights, Caesar was determined press home the defeat and sent the least exhausted of his men in pursuit.
The columns had barely left however when they were recalled back again. Caesar had received a message from the fleet at Deal, there had been terrible gales and the fleet was lying damaged or destroyed on the beach. On receiving the news Caesar put the campaign on temporary hold and leaving his army encamped on the battlefield, hurried back to sort out the mess. It was ten days before he returned to the camp at Barham Down and by then he found Caswallon leading an even bigger army that before.
The British attacked driving back the outposts that were protecting the legionnaires entrenching the camp and when reinforcements were sent in the British created havoc by driving their chariots straight through the lines, then turning and driving back through them again. This tactic went on for quite a while and many Romans were killed including the Tribune or Divisional General of one of the legions, Quintus Labienus Durus.
The British were master of the chariot and the tactic of small groups racing in, causing as much damage as possible then retiring out of range, did not sit well with the Roman idea of disciplined battle. For Caesar to succeed he needed to confront the enemy, face on in pitched battle and he came up with a devious plan to suck the British into a confrontation. For his part Caswallon wanted the opposite, his aim was to draw the Romans out of their camp, so that his groups of chariots could attack them, unfortunately this was to be his undoing.
The next morning Caswollon’s chariot squadrons buzzed about just out of range to draw the enemy out and their efforts were rewarded. Caesar sent three legions of infantry and all of his cavalry in pursuit, but after a while, to the delight of Caswallon, the Romans broke ranks and began to forage. It was and opportunity too good to miss, the British charged in from every side and the trap was sprung. The Romans, as prearranged, reformed and counter charged, the British broke and fled with the main body being pursued closely by the Romans. The slaughter by the pursuers was so great that Caswallon’s power over the other tribes was broken; they deserted in droves and returned to their tribal homelands.
The desertion of the other tribes gave Caswallon no choice but continue the fight with his tribesmen alone. So with Caesar hot on his trail he retreated to London and destroyed all means of crossing the Thames. Unable to cross the Romans marched upriver towards a ford an informer had told them about – It is thought that a place, called in ancient times Coway Stakes, near to Walton-On-Thames, could have been the ford. While Caesar marched along the south bank the main portion of Caswallon’s army kept pace with them on the north bank. Caswallon however had already sent some of his men forward and they had seeded the ford with sharpened stakes both above and below the surface.
Caswallon reached the ford first and with the stake seeded river to his fore must have felt his position impregnable. Despite being aware of this, Caesar still need to cross if he was to come to grips with the enemy, so he ordered cavalry into the water followed by infantry. Many were killed and maimed on the hidden stakes or by the spears and other missiles thrown from the bank. But eventually by dint of shear numbers the Romans reached the far bank, only to find that Caswallon and his men had melted away.
Having burnt his fingers in direct confrontation with the Romans, Caswallon fell back on the tactics that best suited a smaller force when faced with a larger enemy. Guerrilla warfare. Using a flying column of charioteers in front of the Roman line of advance he drove the flocks and herds out of sight into the woods and then fell on any foragers who dared to track the flocks. This tactic cost Caesar the loss of so many men that he had to call a halt to foraging and had to rely on his lines of supply, which themselves were subject to attack by Caswallon’s men.
Caesar, now deep in Caswallon’s own territory has another source of provisions, Mandubratius, who had been elected as leader of the Trinobntians, had submitted to Roman rule and was now sending him supplies as well as hostages. This submission persuaded others and several of the clans followed suit. One of the smaller clans, the Cassii not only submitted but guided the Romans to Caswallon’s fortress in the forest near to St Albans. The Cateuchlani livestock along with the women and children were herded into the safety of the fortress, while the charioteers and part of the army tried by various means to prevent the Roman advance through the forest. Trees were felled creating obstacles in their path and as they tried to clear, or go around them, chariots attacked from all sides. But while these tactics did slow the Romans there were too many of the legionaries and too few of the Cateuchlani to prevent the eventual attack on the fortress.
Besieged on two sides the defenders fought valiantly, but when it became clear that the superior numbers of the Romans would be able to take the fortress, the Cateuchlani did as they normally did and fled over the other two walls, hoping to eventually regroup and fight another day. Unfortunately the Romans were prepared for this eventuality and Caesar’s cavalry swept around killing and capturing many as they fled. Caesar had captured the fortress, taken many prisoners and solved his supply problems by capturing the tribe’s livestock, but he had failed to capture Caswallon himself.
Caswallon having escaped used what was left of his influence to make one final stab at victory. He persuaded, the leaders of the Kentish clans, Cingetorix, Canilius, Taximagulus and Segonax to attack the Roman fort protecting the fleet at Richborough (Deal). The attack failed, one of the British leaders was captured and Caswallon’s open rebellion was over. He was a beaten man, but even so he wasn’t prepared just to surrender unconditionally. He negotiated terms with Caesar through the offices of the Aterebatian chieftain Commius and pledge as Lord Paramount of the British clans, that Britain would pay an annual tribute to the Roman treasury.
Caesar heaved a sigh of relief, autumn was coming and if Caswallon had continued with the guerrilla warfare, the rest of the summer would have been eaten up by the campaign and with ominous signs appearing in Gaul, he really need to get back to his base on the continent, before winter set in. Caesar agreed terms with Caswallon, added a stipulation that he should leave Mandubratius on the Trinobantian throne, took hostages and returned to the coast. He sailed back to Gaul on September the 26th 54BC leaving a nominally conquered and tribute paying Britain behind him.
Caesar never set foot in Britain again and there is doubt as to how much of the tribute – if any – was actually paid to the treasury of Rome.
Copyright Fred Watson March 2008
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Others who opposed the Romans
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Polyaenus
In 163AD Polyaenus a Macedonian orator and lawyer who had collected together examples of the exploits of earlier generals, presented his collection of stratagems to Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius as an aid to tactics when they set out to do battle with the Partians.
With reference to Caesar's invasion of Britain; Polyaenus in book eight of his stratagems claimed that at one point when Caesar came to the river Thames the far shore was so heavily defended by Caswallon and his men that the Romans were unable to cross without suffering heavy losses. Caesar solved the problem by bringing forward an armoured elephant, with a fort on its back that held archers and slingers. The elephant was sent across the river and Caswallon’s men, who had never seen such a monster before, took fright and fled, leave the Romans to cross unopposed.
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The Testudo (Tortoise)
When under heavy missile fire from the enemy the Romans would – if unable to get close enough to come to grips with their foe – form a Testudo as follows: The soldiers would form a rectangular formation; the front row would hold their shields to the front, the men at the end of the rows would hold theirs to the sides, the last rank would hold their to the rear and those in the middle would raise theirs above their heads. The result was an armoured box that could move towards the enemy under fire and the soldiers would be safe inside.
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Roman Military Cohort
The standard Roman military cohort consisted of 480 legionaries and was made up six centuries of 80 men., each century included a Centurian who was in command of that century.
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Quintus Labienus Durus
A tribune one Caesar’s most trusted divisional General in charge of one of the legions; he was killed by a javelin that pierced his chest during the battle.
Tradition has it that his burial site is a Neolithic Long Barrow know as Julliberrie’s Grave that over looks the River Stour. His grave has never been found, although, there have been several finds of Roman coins at the site.
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Coway Stakes
Ten minutes walk from Walton Bridge lies the village of Upper Halliford and the old Thames ford known as Coway Stakes. This is said to be the crossing that Caswallon seeded with stakes to prevent the Romans crossing over. The ploy however, didn’t work, the Romans forced the crossing and scattered the Britain’s to the winds.
Bede wrote that some of the stakes could still be seen in his day and the wood was said to be black and as hard as ebony after its long immersion in the water.
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Mandubratius
During an inter-tribal power struggle when Caswallon killed Imanventius the king of the Trinobantes, his son Mandubratius fled to Gaul and the protection of Caesar. When Caesar invaded Britain for the second time Mandubratius came with him and betrayed his countrymen in an effort to regain his place at the head of the Trinobantes.
After the scattering of the British, Caswallon was deserted by the other tribes and the largest of them, the Trinobantes submitted to Caesar and requested that Mandubratius return as their leader. Caesar agreed to their request, but demanded 40 hostages and corn to feed his army. At least five other tribes followed the example of the Trinobantes and one of them – the smallest – the Cassii led the Romans to Caswallon’s fortress in a local forest.
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Cingetorix, Carvilius, Taximagulus and Segonax
Four tribal kings of the Cantiaci of Cantium (Kent); tribal capital Durovenumin Catiacorum (Cantebury), who gathered an army and made to attack Caesar’s fortified naval camp at Deal in an attempt to relieve Caswallon who was being besieged by Caesar. The attack was disaster, the Romans struck first; they surged from the camp slaughtered large numbers of the Cantiaci tribesmen, captured one of the leaders, Lugotorix. So great was the victory that not one Roman lost his life. .
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Commius
After defeating the Attrebates in Gaul, Caesar appointed Commius as king of the tribe and prior to his first invasion of Britain in 55BC sent him to negotiate with the British tribes. The negotiations failed, Commius was taken prisoner and was only released after Caesar arrived and forced his way ashore. The next year Commius and thirty of his horsemen fought alongside Caesar and it was he that negotiated with Caswallon on Caesar’s behalf.
Commius returned to Gaul with Caesar and stayed loyal to the Roman general during the Gaulish revolts of 54BC. For this Caesar allowed the tribe to remain independent and exempt from Roman taxes. Commius, however, did not remain loyal for long; in 52BC he joined the revolt led by Vercingetorix. When Vercingetorix was defeated he joined a revolt by the Bellovaci, but this revolt was quashed too and he had to flee to some German allies.
In 51BC Commius returned to Gaul and carried out a campaign of guerrilla warfare. Once again he was defeated and after negotiations with Mark Antony was allowed to sail to Britain.
There is another tale that says, he fled pursued by Caesar and on reaching the channel shore found that his boats were marooned by the receding tide. Undaunted he ordered the sails raised and Caesar - who was a long way behind – seeing the sails fill with wind called off the chase assuming Commius had already set to sea.
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