Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 109 Alessia
Here, Caesar used less than 50,000 men to besiege the 80,000 men led by Vercingetorix, the leader of the Gallic uprising army. Vercingetorix sought reinforcements everywhere.

In order to rescue the leader of the rebel army and to encircle and kill Caesar's troops here, almost all the tribes in Gaul participated in this battle. More than fifty tribes directly sent troops to help, with a military strength of 250,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry. The various tribes that had been subdued by Caesar also awakened their simple national consciousness and sent troops to help again.

With the addition of Vercingetorix's 80,000 troops, the Gauls' military strength reached an exaggerated 340,000, and they fought against Caesar with internal and external forces.

They fought very bravely in this battle, and launched repeated waves of attacks on Caesar's positions over a period of three days. It can be said that they were fearless and unafraid of death. However, Caesar was Caesar after all. Even though there were dangers everywhere and the front was on the verge of collapse, he still relied on his elite soldiers and his genius command ability to defeat the Gauls.

The Gauls' manpower was completely defeated in this war. They could no longer organize any large-scale resistance. The Gallic uprising, which had been surging, died down in an instant.

After this battle, the Gauls were completely defeated and Gaul was officially and stably incorporated into the Romans. The city of Rome held a 20-day carnival celebration to thank the gods for their blessings on Rome.

After that, the Battle of Alesia became a thorn in the hearts of the Gauls, the "Sack of Rome" in the hearts of the Gauls, and an indelible shadow on their minds towards the Romans.

Now, a hundred years later, Jeanne d'Acre led the Gauls to defeat the Roman army again in Alesia. Although it was just a ragtag army marching through the local area, the two words "victory" and "Alesia" were enough to arouse the great pride in the hearts of the Gauls.

The Gauls, who had been stunned by Aurelian, regrouped and even showed a fighting will far greater than that at the beginning of the uprising, and they kept Aurelian's army stuck in the province of Aquitania. Even Orville was affected, and many people began to become restless, so he had to send more people to maintain public security.

These are the points that puzzle Orville the most. Why did a group of ragtag troops station near Alenia? Why didn't they retreat or fight on the spot after being beaten, but ran into the city of Alenia to show their epic military exploits to the opponent?

The army was the army of the governor of the German province, a ragtag army temporarily assembled from the local area, probably hoping to gain some military merit. Now, he was able to keep his status and not be exiled, which meant that the Senate respected him.

As a result, the strategic environment of the Roman army would be much worse than before. The loss of one or two legions would be a minor problem. The problem was that the Gauls could not be allowed to fight with confidence.

Now the series of victories achieved by Jeanne Dacre was really a bit bizarre. Orville couldn't understand why there was just a legion in the small city of Alesia, and the other soldiers were even more so.

It's okay these few times, but if it happens a few more times, I'm afraid the Romans themselves will start to wonder in their hearts whether Jeanne d'Acre is really blessed by the gods and whether the gods are on the side of the Gauls.

War tests the confidence of both sides in victory. If the Romans really lose confidence, even if they can win the war, they will win miserably, and Vespa's idea of ​​stabilizing the domestic situation will be ruined, and the war will be in vain.

Therefore, the one who was more anxious than Orville was Vespa himself. His direct order was quickly issued, which was to let Orville launch a "quick" offensive. He told Orville not to worry about the security issues in the occupied areas, he would find a way to solve them, and he didn't need to worry about food, he would let the army escort them directly along the way. Now his mission has changed, he has to attack Paris and contain Jeanne d'Acre and the army gathered under her.

The reorganized legion closest to Jeanne d'Acre is now Orville's. Thanks to his previous cautious strategy, his legion can be deployed at any time, and its combat effectiveness is well preserved. It is the most suitable unit that Vespa can find for this task.

As the spearhead of the assault, Auville's troops only need to charge forward. Vespa will also send two legions from his side to follow him to expand the occupied area and be responsible for maintaining public order and ensuring Auville's supply. Auville's first stage goal is to capture Paris and occupy the land along the Seine River.

And Tia, near the English Channel, will also quickly advance towards the Seine River and capture Rouen, another large city on the Seine. Then they will cross the Seine to attack the Gallic province of Lugden, forcing the Gauls to fight on multiple fronts. The quality and strength of their troops cannot withstand the two-pronged attack of the Romans.

The Romans' dominance on the frontal battlefield was absolute. When there were only one or two legions, the Gauls might be able to form a local victory by outnumbering the enemy, but now there were too many Romans. There were at least ten legions on the front line, and the enemies on any front were not easy to deal with.

Vespa wanted to reduce the Gauls' living space and force them to fight a head-on battle with the Romans. This intention was very obvious, but it was unknown whether the Gauls would take advantage of the situation.
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The order from the commander-in-chief of the legion has been issued, and Orville will certainly not disobey. The army of more than 10,000 people immediately set out and advance towards Paris.

He only allowed his troops to bring fifteen days of food, and marched directly along the Imperial Road. Their destination was only Paris, and they ignored the villages and towns along the way. He remained highly alert, ready to guard against the possible appearance of Jeanne d'Acre's army at any time.

After the Battle of Alesia, the enemy lost track, and no one could tell where they were marching. They might be preparing to return to support Aquitania, or continue to march towards the German provinces, or they might have seen through Vespa's plan and support Paris, or they might even go straight to Italy, so it is better to be safe than sorry.

This time, old Trajan also strongly supported Orville's approach. He already knew that Jeanne d'Acre was at least a somewhat evil opponent and he could not be careless.

This was not a regular march but a forced march. With a group of burdens, the marching speed of Orwell's army reached 28 kilometers per day, which exceeded the average speed of the Roman legions. Of course, this was also related to their light travel. With less stuff, they could naturally walk faster.

Aurelian had already taught the Gauls that it was a very unwise decision to fight a direct battle with the Romans. Along the way, Auvers did not encounter any real obstacles. Occasionally, a few larger towns were eyeing Auvers' army, but after seeing that Auvers had no interest in them, they gave up and did not want to provoke this army, so he arrived safely in the suburbs of Paris.

But he found that he was not the first to arrive in Paris, not even the second.

(End of this chapter)