Chapter 188: The Hispanian Civil War 2
Chapter 188: The Hispanian Civil War 2
Sextus was not the only one who wanted to end the war quickly with a full-scale attack.
Gnaeus had already been warned by Caesar that Sextus would try to crush him with force.
“He moves exactly as I heard. Sextus does not do anything that is not within Caesar’s expectations. That’s proof that he is under Caesar’s control.”
The size of the attacking force was also as predicted.
He wondered how Caesar could see through his younger brother better than his own kin.
He recalled the advice that Caesar had given him beforehand.
‘If Sextus brings more than eight legions, you better run away right now. You can’t easily overturn an absolute difference in numbers. But personally, I don’t think he will do that. Maybe five legions at most. Six legions at best.’
He asked why that was.
Sextus had the authority to mobilize ten legions.
If he got the permission of the Senate, he could also form additional legions as much as he wanted.
But why would he only mobilize five or six legions?
Caesar casually explained the reason to Gnaeus’ question.
‘Sextus is very cautious. Such people can’t pour out everything they have when they do something. It’s not that they don’t want to, but they don’t know how. He also has to care about the Senate’s opinion and the public sentiment.
If he says he will mobilize ten legions, the aristocrats will make a fuss and say it’s too much. Sextus will think that avoiding such political arguments is beneficial for him. But I wouldn’t do that. It’s a golden opportunity to establish my authority, so I would throw in all ten legions and mobilize the navy to the limit. If I did that, even you, who are watching from behind, would have to be wary.’
But if he did that and the result was not good, he could lose everything.
Caesar snorted and left a remark.
‘Whether it’s a small or large force, if he can’t suppress you, Sextus is done.’
That meant that if he could hold on this time, Gnaeus would also have a chance.
Caesar said there would be no more support from him and told him to do his best with a cheer that was not a cheer.
Of course, Gnaeus was satisfied with that alone.
What he was most worried about was Sextus giving up his pride and joining Marcus.
If Marcus intervened in this civil war, there would be no chance of winning at all.
“I can’t lose if it’s a fair fight.”
Coincidentally, the number of troops Gnaeus had gathered was six legions, exactly the same as Sextus.
He left Cordoba and took the lead in setting up camp on a gentle hill near Urso.
Gnaeus did not know it, but the place where his army had camped was Munda, where he met his end at Caesar’s hands in the original history.
About five days later, a report came in that Sextus’ army had landed.
The two armies fought a local battle near a small city by the port.
Gnaeus realized painfully that neither he nor his brother had the skill and command of their father.
Both of them had followed Pompey since they were young, so they knew theoretically what to do.
But they couldn’t create an organic movement of infantry and cavalry as they thought.
Fortunately, Sextus was in a similar situation, otherwise he would have suffered a huge damage from the beginning.
The first battle ended with both sides suffering minor losses.
It was a battle that was hard to say who won, but it didn’t decide the outcome.
He raised the morale of his soldiers by announcing that the enemy’s losses were twice as much as theirs.
And in the evening, a piece of paper arrived from Sextus’ camp.
“To Gnaeus Pompey and his soldiers. If you disarm and surrender right now, I promise amnesty to all officers and soldiers except Gnaeus. Gnaeus will not be able to avoid permanent exile, but I promise his safety. But if you resist any more, there will be no mercy. Those who disturb Rome’s law will all be executed without exception.”
Gnaeus snorted after reading the letter out loud.
It would have been understandable if it was before the battle, but what was the point of sending such a notice after they had both fought a close battle?
In fact, none of the soldiers and officers who followed Gnaeus showed any signs of wavering.
“By doing such a ridiculous thing, it’s clear that Sextus is also unsure of himself. The advantage is on our side.”
On the contrary, Gnaeus’ army became more active than before.
The easiest way to win a battle was to cut off the enemy’s supply line.
Sextus’ army depended entirely on the supplies from Rome, so if they cut off the supply, they couldn’t carry out the operation.
He could starve the enemy to death without having to fight a decisive battle.
But this judgment gave Sextus a chance.
Gnaeus overlooked the fact that Sextus had complete control of the sea.
No matter how much he occupied the nearby area, he couldn’t do anything about the ships coming from the sea.
Sextus captured a nearby port and fortified it, then prepared for a long war.
If he felt the situation was difficult, he could also request additional reinforcements from his homeland.
Gnaeus realized his mistake.
Time was not on his side.
He might be able to fight equally now, but if additional legions arrived, the balance of power would collapse in an instant.
“What are you going to do?”
“I have to look for a good formation to start the battle. I need to lure the enemy out and fight them.”
The fortunate thing in the misfortune was that Sextus did not intend to drag the battle too long either.
If he was at a disadvantage, he would wait for the reinforcements from Rome, but that would risk the civil war lasting for years.
Sextus wanted to use this battle as a stage to show off his abilities.
It would diminish the glory of his victory if he spent too much time and resources to subdue Gnaeus alone.
The interests of both sides coincided and the final showdown unfolded.
The stage was Munda, where Gnaeus had set up camp at first.
Munda, located on a rugged mountain, was a downhill terrain that favored Gnaeus’ side.
Sextus, who attacked, had to face the enemy who charged down from the hill.
This place did not allow any clever strategies or tactics to intervene.
All that was needed was pure combat power that could crush the opponent in front.
Gnaeus fought desperately, encouraging his subordinates.
The battle that started at dawn lasted for almost eight hours without ending.
Gnaeus’ army clung to the enemy tenaciously with a desperate mindset that they had nowhere to retreat.
Sextus watched the direction of the battle with sweaty hands from his camp.
He wondered if he should have waited for the reinforcements and fought slowly.
But he was still Pompey Magnus’ son after all.
As soon as he saw the front line shaking, he reflexively grabbed his shield and sword and ran to the front.
“The enemy is nothing but stragglers! You are Pompey’s legions! Don’t retreat and fight. If you die here, I will die with you!”
Fortunately, his soldiers responded to his desperate cry.
As Sextus said, most of his legionnaires were those who had served under Pompey.
The pride of having been with Rome’s greatest general did not allow them to accept their defeat.
The tide of the battle, which had been pushed back a little, regained its balance and did not end until sunset.
Then, the cavalry trained by Pompey himself attacked Gnaeus’ army’s right flank, which looked weak, on their own judgment.
This ultimately decided the outcome of the battle.
When the bright moon rose and lit up the darkness, 20,000 corpses of Gnaeus’ army filled the ground.
Sextus also lost nearly 10,000 soldiers.
Gnaeus was captured as a prisoner, and most of the officers who followed him were either killed or surrendered.
It was a gamble-like operation that aimed for a short-term decisive battle, and it worked successfully.
But Sextus was not very happy with his victory.
He won, but his own losses were not light either.
10,000 soldiers died and nearly half of them were not normal if they included the wounded.
Those who fought and died following Gnaeus were also those who Sextus should have embraced in the first place.
Too much blood that didn’t need to be spilled was spilled.
If he had commanded more skillfully, or if he had boldly thrown in ten legions from the beginning, he wouldn’t have suffered so much damage.
He realized how heavy the position of commander-in-chief was, who had to make all decisions.
He admired how great his father was, who had commanded legions and accumulated many battles since he was about his age.
“Now that I’ve caught Gnaeus, Hispania will be stable again.”
Sextus ordered his adjutant to bring Gnaeus to him.
It was fortunate that Gnaeus did not die in the battle.
It was not because of his blood ties, but because he needed him for cleaning up afterwards.
He had announced that he would kill all those who resisted until the end, but Sextus did not intend to do so.
After all, most of the soldiers gathered by Gnaeus were people with Roman citizenship.
If he executed them without question, he would face fierce criticism from his homeland.
It could also cause problems for stabilizing Hispania later.
He already had a reputation for being negligent in Hispania because of Gnaeus. He couldn’t show any more harshness than that.
“Although it’s regrettable in terms of results, it wasn’t a harvestless battle.”
Should he call it a blessing in disguise?
Through this civil war, Sextus gained a lot of confidence.
He showed his lack of command ability in fact, but he gained the trust of his soldiers by fighting with them at the front line.
He also identified his weaknesses clearly and only needed to improve them now.
Most importantly, he realized how strong his soldiers were.
The reason why he won this battle was purely because of the difference in skill and quality of his soldiers and officers.
The number of soldiers was equal on both sides, and the terrain was more favorable to the enemy.
Gnaeus’ army also fought with a determination that they had nowhere to retreat.
If there was no qualitative difference, he would have been defeated in this situation.
But Sextus won.
He lost nearly 10,000 soldiers, but the enemy’s losses were more than twice as much.
The reason was simple.
The legions that Sextus led were trained by Pompey himself.
Their level was different from Gnaeus’ soldiers, who were hastily recruited and trained.
If Sextus had commanded a little more delicately, his own losses would have been reduced by more than half.
“Then all that’s left is the aftermath.”
Just in time, his adjutant came in dragging Gnaeus, who was tied up with ropes.
“Good job. I’ll interrogate him myself, so you go outside.”
When the adjutant left and only the two of them remained, Sextus sighed lightly and sat down.
“Why did you have to make trouble for yourself when you could have just accepted me? Did you covet the position of the head of the family that much?”
“You won because of the soldiers you inherited from your father. Don’t forget that it wasn’t your personal ability that won.”
“But I’m the one who received that inheritance, not you. That’s why you ended up like this because you didn’t acknowledge it.”
“Fine. Say whatever you want. It’s true that I lost because of my lack of ability.”
Gnaeus did not show any resentment and surprisingly accepted his defeat calmly.
Sextus judged that he could have a rational conversation with him and uttered the real reason why he called Gnaeus.
“If you go back like this, you’ll have to face a punishment that matches your crime. You might save your life, but you’ll be exiled to a corner of the countryside without any property. Can you be satisfied with such a life?”
“What if I’m not? Do I have any other choice?”
“If you answer my questions truthfully from now on, I’ll let you keep enough wealth to live comfortably in exile.”
“Are you asking me who’s behind me?”
Gnaeus saw through Sextus’ mind in an instant.
Sextus did not deny it and nodded slowly.
“It’s obvious why. He’s confident that you won’t be able to do anything even if you find out. Caesar is that kind of person. He told me to sell his name and ask for mercy if I lose.”
“Caesar…!”
It was exactly the name he expected.
A sibilant sound escaped from Sextus’ mouth.
He hoped it wasn’t true, even though he thought it was most likely.
At the same time, a tremendous anger boiled up inside him.
How much did he look down on him to give him permission to sell his name?
It was impossible.
This was tantamount to mocking Sextus outright.
His fist clenched unknowingly trembled with humiliation and rage.
That’s how it was.
There can’t be two suns under one sky.
Sextus, who inherited the position of the leader of the populares, was nothing but an obstacle that Caesar had to get rid of someday from his perspective.
Sextus also saw Caesar as a definite enemy who would surely oppose him in the future.
The collision was inevitable.
The yoke of an unavoidable fight that hung over his head tightened Sextus’ heart strongly.