de bello gallico, 4.35 and 4.36, sentence 1

Caesar, although he was seeing that the same would be which had happened in previous days, that, if the enemies had been repelled, they would flee danger with speed, nevertheless having obtained around thirty horsemen, whom Commius Atrebas, about whom it was spoken before, had transported with him, he set his legions in battle line in front of the camp. With the battle having been joined, the enemy was not able to bear for a longer time the attack of our soldiers and turned their backs. Which, having followed in such a space as they were able to accomplish by the course and by their strength, they killed very many of them, then with all the buildings having been burned far and wide, they took themselves back into camp.

The same day envoys, having been sent by the enemy, came to Caesar about peace.

de bello gallico, 4.34

With our men having been upset by which things because of the newness of the battle at the most opportune moment Caesar brought help: and indeed at his arrival the enemy stopped, our men recover themselves from fear. With which thing having happened, having thought that the time was unfavorable for provoking and joining battle, he kept himself in his own location and, with a brief time having elapsed, he lead his legions back into camp. While these things were being done, with all our men having been occupied, the rest who were in the fields left. For several continuous days storms followed which both kept our men in camp and kept the enemy from the fight. Meanwhile the barbarians sent out messengers in all directions and they boasted the paucity of our soldiers to their own men and they showed how much of making booty and the means of their liberation into perpetuity would be given if they had expelled the Romans from there camp. By these things quickly, with a great multitude of infantry and of cavalry having been gathered, they came to camp.

de bello gallico, 4.33

This is the kind of fight from war chariots. First through all parts they ride around and throw darts and by the terror itself of the horses and the noise of the wheels they disturb the lines for the most part and, when they have insinuated themselves among the troups of cavalry, they jump down from their chariots and fight on foot. The drivers, meanwhile, little by little leave from battle and thus gather the chariots so that if those men are pressed by a multitude of the enemy they have an easy retreat to their men. They thus demonstrate the mobility of their cavalry and the stability of their foot soldiers in battle, and by daily use and exercise they bring about so greatly that they have become accustomed to hold the spurred-on horses in a sloping and headlong place and quickly rein in and turn and run quickly along the pole of the chariot and stop on the yoke and thence take themselves back most quickly into their chariots.

de bello gallico, 4.32

While these things were being done, with one legion which was called the seventh out of custom having been sent to get grain, and not with any suspicion of war having been admitted at this time, when part of the men remained in the fields, part also were coming back and forth into camp, these men who were in post in front of the gates of the camp announced to Caesar that greater dust than custom bore was seen in this part into which part the legion had made a journey. Caesar, having suspected this which was, something of a new plan was begun by the barbarians, ordered the cohorts which were in posts to set out with him into this direction, from those left two cohorts to follow into post, the rest to be armed and immediately follow close after him. When he had proceeded farther by a little, he noticed that his men were attacked by the enemy and were scarcely holding up and, with the legion having been tightly packed, weapons were being thrown from all sides. For because, with all the grain having been harvested from the rest of the regions, one part was remaining, the enemy, having suspected that to this place our men would come, hid in the woods at night; then, having suddenly attacked our dispersed men, with weapons having been put aside occupied in harvesting, with a few having been killed they had thrown the rest into confusion with uncertain lines, at the same time they had surrounded with cavalry and war chariots.

de bello gallico, 4.31

But Caesar, although he had not yet learned of their plans, however, both from the fate of his ships and from this fact that they had ceased to give hostages, was suspecting this would be which happened. And so, he was gathering supplies for all emergencies. For both he was bringing together grain from the fields daily into camp and, which ships were most seriously damaged, of these he was using the materials and bronze for the fixing of the rest, and, what things were for use for these things, he ordered be carried from the continent. And so, because it was taken care of by the soldiers with the greatest zeal, with twelve ships having been lost, he made it so that with the rest it could be sailed fairly well.

de bello gallico, 4.30

With these things having been known, the chiefs of Britain, who after the battle had convened to Caesar, having spoken amongst themselves, because they understood that cavalry and ships and grain were lacking for the Romans and they learned the paucity of the soldiers from the smallness of the camp, which were more narrow by this (fact) that Caesar had transported his legions without baggage, they concluded it was the best thing to do, with the rebellion having been made, to prohibit our men from grain and provision and stretch the affair into winter, because, with these men having been conquered or kept from return, they were believing that no one would cross over into Britain afterward for the sake of waging war. And so, with a conspiracy again having been made, they began little by little to depart from camp and led their own men secretly from the fields.

de bello gallico, 4.29

In the same night it happened that the moon was clear, which day accustomed to make the greatest maritime tides in the ocean, and this was unknown to us. Thus at one time both had the tide had filled the war ships by which Caesar had taken care that his army must be transported, and which he had lead up on dry land, and a storm was afflicting the transport ships, which were bound to anchors, and there was not any means given to us either of managing or of aiding (the ships). With very many ships having been broken, and because the rest were unusable for sailing—the ropes, anchors, and remaining equipment having been lost—this which was necessary to happen, a great uproar of the whole army occurred. For neither were there other ships by which they could be carried back and all things were lacking which was for use for repairing ships and, because it was evident to everyone that they ought to winter in Gaul, grain had not been provided for in these locations for the winter.