Caesar’s Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus

 | Military History  | 0 comments  | Print This Post  | Email This Post

In the wake of this defeat, Caesar realized it was a mistake to besiege superior forces so close to their supply base, and withdrew to Apollonia. Pompey followed in belated pursuit. Ashamed of their failure at Dyrrachium, Caesar’s troops wanted a chance to recapture their lost standards, and his staff advised him to bring Pompey to battle. Caesar knew his troops needed more time to recover, however, and more important, Pompey’s troops needed time to lose their newfound confidence. He therefore ordered a night move into Thessaly in central Greece, where food was more plentiful and he could rendezvous with his Legiones XI and XII.

When Generals Cease to Be Generals
So far, Pompey’s strategy of avoiding a pitched battle seemed to be working. When news spread of his victory at Dyrrachium, eastern princes began sending well-equipped reinforcements to Pompey’s camp. Confidence among Pompey’s officers reached the point of hubris, and they scorned advice from Quitus Tullius Cicero and others to avoid further battle.

While Pompey and other officers believed in starving Caesar’s troops into submission, other patricians accused Pompey of needlessly prolonging the war to remain commander in chief, and insisted that he march to relieve Scipio, who was potentially threatened by Caesar’s move east.

Pompey held a council of war to discuss his options. He could use his navy to bottle up Caesar in Greece while recapturing Italy and Spain; he could lay siege to Caesar’s coastal cities, further isolating him; or he could force a decision on the plains of Thessaly. Succumbing to pressure from his self-serving retinue of senators, knights and politicians, Pompey reluctantly agreed to the third option. Referring to Pompey’s capitulation to his subordinates, Cicero later wrote, ‘From then on, this great man ceased to be a general.’

Marching eastward, Caesar’s troops rejoined Legiones XI and XII under Domitius Calvinus, who were moving south from Macedonia. During the march, the Greek town of Gomphi closed its gates to Caesar’s army after hearing of his defeat at Dyrrachium, only to be stormed and looted by his starving men.

This example was more than enough to convince other Thessalian towns to cooperate, and Caesar was soon able to resupply his troops. Caesar moved on, later writing, ‘Caesar, finding a suitable place in the countryside, where the crops were almost ripe, decided to wait there for Pompey’s arrival and make that the sole theater of operations.’

The’suitable place’ was the north bank of the Enipeus River in Thessaly, near the towns of Pharsalus (modern-day Fersala) and Old Pharsalus. There, Caesar commanded nearly 30,000 infantry and some 1,000 Gallic and German cavalry, plus 2,000 light infantry and auxiliaries.

Pompey marched 20 miles into the Enipeus Valley and camped his legions on the slopes of a hill called Mount Dogantzes about 3 1/2 miles from Caesar’s camp. With Scipio’s reinforcements, he commanded 40,000 infantry and more than 3,000 cavalry and supporting troops. Pompey’s colorful army represented a cross-section of the Mediterranean world, with Italians, Bythinians, Phoenecians, Jews, Arabs, Cypriots, Cretans, Syrians, Egyptians, Thracians, Ionians and other contingents. Most important, his cavalry was superior to Caesar’s in both numbers and quality.

For several days, both armies arrayed for battle each morning, but did little except skirmish with the cavalry units. Pompey kept his forces lined up on the slopes of Mount Dogantzes, hoping that Caesar would be foolish enough to advance uphill. Even Caesar would not tempt fate that much. By August 8, however, he was ready to move his troops east to find a better food supply.

The Stalemate Breaks
Nonetheless, Pompey’s promise to fight had been real, even if reluctant. He informed his officers that he intended to anchor his right flank on the Enipeus River and station virtually all his cavalry forces on the far left. From there, they would rout Caesar’s inferior cavalry and then move against his right flank and rear. By the time the infantry lines clashed, Caesar’s men would be in disarray, perhaps even fleeing. To give full effect to his strategy, Pompey also ordered his infantry to stand firm to receive Caesar’s infantry charge, rather than advance to meet the enemy, so that Caesar’s men would make first contact while breathless and disordered.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to

Tags: Ancient-Medieval, Historical Conflicts