Battle of Vosges (58 BC)

The Battle of Vosges also referred to as the Battle of Vesontio was fought on September 14, 58 BC between a coalition of Germanic tribes, under the leadership of Ariovistus, and a Roman army supported by Gallic allies under the overall command of Gaius Julius Caesar. This encounter is the second major battle of the Gallic Wars.

During the late 60s and early 50s BC several Germanic tribes had crossed the Rhine, seeking a home in Gaul. Feeling threatened, a number of Gallic tribes, allied to the Roman Republic, had petitioned the Romans to come to their aid. Gaius Julius Caesar, who was governor of the Roman province of Gallia Transalpina and who had just finished his campaign against the Helvetii, decided to continue his military campaign in Gaul and marched his army towards the migrating Germans.

Prior to the battle, Caesar and Ariovistus held a parley. Ariovistus' cavalry cast stones and weapons at the Roman cavalry. Caesar broke off negotiations and instructed his men not to retaliate to prevent the Suebi from claiming that they were induced into a trap by their accepting an opportunity to talk. The following battle resulted in a Roman victory, which secured the eastern borderlands of Gaul, and allowed the temporary construction of Caesar's Rhine bridges for a tactical punitive assault staged in western Germania.