Alésia

The site of this ancient siege occupies the hill above the more modern town of Alise-Sainte-Reine and is the site of the famous siege of 52 BC in which Julius Caesar defeated the Gallic confederation of tribes led by Vercingétorix. After a surprise Gallic attack earned Caesar’s displeasure, he pursued the Gauls and after several skirmishes the two armies faced each other at Alésia. Realising that a full frontal assault on such a heavily fortified hill-fort would have been suicidal, Caesar decided to place the camp under siege, and the ensuing conflict remains one of the classic examples of siege warfare and circumvallation. As the siege continued and food and supplies became scarce within the fort, the Gauls decided to send out their women and children, hoping that Caesar would grant them safe passage – he did not. Seeing their families trapped and starving in the no-man’s land between the two camps sapped what was left of the Gauls' spirit and after a number of engagements in which the Gauls suffered heavy losses, Vercingétorix chose to surrender in order to save what remained of his people. Many of the surviving Gauls were taken into slavery and Vercingétorix himself was marched to Rome where he was imprisoned in the Tullianum for six years until Caesar’s triumphant procession, whereon he was strangled. The site of the battle has been contested by historians over the years and Emperor Napoleon III ordered a four year programme of excavations in order to resolve the debate. The remains of both the Roman fortifications and the Gallic earthworks are still there and these and a museum containing many artefacts are open to visitors from Spring until October. The huge bronze statue of Vercingétorix commissioned by Napoleon III dominates the hill and the views are breathtaking in all seasons.