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Julius Caesar's Greatest Military Victory [video]

106 points by samsolomon 11y ago

torbjorn 11y ago
Best YouTube channel on military strategy I know of.
- icpmacdo 11y ago
  Know any good channels on cold war history, political science or related fields? I came across this 2 part MIT lecture on Nuclear Weapons Proliferation a little while ago and it was the most entertaining non programming lecture I have ever seen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clG-JuzTxrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clG-JuzTxrI . I don't mind if its in the style of the OP's post or university lectures
- eugeneionesco 11y ago
  Unfortunately, it's dead.
yolesaber 11y ago
From this reddit thread, which is pretty entertaining: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/46x2sl/what_was_the_most_interesting_war_tactic_ever/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/46x2sl/what_was_...
simonebrunozzi 11y ago
This (longer) version [0] is more precise (e.g. Historia Civilis' one mentions "messengers sent out to call reinforcement", while on [0] it correctly states that about 15,000 cavalry units were sent out to call reinforcements). [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut9GdMywFj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut9GdMywFj0
- daemin 11y ago
  "Beef and Corn" Really? Corn wasn't in Europe until after the Americas were discovered.
  - arethuza 11y ago
    "Corn" can be used in British English to mean any cereal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_%28disambiguation%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_%28disambiguation%29
    - daemin 11y ago
      Alright then. Though I would say that using the word "grain" or "cereal" would be less confusing.
    - dded 11y ago
      Or even other things in granular form, like salt. (As in "corned beef".)
  - Someone 11y ago
    The word 'corn' has Germanic roots (German still has 'Korn' and Dutch 'koren'; see http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=corn http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=corn, which also claims the American 'corn' is shorthand for 'Indian corn') So yes, corn existed in Europe long before Columbus. Romans would not have gone out for corn, though. They had the word 'granum', from which we derived 'grain'.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > "Beef and Corn" Really? Corn wasn't in Europe until after the Americas were discovered. The use of the word "corn" to refer exclusively to maize and not other cereal grains is a quirk of North American English that apparently has also spread to Oceania, but is not shared by much of the rest of the English-speaking world.
vatotemking 11y ago
Sounds like an expensive military strategy with all that walls.
- steve19 11y ago
  The local Gauls might have lost a forest, but I am sure there was no shortage of forest at the time. It would have cost JC nothing. The real cost was borne by the grunts who had to chop the trees down, move them, dig trenches and erect the walls. The Roman army was very adept and building, and then tearing down, temporary fortifications.
  - brillenfux 11y ago
    Also I think I remember that the Roman soldiers had a general command to entrench if they had nothing to do. (Like a, you know, "take the broom and clean the floor if you got nothing to do" kind of rule)
    - restalis 11y ago
      Indeed. Roads, bridges, aqueducts, and many other kinds of infrastructure works was being done by the roman military when they weren't marching (i.e. stationing and "resting").
ingallus 11y ago
One minor quibble: the narrator keeps saying "gaulic". There's no such word. He could say "Gaulish", but probably meant "Gallic". Rhymes with phallic.
bane 11y ago
This victory is among the top military engagements in all of history...it's beautiful even. But, I'd argue that Caesar's crossing of the Rhine was his most impressive victory. He built a bridge over an impassible river, marched his army across, walked around a bit, crossed back over and dismantled the bridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPnBVHSeZc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPnBVHSeZc
- yolesaber 11y ago
  He didn't really "walk around a bit" per se. More like raided villages. But the Rhine Bridges are amazing, much like Xerxes' crossing of the Hellespont.

106 points by samsolomon 11y ago

torbjorn 11y ago

Best YouTube channel on military strategy I know of.

icpmacdo 11y ago
Know any good channels on cold war history, political science or related fields? I came across this 2 part MIT lecture on Nuclear Weapons Proliferation a little while ago and it was the most entertaining non programming lecture I have ever seen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clG-JuzTxrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clG-JuzTxrI . I don't mind if its in the style of the OP's post or university lectures
eugeneionesco 11y ago
Unfortunately, it's dead.

yolesaber 11y ago

From this reddit thread, which is pretty entertaining: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/46x2sl/what_was_the_most_interesting_war_tactic_ever/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/46x2sl/what_was_...

simonebrunozzi 11y ago

This (longer) version [0] is more precise (e.g. Historia Civilis' one mentions "messengers sent out to call reinforcement", while on [0] it correctly states that about 15,000 cavalry units were sent out to call reinforcements). [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut9GdMywFj0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut9GdMywFj0

daemin 11y ago
"Beef and Corn" Really? Corn wasn't in Europe until after the Americas were discovered.
- arethuza 11y ago
  "Corn" can be used in British English to mean any cereal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_%28disambiguation%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_%28disambiguation%29
  - daemin 11y ago
    Alright then. Though I would say that using the word "grain" or "cereal" would be less confusing.
  - dded 11y ago
    Or even other things in granular form, like salt. (As in "corned beef".)
- Someone 11y ago
  The word 'corn' has Germanic roots (German still has 'Korn' and Dutch 'koren'; see http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=corn http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=corn, which also claims the American 'corn' is shorthand for 'Indian corn') So yes, corn existed in Europe long before Columbus. Romans would not have gone out for corn, though. They had the word 'granum', from which we derived 'grain'.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > "Beef and Corn" Really? Corn wasn't in Europe until after the Americas were discovered. The use of the word "corn" to refer exclusively to maize and not other cereal grains is a quirk of North American English that apparently has also spread to Oceania, but is not shared by much of the rest of the English-speaking world.

vatotemking 11y ago

Sounds like an expensive military strategy with all that walls.

steve19 11y ago
The local Gauls might have lost a forest, but I am sure there was no shortage of forest at the time. It would have cost JC nothing. The real cost was borne by the grunts who had to chop the trees down, move them, dig trenches and erect the walls. The Roman army was very adept and building, and then tearing down, temporary fortifications.
- brillenfux 11y ago
  Also I think I remember that the Roman soldiers had a general command to entrench if they had nothing to do. (Like a, you know, "take the broom and clean the floor if you got nothing to do" kind of rule)
  - restalis 11y ago
    Indeed. Roads, bridges, aqueducts, and many other kinds of infrastructure works was being done by the roman military when they weren't marching (i.e. stationing and "resting").

ingallus 11y ago

One minor quibble: the narrator keeps saying "gaulic". There's no such word. He could say "Gaulish", but probably meant "Gallic". Rhymes with phallic.

bane 11y ago

This victory is among the top military engagements in all of history...it's beautiful even. But, I'd argue that Caesar's crossing of the Rhine was his most impressive victory. He built a bridge over an impassible river, marched his army across, walked around a bit, crossed back over and dismantled the bridge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPnBVHSeZc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPnBVHSeZc

yolesaber 11y ago
He didn't really "walk around a bit" per se. More like raided villages. But the Rhine Bridges are amazing, much like Xerxes' crossing of the Hellespont.