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by unFou
3235 days ago
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"By the point he was clearing the last of the Pompeans in Africa at the end of the Civil War, he didn't even leave his tent to give commands" Was this an indication of the experience and initiative of his commanders and non-coms? So Caesar might decide on the overall approach, make sure all his commanders knew what that was, and let them figure out how best to achieve that based on the situation. |
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This interestingly largely didn't seem to be the case. By Africa most of Caesar's experienced legions (who campaigned with him during the Gallic Wars and the first half of the Civil War) weren't with him (he campaigned mostly with Pompey's newly raised legions out of Greece). His commanders were either new or of questionable skill. In particular, his most capable commander during the Gallic Wars, Labienus, defected to the Pompey early in the Civil War, and was one of Caesar's chief opponents during his African campaign.
As an interesting note, it seems Labienus likely defected from Caesar for two reasons:
1. At the beginning of the Civil War it looked extremely unlikely Caesar would win.
2. Labienus felt as though Caesar took more credit than he ought to have in the Gallic Wars, depriving him of his "auctoritas" (sort of prestige) he felt he rightfully deserved.
Caesar's skilled defeat of Pompey and Labienus show his military skill outside of his use of good commanders.