The Battle of Vercellae was fought on 30 July 101 BC during the Cimbrian War. The 54,000-strong Roman army of Gaius Marius destroyed a 180,000-strong Cimbrian army, slaying 160,000 of them (including their king, Boiorix). The Battle of Vercellae ended the Germanic threat to the Roman Republic and, thus, the war.
Background[]
Following the defeat of the Teutons at the Battle of Aquae Sextae, the 400,000-strong Cimbria horde under King Boiorix prepared an invasion of Italy through the Alps. Gaius Marius sent Quintus Lutatius Catulus to hold the Alpine passes, but, under pressure from the Cimbri, Lutatius had to abandon Brenner Pass. His second attempt to defend the Adige River failed when the Cimbri nearly encircled him, and he was forced to retreat to the Po River; the Cimbri then looted the lands between the Alps and the Po, but, exhausted from their march from Spain to the Alps, they decided against attacking the Romans in the winter. Marius and his army moved into Italy to reinforce Lutatius, and Marius was re-elected Consul.
Battle[]
In the spring of 101 BC, Marius moved into the Po Valley with his 32,000 troops, joining Catulus' 20,000 legionaries. The Cimbri continuously avoided Marius throughout the spring and early summer, and Marius attempted to trap the Germans along the Alps. By the end of July, the two armies met at Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul.
At the start of the battle, the Roman cavalry on both flanks attacked their Cimbri counterparts, while the Cimbri moved to attack the Roman infantry. Marius' cavalry won their engagements against Boiorix's horsemen in short order, and they then turned and attacked the rear of the Cimbri line. The Germanic forces were surrounded, and almost all of their army was killed over the next few hours. All of the Cimbri were either killed or enslaved, ending the Cimbrian War. The Romans had defeated their biggest threat since Hannibal, but the war with the Cimbri caused cracks in Roman society which led to a series of civil wars.