Battle of Ilerda

Overview

The Battle of Ilerda took place in June 49 BC between the forces of Julius Caesar and the Hispanian army of Pompey Magnus, led by his legates Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius. Unlike many of the other battles of the civil war, this was more a campaign of manoeuvre than actual fighting. It allowed Caesar to eliminate the threat of Pompey's forces in Hispania and face Pompey himself in Greece at the Battle of Pharsalus.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Ilerda, fought in June 49 BC, allowed Caesar to neutralize the Pompeian forces in Hispania commanded by legates Lucius Afranius and Marcus Petreius before turning to confront Pompey himself in Greece. By removing the threat posed by this Hispanian army — which outnumbered his own force of 31,000 with 36,000 troops — Caesar secured his western flank and freed his operational attention for the decisive confrontation that followed at the Battle of Pharsalus. The engagement was consequently a significant step in the broader strategic sequence of Caesar's Civil War, eliminating a capable enemy army without the losses a pitched battle might have entailed.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)