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The Tencteri and Usipetes were two Germanic tribes who in 55 BC, under pressure from the Suebi, crossed the Lower Rhine to seek new land – in the area around the Meuse estuary.
Caesar would tolerate no Germanic immigration into Gaul. While negotiations were still under way and the Germanic leaders were in his camp, he attacked. The result was a massacre among the leaderless tribes; Caesar himself speaks of enormous numbers.
The affair was so harsh that even in Rome voices condemned it: Cato the Younger is said to have demanded that Caesar be handed over to the Germani for breaking the truce. Afterwards Caesar built his first bridge across the Rhine and led a short campaign into Germania east of the river.
"When they saw their leaders detained, they lost their heads."freely after Caesar, The Gallic War IV (public domain, own translation)
Tencteri and Usipetes show the harshness of war on the Rhine. Continue with the Sugambri and Ubii.
The Sugambri · The Ubii · The Eburones · The Cherusci & Arminius · The Treveri.
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