Map Description

Three History Maps of Northern Greece, 48 B.C.—The Roman Civil War

Caesar's Civil War — Caesar Versus Pompey


Illustrating

The Battle of Durazzo (Dyrrachium / Durres / Drac) - July 9, 48 BC

Please note: the consensus among historians places the battle on July 10.


Caesar's Attack

Julius Caesar initiated the conflict by constructing a 15-mile circumvallation around Pompey's larger army at Dyrrachium. This ambitious engineering project included 24 forts connected by walls and trenches, designed to cut off Pompey's access to forage and water while preventing reinforcements. Caesar, outnumbered almost 2:1, employed this strategy to neutralize Pompey's numerical advantage and force a decisive battle on favorable terms. He positioned his troops thinly along the perimeter, relying on mobility between strongpoints rather than continuous defense.


Pompey's Response

Pompey countered Caesar's encirclement with a brilliant defensive strategy. He constructed a parallel contravallation with 24 corresponding camps, securing his naval supply lines while establishing a strong interior position. After six weeks of stalemate, Pompey identified a vulnerable section in Caesar's southern lines where the fortifications remained incomplete. On July 10, he launched a coordinated three-pronged attack: naval forces landed troops behind Caesar's lines, light infantry assaulted the weakest point of the wall, and legionaries made a frontal attack elsewhere to divide Caesar's attention. Pompey's forces breached the perimeter, causing Caesar's men to panic and retreat in disorder, with some cohorts abandoning their positions entirely.


Caesar's Retreat

Caesar's response to the breach proved disastrous. He personally led a counterattack with 33 cohorts but encountered unexpectedly strong resistance from Pompey's disciplined forces. When Pompey recognized the opportunity and committed his reserves, Caesar's outnumbered forces collapsed. Caesar lost approximately 1,000 men while Pompey lost just 20***, marking one of Caesar's rare decisive defeats. Recognizing his untenable position, Caesar orchestrated a strategic withdrawal eastward toward Thessaly, burning his siege equipment and abandoning his wounded.

Despite Pompey's advisors urging immediate pursuit to finish Caesar's army, Pompey chose caution—a decision that ultimately allowed Caesar to regroup, leading to his later victory at Pharsalus.


*** = Modern historians debate the casualty figures from Dyrrachium. The 1,000 Caesarian vs. 20 Pompeian deaths comes from Caesar's own account. Most scholars estimate Caesar's actual losses were between 1,000-2,000 men (representing about 5-10% of his force), with several thousand more wounded or captured.

Pompey's casualties were indeed low by comparison, but probably numbered in the hundreds rather than just 20.

Caesar's account mentions losing 32 standards (military emblems), suggesting significant unit disintegration. The disproportionate casualty ratio remains historically significant regardless of exact numbers. Most modern scholars consider the Battle of Dyrrachium a clear tactical victory for Pompey, not a draw.

Credits

Courtesy of the United States Military Academy Department of History.

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About Pompey the Great

About Mark Antony

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