Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Vosges

Battle of Vosges was a battle fought in 58 BC at Alsace, in what is now France. It was part of the Gallic War, which ran from 58 BC to 51 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory. Recorded strength: 25,000–30,000 (6 legions with cavalry and auxiliaries) against 120,000 (Caesar's claim).

See it on the globe Read the article

carte complétée avec régions naturelles
carte complétée avec régions naturelles. Alsace_topo.png: Generated by GMT; Uploaded by: Neuceu derivative work: Monsieur Fou, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought58 BC
WhereAlsace, France47.750N, 7.333E
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstSuebi
Casualties and lossesUnknownand80,000 (Caesar's claim)
Part ofGallic War58 BC to 51 BC

Where it sits in the Gallic War

Battle of Magetobria, 63 BCBattle of Bibracte, 58 BCBattle of the Arar, 58 BCBattle of Vosges, 58 BCBattle of Cavillonum, 58 BCBattle of Vesontio, 58 BCBattle of the Sabis, 57 BCBattle of the Axona, 57 BCBattle of Octodurus, 57 BCSiege of Bibrax, 57 BCSiege of the Atuatuci, 57 BCBattle of Morbihan, 56 BCBattle of Vernix, 56 BCBattle against the Aquitanians, 56 BCSiege of Namur, 54 BCBattle of the Sambre, 54 BCAmbiorix's Revolt, 54 BCBattle of the Semois River, 53 BCBattle of Gergovia, 52 BCBattle of Lutetia, 52 BCBattle of Noviodunum, 52 BCBattle of the Saône, 52 BCSiege of Avaricum, 52 BCBattle of Alesia, 52 BCBattle of Vingeanne, 52 BCSiege of Uxellodunum, 51 BC63 BC51 BCBattle of Vosges, 58 BC
26 placed engagements of the Gallic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date58 BC (year precision)
PlaceAlsace, France
47.750N, 7.333E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength25,000–30,000 (6 legions with cavalry and auxiliaries)120,000 (Caesar's claim)
Casualties and lossesUnknown80,000 (Caesar's claim)
Commanders
  • Ariovistus
Battle of VosgesBattle of VosgesBattle of MulhouseBattle of MulhouseBattle of DornachBattles near Rheinweiler and HüningenBattle of HartmannswillerkopfBattle of DornachBattle of HartmannswillerkopfZürichBernStuttgartStrasbourgNancyLuzernDijonVaduz100 km47.750N, 7.333E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Vosges
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Vosges today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-10-01. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 243 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 214 to 386 m, 173 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 56% built-up, 36% tree cover, 5% grassland.

built-up: 56%tree cover: 36%grassland: 5%built-up 56%tree cover 36%grassland 5%
west to east, 10.0 km237 to 283 mnorth to south, 10.0 km231 to 324 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 4 times between 58 BC and 1914.

In the same war

Battle of Vosges is one of 159 engagements of the 1st century BC in the atlas and one of 1,383 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1267513, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Vosges (58 BC), revision 1378284215, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.