The Tenth Legion in Action!!

The two armies met in the plains of Munda in southern Spain. The Pompeian army was situated on a gentle hill, less than one mile (1.6 km) from the walls of Munda, in a defensible position. Caesar led a total of eight legions (80 cohorts), with 8,000 horsemen, while Pompeius commanded thirteen legions, 6,000 light-infantrymen and about 6,000 horsemen.

Many of the Republican soldiers had already surrendered to Caesar in previous campaigns and had then deserted his army to rejoin Pompeius: they would fight with desperation, fearing that they would not be pardoned a second time (indeed Caesar had hitherto executed prisoners). After an unsuccessful ploy designed to lure the Pompeians down the hill, Caesar ordered a frontal attack (with the watchword "Venus", the goddess reputed to be his ancestor).

The fighting lasted for some time without a clear advantage for either side, causing the generals to leave their commanding positions and join the ranks. As Caesar himself later said he had fought many times for victory, but at Munda he had to fight for his life. Caesar took command of his right wing, where his favorite X Equestris was involved in heavy fighting. With Caesar’s inspiration the tenth legion began to push back Pompeius' forces. Aware of the danger, Gnaeus Pompeius removed a legion from his own right wing to reinforce the threatened left wing. However, as soon as the Pompeian right wing was thus weakened, Caesar's cavalry launched a decisive attack which turned the course of the battle. King Bogud of Mauritania and his cavalry, Caesar's allies, attacked the rear of the Pompeian camp. Titus Labienus, commander of the Pompeian cavalry, saw this maneuver and moved to intercept them. Unfortunately for Pompeius, his legionaries misinterpreted the situation. Already under heavy pressure on both the left (from Legio X) and right wings (the cavalry charge), they thought Labienus was retreating. The Pompeian legions broke their lines and fled in disorder. Although some were able to find refuge within the walls of Munda, many more were killed in the rout. At the end of the battle there were about 30,000 Pompeians dead on the field; losses on Caesar’s side were much lighter, only about 1,000. All thirteen standards of the Pompeian legions were captured, a sign of complete disbandment. Titus Labienus died on the field and was granted a burial by Caesar, while Gnaeus and Sextus Pompeius managed to escape from the battlefield.

What remains a mystery is the exact location of Munda. Some Spanish historians assert Munda is the Roman name for Ronda, where the battle of Munda may have been fought (Rafeal Atienzas Huertas, 1857). Other experts assert Munda was fought in Osuna, in the province of Seville, about 50 kilometers north of Ronda (Pliny). Unfortunately, no archaeologist has definitively proved where Munda was fought. What is clear is that the Munda conflict was no mop-up operation. Tens of thousands of Romans died at Munda, where Caesar fought for his life among the ranks. After Munda, Gnaeus was executed and Pompeii's son Sextus survived to fight another day, as a leader of Mediterranean pirates based in Sicily, where he was caught by Augustus and executed in 35 BC, ten years after Munda.