Editing Battle of Pharsalus (section)

==Battle==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2014}}

There was significant distance between the two armies, according to Caesar.<ref>Caesar, BC III 92,1.</ref> Pompey ordered his men not to charge, but to wait until Caesar's legions came into close quarters; Pompey's adviser [[Gaius Triarius]] believed that Caesar's infantry would be fatigued and fall into disorder if they were forced to cover twice the expected distance of a battle march. Also, stationary troops were expected to be able to defend better against [[Pilum|pila]] throws.<ref>Caesar, BC III, 92,2.</ref> Seeing that Pompey's army was not advancing, Caesar's infantry under [[Mark Antony]] and [[Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus]] started the advance. As Caesar's men neared throwing distance, without orders, they stopped to rest and regroup before continuing the charge;<ref>Caesar, BC III, 93,1.</ref> Pompey's right and centre line held as the two armies collided.

As Pompey's infantry fought, [[Titus Labienus|Labienus]] ordered the Pompeian cavalry on his left flank to attack Caesar's cavalry; as expected they successfully pushed back Caesar's cavalry. Caesar then revealed his hidden fourth line of infantry and surprised Pompey's cavalry charge; Caesar's men were ordered to leap up and use their [[Pilum|pila]] to thrust at Pompey's cavalry instead of throwing them. Pompey's cavalry panicked and suffered hundreds of casualties, as Caesar's cavalry came about<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2016/12/14/roman-armageddon-at-pharsalus/|title=Roman Armageddon at Pharsalus|date=14 December 2016}}</ref> and charged after them. After failing to reform, the rest of Pompey's cavalry retreated to the hills, leaving the left wing of his legions exposed to the hidden troops as Caesar's cavalry wheeled around their flank. Caesar then ordered in his third line, containing his most battle-hardened veterans, to attack. This broke Pompey's left wing troops, who fled the battlefield.<ref name="academia1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/19860273|title=48 BC: The Battle of Pharsalus|last1=James|first1=Steven}}</ref>

After routing Pompey's cavalry, Caesar threw in his last line of reserves<ref>Caesar, BC III, 93,4</ref>{{snd}}a move which at this point meant that the battle was more or less decided.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} Pompey lost the will to fight as he watched both cavalry and legions under his command break formation and flee from battle, and he retreated to his camp, leaving the rest of his troops at the centre and right flank to their own devices. He ordered the garrisoned auxiliaries to defend the camp as he gathered his family, loaded up gold, and threw off his general's cloak to make a quick escape.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} As the rest of Pompey's army were left confused, Caesar urged his men to end the day by routing the rest of Pompey's troops and capturing the Pompeian camp. They complied with his wishes; after finishing off the remains of Pompey's men, they furiously attacked the camp walls. The Thracians and the other auxiliaries who were left in the Pompeian camp, in total seven cohorts, defended bravely, but were not able to fend off the assault.<ref name="academia1"/>

Caesar had won his greatest victory, claiming to have only lost about 200 soldiers and 30 centurions and assigning the Optimate losses to be 60,000 men.<ref name="Caesar, BC III 99,1">Caesar, BC III 99,1.</ref> These numbers seem suspiciously exaggerated with [[Appian]] suggesting the Caesarean losses to be as many as 1,200 men and the Pompeian losses to be 6,000. In his history of the war, Caesar would praise his own men's discipline and experience, and remembered each of his [[centurion]]s by name. He also questioned Pompey's decision not to charge.<ref>Caesar, BC III, 92,3.</ref>