Caesar's invasions of Britain

Caesar's invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC were two cross-Channel expeditions, the first time Roman arms reached the far side of the ocean. The first, a reconnaissance in force from Portus Itius (Boulogne), met British chariots and cavalry in the surf at Deal and was battered by tides and storms that wrecked much of the fleet. The next year he returned with five legions and cavalry, pushed inland past the Thames against Cassivellaunus, took hostages and imposed tribute, and sailed home. No occupation followed; the expeditions brought Caesar prestige in Rome and a foothold of contacts that Augustus and Claudius would later build on. In 55 BC some eighty transports sailed by night from Portus Itius and fought off British horsemen and war-chariots in the surf off Deal, while the tide stranded the cavalry and a storm wrecked the anchored fleet. In 54 BC six hundred ships carried five legions and two thousand horse; the legions marched inland, forded the Thames, and stormed Cassivellaunus' stronghold, after which the tribes submitted, hostages passed to Roman keeping, and tribute was fixed for Britain. Caesar then sailed back to Gaul and never returned; the island stayed outside the empire for another ninety years, but the crossing fixed Britain in Roman politics and in the story of his command.