The Battle Of The Second Triumvirate - 2571 Words

The Battle of Philippi was the last fought battle of the wars of the second Triumvirate. These wars were a fight between the forces of Marc Antony and Octavian of the Second Triumvirate, and the forces of Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. Brutus and Cassius were the assassinators of Julius Caesar, Marc Antony and Octavian were very close allies with Julius Caesar and Octavian would become the heir to his throne after the assassination. Because of this, Marc Antony and Octavian would wage a war against Brutus and Cassius to avenge their ally Julius Caesar. Immediately following the assassination of Caesar, Brutus and Cassius fled to Italy to take control of the Eastern provinces. The three main Caesarian leaders, Antony,†¦show more content†¦With the arrival of Republican admiral Gnaeus Domitus Ahenobarbus, communications back to Italy were made very difficult because of the large fleet of ships that he brought with him which blockaded the triumvirate. These fl eets of the Liberators did not wish to engage in a physical battle with the Triumvirate, but only to block their communications with their supply base back in Italy. With this swarming fleet they were able to outflank the Triumvirate and set up their own defensive positions forcing Norbanus and Saxa to retreat from their positions moving west giving the Liberators the upper hand at this spot. Brutus and Cassius were able to gain position on the Via Egnatia on each side with this fleet. To the north and south were impassable marshes and mountains. Brutus and Cassius then split their forces each manning a North and South defensive position of the Via Egnatia. After arriving to the scene, Marc Antony put his troops to the south while Octavian put his troops to the north, preparing for battle with the Liberators. Marcus Junius Brutus was always known in history as being too soft of a general. Although he had little successful battle victories in Thrace and Lycia, he had always been jud ged as being lacking in authority when it came to the generalship of his troops. Because of this, Brutus was commonly referred to as a statesman than a military commander. The other Liberator commander, Gaius