For some time the Cæsarian army under Fabius remained inactive before Ilerda. Two bridges had been built across the stream, but one of these the current had carried away, and at one time two of the legions were in considerable danger while they were foraging on the southern bank. When Cæsar took over the command both bridges had gone, and the Pompeians, by using the stone bridge, could prevent any further bridge building. Food supplies from the north were cut off, and the Cæsarians were hard-pressed for provisions, having exhausted all the food in the neighborhood of their camp. Cæsar managed finally to relieve this trying situation by building a bridge outside the range of the operations of the Pompeians, who never dared to get too far away from their camp. His next move was to try to cut them off from the city, their base of supplies, but this failed. They were secure where they were, but they grew alarmed when some of the native population joined Cæsar’s forces; there was also a prospect of a period of low water in the river, when Cæsar could use a ford and so completely envelop them. Under such conditions they resolved to abandon their camp and retire to the Ebro to make there another stand. The retreat was accomplished without much difficulty, except from cavalry attacks, which delayed their progress toward the river, which they would have reached five miles south of Ilerda. They had covered most of this distance when Cæsar’s legions suddenly appeared ready for attack. In spite of the difficulty of crossing the stream at Ilerda, Cæsar’s men with great valor had braved the dangers of the swift current and had marched with such rapidity that they caught up with the Pompeians before sunset. Afranius and Petreius soon found themselves outmanœuvered by their opponents, the way to the river being closed to them. The only alternative now was to fight or surrender. After some hesitation, perhaps due to divided counsels in their own camp, they abandoned the attempt to reach the Ebro and returned to their original camping ground at Ilerda. (August, 44 B.C.) Cæsar, in the meantime, held his hand, though his soldiers earnestly wished for a pitched battle under such favorable circumstances. It was a civil war, and Cæsar had no taste for the kind of butchery practised on the barbarians in Gaul on so many occasions. The Pompeian commanders soon capitulated; the best force of his opponents had now by Cæsar’s superior strategy been put out of action, as effectively as if it had been beaten on the battlefield. Such a victory is practically unique in military annals. The Roman army at Trasimene and at Cannæ, the Prussians at Jena, and the French in 1870-71 were annihilated as military units, but only after hard-fought battles.