The episode is typical of Caesar’s caution in his first campaign. He was content to wait for conditions favorable to victory and though pressed by the need for supplies, refused to commit himself otherwise (BG 1.15.4–5; 16.1–2).[18] Even then he would not attack without the ambush from the rear, although he had four legions. Moreover, the battle near Bibracte was brought about by the Helvetii (1.23.3). He did not try to represent the quitting of the Helvetian caravan as a tactic meant to draw them into a disadvantage (1.23.1). It is easy to forget that Caesar was not always the bold general of Dyrrachium or Munda. In 58, he was unsure of his army and his officers.[19] Perhaps he was uneasy with the traditional leadership of the legions by military tribunes. The panic at Vesontio (1.39–40) surely did not come as a complete surprise and may have accelerated the rise of the legatus in his army.[20] At any rate, these factors explain his dependency upon Labienus in 58, a dependency that disappeared as Caesar gained experience and confidence in other lieutenants.
At the end of the season, Labienus commanded winter quarters for all the legions at Vesontio among the Sequani (BG 1.54.3).[21] The assignment was one of responsibility, since the location was intended to provoke conflict. By not withdrawing into the Province, Caesar made manifest aims beyond the repulse of the Helvetian and German invaders. The Gauls revolted, and the subjugation of their country ensued.
According to Dio (41.4.3), Labienus commanded the legions whenever Caesar was administering justice in Cisalpine Gaul. Dio is surely generalizing from BG 1.54.3. After 58, the legions were often scattered over a wide area in separate camps under single officers. Labienus could have had little direct authority. The reasons for the individual camps were of course military, but the effect was to deprive Labienus of the influence that would have accrued from such a permanent assignment. It would be useful to know whether Labienus was Caesar’s only legatus pro praetore.[22] The right to represent the imperator was the proper function of an officer of that rank, so the loss of that right would have been yet more galling.