Book I of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War starts with an account of Gaul and goes on to cover Caesar's defeat of first the Helvetians and then the Germans under Ariovistus. The Introduction to this edition of the Latin text, first published in 1957, gives background information on the Rome of Caesar's time, on Caesar himself and on the composition and reliability of his commentaries, on Gaul, and on the Roman Army. Useful maps are provided, along with Notes on the text, Index of names, and a Vocabulary.