De Bello Gallico 4.24

4.24.1At barbarī, cōnsiliō Rōmānōrum cognitō praemissō equitātū et essedāriīs, quō plērumque genere in proeliīs utī cōnsuērunt, reliquīs cōpiīs subsecūtī nostrōs nāvibus ēgredī prohibēbant.

But the natives, learning the Romans' plan, sent ahead their cavalry and chariot-fighters, a kind of force they usually employ in battle, followed with the rest of their forces, and tried to stop our men from leaving the ships.

4.24.2Erat ob hās causās summa difficultās, quod nāvēs propter magnitūdinem nisi in altō cōnstituī nōn poterant, mīlitibus autem, ignōtīs locīs, impedītīs manibus, magnō et gravī onere armōrum oppressīs simul et dē nāvibus dēsiliendum et in flūctibus cōnsistendum et cum hostibus erat pugnandum, cum illī aut ex āridō aut paulum in aquam prōgressī omnibus membrīs expedītīs, nōtissimīs locīs, audācter tēla coicerent et equōs īnsuēfactōs incitārent.

There was the greatest difficulty for these reasons: the ships, because of their size, could not be brought to rest except in deep water; while the soldiers, in unknown places, with their hands encumbered and weighed down by a great and heavy load of arms, had at the same time to leap down from the ships, keep their footing in the waves, and fight the enemy, whereas the enemy, either from dry land or having gone only a little way into the water, with all their limbs free and in places they knew very well, boldly hurled missiles and spurred on their horses, which were trained to it.

Note. dēsiliendum … cōnsistendum … pugnandum erat: impersonal passive periphrastics with the dative mīlitibus, 'the soldiers had to …'. cum illī … coicerent: cum 'whereas', setting the Britons against the Romans.

4.24.4Quibus rēbus nostrī perterritī atque huius omnīnō generis pugnae imperītī, nōn eādem alacritāte ac studiō quō in pedestribus utī proeliīs cōnsuērant ūtēbantur.

Our men, alarmed by this and wholly unfamiliar with this kind of fighting, did not show the same energy and enthusiasm that they usually showed in battles on land.