Seeing this, Caesar ordered the warships – which were swifter and easier to handle than the transports, and likely to impress the natives more by their unfamiliar appearance – to be removed a short distance from the others, and then be rowed hard and run ashore on the enemy’s right flank, from which position the slings, bows and artillery could be used by men on deck to drive them back. This manoeuvre was highly successful.<br> Scared by the strange shape of the warships, the motion of the oars, and the unfamiliar machines, the natives halted and retreated. "(Caesar, The Conquest of Gaul, p.99)