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34They accordingly went back to the Bituriges, captured Avaricum, a city of theirs, and held out in it for a long time; for the wall was hard to approach, being bordered on one side by almost trackless swamps and on the other by a river with a swift current. When, therefore, they were later besieged by the Romans, their great numbers made it easy for them to repel the assaults, and they also made sallies, inflicting many injuries. 2Finally they burned up everything in the vicinity, not only fields and villages, but also cities from which they thought assistance could come to their enemies, and if anything was being brought to these from allies at a distance, they seized it for booty. Therefore the Romans, while appearing to besiege the city, were really suffering the fate of the besieged; 3this continued until a furious rain and great wind sprang up (the winter having now set in) during their attack on a point in the wall, which first drove the assailants back, making them seek shelter in their tents, and then shut up the barbarians also in their houses. When they had retired from the battlements, the Romans suddenly attacked again, while there were no men there; 4and capturing a tower forthwith, before ever the enemy became aware of their presence, they then without difficulty got possession of the remaining works, plundered the whole city, and in anger at the siege and their hardships slew all the people.
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