A personal conference between the two generals, which took place at the request of Ariovistus, seemed as if solely meant to cover an attempt against the person of Caesar; arms alone could decide between the two oppressors of Gaul.

The war came temporarily to a stand.

In lower Alsace somewhere in the region of Muhlhausen, five miles from the Rhine,( 36) the two armies lay at a little distance from each other, till Ariovistus with his very superior force succeeded in marching past the Roman camp, placing himself in its rear, and cutting off the Romans from their base and their supplies.

Caesar attempted to free himself from his painful situation by a battle; but Ariovistus did not accept it.
Nothing remained for the Roman general but, in spite of his inferior strength, to imitate the movement of the Germans, and to recover his communications by making two legions march past the enemy and take up a position beyond the camp of the Germans, while four legions remained behind in the former camp.

Ariovistus, when he saw the Romans divided, attempted an assault on their lesser camp; but the Romans repulsed it.