With the decision of the Frankish king Clovis to march south, the war between them and the Visigoths over Gaul officially began. Compared with the Visigoths, who had already occupied Gaul, the Franks were inferior in the number of troops to their opponents, but the Franks, who were deeply popular, won the final victory.
In addition, the Visigothic king Alaric II was also unable to retreat safely, and eventually died on the battlefield, and it was the death of the young king that plunged the already turbulent kingdom into turmoil, and it was no longer possible to fight the Franks, and had to give up the rule of Gaul.
Before the two sides fought a decisive battle, Clovis had won the support of the people, the biggest chip in determining the outcome of the war. As for why the Gaulish people would support the Franks from the north, the reason is simple, at this time in the Lands of Gaul, only this monarch believed in the Orthodox State Religion of Rome, and the other barbarian kings were not like this.
As a Gaul region deeply influenced by Roman culture, the local people have long been deeply influenced by the orthodox state religion of Rome. Although they themselves were powerless to resist the rule of the barbarian kings, when the Frankish king Clovis, who shared his own faith, came to fight, everyone offered them all the help they could.
On the contrary, when the Visigothic king Alaric II gathered a large army in response to Clovis's attack, the Gaulish people in his ruling area also provided help, but it was really not worth mentioning compared with the assistance received by Clovis.
Throughout the war, before Clovis arrived, he had already begun to preach to the Frankish bishops that Clovis was the king to whom everyone should be loyal, claiming that the people supported him. This practice seriously shook the foundations of Visigothic rule, and even if King Alaric was aware of it, it was difficult to eradicate it completely.
When the Frankish army, led by Clovis, searched for the main Visigothic force and tried to fight a decisive battle, it was blocked by a rising river. At this time, the Visigoths were waiting for work on the other side of the river, and with fewer troops than the other side, Clovis could not force the crossing at any cost.
Although they themselves fought far from the ruling areas, thanks to the active support of the Gaulish people, the Franks did not lack food and other supplies. However, the morale that is not easy to mention cannot be allowed to be worn down by time, and if this is the case for a long time, it may be difficult to retreat without a fight and return without success, and then organize everyone to go south again.
Just when Clovis was at a loss, the local people offered great help. Because of the propaganda of the bishops in the early days, the people everywhere sided with the Franks, and when Clovis was worried about how to cross the river, the local peasants offered him an unknown and undefended place to cross the river.
While the Visigoths were still waiting for the Franks to cross the river and face the attack head-on, Clovis's army, which had crossed the river from other locations, was already fully packed and went to the opponent's camp, intending to fight to the death. The Visigoths, shocked to learn of their opponent's sudden crossing of the river, were in a hurry unable to agree on whether to meet or retreat first.
The quarrels between the parties at the decision-making meeting made it difficult for King Alaric to decide. Eventually, a general proposed to avoid his front and retreat in search of vantage points before engaging in battle, and the young king readily agreed to his suggestion, abandoning the favorable terrain he had occupied earlier and beginning to retreat with his entire army.
Without adequate preparation, the process of withdrawal was so chaotic that it seriously affected the efficiency of the withdrawal. In the end, it was caught up by the army led by Clovis, who was traveling day and night, and although the Visigoths tried their best to switch to the state of full defense, the earlier retreat had already exhausted the morale of the army, and the Visigoths were defeated in this battle.
Not only was the Visigothic army severely damaged, but even King Aralic II was unable to escape and eventually died at the hands of the Franks. Without the king's constraints, the Visigothic kingdom was constantly strife, and not only was it unable to cope with Clovis's attack, but even the lands of Gaul that had once occupied were difficult to hold.
Eventually, the Visigoths withdrew from Gaul, and the Franks became masters of Gaul.
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