Celtic chieftain Vercingetorix (c. 75 BC-c. 46 BC) battled valiantly to keep the Roman army from overrunning the territory of Gaul, as France was then called. His troops were defeated at Alesia and Vercingetorix was forced to surrender.

Revered in France as its first national hero, Vercingetorix managed to unite several sovereign Celtic tribes to do battle against the aggressive Romans. Vercingetorix was an Arverni, one of the many Celtic tribes who ruled over what is France today, northern Germany, the Benelux countries, and the British Isles. Originally a migratory race, scholars theorize that the Celts hailed from what is now southern Germany. During the Iron Age, they settled across much of the western European continent, and were known to be skilled on horseback and fierce in battle; they were also excellent goldsmiths. By the fifth and fourth centuries BC, Celtic iron tool culture was firmly established across much of...