In real life, the main square in Clermont-Ferrand has a statue of Vercingetorix, as opposed to the statue of Caesar in the book.
The story begins with a banquet celebrating the anniversary of Vercingetorix's victory at the Battle of Gergovia.
and focusses on the threat to liberty represented by his power, and on the fight of the Gauls under Vercingetorix for liberty from the Romans; he links the two by relating Caesar's fall to his conquest of Gaul; the text can thus be seen as an allegory of contemporary issues of the aristocratic struggle against the power of the crown.
It is situated at the foot of the Gergovie plateau, the official but disputed site of the Battle of Gergovia, where — near to the Arverni oppidum of Nemossos (a sacred wood, in Gaulish) — the Arverni and other Gallic tribes gathered under Vercingetorix's command to fight the Roman legions of Julius Caesar in 52 BC.
In one point he seems to have taken a false step; with a warmth and pertinacity worthy of a better cause he maintained the identity of Caesar's Alesia with Alaise, and he died without becoming a convert to the opinion, now almost universally accepted, that Alise Sainte-Reine is the place where Vercingetorix capitulated.
Neung sur Beuvron is thought to be the Roman town of Noviodunum Biturigum, in which Vercingetorix and Julius Caesar fought in 52 BC.
This mixed background provides Alix with an identity crisis and divided loyalties, especially in the context of the founding myths of French nationalism revolving around Vercingetorix.
However, the capital of the Bituriges, Avaricum (Bourges), a Gallic settlement straight in Caesar's path, was spared.
The weapons remain where they were thrown, for several hours, until a curious, somewhat greedy Roman archer sees that no one's looking, and steals Vercingetorix's famous shield.
His sieges of Vellaunodunum, Genabum and Noviodunum en route caused Vercingetorix to lift his siege and march to meet Caesar in open battle at Noviodunum, which Caesar won.
Lucterius remained at large after the surrender of Vercingetorix at Alesia and continued the resistance the following year in an alliance with Drappes, a Senonian under whom motley contingents of Gallic rebels had gathered.
The Tollemache family's names are parodied in Book 1, Episode 4 of James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake, as Helmingham Erchenwyne Rutter Egbert (HERE) Crumwall Odin Maximus Esme Saxon (COMES) Esa Vercingetorix Ethelwulf Rupprecht Ydwalla Bentley Osmund Dysart Yggdrasselmann (EVERYBODY).
The main protagonist of the novel is Vercingetorix and the plot follows his rise to power to become king of the Gauls and his eventual surrender to Caesar at the Battle of Alesia.
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However, Caesar realizing that the Gaul's could not resist a siege, and after months of maneuvering, forces Vercingetorix to move his army to Alesia where the superior siege technology of the Romans traps Vercingetorix in the city, and successfully resists the reinforcements of the all the tribes of Gaul.
The village of Alise-Sainte-Reine holds a yearly festival celebrating Vercingetorix.