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Caesar was now in a dire position, holding a beachhead at Epirus with only half his army, no ability to supply his troops by sea, and limited local support, as the Greek cities were mostly loyal to Pompey.

Caesar's only choice was to fortify his position, forage what supplies he could, and wait on his remaining army to attempt another crossing.

Pompey by now had a massive international army ; however, his troops were mostly untested raw recruits, while Caesar's troops were hardened veterans.

Realizing Caesar's difficulty in keeping his troops supplied, Pompey decided to simply mirror Caesar's forces and let hunger do the fighting for him.

Caesar began to despair and used every channel he could think of to pursue peace with Pompey.

When this was rebuffed he made an attempt to cross back to Italy to collect his missing troops but was turned back by a storm.

Finally, Marc Antony rallied the remaining forces in Italy, fought through the blockade and made the crossing, reinforcing Caesar's forces in both men and spirit.

Now at full strength Caesar felt confident to take the fight to Pompey.