Roman+Warfare

In the summation of the Roman campaign against the tribes of Britain, an army of 7,000 Romans fought against 40,000+ barbarians and won. They not only won, but suffered no more than 800 casualties! The reason? Roman ingenuity.

When someone mentions Rome or mentions the Roman Empire, many think of military power, and rightfully so. With their army, the Romans expanded across Europe, North Africa, Spain, Greece, and even to Egypt. Such an incredible empire could not be captured or maintained without a large, professional, disciplined army led by smart and cunning leaders. The Roman army had distinction of command, roles, and formations.



The Item above is known as a Pila (plural //pilum//) It had a weight before the actual spearhead to make it possible to pierce certain armors. There is another distinct quality about the pila that makes it unique. The spearhead was not made of typical medals, but rather, it was made from a softer, more malleable metal. "Why would the Romans have soft tipped projectiles?" When a pila was thrown, if it hit the ground the spearhead would bend, making it impossible to try throwing it back at the legionary who threw it. Every Roman Legionary would carry two of them, meaning that before a battle started, each Roman could have killed two of the enemy before the melee range fighting starts. In history, this weapon has made a huge difference, such as in the invasion of Britain.



This is one of the Roman Legionaries armor types, the //Lorica//. If you have not guessed it yet, the segments allow Romans to be more flexible than other armors. It is stronger than chainmail, but almost as flexible. The helmet had two jaw-bits (the metal protectors on the sides) to protect against glancing slashes. The back of the helmet was large and curved in order to protect against decapitating strikes to the back of the head. This armor allowed for the typical soldier to not die upon a single mistake.



The weapon used by Roman soldiers was the Gladius, a short 2-foot long sword. The gladius' primary was not for fighting sword to sword, but for stabbing. The reason the sword was so short was because it would allow for much more power to be put behind each blow, easily piercing many armors. This trait used in conjunction with the Roman fighting style makes it incredibly deadly.

Roman sheilds did not neccesarily have the same design as this, but were made in a similar fashion. The sheilds were large, five feet tall, curved back, made of metal, and the most distinguishing and important feature is that they had 20 Kilogram weighted ball in the center of them. Why the heck would Romans weigh themselves down in the middle of an important fight? Well, it may seem that way at first, but it took Roman creativity to think of a way.

The Combination of Gladius and Sheild
When the Roman battle line was charged, the first blow would be blocked by the sheild. In the same motion used to block, the legionary would shove forward this heavy sheild. Against other armored armies this technique could disarm, stun, or knockdown enemies. As in the Battle of Britain, when it was used against unarmored barbarians, it could crack bones in addition to knocking them down, stunning, or disarming them. Here's where the gladius comes in. After the sheild does its work, the soldier's opponent would be defenseless. The way the gladius was used was by stabbing up and under the opponent's rib cage, just barely reaching the heart and yet not being too deep to get stuck in their corpse. A trained soldier could block, shove, and stab within five seconds, making killing enemies very time effecient.

=Roman Tactics and Strategy= Romans were led by ingenius generals who greatly influenced history. Roman generals have been known to greatly value manuverability in their legions. In many battles, they would rely on flanking manuevers in order to surround, instill fear, and finish things quickly and effectively.

Roman generals were always taught that picking the field of battle is just as important as the battle itself. This was the largest deciding factor in the Battle of Britain. In that example, the Roman general marched his army across the country, retreating from the massive horde that was the barbarian army. The barbarians had simplistic leadership and they failed to see how they were led to the ultimate defensive battlefield. The general (whose name slips me) saw his oppurtunity to win and live when he spotted this: A flatland with short grass surrounded by trees and backed by mountains. There was only one way an army could come at him, and it was narrow enough for him to form a battle line there. One on one the barbarians were no match for any Roman legionary, which is why a choke point was perfect. It nullified the effect of having so many in their army. But still, 40,000 is forty thousand, the Romans would get tired right?

The Roman Main Battle Line
Wrong. When fighting defensively, the Romans had a system to avoid fatigue. The battle line would vary in how long and deep it was per general, but it was considered standard to be either six or eight men deep. Once the fight started, the front men would fight for a set amount of time. Once that time period was up, the Romans at the front would all step to the left and start walking backwards til they reached the end of the lines. The men in the 2nd row would then step up and take their place. This made the army very effecient because for example, if the line was eight men deep, and they were told to rotate after fighting for 5 minutes, one man would fight for five minutes and then get to rest for another thirty-five. This also allowed for the men at the front to be rested, strong, and not likely to make as many mistakes as someone who is tired would.