Roman Battle Techniques

The legions of Rome were one of the biggest factors in Rome's success as an empire. They conquered vast quantities of land, and were often used by the government to improve the morale of people living in cities, which often had parts that were cramped and unsanitary. The legions were set apart from contemporary armies due to their level of organisation and especially as they fought as a unit and not as individuals, as many tribes did.

The importance of roman shields were used to protect themselves. They would use the shield to ram the enemy. It was semi-circular shields so that any projectiles that were thrown at them would deflect to one side.

A large amount of the soldiers had special skills whether it be with a bow, flung stones from slingshots, or swimming rivers to surprise an enemy. The artillery consisted of giant catapults, called onagers, machines that fired rocks or balls of burning tar. Also the romans used big crossbows, called ballistas, too. Most of the time romans fought on foot. Calvary was a big help to the Romans to rout the enemy. In a battle situation, the cavalry would line up on either side of the infantry to help them out. Roman

The military prowess of Roman commanders and legionaries proved to be successful enough to turn a small community into an ancient super power. There are many discussions to be had about the tactics and success of the Roman army, some of which are: their style of fighting, the attitude toward the fight, and the fruits of their war.

The Roman Republic military was one of the first well-organized military of all time. Because of this, most succeeding militaries follow their example by adopting and adapting some of the same characteristics. The Roman and U.S. military are from different eras, but still share similar characteristics as well as vast modernized differences that have established the U.S. military as efficient and organized.

The Roman scutum was a large body shield used in battles, sieges, and gladiator fights. The scutum was used from the early Roman Republic until the third century CE and helped to define many of the Roman battle tactics that made them so successful. The curved, semi-cylindrical design provided full-body protection and was especially used in the testudo formation during sieges. The Roman Scutum is a perfect example of the military genius of the Roman Legion.

A Review of Edward N. Luttwak, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire from the First Century A.D. to the Third.

Some examples of these would include The Battering Ram, The Turris, and The Ballista. The Roman army was also very willing to incorporate the war tactics and the weapons of their defeated enemies if they were deemed beneficial. (Alchin) These improvements provided the Roman army advantages in battle. The Roman generals that were picked to lead the army were highly skilled in the art of war. They were masters of attack and counterattacks, the use of mounted and unmounted calvary as well as archery. As a result of the Roman army's successful tactics, Rome therefore was able to achieve massive amounts of territory and assemble a substantial empire. (Cavazzi)

In 390 B.C, several tribes of Celts that the Romans called Gauls attacked Rome. They defeated the Romans and ransacked the city but they could not defeat the soldiers fortified in the citadel. They finally gave up and left the Rome. The city was in ruins and many people wanted to leave and go to a nearby city. In the end however, the Romans decided to stay. They rebuilt the city and its walls. This defeat was very significant in Roman history because it made them adopt new and more effective military weaponry. They stopped using the spear in favor of a two-foot long sword, adopting helmets, breastplates and a shield with iron edges. They reorganized their army, putting in the front rank of their battle line not the wealthy soldiers as before but the youngest and strongest. The Romans then successfully defended themselves against attacks by Etruscans, Volscians, and

The Romans' siege tactics included five success factors that enabled the Romans to be victorious. These five success factors were sophisticated artillery weapons, formidable siege towers, the engineering experience of fortification construction, superior logistics, and mastery of the seas. The Roman army copied as well as improved Greek artillery weapons. The Roman machines used animal sinews instead of horse hair, and metal parts replaced wood to increase strength. In a siege, these weapons were used to defend as well as attack.

“But because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned”(Doc B). Therefore, they asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates … then the helmets(Doc B). This proves that Rome was very lazy and didn’t want to train to fight or win the on going wars. In my opinion Rome probably thought they were already too strong for everyone else. Also no one tried to restore the breastplates and helmets, leading to great losses and casualties(Doc B). This showed lack of responsibility and work ethic.

They were cheap to produce as well perfect for the types of attacks that the formations were mostly made for: quick stabbing attacks. Although the Roman’s borrowed the design of the gladius from the Spaniards, Rome quickly altered the sword and their formations to work around the sword and its uses. After researching the topic extensively, I do believe the gladius cannot solely be attributed to the Roman Empire’s success. That honor should be attributed to its strong economy, political system, and every aspect of its military. The Roman also had a good deal of luck which was mentioned before. If a stronger or more stable country was nearby to Rome during its early times, there wouldn’t be a need for this essay as Rome would probably never had existed past B.C. times. Another question for another time is to ask: If the gladius had never existed, would its army have been as effective using an alternative weapon or

One of the key reasons the Roman Empire fell was the frequent and merciless barbarian attacks. They pushed more and more people into Rome,That created cramped living conditions in Rome. The people that went into Rome started to destroy and steal crops. It also created a strain on their natural resources. The constant barbarian attacks pushing more people into the Empire, destroing their food supply, and using up natural resource lead to their destruction.

The Roman army was the most powerful war machine of its time and arguably many others. It is this vast war machine that facilitated the Roman Empire and its creation. I call the Roman army a war machine because of the meticulous organization the army displayed, organization so thorough it mimics the individual cogs and gears in a machine working in perfect unison to achieve a common goal. The roman army was responsible for developing revolutionary fighting techniques which not only secured Rome’s position as the most powerful force in the world, but would influence the fighting styles of other armies for hundreds of years. But a machine so intricate and complex was not created in a day. It was through much trial and error and the test of time that the Roman army became the world power that we remember it as. I call the legions a world power because without the approval of the legions an emperor would be powerless. History documents show many Generals who already had the approval of their legions ascending to power, most notably Julius Caesar. So the Roman army was a very prominent military and political influence. Although the Roman army did not simply consist of soldiers and future politicians, it also included engineers. These engineers were responsible for the building of the roads that carried soldiers to and from battle, along with numerous military technologies that would influence the future of warfare. The Roman army’s history and the creation of new war

He helped Rome win many battles along with a few wars. These were some of his greatest accomplishments. You see, he was one of the best military leaders Rome had ever experienced.With that kind of leadership, Rome won many battles without even trying. His greatest victory as leader of Rome was defeating Egypt after getting pulled into an affair with Cleopatra. Egypt was a big political rival for Rome. Boldness, Decisiveness, and his reckless willingness to march ahead of his supply lines were huge impacts on the winning of battles.