The Unstopabble Roman Army Essay

Thus it happens that troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not about fighting.” (Doc. B) This shows that the Roman soldiers didn’t care about not having the protection to help them win the war. This also shows that the Roman soldiers started to give up and quit before the fight had even started. This is significant because without the armor the Romans got more wounds and were more likely to die.This also significant because it made the soldiers weaker and more likely for Rome to be put to an end, because they didn’t have the weight of the armor to made them stronger and protect them, and the more soldiers that were killed the smaller the military got. With the army smaller it let the enemies start to overcome Rome and make it fall. Furthermore, according to The Fall of the Roman Empire: A Reappraisal, Crown Publishing, 1982, “ There can be little doubt that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure … to enforce regular conscription [draft of soldiers] … the exempted categories were … numerous.” (Doc. B) This demonstrates how the government made people live once they became lazy. With the government forcing people to be in the army it made people not want to do their jobs, so they

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 U.S. military uniforms are completely different from the Roman Republic; nothing is the same except for the use of a helmet. Warfare has changed since the ancient times and with that change, what soldiers wear for protection had to change as well.

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)

As can be seen, the Roman Empire was great for its time in more ways that one, with its undefeatable strength and size . It was greater than the empires before it

But when because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned,...” This led the military to come to the idea that breastplates and helmets were turning too heavy for them and therefore, it was not needed. Also, Michael Grant, the author of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A Reappraisal, states in Document B, “There can be little that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure … to enforce regular conscription.” Even though there weren’t enough men to serve in the military, the government officials excluded men from tremendously different categories. Such as, senators, bureaucrats and clergymen escaped the draft. Alongside, cooks, bakers and slaves were prohibited since the leaders needed them for their own convenience. However when invaders, such as the Goths, poured into the empire around 410 CE, the troops were in battle without any protection and were exposed to wounds. This brought the soldiers to the idea that it was better off for them to run away instead of fighting unsheltered. They didn’t have any defense nor could fight back to the aggressors. The vulnerable army was the key for Rome to turn into ruins. Just like that, The Roman empire’s lusty army was turning into a clutter of frail

One of the many noteworthy reasons Rome came to its demise was the unstable nature of their military. The Romans were rarely using their armor to shield themselves and it was getting tiresome to wear the armor. The emperor then did not require the use of body armor anymore, “Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates… and then the helmets.” (page 15). Because of the decision to cast away the breastplates and helmets, it made it effortless to wound and kill the Romans with skilled archers, such as the Huns (Doc D). Another pivotal fault was the draft, “The exempted categories were...numerous” (Doc B). Draft exemptions meant that not enough men were fighting and too many were lazing around. Even bakers and cooks were not required to serve under martial law(Doc B). Because of these mistakes, the Roman military became weak. Not having enough members on their command,

With no strength, the armor they wore seemed heavy, as the Roman Historian Vegetius states from an excerpt in Document B. The military men started to ask to remove the breastplate,and later removed their helmets. With no armor protecting them in battle, the numbers grew short,as countless soldiers fell from numerous wounds. Rome tried to fix the problem by conscription, but failed to enforce it as numerous categories were excluded from the draft. With no soldiers to defend Rome, the invaders viewed this as an opportunity to attack, which was the third problem that played in Rome’s

While Rome was so powerful, their military definitely was not. Once again, Rome became lazy because of all their power. According to Document B, the customary armour began to seem heavy since the soldiers had barely ever worn it. The asked to set aside the breastplates and then soon after, they decided to drop the helmets. The soldiers were fighting without any protect over their chest and heads. The Romans were often beaten and still, no one tried to replace the armor. The Romans may have lasted longer if they would have done the right thing and tried to protect

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.

Also, Augustus recruited soldiers from the Roman provinces. These auxiliary troops were granted Roman citizenship upon completion of military service, and they became important agents of Romanization because the provinces now had a share in the defense of the Empire. In addition, Augustus raised a new military force, the 9,000-strong Praetorian Guard, to act as personal bodyguards of the Emperor and to specifically protect the city of Rome from all enemies, foreign or domestic.

Thankfully, due to the Romans writing a lot down, there are many sources (unlike in the "Dark Ages" for example) available to study how the Roman army worked. In this project, the aim is to find out how the training and organization of the

Chapter 2 entitled “From The Flavians To The Severi” informs the reader of Luttwak’s belief that Rome’s expeditionary units, as was used in the second century, were highly less effective than the legions of the first century because they were not as movable. The author tells us, “… legions were deployed at fixed bases which, in most cases, they were never to leave again; and soldiers soon acquired unofficial families in the settlements that grew spontaneously around the legionary bases. It is sometimes assumed that this domestication diminished the army’s combat capabilities by undermining its fighting spirit”.

It took twenty-five of these legions to conquer and retain the know world for five hundred years. The army used a vary of different weapons such as the Pila which was a long spear, the Gladius which was a short sword for close range killing, and a Scutum which was a barrel-like shield. The training of the army was extremely vigorous. “Roman soldiers were trained to march twenty miles a day, under a burden of eighty pounds” (tribunesandtriumphs.org). The soldiers did not just train on how to fight they also had to learn how to swim, and climb

The Roman army was efficient for many reasons and it had to be in order to create an empire. All of the Roman legionaries had the exact same equipment which made is easier to synchronize tactics and work together. All of the legionaries and auxiliary spoke the same language overall which helped communication and the leadership