Who can describe the way the Roman legions attacked, and the strategy of his legionary battles?

Category: Society & Livelihood >> Military

Ans:

Rome's constant dominance owes much to its flexible and responsive political system. But as a powerful tool of politics, the mighty military power that defeated uncountable enemy states, crushed one invasion after another by foreigners, and suppressed all resistance to the ruling class should not be overlooked. This article will focus on the changes in the Roman military system from the *** and period to the early empire, the late empire and the Byzantine era for your reference.

**** and the Middle Period (3rd to 1st century BC) - Heavily armored infantry made up of Roman citizens

As in the case of the city-states of Ancient Greece, the basic principle of the Roman military system of the **** and the Early to Middle Periods was the mandatory military service by the citizens, who provided their own equipment. Military service was not so much an obligation for Roman citizens as a noble right representing honor. Especially in the *** and early years, the military organization functioned almost directly as a political entity (the military council).

At that time, all citizens between the ages of 17 and 46 were obliged to enlist in the army and were divided into four classes of soldiers according to their age and the amount of property they held.

First, those who were too young and unable to provide themselves with the equipment needed for heavy infantry served as light infantry known as "vilites". They wore no armor and were protected only by their helmets and small round shields about 1 meter in diameter, and used a few light projectiles and swords as their offensive weapons. Light infantry in the actual battle is generally deployed in the front of the battle line, give full play to its mechanical power to carry out the battle of the foxhole.

The young men who possessed a certain amount of property acted as "hastati", and the strong men were called "brigipes", and these two formed the main body of the heavy infantry. Their equipment was exactly the same, both of them wore full armor, wielded the famous large four-pointed square shield "Sciutum", and their weapons were the broad-bladed double-edged short sword "Gladius" and two throwing lances - the large heavy throwing lance "Gladius" and the large heavy throwing lance "Gladius" - and the large heavy throwing lance "Gladius". The weapons were a broad-bladed, double-bladed short sword, the Gladius, and two lances, the large heavy lance, the Pirum, and the small light lance, the Pira. These lances were uniquely constructed so that once they hit a target, the tip would snap off to prevent the enemy from throwing it back, and in addition to being used for throwing, they could also be used as regular lances.

The oldest and the most experienced of the military belonged to the 'Toliari', who were equipped like the Hastati and the Brinjipes, but instead of a pitcher, they carried a lance called a 'hasta'.

In addition, senior citizens between the ages of 47 and 60 were not required to serve in the field army, but were obliged to *** participate in the garrison of the city of Rome at all times.

In addition to the infantry (Milites), wealthy citizens often fought as cavalrymen or knights (Ecclesiastics). However, at that time, the Romans were not really skilled riders (they didn't even have stirrups), so cavalry was generally not used for mass raids, but mainly for scouting and holding the enemy at bay. Cavalrymen wore the same armor as the heavy infantry, and were armed with shields and lances, as well as the Spada, a double-edged sword that was slightly longer than that used by the infantry.

All of this equipment was absorbed by Rome from the military civilization of Aetolia, Samnium, Celtic, Iberia and many other peoples that it came into contact with during its expansion.

Multi-service mixed combat units of infantry and cavalry were called legions (LEGION). A legion consists of 10 battalions (Kohors), each consisting of 3 companies (Manibuls). Each of these 3 companies consisted of one each of Hastati, Burlinguipes and Toliari. Each company consisted of two platoons (kentoria) of 60 to 80 men. In this case, the battalion was only the administrative and organizational unit; the tactical units in actual combat were the companies of each branch of the army. For this reason, the tactics of the Roman army during this period are sometimes referred to as "Manibus tactics".

The number of heavy infantry in a legion could reach a maximum of nearly 5,000 men, but was usually more than 4,000. In addition to the heavy infantry, light infantry and cavalry were likewise included in the official strength of the corps. While the light infantry was organized in companies like the heavy infantry, the legionary cavalry consisted of 10 cavalry units (tormas) containing 32 men each, *** counting about 300 men.

Until the 3rd century BC, Rome often mobilized the citizens of the allied states under its dominion to fight in battle under Roman formations and codes of conduct. It was customary for each "pure" Roman legion to be joined by a legion of an allied nation in a field army.

The Roman legions were commanded in time of war by two consuls (Consuls), who were the supreme magistrates, and two magistrates (Praetors), who were second only to them. The consuls were authorized to command regiments totaling about 20,000 men, consisting of two each of the Roman and Allied legions, while the magistrates could command regiments of 10,000 men, consisting of one each of the Roman and Allied legions.

Although the standing force was only 40,000 men under two consuls***, its wartime mobilization potential had been increasing as the Roman population grew. For example, by the time of the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), Rome's total population had reached as many as 3 million, and even after being wiped out by the celebrated Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae in a single blow of 60,000 men, it was still able to quickly mobilize 25 legions into battle.

In field battles, the legions were generally arranged in a formation with a front width of 200 meters and a depth of 90 meters. The first platoon was configured with Hastati, the second platoon with Bryngipes, and the third platoon with Toliari. When the first two platoons of heavily armored infantry are engaged in battle, Toliari is generally on one knee, recuperating; only when the battle changes (whether won or lost) are they brought to the front as reserves to replace the exhausted young men. At the forefront of the line is a dispersed line of light infantry, while the flanks are defended by legionary cavalry.

Legionnaires are generally able to improvise to some extent on a company by company basis in actual combat. For example, changing the density of formations, switching front and rear columns, etc....... This is a vast improvement over their distant ancestor, the typical heavy infantry of Greece (the hoplites), but in the 3rd century BC, it was far less advanced than that which had been reformed and perfected through the reforms of Iphikrates and Alexander the Great. In the 3rd century BC, however, it was far inferior to the multi-component tactics of the Hieronymus states, which had been perfected through the reforms of Iphikrates and Alexander the Great. Moreover, the Roman army was an unprofessional army made up of citizens, and the generals who commanded them were amateurs - politicians by nature. As a result, Rome suffered constant setbacks against armies under the command of professional soldiers such as Pyrrhus, Hamilcar, and Hannibal. The ultimate defeat of these formidable foes depended less on tactical savvy and more on Rome's superiority in total population, its complete domination of its allies, and the simple, resilient spirit of its peasant-born soldiers.

***And Late to Mid-Empire (1st century BCE to 3rd century CE) - A Professional Army

Rome's military power, which peaked in the 2nd century BCE when it completed its conquest of the eastern and western Mediterranean, began to decline thereafter. The fundamental reason for this was that the traditional city-state type of government was no longer adapted to the accumulation and expansion of territory.

While the generals accumulated great wealth in their campaigns, most of the men who fought as soldiers were economically deprived because of the lack of labor in their families. In order to ease this contradiction, the reform of the military system has been imperative.

The one who saved Rome from the crisis was Marius (157-86 BC), an excellent professional soldier of civilian origin, who courageously carried out a radical reform of the old military system inherited from his ancestors. His idea was to stop relying on productive citizens who could afford to provide their own armor, and instead to provide arms and pay to the unproductive citizens, with a contractual guarantee of a certain amount of land upon their retirement from the army. This move greatly contributed to the professionalization of the Roman army.

Since equipment no longer depended on private property, the equipment and training of all soldiers was standardized. The new generation of infantrymen had equipment comparable to that of the Hastati and the Bryggiades, with armor, the large square shield "Sciutum", the short sword "Gladius", and two throwing lances ('pilum' or 'pilum'). Pilum' or 'Pila'). The Velites were abolished, and there was no longer a distinction between light and heavy infantry. But the equipment and function of the cavalry did not change before or after Marius' reforms.

The principle of standardization was further enforced in the formation of legions. A legion consisted of ten battalions, each with six platoons within its organization, each with a strength of 80 men. However, the first battalion of each corps consisted of five platoons of 160 men, so that the total infantry strength of the corps should be 5,120 men in establishment. In practice, in order to ensure the balance of the corps infantry combat capability and ease of use, the total strength of the corps in general is mostly 2,000 to 3,000 people, up to 4,500 people.

The cavalry in the legions was reduced to 4 cavalry units ****128 men, mainly because it was customary to rely on the auxiliary armies (Acusilia) composed of foreign legions without the right to Roman citizenship to provide the elite cavalry. The traditionally light infantry such as stone throwers and bowmen were also mostly filled by auxiliaries. These auxiliaries were basically battalions or units of cavalry, assigned to Roman generals as field troops or garrisons.

At the end of the civil war (49 to 30 BC), the victor, Octavianus (Emperor Augustus), had as many as 500,000 men under his command. However, he quickly disarmed after his victory, streamlining his standing army to consist of 30 legions (three of which were wiped out in the Battle of the Forest of the Fortress of Toit, which erupted in 9 A.D.) together with auxiliary armies*** amounting to about 300,000 men. During the latter part of Emperor Auguste's reign, he also formed the infamous Royal Close Guard (Praetorian). The Close Guard was organized in infantry battalions of 480 men per battalion and cavalry units of 32 men.

In the field, the corps was generally arrayed in depths of two to three battalions. The discipline, morale, and skill of the new Roman legions, which were fully professionalized in terms of both officers and men, were unparalleled.

Battalions were no longer administrative units, but independent tactical units with a high degree of mobility and freedom. Commanders were able to deploy one to several battalions as a general reserve in the rear of the position to strike at the right time, or to send out battalion detachments from their own units at any time, arranging the ideal formation conceived at their own whim. This "Cohors Tactic" was invincible on the European battlefield, where the infantry was the main force. But it suffered a lot against the Persian cavalry, which was extremely powerful, on the plains of Asia.

Marius's military reforms seemed to have succeeded in saving the Roman military system under the faltering *** and polity, but in the long run, the transformation from a traditional national army to a professional army would inevitably bring about the expansion of warlord power, which would ultimately destroy the *** and the polity itself. At the end of the miserable civil strife, there finally emerged the only supreme power that defeated and absorbed all the warlord forces - the Imperial Emperor.

Late Imperial to Mid-Byzantine Period (3rd to 7th centuries AD) - The Mobile Field Army

After the era of the Five Wise Emperors (96 to 192 AD), when Rome's territory and authority were at their peak, the Roman Empire began to show signs of decline. The internal socio-economic conflicts were intensifying, and the external invasions by the Germanic peoples were constantly threatening the survival of the old empire.

By the time of what is commonly known as the "crisis of the 3rd century AD", most of the formerly popular Roman legions had been reduced to ordinary border garrisons, losing their strategic mobility and responsiveness. In order to fill the gap in strategic maneuver corps, the Romans began to temporarily organize independent cavalry brigades (Vexillatium) for each campaign. By the time of Constantinos the Great (who reigned from 324 to 337 AD), these cavalry units were finally used as the backbone of the Emperor's mobile field army (Comitatus).

The infantry, which had lost the crown of "king of land battles" to the cavalry, was never again the same as it had been 2 centuries earlier. In order to economize on equipping the cavalry, the infantry's equipment had to be greatly simplified. Armor was replaced with simpler and cheaper styles, and the symbols of the Roman legions - square shields, heavy pitcher lances, and short swords - were abolished in favor of oval shields, the cavalry's double-edged sword, the Spartan, and the lighter pitcher lance, the "spikerum" (and then the lance 'Lancel').

The term "auxiliaries", which had traditionally denoted foreign legions, was changed to refer to light infantry units after equal civic rights were granted to freemen throughout the Empire.

There were many types of cavalry, the mainstay of which was undoubtedly the heavy cavalry. The equipment and tactics of the Roman heavy cavalry were basically modeled on those of the hostile Persians, and the most elite armored cavalry, the "Kuribanali", was armored on both horse and man, with the soldier hanging a round shield in his left hand, and carrying a lance up to 4 meters long in his right hand. In addition, heavy cavalry with unarmored horses were called katafrakuti, or heavy cavalry. By the Byzantine era, heavy cavalry was favored over armored cavalry, and even the famous "Byzantine heavy cavalry" (Byzantine katafrakutos) was created. The term "Byzantine heavy cavalry" (Byzantine katafrakutos) was even coined.

Another feature of Roman cavalry in the late imperial period, the bow cavalry (sagittarii), was also born out of the experience of fighting against Persia. In the cavalry tactics of the Persian Empire, the powerful impact of the heavy cavalry and the intensive firepower of the bow cavalry were originally inextricably linked ......

The motorized field army under Constantinos the Great consisted of five brigades of close-guarded cavalry (Vexillatio? Palatina), five close-guard infantry legions (Regio? Palatinate), and 10 close-guard auxiliary corps (Acusilium?). Palatinate) were mainly formed into mixed units. The size of this force was then expanded as the situation around the Empire deteriorated.

In both the cavalry brigades and the infantry corps, new battalions (Alders) began to be organized as tactical units. Each cavalry brigade consisted of 3 battalions with a strength of around 1000 men. Each infantry corps was organized by 6 battalions with a total strength between 1000 and 2000 men.

With the exception of the Mobile Field Army, the original infantry corps were downsized and formally reorganized into National Border Guards (Limitane). The soldiers drawn from these border guards and auxiliaries and used to bolster the strength of the Mobile Field Army were called the Paramobile Field Army (Pucedo?). Comitatos).

As the only armed force stationed in the capital city of Rome, the Royal Guard, which had abused its privileges to intervene in royal succession disputes on several occasions, was routed by the army of Constantinos the Great at the Battle of the Ponte dei Merviucci in 312 AD, and has since been extinguished. The Great then formed a new cavalry of close guards (the Scolae?). Palatinate) as his own escort. Its establishment unit is the regiment (Skola), roughly equivalent to the brigade in the field army, in the east and west of the empire each stationed five regiments of close guard cavalry.

According to evidence, when Constantinos the Great ruled, the total military strength of the Roman Empire was as high as three times that of the early imperial period, about one million people. The proportion of cavalry was unrivaled at the beginning of the empire, and in light of this, the total military expenditures by no means more than tripled. It is a great irony that the army, which should have been used to defend the empire, has become a heavy burden on the empire, and is crushing the empire itself little by little.

In addition to the above, by the end of the empire, the emperors had to rely on friendly foreign armies that moved into the empire in order to alleviate the shortage of troops. Although these allied armies (Foederati) were never really trusted, they kept infiltrating the imperial army. In the western half of the empire, not only the common soldiers, but even the positions of generals were being constantly eaten away by them, eventually leading to the entire empire sinking into the sea of alien worlds.

From the late imperial period to the early Byzantine period, the era of the reconquests of Eusthenianus the Great (who reigned from 527 to 565 AD), the imperial army became progressively tougher and more expensive; on the other hand, the army itself became more professionalized.

Given the shift from infantry to cavalry, the task of the infantry in this period was simply to form squares and maintain battle lines.

In this period, the infantry was only tasked with forming squares and maintaining battle lines. Moreover, due to the variety and complexity of the types of soldiers and equipment, the strict and standardized drill codes and tactics of the early imperial period no longer existed.

Urianus the Great (ruled from 361 to 363 AD) and front-line commanders such as Belisarius and Narses were adept at configuring mixed infantry and cavalry units to suit the situation, and were also skilled at laying out reserves and making flexible use of the terrain.

For the most part, Roman cavalry were deployed on the flanks and in the rear of infantry formations. Bowed cavalry fired in horizontal rows as a unit, while heavy cavalry was used in a concentrated manner and relied on massed assaults to play a decisive role in battles.

But in the early days of Byzantium, when the imperial armies fought the nomads of the East, it was immediately clear that this tactic had little effect on the latter. Since then, the heavy cavalry has become as flexible as the bow cavalry.

Mid-Byzantine period (7th to 11th centuries AD) - the "Tema" system

The reign of Heraculeos the Great (610 to 641 AD) was an important turning point in the history of the Roman Empire. The reign of the Emperor began with great successes against the Persian Empire, an old enemy, and ended with a crushing defeat against the *** religious *** people. It was under his rule that the empire made the transition from ancient Rome, where Latin was used, to the medieval state of "Byzantium", where Greek was the national language. For about a century after the death of Heraculeos, the empire fought for its own survival and survived the strong attacks from the *** world. During this time of crisis and the subsequent "Dark Ages" when the Empire was being rebuilt, the Imperial Army had to undergo another fundamental reform. The result of this reform was the birth of the "Tema" (military district) system.

Under this system, the entire territory of the empire, except for the fortress of Constantinople, was divided into dozens of "Tema" (military districts). The term "Tema" originally meant military garrisons, but in the defense against the *** people, it gradually became the basic unit of local troop mobilization and management. Soldiers belonging to the various military districts served as peasants cultivating land provided by the state during normal times, and were conscripted into the army during wartime, essentially as so-called cantonment soldiers.

The Tema system, **** the advantages of both the national army and the professional army. As long as the livelihood of the cantoners was secured, mobilization and command in wartime was easy; and the morale of the soldiers fighting to defend their homeland was generally high, while the burden of the state on their salaries could be reduced to a minimum.

These local units, which are divided into military districts, are essentially defensive units, while the Central Army (Tagmata), a direct descendant of the Mobile Field Army stationed near the Imperial capital, is the mobile strike force responsible for attack.

Beginning in the mid-Byzantine period, imperial armies began to adopt lockjaw armor in large numbers. Imperial heavy infantry (Sciutato) around the 10th century AD were generally equipped with lock armor or breastplate with helmet, holding large round shields to protect their bodies, and armed with lances and swords up to 4 meters long. There is little information on the equipment of the light infantry that has survived to this day. It is only known that there existed a type of soldier called "Small Shield Soldier" (Peltastai) who wore lighter armor than Sciutato and was equipped with small shields and lances. These small shields were the resurrection of the eponymous type of soldier (peltast), born in the 4th century BC during the military reforms of Iphikrates, which was between the heavy and light infantry.

Cavalry remained the mainstay of the army. The gradual assimilation of heavy cavalry and bow cavalry equipment in the Central Army also meant the decline of the bow cavalry. Heavy cavalrymen were clad in scale or chain mail, helmets, round shields or square shields of the Western European type, and were armed with swords and riding lances (cantos) about 4 meters long, or with bows and arrows and catapults. In the battles against the *** people, the proportion of the bow cavalry in the army gradually decreased, and in the 8th century AD, it finally disappeared from the regular army. A portion of the heavy cavalry in the central army, however, began to attach armor to their mounts, reviving the former armored cavalry as a branch of the army.

Compared to the central army, local troops were mostly light cavalry. They wore cheap leather armor, had small shields, and used swords or spears as their main weapons.

In the first half of the 10th century AD, the Byzantine Empire was divided into 31 military districts; by the early 11th century, the number of districts had increased to 46. The military districts generally provided two to three legions (tormas) of troops, totaling between 3,000 and 15,000. Each corps consisted of 2 to 5 battalions (Dorengaros), each containing 5 companies (Bantons), with a quota of 256 infantry and 300 cavalry per company, but numbers were often much less than the quota when actually assigned.

The central army, on the other hand, consisted of three or four close-guard corps (merlos), the tactical basic unit of which, like the local armies, was the company (banton), and each of which consisted of ten close-guard companies. In addition, a close-guard battalion (Moira) of three to five close-guard companies is sometimes employed. In addition to the regular army, the empire also often uses its wealth to drive foreign allies or mercenaries to fight for them.

The most prominent of these was undoubtedly the "Viking Kommandos", formed by Russian-born Vikings at the end of the 10th century. At its largest scale, its total strength once reached a full legion of thousands of people. It is said that after the conquest of England by William, Archduke of Normandy (1066), many of the Angles and Saxons who had been expelled from their homeland joined the force. Saxons had also joined the force. These tall, axe-wielding warriors were famous for their loyalty and bravery.

The fortunes of the empire took a sharp turn for the worse after the capture of Romanos IV at the Battle of Manchicort (1071). The mainstay of the cantoners: the small and medium-sized peasants, who could no longer afford the long campaigns and the many exorbitant taxes, began to decline. The scenario of the decline of **** and Rome a thousand years ago was repeated in the East. The decline of the small and medium-sized peasantry meant the faltering of the Tema system and the aristocratization of the generals, while promoting the further feudalization of society as a whole, and inviting the increasingly difficult operation of the state under imperial rule.

Along with the weakening of local armies, the empire had to rely more on allies and mercenaries to fight for them. The First Crusade (1096-1099 AD), as it is known, was triggered by the invitation of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I (reigned 1081-1118) to send mercenaries to fight against the "infidels" in Western Europe.

The imperial armies of the mid-Byzantine period were skilled not only in regular warfare, but also in irregular warfare, in response to the almost incessant foreign invasions. Through careful intelligence-gathering, discipline, and good command, they often won by surprise attacks to flank the enemy on the march.

From the "Dark Ages" of the 7th and 8th centuries to the height of the empire in the 10th century, Byzantium had very few major ****s between its regular armies and those of its enemies. However, it was the heavy cavalry, with its powerful and destructive force, that was the most important element of the army, and this remained unchanged since the early Byzantine period.

For the most part, the heavy cavalry was always deployed at the back of the infantry line, and once the opportunity was ripe, it immediately moved forward through the gaps in the infantry line to the forefront, with spears at the head and shoulder to shoulder. The light cavalry, on the other hand, is responsible for covering the two flanks of the infantry line and supporting the movement of the heavy cavalry in a random manner.

After the 11th century AD, with the collapse of the military district system, the proportion of mercenaries in the imperial army increased, and the only remaining regular army was gradually reduced to the private arm of the feudal nobility. The size of each unit was shrinking, and it was no longer possible to have unified training and command and control.

At this point, the emperors, before worrying about strategy and tactics, had one more thing to worry about - that is, they had to do their best to maintain the loyalty of the nobles and mercenaries under their command, which was unreliable.