|
Roman Army Formations
The
first line would have 2400 men, standing in 4 cohorts, 10
ranks deep. The second and third lines would each have 1800
men. The first rank of the legion would extend about 720
feet whereas a triple line of battle might extend a mile or
a mile and a half long.
Roman Army Formations -
Strategy and Tactics
The Roman soldiers in each
battle line stood about three feet apart each way. As the
first line went into action the second followed closely
behind; as the men of the first fell or withdrew exhausted,
those of the second pressed forward and took their places;
in case of need the third line advanced and in like manner
relieved the combined first and second. Sometimes there
would be a wedge-shaped column or soldiers would shelter
under a tortoise cover of shield called a testudo. The
cavalry were used by skirmishing to prevent enemy flank
movements, as diversions to allow for re-positioning and
were used to prevent the escape of enemies who tried to
flee.
Roman Army Formations -
Order of Battle
The picture below
illustrates an open field conflict. The order of battle
formation would typically be as follows:
The commanders of the Roman army would
place their infantry in the middle with auxiliaries on the
right and left sides. There would be a large reserve of
infantry men behind the main force. Units of cavalry
backed the auxiliaries on the right and left sides and
formed the rear flanks. Auxiliaries (from Latin: auxilia =
"supports") formed the standing non-citizen corps of the
Roman army of the Principate (30 BC–284 AD), alongside the
citizen legions. Auxiliary recruits were mostly volunteers,
not conscripts providing specialist support to the legions,
an example of this would be the Syrian archers. The Commanders would observe and
issue orders from the rear but would join the troops as the
battle developed.
Roman Army
Strategy, Tactics and Fighting Formations by Vegetius
Renatus in De Re Militari
Publius Flavius Vegetius
Renatus was a writer of the Later Roman Empire and the
author of De Re Militari (Latin "Concerning Military
Matters"). De Re Militari is a treatise of Roman warfare and
military principles and the following excerpt describes the
training, strategy, tactics and fighting formations used in
the Roman Army during his era.
"No part of drill is more essential in action than for
soldiers to keep their ranks with the greatest exactness,
without opening or closing too much. Troops too much crowded
can never fight as they ought, and only embarrass one
another. If their order is too open and loose, they give the
enemy an opportunity of penetrating. Whenever this happens
and they are attacked in the rear, universal disorder and
confusion are inevitable. Recruits should therefore be
constantly in the field, drawn up by the roll and formed at
first into a single rank. They should learn to dress in a
straight line and to keep an equal and just distance between
man and man. They must then be ordered to double the rank,
which they must perform very quickly, and instantly cover
their file leaders. In the next place, they are to double
again and form four deep. And then the triangle or, as it is
commonly called, the wedge, a disposition found very
serviceable in action. They must be taught to form the
circle or orb; for well-disciplined troops, after being
broken by the enemy, have thrown themselves into this
position and have thereby prevented the total rout of the
army. These evolutions, often practised in the field of
exercise, will be found easy in execution on actual
service".
Roman Army
The content of this Roman Army
Formations category in Ancient Rome provides free educational
details, facts and information for reference and research
for schools, colleges and homework. Refer to the
Colosseum Sitemap for a comprehensive search on interesting
different categories containing the history, facts and
information about Ancient Rome.
|
