Special Sub-Topic: The Roman Legions Authored by: flem-ish Sub-topic of: Roman History

What was the standard period of service for the average young recruit of 18-22 years who signed on with the legions?

25 years. Life-expentancy being low in those times, it was, for many recruits a near-lifetime service. If they were lucky enough to survive all the wars and the fighting, they usually could get a plot of land and settle somewhere. One of the popular places for ex-legionaries was Camelodunum or Colchester, a 'colonia' for veterans.

A basic requirement was that a legionary was to be a citizen of Rome. Non-Romans were admitted to the auxiliary troops only.

t. This was a strict requirement, but there was a way to circumvent the administrative problem. If you swore a specific oath of allegiance to the Emperor, then you automatically got citizen's rights.

A basic principle the new recruits had to understand and put into practice was that they had to learn to fight in a structured way, as an organised body of warriors, not as individuals. What was the name of the special formation of 27 soldiers forming up ranks, the outer men having their shields by their sides, the ones in the middle holding their shields above the heads of all in the pack?

the testudo or tortoise. It took 4 months basic training to acquire all those skills. The ballista was a piece of artillery that operated as a giant crossbow but was used for shooting 'rocks'. The onager or wild ass was a machine which had a 'spoon' that could be released to 'fire' 'missiles' ( again rocks mostly). The trebuchet was more like a slingshot system for throwing rocks. The testudo indeed created the effect of a protective tortoise shell.

What was, approximately from the time of Tiberius on, the dominant type of basic armour worn by a Roman legionary in the Imperial armies ?

horizontal metal strips combined with vertical leather strips. In addition to that basic armour Roman legionaries also wore a kind of leather apron. For a description of the laminated plate armour which was introduced in the times of Emperor Tiberius, see www.redrampant.com/roma/armor.htm, or also www.romans-in-britain.org.uk/mil_roman_soldiers_armour.htm

Discipline was all-important in the Roman legions. It was even so that collective punishment was administered to a unit from which an individual soldier had deserted during a battle.

t. The collective punishment was not just 'jankers', but might go as far as decimation, every tenth soldier being executed.

An essential part of their protection was the scutum or shield the Roman legionaries carried. What shape was it?

a semi-cylindrical shield with a boss. The scutum protected the body from chin to knee.

The scutum was not just a defensive shield, it was also used to push the enemy out of balance. Once the enemy was on the ground the Roman legionaries could also use their sandals or caligae to injure the enemy. Why?

the sandals were hobnailed. The hobnailed sandals were also an advantage when soldiers had to march on rough ground .

What, of all his military equipment, was the first weaponry a Roman soldier would use during a standard attack?

both their pila or javelins. The standard procedure was to throw both javelins in quick succession from a distance of some 30 metres, then to run and try to push over the enemy warriors with the boss of their shields, then the shield was moved to one side and they tried to stab the opponent.

It was standard military tactics for the Roman army that once the enemy troops had started to withdraw or to run from the battlefield they were no longer pursued.

f. On the contrary. They would never have made the mistake which Napoleon made when he omitted to pursue the fleeing Prussians after the Battle of Quatre Bras just before Waterloo. Roman military theory was that an opponent had to be prevented from regrouping and that the best way to do so was to annihilate him. This was however NOT the task of the legionaries, but of the cavalry who were considered as auxiliary troops.

The walls the Romans built to keep the northern tribes out of Romanised Britain (Hadrian's Wall and Antonine Wall) were built in keeping with standard procedures. At regular distances there was a kind of little castle from where a guard or patrol could survey what happened 'along the line'. What was the normal distance between such mini-forts?

one mile. Such castles are called 'milecastles'. From such a 'milecastle' a guard could keep an eye on half a mile of wall in both directions.