Post by Avitas Caesar on Sept 17, 2005 15:10:11 GMT
The Legion
The Roman Legion is the basic military unit of Western Rome. It consists of about 8,000 infantry soldiers and several hundred auxiliary cavalrymen and ranged troops, typically skirmishers. Legions are named and numbered. Usually there are 28 Legions plus their Auxiliaries, with more raised as needed or as able.
Heavy Infantry:
The cohort, of which there are six to ten, the basic tactical unit. The cohort is composed of five to eight centuries and is led by a centurion assisted by an optio, a soldier who can read and write. The senior centurion of the legion was called the primus pilus, a career soldier and advisor to the legate. Every legion has a baggage train of 500-550 mules, or about 1 mule for every 10 legionaries. To keep these baggage trains from becoming too large,each man carries as much of his own equipment as he can, including his own armor, weapons and 15 days' rations or about 50-60 pounds of load in total. To make this easier, the legionarres are issued a forked stick to carry their loads on their shoulders.
A typical legion has around 4-5000 legionaries as well as a large number of camp followers, servants and slaves. Legions can contain as many as 6,000 fighting men, although at times the number is reduced to 1,000 to curb the power of mutinous commanders.
Auxiliaries:
Each Legion has a same size or near same size auxiliary which contains specialist units, engineers and pioneers, artillerymen and siege craftsmen, service and support units plus units made up of non-citizens (who are granted Roman citizenship upon discharge) and undesireables. These are usually formed into complete units such as light cavalry, light infantry or velites, and laborers. There is also a reconnaissance squad of 10 or more light, mounted infantry called Speculatores who can also serve as messengers.
Siege Artillery:
Each Century has a Ballista and each Cohort has an Onager (or Wild Ass in Latin), giving the Legion a formidable siege train of 59 Ballistae and 10 Onagers each manned by 10 Libritors (artillerymen) and mounted on wagons drawn by oxen or mules. In addition to attacking cities and fortifications, these are used to help defend Roman forts and fortified camps (Castra) as well. They are even employed on occasion, as field artillery during battles or in support of river crossings.
Armament:
Gladius:
The gladius is crafted from soft iron and the exterior is carburized using coal dust on the face of the anvil. This is necessary because the soft iron was not hard enough to have taken an edge before the carbon of the coal powder is added to the exterior of the blade.
It is straight and double-edged, with a V-shaped tip, and primarily constructed for thrusting action and use together with a large rectangular shield, the scutum. The cross-section of the gladius is typically a rhombus, providing the blade with good stability for stabbing. Stabbing is a very efficient technique as fighting goes, as stabbing wounds, especially in the abdominal area are almost always deadly. A Roman legionary will mount the scabbard holding the gladius on the right side, same as his sword hand, allowing a formation of soldiers to easily draw their swords without accidentally injuring soldiers to either side.
A formation will usually try to force the enemy back one step by forcing their scuta forward, then stabbing a half-dozen times in quick succession. The blade is held flat, relative to the ground, so as to slip through ribs or ribbed armor. These disciplined techniques make the Roman army the envy of the civilized world.
Pilum:
This is a javelin. The legionaries throw it at the enemy as they run at them. It is not for hand-to-hand fighting. The main purpose of the pilum is to disrupt the defence of the enemy. They are too concerned worrying about avoiding the incoming weapons to focus on what the legionnaires themselves are doing. By the time the enemy has re-organised itself, the Romans are upon them. If a pilum does hit you, it would do serious damage as the thinner top section would crumple into you on impact and removing it would be very painful. The wooden stock of the pilum was also re-useable as the Romans only need add another spear head to it.
Pugio:
The pugio is a small dagger used in combat if all else has been lost.
The Roman Legion is the basic military unit of Western Rome. It consists of about 8,000 infantry soldiers and several hundred auxiliary cavalrymen and ranged troops, typically skirmishers. Legions are named and numbered. Usually there are 28 Legions plus their Auxiliaries, with more raised as needed or as able.
Heavy Infantry:
The cohort, of which there are six to ten, the basic tactical unit. The cohort is composed of five to eight centuries and is led by a centurion assisted by an optio, a soldier who can read and write. The senior centurion of the legion was called the primus pilus, a career soldier and advisor to the legate. Every legion has a baggage train of 500-550 mules, or about 1 mule for every 10 legionaries. To keep these baggage trains from becoming too large,each man carries as much of his own equipment as he can, including his own armor, weapons and 15 days' rations or about 50-60 pounds of load in total. To make this easier, the legionarres are issued a forked stick to carry their loads on their shoulders.
A typical legion has around 4-5000 legionaries as well as a large number of camp followers, servants and slaves. Legions can contain as many as 6,000 fighting men, although at times the number is reduced to 1,000 to curb the power of mutinous commanders.
Auxiliaries:
Each Legion has a same size or near same size auxiliary which contains specialist units, engineers and pioneers, artillerymen and siege craftsmen, service and support units plus units made up of non-citizens (who are granted Roman citizenship upon discharge) and undesireables. These are usually formed into complete units such as light cavalry, light infantry or velites, and laborers. There is also a reconnaissance squad of 10 or more light, mounted infantry called Speculatores who can also serve as messengers.
Siege Artillery:
Each Century has a Ballista and each Cohort has an Onager (or Wild Ass in Latin), giving the Legion a formidable siege train of 59 Ballistae and 10 Onagers each manned by 10 Libritors (artillerymen) and mounted on wagons drawn by oxen or mules. In addition to attacking cities and fortifications, these are used to help defend Roman forts and fortified camps (Castra) as well. They are even employed on occasion, as field artillery during battles or in support of river crossings.
Armament:
Gladius:
The gladius is crafted from soft iron and the exterior is carburized using coal dust on the face of the anvil. This is necessary because the soft iron was not hard enough to have taken an edge before the carbon of the coal powder is added to the exterior of the blade.
It is straight and double-edged, with a V-shaped tip, and primarily constructed for thrusting action and use together with a large rectangular shield, the scutum. The cross-section of the gladius is typically a rhombus, providing the blade with good stability for stabbing. Stabbing is a very efficient technique as fighting goes, as stabbing wounds, especially in the abdominal area are almost always deadly. A Roman legionary will mount the scabbard holding the gladius on the right side, same as his sword hand, allowing a formation of soldiers to easily draw their swords without accidentally injuring soldiers to either side.
A formation will usually try to force the enemy back one step by forcing their scuta forward, then stabbing a half-dozen times in quick succession. The blade is held flat, relative to the ground, so as to slip through ribs or ribbed armor. These disciplined techniques make the Roman army the envy of the civilized world.
Pilum:
This is a javelin. The legionaries throw it at the enemy as they run at them. It is not for hand-to-hand fighting. The main purpose of the pilum is to disrupt the defence of the enemy. They are too concerned worrying about avoiding the incoming weapons to focus on what the legionnaires themselves are doing. By the time the enemy has re-organised itself, the Romans are upon them. If a pilum does hit you, it would do serious damage as the thinner top section would crumple into you on impact and removing it would be very painful. The wooden stock of the pilum was also re-useable as the Romans only need add another spear head to it.
Pugio:
The pugio is a small dagger used in combat if all else has been lost.
