A Roman LegionBy Alex TangHistory Period 3

The Basic Roman LegionBefore Augustus Caesar, legions were created, used, and disbanded as needed, creating several hundred legions. However, Augustus created a new professional army consisting of 28 legions, each with their own proud history. Each legion used an eagle, or aquila as its symbol. The Aquilifer was the man who carried the aquila and was almost equal in rank to a centurion. A baggage train would follow a legion where it went to provide supplies.

Types of TroopsThe Roman troops were divided into three main groups: the equites, the velites, and the heavy infantry. The equites were the Roman cavalry, the velites the light support infantry, and the heavy infantry was further divided into three main parts. The hastati were the young troops, equipped with a gladius, javelins, and a rectangular scutum. The principes were the picked men of experience and maturity. They were similarly equipped but slightly superior in equipment to the hastati. The triarii were the veterans. They were armed with long spears. Note that during Marius reforms, the velites were disbanded.

Before the LegionsBefore the Romans used legions, they used the phalanx formation so their troops would have looked a lot like Greek hoplites, with their bronze helmet, breast plate, spear, and round shield. However, the phalanxs limitations were soon realized as it was very clumsy and not able to combat barbarians effectively. In fact, during this time Rome itself was sacked by Gallic tribes, causing the Romans to rethink their military.

Early LegionsThe early legions are your basic legion, having formed after the Romans stopped using the phalanx formation. Though not quite as streamlined as the Imperial Legions, they had all the fundamental components like the hastati, the principes, and the triarii. During this time the iron helmet and the scutum were introduced. Also, when Scipio Africanus reformed the legions, the legions were trained to win by using superior tactics rather than winning on sheer numbers. A general named Marius also reformed the army by creating volunteer units which would serve for much longer than conscripts and creating veteran incentive programs to attract veteran soldiers.

Imperial LegionsThe imperial legions are the classic legions. They were more streamlined than the earlier legions, and were also very successful. Augustus reformed the earlier legions so that they were more effective and there were many more auxiliaries, as many as the same number of heavy infantry. A legion at this time had about 6,000 men, commanded by a legate. The equipment and tactics were the same as the earlier legions, but there were fewer but larger legions. Another change was increasing the service time from six to twenty years.

A Legions DivisionsHere is a diagram of a Imperial Legions divisions.

Contubernium=- 8Men10 Contubernia=1 Century80 Men 2 Centuries= 1 Maniple 160 Men 6 Centuries= 1 Cohort 480 Men 10 Cohorts + 120 Horsemen= 1 Legion 5240 Men

A Legionarys EquipmentA regular principe usually had the following equipment, though his exact weapons and armor varied depending on how wealthy he was. Armor:A helmet (iron, later thick bronze)A tunicBody Armor (breast plate, shin guards, greaves, metal plates with leather underneath)A belt (varies depending on the soldier)A shield (scutum)Military boots/nail-studded sandalsWeapons:A gladius2 throwing javelins (pilum)A daggerTroops other than the heavy infantry carried different weapons.

A Legions TacticsTypically a Legion would employ one of the following tactics.Wedge FormationSingle Line DefenceWeak Center: Used at CannaeManiple Channels: Used at ZamaStrong Right FlankProtected FlankThe next picture will have more detail on them.

A Picture of Roman Formations

A Picture of Hastati

A Picture of Principes

A Picture of Triarii

BibliographyBooks:A History of Warfare by Field-Marshal Viscount Montgomery of AlameinWebsites:http://www.legionxxiv.org/weapons/http://www.roman-empire.net/army/army.htmlhttp://www.livius.org/le-lh/legio/legions.htmhttp://www.redrampant.com/http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanarmy.htmlIf you want to learn more about the Roman Army, I highly suggest going to this website, as I couldnt fit 1/10,000,000 of the stuff they talk about in this short presentation:http://www.roman-empire.net/army/army.html

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