OGGleep

Better protected than who? The other ordines? No. You have to keep in mind that these men were generally the youngest, and subsequently the poorest of the ordines. As such, they couldn't afford the same armor that the triarii and princeps used. Indeed, they even seem to have been used as a sort of light infantry on occasion, hinting at a lighter panolpy. For example, Flamininus sent his hastati on a rapid, stealthy march to reach Boeotian League amabassadors and frighten them over to the Roman side. Better protected then the screenshot I provided. The poorest were delegated to the skirmisher units weren't they? Polybus says that those rated at 10,000 d wore chain. Wasn't there something more affordable then that? Thanks for the feedback.

I really appriciate the reccomendation. I picked up this book from the Library a few days ago and have been pouring over it ever since. This has provided me with a lot of the information I was looking for. There are some additional details that maybe you guys would know. 1. From what I understand Alexander used his Heavy calvary to punch through the enemy and create gaps that his infantry could exploit. Alexander wasn't the only general to use his calvary this way. Correct me if I am wrong, but a common tactic was to use heavy calvary to deploy them on the flanks, and use them to a) counter other calvary, and use them to punch through and roll up the enemy flank. Basically Heavy Calvary would charge into enemy infantry formations in an attempt to break through. Am I off here? Because the general consensus(on the forum I mentioned) is that they were only used to charge the exposed flanks or rear of an enemy infantry formation and that frontal charges were rare, and suicidal. My understanding is that they were used to attack the flanks of the enemy Army...not limited to the exposed flanks of individual enemy units. I know Calvary tactics evolved over time, but the period I am talking about is from 350 B.C to about 250 B.C. 2. Does anyone know if Spartan units were ever involved in direct combat with Roman troops? Once Rome took control, did any notible units get raised from Sparta before 1. A.D? 3. In the book that was recommended, there are a number of references to minor conflicts; Romans vs Phalangite centered armies that the Romans lost. These normally were before large pitched battles in which the Romans were victorious. Is there any specific examples that you can think of that a Roman force of atleast the strength of a Legion, was beaten by a Phalanx centered army? Thanks again for the recommended book, I am having a blast going through it.

Hey all, I was hoping you guys could shed some light on a subject that has been bothering me. On this site, there is a section that describes the armor worn by Hastati: They wore a complete suit of defensive armor, consisting of the Legionary classic shield, or scutum, a simple bronze helmet (galea), a bronze breastplate or cuirass, and possibly leg greaves (ocrea). Most references I have found describe the big 3 Roman infantry types as Heavy infantry. The Polybus however has this to say. "Finally, the hastati wear as an ornament a plume of three purple or black feathers standing upright about a foot and a half in height. These are placed on the helmet, and the general effect combined with the rest of the armor is to make each man look twice his real height, and gives him an appearance which strikes terror into the enemy. Besides this armamen the soldiers also wear a brass brest-plate a span square which is placed in fron of the hear and called a pectorale (heart protector)" This quote has led the Mod team to release the unit as seen below. Is there any other sources that you can think of to support the claim that they were better protected? I have read on various websites like this one that they were indeed wore additional or better armor, but I can't find a literary source that does. Besides this nagging point, I love the skins produced by this particular skinner.

I read through the link you provided, and while there were figures, I was looking for a little more detail. The topic that sparked this research was battles another user had fighting Gaul. So any of the Campaigns in Gaul, Brition, and Germania would be great. I was hoping there was a one stop shop somewhere that chronicals the various campaigns from a numbers standpoint. I am really just looking for a reference to call upon when these issues come up on the forums. In my search I have come across more overviews, backgrounds, or conclusions. Thanks in advance.

Heya. Do you know what generally time period that page reflected? Also, does that orginization reflect Auxilla troops? As the Roman Empire expanded, Legions became more and more dependant on local soldiers. I would be really interested if anyone has compositons of the actual legions themselves.

Hey all. I am looking for a site that has actual numbers for various campaigns. I am involved in the Rome Total Realism forum (Mod for Rome: Total War). I don't know if you guys are familiar with the game, its the game used for Decisive Battles on the history channel. Anyhow, the mod is all about realism, and I like to do reasearch before posting. Recently there was a topic about unrealistic battles regarding casualties, but I can't find a site that has the various campaigns that the romans participated in that has numbers. I can find lots of sites with breakdowns on how the battle played out, but what I am looking for is: A) Number of Troops involved for both sides - Actual composition of the Armies involved would be awesome B ) Casualties for both sides There are a ton of factions (Nations) represented in the game. If anyone knows of any similar sites involving any other nation (example: Greek, Macedonia, Gaul, Germania, Selucids, Pontis, Bactria, Thrace, Smartians etc.) that would be awesome as well. Thanks in advance