Battlefield Command

[caldrail]

I think it might be be a good idea to look at battlefield command. This is a generalised article to give the reader an impression of how armies were led in ancient Rome. The two following images were cobbled together from Total War:Rome.

 

This first one shows a consular ('polybian') legion lined up for battle. The actual numbers involved in these maniples would be around six times as many, but this is just an illustration.

 

http://www.unrv.com/forum/uploads/11852987...78_42_18048.jpg

 

The front rank are the Hastatii, young men in their teens and early twenties who are about to find out what battle is all about. The middle rank are the Principes, about ten years older, possibly with a campaign or two behind them.Their position means they support the inexperienced Hastatii, essential to prevent frightened young men from breaking and running away.This principal is again utilised by the third rank, the Triarii, who are the oldest and most experienced men. This system means that the initial casualties are taken by novices while the valuable experienced soldiers are conserved until the last moment. The {i]Equites[/i], the cavalry contingent, can be seen highlighted in the distance on the far left wing. Another Equite unit is off to the left of the picture. There aren't any Velites in this army, the poorest citizens who formed skirmishers. Its important to realise that the roman word for their army, Legio, means 'Levy'. These are men rounded up locally and sent to war to defend roman territory or claim barbarian lands for Rome. At the end of the campaign, they go home.

 

The second image shows a post-marian legion of Julius Caesars time. Again each cohort would be six times as large in real life.

 

http://www.unrv.com/forum/uploads/11852987...78_42_62627.jpg

 

This legion has assumed the Quincunx, or 'chequerboard' formation. There's no cavalry - Marius had decided that legions didn't need them with auxillary cavalry available. Indeed, there's no cavalry with this particular legion at all! The soldiers are all heavy infantry, a standard troop type armed with gladius and pilum. These men are professionals serving for a fixed term. At the end of the campaign, they go back to barracks until required again.

 

When you look at these images, apart from the inaccuracies and restrictions of a computer game, there are nonetheless some important observations we can make. Notice that the ground isn't flat. Our armies are deployed but not with parade ground precision. As far the legate is concerned, he has already dictated what his general battle plan must be, and his junior officers line up as best they can, bearing in mind they might be in a hurry. In fact, his junior officers must be ready to show leadership and initiative. Roman commanders were keen to encourage this, because if you look, the ability of a general to control his army is limited. The men are spread out, there will be noises of fighting, shouting, and screaming. Although the roman soldiers were taught to fight in silence, the enemy probably aren't, and in any case a wounded man might call out in agony whatever orders he's been given.

 

Why the gaps? Surely the enemy would simply get between and break up the formation? Actually no, thats not what happens. The gaps are there to allow the cohorts/maniples to change formation without encroaching on their neighbours and causing confusion. For the same reason, each unit is visually seperated. Neither the enemy infantry nor cavalry are going to be keen to enter those gaps. If they do so, the roman rank behind will close in and form a trap, so in reality an enemy infantry unit would attack head-on in most cases.

 

Not so the enemy cavalry. When they threaten the roman line, the romans would close up and try to form shield walls to deter such attacks. Historically, the enemy cavalry would prefer to attack on the flanks of the entire army for that reason and also to retain the option to back out. Attacking the rear was possible too, and as we know Hannibal used that to good effect at Cannae. Once outflanked, a roman army is vulnerable and unable to outflank the enemy. Cavalry were very keen to contest the flanks of the armies.

 

How does the commander co-ordinate such large groups of men? The roman army functioned by co-operation. When the legate is too far away or out of sight, the centurions must act together. Signals are essential. There's some difficulty involved in shouting long distances given the background of men marching, cussing, yelling, and hacking each other to bits. Flags are easily misinterpreted or simply not seen in the heat of action. For the roman legion, trumpet calls are the best method. A man can hear something like that above the din of combat when he's otherwise occupied. There are instances of commanders riding from one place to another to direct efforts. This carries a time penalty and renders the commander vulnerable to counterattack.

 

In some cases, an order to change formation must take place. During his battle against the Helvetii, the rear line of Caesars cohorts wheeled and faced a new threat at right angles. What is interesting is that Caesar says -

 

We changed front and advanced in two divisions - The first and second lines to oppose the Helvetii whom we had already defeated and driven back, the third to withstand the newly arrived troops.

 

For a man so keen to bolster his own image it seems odd that he did not say I changed the front and advanced in two divisions. To me, this indicates that Caesar was not necessarily giving the orders, that his officers may have taken the initiative.

 

Eventually two units meet and combat begins. In his Civil Wars, Appian decribes melee combat.

 

They met together in close order, and since neither could dislodge the other, they locked together with their swords as if in a wrestling contest. If a man fell, he was immediately carried away and another took his place. The legionaries had no need of encouragement or cheering on, for each mans experience made him his own general. When they tired, they seperated for a few moments to recover as if they were engaged in training exercises, and then grappled with each other again.

 

This is an important description. As they approach, there's a hint of attempted intimidation, and certainly they tried to push the enemy back on contact - an important psychological goal, so on initial contact pushing and shoving with shields seems likely. The men involved are obviously well-trained and react accordingly. They do not wait for orders, but act as a team. It also emphasises the physical aspect of melee combat, how tiring it can be when you slog it out sword on sword. The men are not giving ground, indicating good morale and motivation, none too suprising since legionaries were taught to be aggressive and relentless. At no time does the centurion egg his men on or threaten them against failure. He's busy leading the fight, an example to his men, and we know that centurions were often fatalities in combat.

 

So what do we learn from all of this? A roman army in the field cannot communicate anywhere near as easily as today. For that reason, a legate might prefer not to complicate matters. Simple and elegant plans are the best way forward, easily understood by junior commanders, and not so easily undone by enemy action. Yet the romans retain a flexible approach, and its noticeable that their worst disasters often occur when that flexibility is ignored. They rely on the junior commanders to support each other, particularly since a general might not be aware of what is going on. Caesar for instance sometimes fought alongside his men in the front rank, a position from which battlefield command is all but impossible. Since the modern pyramid structure cannot function under these conditions, the roman army instead employs co-operative and well-trained groups whose officers act on initiative in accordance with a previously agreed deployment, depending on terrain and circumstance.

Edited August 4, 2007 by caldrail

[VeniVidiVici]

Very nice.

 

There were auxilaries, just non-Roman

 

I really like your thoughts though