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The Roman Military Roman Military The Roman army was one of the greatest forces of all times. The Roman army, at its finest point, was nearly in conquerable. This was due to the discipline of the soldiers, the hard and effective training of the soldiers, the speed at wich new tactics were learned, and to the organization of the soldiers. From early times right down to the 3 rd century A. D, the Roman army was based on its legions. A legion varied in strength from four-thousand to six-thousand men, and was subdivided onto ten cohorts.
Its leader used the title of legates. His staff officers were called tribune. Senior non-commissioned officers were called centurions, who varied greatly in rank. The soldiers of the legion were picked men: They were all Roman citizens and received a higher pay than the auxiliary troops, that is, foreigners who serve with the Roman army. A legion consisted of heavily armoured infantry foot soldiers. The Roman infantry became a feared force, well disciplined and well trained.
Their weapons were two javelins each and a short thrusting sword. Cavalry was supplied by the auxiliaries, second line troops, and was organised mainly in units of 500 men. When it was on campaigns the army was accompanied by a number of specialists. One was the camp commandant, who was responsible for the organisation of the camp. The Romans were very careful about their camps. No Roman army halted for a single night without digging a trenches and fortifying its camp.
Each soldier took his share in establishing the camp and striking the camp the next day. Another specialist was the questo, whose duty was to look after all the money matter. then there were the engineers and all kinds of craftsmen and artisans. They were responsible for siege operations and for the rather primitive Roman artillery, which consisted of big catapults and complicated machines a little like crossbows. These were mainly used for hurling big rocks and stones at the walls of a defence place. The engineers also had to build the moveable towers that were used in sieges.
The Roman soldiers went up inside these towers so that they could see over the walls of a fortified place and shoot their stones and arrows into it. The engineers also made the scaling ladders that were used for getting over walls. The Roman soldiers won their battles just as much from their power as by their courage. They had to be strong and fit, for in addition to his weapons each soldier had to carry provisions for two weeks and tools for pitching camp. When the soldiers went into line of battle to fight, the formation was called access. When they were marching in column it was called again.
If during a battle the legion were hard pressed the soldiers formed an orbis, which was very like the square that the British army formed in the 18 th and 19 th centuries if it was in difficulties. The standard of a legion was the aquila, or eagle, made of silver or bronze and showing the bird with outstretched wings. It was the greatest disgrace if the eagle was captured. In Conclusion, the Roman military was an advanced force for its time.
The Roman soldiers were also highly trained and disciplined. The Romans also had very effective tactics. This is why at the prime of the Roman Empire the military was nearly invincible.
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Research essay sample on Roman Army Roman Soldiers
