Roman Battle Tactics 390–110 BC cover
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Description

By 390 BC, the organization of the Roman army was in need of change. Fighting in the Greek-style with a heavy infantry was proving increasingly outdated and inflexible, resulting in the Roman's defeat at the hands of the Gauls at the battle of Allia. Following on from this catastrophe and in the next fifty years of warfare against Gallic and Italian tribes, a military revolution was born: the legion. This was a new unit of organization made up of three flexible lines of maniples consisting of troops of both heavy and light infantry. However, at the end of the 3rd century BC, Rome's prestige was shattered once more by the genius of Hannibal of Carthage, causing Roman battle tactics to be revised again. The legendary general Scipio Africanus achieved this, finally destroying the Carthaginian army at the climactic victory of Zama. A wholly new kind of soldier had been invented, and the whole Mediterranean world was now at Rome's feet. This book reveals these two defining moments in Roman military history and the revolution in battle tactics that was the result, examining how the Roman army eventually became all-conquering and all-powerful.

Table of Contents

The Roman phalanx · The evolution and organization of the manipular legion · Legionary cavalry · Command: centurions, tribune and consuls · The Italian allies · Battle lines and manoeuvres · Offensive and defensive formations · Epilogue: transition from maniples to cohorts

Product details

Published Feb 23 2010
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 64
ISBN 9781846033827
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 50 b/w; 8 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Elite
Short code ELI 172
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Nic Fields

Dr Nic Fields started his career as a biochemist b…

Illustrator

Gerry Embleton

Gerry Embleton has been a leading illustrator an…

Illustrator

Ian Rotherham

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