Roman Tactics, Armor and Weapons !

1. Roman Tactics, Armor and Weapons ! By: Nicholas Seaver and Garland Graves

2. Size of a Roman Legion • Contubernium: (tent group) consisted of 8 men. • Centuria: (century) was made up of 10 contubernium with a total of 80 men commanded by a centurion • Cohorts: (cohort) included 6 centuriae or a total of 480 fighting men, not including officers. • Legio: (Legion) consisted of 10 cohorts.Additionally each Legion had a 120 man Alae (cavalry unit) permanently attached to it possibly to be used as scouts and messengers. • Therefore the total fighting strength of a Legion:The First Cohort totaling 800 men (5 double-strength centuries with 160 men each) 9 Cohors (with 6 centuries at 80 men each) for a total 4,320, and an additional 120 man cavalry for a grand total of 4440 men not including all the officers. So during Augustus reign he had around 150,000 men at his disposal.

3. Augustus and the Legionaries As Augustus emerged the victor in the final civil war to end the Republic, the situation for him was no different, and the settlement of the military issue was of paramount importance. Soon after his return from Egypt, Augustus quickly dismissed as many as 300,000 troops from active service. In this however, he seemingly didn't show preferential treatment to his own armies, but allowed any who wished to retire the right to do so, while keeping the willing men from both his and Antony's troops as part of a new standing army. The remaining legions, some 150,000 men strong, were organized into 28 total legions and spread throughout the empire. This new professional army would be paid a salary directly by the emperor, ensuring loyalty to Augustus

4. Roman Tactics: The Tortoise The tortoise was a defensive formation by which the legionaries would hold their shields overhead, except for the front rows, thereby creating a kind of shell-like armor shielding them against missiles from the front or above.

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30. The Wedge The wedge was commonly used by attacking legionaries, - legionaries formed up in a triangle, the front 'tip' being one man and pointing toward the enemy, - this enabled small groups to be thrust well into the enemy and, when these formations expanded, the enemy troops were pushed into restricted positions, making hand-to-hand fighting difficult. This is where the short legionary gladius was useful, held low and used as a thrusting weapon.