The Samnite Wars

Sabinus’s legion, when told to let go of their baggage, “were departing from their standards everywhere, which each of them was holding most dear, each was hastening to seek and to snatch away from the baggage” (vulgo … properaret 4-5). This dishonorable action indicates this legion’s lack of loyalty to the general cause of the Roman army. Each soldier, in the heat of battle, thought only of themselves, selfishly attempting to salvage their own belongings, while neglecting the battle around them and the safety of their comrades. In stark contrast, in Cicero’s legion, even though “all their bagges and all their fortunes were burning” (omnia … conflagare 2) (as mentioned earlier), “not only did no one withdraw about the wall for the sake of retreating, but hardly anyone even looked back and then all were fighting most bitterly and most bravely” (non modo … pugnarent 3-4). Again, rather idly gather their belongings with utter disregard for those around them, Cicero’s soldiers ignore their own belongings and focus on the task at hand. No one retreated, having been overcome with fear, and almost no one even succumbed to the temptation to look back at their belongings, whether in fear or sorrow. Instead, they fought fiercely and bravely and thus Cicero’s legion was far more successful in repelling the Gallic

In the early 3rd century B.C., Rome and Carthage were expanding their empires and met at the city of Sicily. At the time the Roman military consisted of well regulated infantry and cavalry, but hardly any naval forces ready for combat. The Carthaginian military was the opposite.

In an article by a Roman historian Vegetius, it states “Because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it”. This contributed to the fall of Rome because the laziness would make it hard to fight against invaders. This would also mean that the soldiers would be getting injured more often. Rome would be more susceptible for attacks by invaders, such as the Huns in this case. In the article, it also states “Hosts of senators, bureaucrats, and clergymen were entitled to avoid the draft; and among other groups who escaped were cooks, bakers, and slaves”. With a population of only about 250,000, and people of most occupations exempt from the draft, this would make it very hard to put people in the military, so Rome could have a strong, reliable army. Lastly, In an article about the background of Rome’s fall, It states, “When a country is make, when energy and hope are high, leaders and their people are more willing to work hard and sacrifice. When the goal appears to have been reached, it is easy to get lazy”. This tells how the Roman soldiers may have been thinking when in battle. The Roman military was lazy at this point, this was a huge contribution to the fall of Rome. They didn’t have an adequate defense system, this must have put a tremendous amount of stress on the

But when because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned,...” This led the military to come to the idea that breastplates and helmets were turning too heavy for them and therefore, it was not needed. Also, Michael Grant, the author of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A Reappraisal, states in Document B, “There can be little that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure … to enforce regular conscription.” Even though there weren’t enough men to serve in the military, the government officials excluded men from tremendously different categories. Such as, senators, bureaucrats and clergymen escaped the draft. Alongside, cooks, bakers and slaves were prohibited since the leaders needed them for their own convenience. However when invaders, such as the Goths, poured into the empire around 410 CE, the troops were in battle without any protection and were exposed to wounds. This brought the soldiers to the idea that it was better off for them to run away instead of fighting unsheltered. They didn’t have any defense nor could fight back to the aggressors. The vulnerable army was the key for Rome to turn into ruins. Just like that, The Roman empire’s lusty army was turning into a clutter of frail

After these events the Carthaginian Empire decided to use their Navy as one of the strategies to win the war. What they didn’t know is that the Romans had built many ships and armed them with a

Romans fought in a manner very similar to the Greeks. In early times they utilized the phalanx and a cavalry back-up, but around the 1st century BCE they began to form a “checkered board” pattern. This allowed them to cover more ground and allow men room to fight. In the first century they also retired using a cavalry (Cartwright). The form of foot soldiers only with no horseback cavalry was uncommon. In

Both sides engaged their infantry forces in skirmishes at the center. Hannibal, familiar with the Roman style of fight, knew the Roman elite would ride on the right. The Romans viewed their allies as not being noble, and would not ride together with their partner. This allowed Hannibal to place his heavy Celtic and Iberian cavalry on his left to face the Roman cavalry. Hannibal’s cavalry outnumbered the Romans and was able to annihilate them on the right side of their formation.

Polybius, a Greek commander who spent years on military campaigns with Roman armies in the second century B.C.E. (Hunt, Al., 2012, 160) Polybius venerated the Roman camp but it was army discipline that authentically fascinated him. It was rigorous to the point of inhumanity. Polybius believed the ideal Centurion was instilled with the Core Values of the Arête, the Greek value of competitive individual excellence. This commitment or drive imbues a zealousness of self-sacrifice, accolade, obligation, and a commitment to culminate ones ' life in the accommodation rather than peregrinate home in disgrace. Utilizing this philosophy a committed army, led by Centurions who Rome wanted “not so much to be bold and eager to take risks, but rather to be capable of leadership and steady and solid in character, nor do they want them to initiate attacks and precipitate battle”. (Vegetius, F. 2011, 176) It was prosperous in incrementing Rome 's elevate in a troglodytic time into a more Western Civilization.

Chapter 2 entitled “From The Flavians To The Severi” informs the reader of Luttwak’s belief that Rome’s expeditionary units, as was used in the second century, were highly less effective than the legions of the first century because they were not as movable. The author tells us, “… legions were deployed at fixed bases which, in most cases, they were never to leave again; and soldiers soon acquired unofficial families in the settlements that grew spontaneously around the legionary bases. It is sometimes assumed that this domestication diminished the army’s combat capabilities by undermining its fighting spirit”.

An example of a Naval weapon they had in common were marines. Marines specialized in the Naval field and their sole objective was to raid the enemies ship while keeping their unharmed at the same time. This was something that both empires became masters at because their ships were almost never attacked and they always found a way to raid the enemies ship. These are some similarities between Rome and Greece’s military.

Some examples of these would include The Battering Ram, The Turris, and The Ballista. The Roman army was also very willing to incorporate the war tactics and the weapons of their defeated enemies if they were deemed beneficial. (Alchin) These improvements provided the Roman army advantages in battle. The Roman generals that were picked to lead the army were highly skilled in the art of war. They were masters of attack and counterattacks, the use of mounted and unmounted calvary as well as archery. As a result of the Roman army's successful tactics, Rome therefore was able to achieve massive amounts of territory and assemble a substantial empire. (Cavazzi)

After the first Punic War, the Romans gained Sicily, a strategic island. Additionally, the Romans assembled their first navy in order to combat the strength of the Carthaginian navy. Furthermore, the Romans reached the peak of their power as the Roman Republic from the Punic Wars. With this in mind, the Romans made their first push for power through the gain of Sicily and Corsica.

An important contributing factor to an army's success is armor for defense. An army can have skilled soldiers, but cannot be successful without the right armor. Roman and Greek armies wore similar types of armor. The Roman and Greek foot soldiers wore a square breastplate on their torso. While the Romans only wore one greave on their left leg, Greeks wore greaves on both legs. A greave was a sheet of metal worn to protect the legs (Horsepower: Harnessed…). Soldiers wear greaves even in current day. Recently, the greaves have been upgraded to protect the legs from ‘Improvised explosive devices,’ such as those in Iraq (Frost, Quad Guard). Roman soldiers wore a helmet that protected the neck, and came around to protect their face. The Greek’s helmets were more full and protective than the Roman helmets. Greek helmets covered their entire head and only left small

Thus it happens that troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not about fighting.” (Doc. B) This shows that the Roman soldiers didn’t care about not having the protection to help them win the war. This also shows that the Roman soldiers started to give up and quit before the fight had even started. This is significant because without the armor the Romans got more wounds and were more likely to die.This also significant because it made the soldiers weaker and more likely for Rome to be put to an end, because they didn’t have the weight of the armor to made them stronger and protect them, and the more soldiers that were killed the smaller the military got. With the army smaller it let the enemies start to overcome Rome and make it fall. Furthermore, according to The Fall of the Roman Empire: A Reappraisal, Crown Publishing, 1982, “ There can be little doubt that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure … to enforce regular conscription [draft of soldiers] … the exempted categories were … numerous.” (Doc. B) This demonstrates how the government made people live once they became lazy. With the government forcing people to be in the army it made people not want to do their jobs, so they

Thankfully, due to the Romans writing a lot down, there are many sources (unlike in the "Dark Ages" for example) available to study how the Roman army worked. In this project, the aim is to find out how the training and organization of the