Rome and Its Legions

The Roman legion provided the Roman Empire with the tools to rule the most successful empire the world has every known. Rome's military machine ploughed through most of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Harsh discipline and constant drilling formed the backbone of Roman military power. Even in the beginning when the legions were not full time soldiers.

Equipment

Roman legions were equipt with the best in armor and weapons for their Infantry.

The adopted many weapons from the tribes they conquered. The Gladius sword from Iberia (modern Spain), the pilium (short range javlin) from italic tribes, open face Helmets (galea or cassis) from Greece. Scutum shield was gradually developed and altered. This led to the Romans adopting the legendary tortoise interlocking shields giving almost complete cover from missiles and other long rang weapons. The shield was rounded which allowed it to better absorb impacts. The complete equipment allowed the legionary a great amount of protection from the various hazards of battle.

Once armor and weapons were adopted they became standard throughout the entire army.

Artillery

The Roman's excelled in Artillery in basically three types-

Onager

The onager was the epitome of the Roman siege engine; this machine could hurl very large stones, and similar objects to decimate whatever ever it hits at the other end. The Romans also used diseased animals as ammo to spread disease in a besieged towns and cities.

Ballista and Scorpio

Ballista and Scorpio were very powerful crossbows which used tension to propel arrows, darts or even stones of various sizes long distances to the enemy battle line. The Scorpio was so accurate it was employed as a ancient sniper weapon targeting weak points or even individual leaders on the battlefield. This weapon was originally adopted from the Greeks.

Catapult

A catapult enabled up to 15 feet long arrows and javelins vast distances at the enemy. This weapon is also likely to be adopted from the Greek armies.

Life in the Legion

Legion life consisted of harsh discipline, drills, training and professionalism. Tactics, organization, and military law and punishments were uniformly implemented. Individual acts of bravery or other impetuous deed was frowned upon as the legion had to maintain the line and cohesion. Everything was done in order from training and marching to camp building and other related tasks. Each man, unit, cohort, legion knew their role. This allowed soldiers to be detached to where they were needed and could fit in with minimal adjustment. Legions originally would be conscripted at times of threat then disband back to their civilian lives. After Rome's great expansion in the later republic they realised they needed a full time permanent army for extended campaigns lasting years instead of a season or 2.

Marian reforms (107 BC)

Gaius Marius instituted restructuring to the legions that addressed many of the issues affecting the legion. He also set up the legions as a standing professional Roman army and now any class of roman citizen could apply to join the legion. Marian reforms led to the career soldier 20 year service with a pension of land after this service. The Roman army always fielded inferior cavalry on the field of battle and frequently relied on mercenary / barbarian cavalry to make up for this short coming. It never really regarded cavalry as war winning and relied almost completely on its Infantry.

Original Legions

The original Legions were vastly different to the heavily armored legions we think of. They were originally lightly armored troops and looked much like skirmishers. These light soldiers led to the ancient supreme fighting machine the later republic, well armored and sophisticated armed legionnaires able to tackle any foe.