The Romans were one of the most successful and powerful armies throughout history. The Roman army was large enough to control much of today’s Europe. The Roman armies were the strongest in the ancient world.
Roman citizens depended on their military to protect and defend them, just as Americans do today. Some Roman soldiers returned safely home, but others did not. Soldiers joined the Roman army when they were 17 or 18. They spent on average 25 years in the army (Scheidel 2005, p. 9).
The Roman army’s training was very harsh. The Roman army had two phases to their training. The first phase was the teaching of marching and physical training. The second phase was the weapons training (Military Training, n.d.). The first phase of training was to teach soldiers how to march. This is because, “Any army that has stragglers or soldiers moving at different speeds will be vulnerable to attacks” (Military Training n.d. paragraph 1). Roman soldiers were required to march 18.4 mile within five hours. Soldiers were forced to run, leap, and lift heavy packs as part of the physical exercise process (Military Training n.d. paragraph 1).
Roman soldiers learned to fight with wooden shields, and swords as part of their initial training (Military Training n.d. para. 2) The wooden weapons were twice as heavy than the originals. “[I]t is believed that by training soldiers to fight with dummy weapons twice as heavy, they will be twice more effective with their real weapons.” (Military Training n.d. Para 2). After completing their initial weapon training, Roman soldiers were taught how to use a heavy spear called a pilum. This weapon was twice as heavy as normal weapons.
After a training period of 2 to 3 month, Roman soldiers fought for the first in battle.
Three reasons were behind this. It was done to instill confidence, as experienced soldiers had been fighting battles for years. It also prevented new soldiers from fleeing if they lost their courage. The front was where the most soldiers were likely to die during the initial phase. In 2013, a study was conducted on the Roman Army and its welfare policies (para ).
Roman soldiers learned to fight by training. Their first combat was a test of their skills. The soldiers’ survival or death depended on their fighting skills, food, medical care and supplies, and weather conditions (Byrne 1910, p. 272).
The Roman military suffered many losses in their long and hard-fought wars. In August 216 B.C., 48,200 Romans were killed in the Battle of Cannae (Goldsworthy 2005, p. 43). About 45.500 of those killed were infantrymen, while approximately 2.700 were cavalrymen. The Romans were armed with about 80,000 infantrymen and approximately 6,000 cavalrymen before the Battle of Cannae (Goldsworthy (2005), p.43). The Romans won the Battle of Cannae despite losing half of their army.
Roman soldiers used the gladius and pugio to fight battles (Goldsworthy 2005, p. 28-30). The pilum is similar to the javelin of today. It was made of a wood shaft, about 4 feet long, with a thin iron shank of 2 feet or less, and finished off by a small, pyramid-shaped tip (Goldsworthy 2005, p. 28). The point was very heavy. The pilum, which could penetrate through the shields of soldiers and reach their bodies, was hard to remove. The gladius, which was originally a Gaulish sword, was adopted by the Romans either in the early 2nd or 3rd centuries. Gladius was a sword with a balanced blade that could slash through the flesh of an opponent. The Roman soldier’s last weapon was a dagger that was known as the pugio.
During Augustus’ rule, the Roman army was severely lacking in medical personnel. Roman soldiers of that era were self-sufficient (Byrne p.267). “The Roman soldiers appeared to have had bandages available for emergency situations, instead of doctors, as in one case, unwillingness to fight led them to use their bandages over uninjured parts to make it appear that they were injured” (Byrne. During wartime some patricians welcomed a soldier into their home where they fed him and provided medical care.
Under Caesar’s leadership, the Roman military made great medical advancements by allowing physicians to accompany soldiers to the battlefield.
In the days of the former republic, tents were reserved for the injured. This was a step in the direction of the creation of field hospitals or valetudinaria. The valetudinarium of the “flying army camp” consisted simply of a number tents set aside for soldiers with serious wounds. (Byrne, 1910, page 270).
The valetudinaria was a vital tool for soldiers to survive, and it allowed them to continue fighting in the Roman army.
Its army is the reason why today’s Roman Empire ranks as one of the biggest and best-known empires. The Roman army was instrumental in the expansion of the Roman Empire and, therefore, Roman society. The Roman Army was the first army to achieve what they did.
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