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| Europe |
| Germanic Barbarians Annihilated Rome's Legions |
| 2021-04-10 |
| Fascinating narrative of a battle of annihilation in 9 AD |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #10 There's a great book -- "The Ghosts of Cannae" about the fate of the survivors of Cannae. They were not well-designed by the Romans, as their ideal was to stand as part of the legion no matter what. The survivors couldn't be condemned completely -- they were nearly the only force Rome had in Italy at the time -- but we're not trusted. They ended up finishing their enlistments at an out-of-they-way fort on Sicily. Interestingly, troops who had been captured at Cannae were held in higher regard and even purchased and freed from their enslavement. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2021-04-10 21:56 |
| #9 Gratias omnibus! |
| Posted by: Nero Dingle5850 2021-04-10 21:30 |
| #8 One of the problems leading to Cannae was a split command with one Counsel alternating command with another more brash Counsel every day. The heel of the Roman Way was similar to the same problems with The Phalanx, with the sides and especially the back being vulnerable. Battle of Trebia proved that to Hannibal. Yet even so, the Centurions were able to take self initiative and extract themselves from the battle, saving a bulk of the forces to fight another day. Unfortunately for them, a early mist also worked against them at Trasimene. I think that is the secret of Caesar, if you believe his chronicles, is that he put great trust in his Centurions to adjust their tactics locally yet still holding a great overhead command of the situation. Caeser mentions the exploits of a number of his Centurions as my evidence, including one particular siege Caesar wasn't even witness to, where two rival Centurions, when all was looking lost, went out the front gate to challenge the besiegers. They were so thoroughly impressive in trying to out-do each other they struck fear into the enemy and rallied themselves, with one wounded being taken back into the walls by his rival. Even so, Caesar just about made the some mistakes of Varus while in Britain, far from supply, in a strange undeveloped and surveyed land, facing tactics more clever than anticipated. Have a feeling I have a Timeline binge. Thank you badanov. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2021-04-10 21:08 |
| #7 God help me, I love these kinds of discussion threads. |
| Posted by: badanov 2021-04-10 20:35 |
| #6 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OWAkNNWo920 |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2021-04-10 20:24 |
| #5 Re #3: The formation wasn't so much a square as a reinforced line - the infamous tres acies of Latin III's Caesar's Commentaries. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2021-04-10 18:59 |
| #4 Yes, catching the Romans in road march out of their battle formation was what killed many at the Battle of Lake Trasimene in June 217 BC. The whole Roman tactical technique and procedure was using the legion as a grinding machine against an opponent*, including themselves in their civil wars. Even in the overwhelming defeat of Cannae the texts report several cohorts were able to cut their way through the enemy formations and make it to shelter at nearby (walled) cities as they had started the battle in their usual tactical formations. * which sort of allowed them to appoint leaders based upon politics and connection rather than military skills and merit. Get the troops into formation, line up the cohorts, move forward. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2021-04-10 15:36 |
| #3 Every advantage of three legions in a battlespace was negated by the long, thin, terrain that stretched each cohort formation into a narrow band, perfectly vulnerable to massed assault. Each cohort/century was pinched in and unable to form any of the formidable squares of formations that highlighted their mobility, armor and massed defensive structures. for the rest of the history of the Empire, the XVII, XVIII and XIX numerations were not used as a remembrance and superstition. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2021-04-10 13:47 |
| #2 A little treachery goes a long way.... Arminius AKA Herman |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2021-04-10 12:01 |
| #1 Home turf. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2021-04-10 09:40 |