Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 91

Thread: How would you equip your Legion

  1. #1
    Ecthelion's Avatar Great Ramen Connoisseur
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    The land beyond the River Styx
    Posts
    1,304

    Default

    So I'm reading the Commentaries of Caesar and it seems that Caesar had free reign in what he could give his legions in terms of arms. So, I began to wonder about how I would have equiped the legions in Gaul and elsewhere knowing what I know today.

    Of course, the equipment has to be contemporary, no HK G36Cs with hard, bulletproof body armor and flamethrowers.

    Anyways here's what I came up with:

    My legionnaires would be equiped with armor similar to that worn by a 10th century Norman knight. I would throw out the chainmail at the legs though.

    The scutum would be replaced with a small metal buckler, the diameter of the wrist to the elbow.

    The pilum would be forgotten and be replaced with a polearm, one with a six foot shaft and a crossblade, kind of like a halbred.

    The sword I would keep, except I would make it longer and thinner, much like a spartha.

    Kind of silly exercise I realize but I'm on break and I have nothing better to do!
    This is my signature. Isn't it awesome?

  2. #2

    Default

    Other then adding leg protection the only weapon I would replace is the gladius with a scimitar, since most of romes enemies were a bunch of regular cloth wearing peasants and barbarians, there would be little use for a straight stabbing weapon but a weapon for heaps of rabid swinging to gore the enemy.

  3. #3
    Eric's Avatar Praepositus
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    5,149

    Default

    i'd enlargen the scutum so it could cover one's entire body and i'd replace the gladius with a shortened version of the falcata with thousands of legionaries fight the gauls with short deadly slashes the gauls would almost certainly be defeated
    Better to stand under the Crown than to kneel under a Flag

    Life is fleeting, but glory lives forever! Conquer new lands, rule over the seas, build an empire! World Alliances

  4. #4

    Default

    I'd get rid of the sword, shield and other ancient stuff and give each man an M-249 SAW light machine-gun and all the ammo they could carry.

  5. #5

    Default

    Originally posted by the_stalker@Mar 18 2005, 01:03 AM
    Other then adding leg protection the only weapon I would replace is the gladius with a scimitar, since most of romes enemies were a bunch of regular cloth wearing peasants and barbarians, there would be little use for a straight stabbing weapon but a weapon for heaps of rabid swinging to gore the enemy.
    But you do realize that roman tactic was to stab out of a closed formation and not engage in single combat to swing around wildly?
    Also note the irony that you claim there is little use for a weapon that was actually used by the romans for a very long time and succesfully too.


    My legionnaires would be equiped with armor similar to that worn by a 10th century Norman knight. I would throw out the chainmail at the legs though.
    That again wouldn't be contemporary, would it?

    Other then maybe armouring the swordarm and the legs, I wouldn't really change anything, since the Legion was more or less a perfectly equipped unit.

  6. #6

    Default

    I'd arm them with cho ku no carrying poisoned tipped arrows. (Imagine each century firing a thousand posioned crossbow bolts in 15 seconds) I'd basically keep the same equipment too. Stabbing is ussually more fatal than slashing so I'd keep the gladius.

  7. #7

    Default

    Give them leggings and better protection for the sword arm. Otherwise they are very well equipped.

  8. #8

    Default

    Of course, the equipment has to be contemporary, no HK G36Cs with hard, bulletproof body armor and flamethrowers.
    Too bad, all the drill for nothing...


    All I'd add, would be greaves, but maybe their equipment would be too heavy then.Other than that I wouldn't change a thing,afaik Caeser was quite successful with what he had... :happy

  9. #9
    Zenith Darksea's Avatar Ορθοδοξία ή θάνατος!
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Posts
    4,659

    Default

    Personally, I would go for a more revolutionary armament, based on the Macedonian phalanx. Each man would have a sarissa and a shield strapped to his left shoulder - except I would have it so that the shield went right down to his knee. Greaves for his shins and slightly lighter body armour, not to mention armoured gauntlets to protect the hands that wield the pike. As a sidearm he could have another sort of polearm, the length of his leg, half blade and half handle. Thus a legion could fight very effectively in formation against cavalry and infantry, although you would lose a lot of flexibility.

  10. #10

    Default

    Originally posted by Rapax@Mar 18 2005, 11:56 AM
    But you do realize that roman tactic was to stab out of a closed formation and not engage in single combat to swing around wildly?
    Also note the irony that you claim there is little use for a weapon that was actually used by the romans for a very long time and succesfully too.
    Sorry, didnt think this would come down to critisism, I would keep everything the same except I would add a big SA on the front of the shields, does that sound better to you?

  11. #11

    Default

    Give them all a cho-ku-no, plate armor complete, a even bigger shield so their shields can overlap. I will make the legion into a tank.
    Here's the new formation.

    Roman holding HUGE HUGE HUGE SHIELDS and a little spear (shields have special holes for the spears) = o
    Firing with Cho-ku-no = x


    oooooooooooooooooooooooo
    oooooooooooooooooooooooo
    ooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    ooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    ooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    ooooxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    oooooooooooooooooooooooo
    oooooooooooooooooooooooo

  12. #12
    imb39's Avatar Comes Rei Militaris
    Patrician Citizen Administrator Emeritus

    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Posts
    20,872

    Default

    I wouldn't change much. The only thing that needed to be altered was the organisation. Rome's army had proved itself countless times against a myriad of enemies. Its only failings were use of politicians as generals. Build up the cavalry wing, that would be my change. Bring in Numidians or Macedonian lancers or cataphracted cavalry. Otherwise Roman armies rule!

  13. #13

    Default

    ...The deadliest weapon of all time? The Roman Gladius. For anti-cavalry use, I believe a pike is the best available weapon. The Romans could have benefited from having a contingent, more or less trained as triarii, still contained within the legion. Some of us may recall that Caesar was to have a specially trained unit of legionaries use their pilas at Pharsalus as a type of substitute pike.
    ...To combat horse-archers specifically, an improved lighter-weight scorpio could have been incorporated within each legion, possibly with wheels for mobility.

  14. #14

    Default

    Of course, the equipment has to be contemporary, no HK G36Cs with hard, bulletproof body armor and flamethrowers.
    Ok, maybe I should read the header before posting... I'd give them segmentatas and gallic type helmets of the 1st Century over the chainmail and montefortino helms they would have worn then. I might also throw in some greeves for their legs.

    As a sidearm he could have another sort of polearm, the length of his leg, half blade and half handle
    Sounds alot like an Iklwa, the weapon that the Zulu tribe in South Africa carried, though the iklwa was less blade than the one you describe.

  15. #15

    Default

    Originally posted by imb39@Mar 19 2005, 04:37 AM
    I wouldn't change much. The only thing that needed to be altered was the organisation. Rome's army had proved itself countless times against a myriad of enemies. Its only failings were use of politicians as generals. Build up the cavalry wing, that would be my change. Bring in Numidians or Macedonian lancers or cataphracted cavalry. Otherwise Roman armies rule!
    Good Point.

    Better attached cav is pretty much what legions could have used. Light horse archers with secondary long curved swords to harrass an enemies advance and chase down routed units (or cover a tactical retreat). And Heavily armoured lancers as a mobile flanking sledgehammer. You'd think those two units would complement the Roman meatgrinder legion pretty well.
    Proudly under the patronage of my honoured TWC father Justinian

    Respect is an action, not an act.

  16. #16
    Freddie's Avatar The Voice of Reason
    Patrician

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    9,537

    Default

    I wouldn't change much in the Roman army. If I was in charge of the army and know what I known now the I would have introduced a policy of breading big, stronger, faster horses, which would have come in handy fro when the likes of the Huns invaded.

    As for the legionnaire themselves a lot of people have suggested using heavier weapons and heavier armor. What a lot of people are forgetting was that the Italians were the probably the smallest race in Europe and so putting all this extra weight on them will take away their strongest advantage of maneuverability.

  17. #17
    imb39's Avatar Comes Rei Militaris
    Patrician Citizen Administrator Emeritus

    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Posts
    20,872

    Default

    The only way the legion could operate effectively was with short stabbing weapons and a large shield... No point changing that. If you want larger swords then adopt a barbarian (Germanic) style - it ain't Roman...

    Javelins were needed to break up enemy formation and, perhaps break up an attack all together. Excellent system already, if you ask me...

  18. #18

    Default

    I would give them Hoplite Spears instead of one of the Pilums. Think about it, one of the pilums is almost never used, and the Hoplite formation is almost undefeatable from the front. The Gladius they would keep, in case that flexiblity is needed. So that now they would gain the best of both worlds. Hoplite power and legionary flexiblity. Oh and I would give each one of them a small stack of darts or throwing knive so that they can attack the enemy at a long range. A attack would go like this:

    At 50 meters, the Legion starts to throw their darts. The enemy charges them.

    At 20 meters, the legion throws their pilum.

    At 10 meters they pull out their spears and charge Hoplite style.

    After the impact they would use the gladius and the the spear depending on whether they were flanked etc.

  19. #19
    Freddie's Avatar The Voice of Reason
    Patrician

    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    9,537

    Default

    Originally posted by lee1026@Mar 20 2005, 01:45 PM
    I would give them Hoplite Spears instead of one of the Pilums. Think about it, one of the pilums is almost never used, and the Hoplite formation is almost undefeatable from the front. The Gladius they would keep, in case that flexiblity is needed. So that now they would gain the best of both worlds. Hoplite power and legionary flexiblity. Oh and I would give each one of them a small stack of darts or throwing knive so that they can attack the enemy at a long range. A attack would go like this:

    At 50 meters, the Legion starts to throw their darts. The enemy charges them.

    At 20 meters, the legion throws their pilum.

    At 10 meters they pull out their spears and charge Hoplite style.

    After the impact they would use the gladius and the the spear depending on whether they were flanked etc.
    Sounds simlier to how the Vikings operated. But as I said before I don't thing they would be strong enough to carry all that stuff around with them and still maintain thier maneuverability.

    The Javelins would have been great when fighting a Phalanx. If your your a hoplite and a Legionaire throw their Javelin at you the best you could hope for is that your shield takes the blow. If it did you would have to drop you shield as it would a Javelin in it rendering you defeneless.

  20. #20

    Default

    it would at most at add 1 Kg to their gear. Which is unlikely to just crush them (or even slow them down.). Darts are some light stuff. And the Hoplite spear is not going to be that much heavy then the Pilum that it replaced.

Page 1 of 5 12345 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •