The late antique (military/economy/politics)

[Pompeius Magnus]

reg field

[Pompeius Magnus]

reg field Illy

[Pompeius Magnus]

barbar

[julianus heraclius]

Acc. Gibbon, Edward: The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire
Stickler, Timo : Aetius
McDowall : Late Roman Infantryman/cavalryman

regional field armies. At least 1 in every Diocese: Galliae, Africa, Italia, Hispania, Illyricum.

CAUTION
One regional field army may have more than one legion!
The legions are garrisoned in cities. A mobile regional field army is alway a combination of many legions. But due to money problems you don't have the possibility to include lots of legions, and I think this is also more or less historical.
As I explained before (with hist. sources): the basic was the Auxilia Palatinae

An example for any province: (and please: THIS is only an example for a regional field army in the diocese X!!)

Legio XY
1 General
2 Auxilia Palatinae (or 0 or 3) or Pseudo Comitatenses
1 Auxilia Illyriana (0 or 2)
4 Comitatenses (or 3)
2 Exculatores (or 1)
1 Sagitarii (or 2)
1 Equites Auxilia or 1 Equites Illyria or both
if needed 1 Equites Stablesiani or Equites Scutarii as additionel guard of the general
it is absolutely Ok if you use also 1 unit of Equites Promoti

Legio Auxilia Palatinae
1 General
4 Auxilia Palatinae
+different kinds of Foederatii
+Illyrians Soldiers
+if needed Sagitarii
+if needed 1-2 local cavalry

mounted vexilationes
mobile task force
can used for fighting with the legion or can (if time is too short) fight alone.
The mounted legion should garrisoned seperatly of course at a central place of the Diocese.

1 General
2 Equites Promotii
2 Equites Sagitarii (or 2 units of mounted huns, or Sarmatians. Units can be mixed of course)
1 roman Equites Armaturae
1-2 shock cavalry: can be Foederati Unit or a roman unit like Cataphratii or Clibinarii
+ if needed some minor mounted troops like Equites Auxilia or Equites Dalmatae
+ 1 unit of Equites stablesiani or scutarii as additional guard for the general

If you play a long time,due to long wars and due to the money problem you will face the same problems as Aetius. The troops will be smaller and smaller.
So you will automaticly use more and more foederati. That's natures law.

This example was an example for a regional field army.

But the romans had also a central field army:
The Palatinae:

So if possible form 2 Palatinae legions:

Legio Ioviani
1 General (Emperor/Mag. Officiorum)
1-3 Auxilia Palatinae
2-4 Comitatenses Palatinae
+if needed Archers
+so much as you want (2-4) Scholae Cavalry
+good foederati units for the flanks

Legio Herculiani
see: Legio Ioviani

Normally at the beginning of the game you don't have enough money to make or create such a central field army. But try to transfer at the beginning so much units you can to the central field army. But these units should be the best ones.

Later in the game (430-440 or later) you can mix these units with the normal comitatenses units of the regular regional field armies.

In one of my sources I can read that these units of the Legio Palatinae were only used in case of emergency. In another source I can read that this central field army were the fire-workers and also partially used as fireworkers.
The Auxilia Palatinae had also to do sometimes special jobs in the enemies land, or to sabotage. So, I think it is absolutely OK to use these legions as you want. Feel free!
Historically: In the later periods more and more "barbarians" were transfered to the central field army. And lots of mounted Foederati troops. Odovacer, for example, was an officer (a barbarian one) in such a mobile central field army. And in this army there were nearly only germans.

Normally the regional field army stays always in the given Diocese. And the central field army (the 2 legions) is the army which is walking arround.

But in the dark age.... what is normal???
So feel free to do what you want: You are the Augustus.

I noticed that you keep refering to armies as legios. My understanding is that both central and regional field armies were made up of different units, some legios others auxilia, but these armies were never regarded as legios in themselves. Can you please explain?

Thanks

[Pompeius Magnus]

I read my Post again and again, but I really don't know what you mean.
I said very clearly in my post that a field army is always a combination of several units, vexellations and Legions.

Or do you mean my practical examples?
Names were given by me only for better understanding. But even that I wrote very clearly in the post.

[Pompeius Magnus]

eastern arm

[Pompeius Magnus]

phalanx

[Pompeius Magnus]

cuneus

[Pompeius Magnus]

aux

[Pompeius Magnus]

career

[Pompeius Magnus]

army376

[Pompeius Magnus]

army395

[Pompeius Magnus]

1) Milites (Member of the Limitanei)
2) Officer of the Scutarii (red cloths/tunica are a sign for a higher rank)
3) Milites, member of Limitanei. Parts of his equippment and clothes are from older times. The helmet, for example, seems from the imperial time of the 2nd and early 3rd century. This man serves perhaps in a Limitanei-unit which was a "real" legion in earlier times. It is also possible that his unit has still the name of the old legion.
4) Legionary of the unit "Legio Quinta Macedonia". This Legion "was" and "is" a real Legion. Created in earlier imperial times, still exist in the late antique and now part of the regional field army.
5) Members and soldiers of the regional field armies lived and were stationed in cities. Forts like in older times were still build, but very rare. The legions of the late antique (for the field armies) lived in houses of private people. Acc. the law every family had to share 1/3 (one third) of their houses with a soldier. Due to this situation sometimes trouble was the result. In this scene a normal soldier get trouble with his officer (red tunica). Perhaps he wasn't respectful to the family.
6) The black/white picture: A nice illustration which gives you an impression how a Limitanei commando worked. You can see that the first step to the middle age/medieval is done. Stations build with stones and protected by Limitanei. Some soldiers are mounted and going to patrol their area of response. The dark age begun! The time for our full equipped legions was over. The furture was in the hands of local soldiers. Even if they wear uniforms of the roman empire, in reality these boys looked dirty and more and more "local" to their region in which they lived.

[Pompeius Magnus]

1. Members of the Auxilia Palatinae. A new created part of the roman military next to the old Legions. On the left you see a soldier prepared for the battle. On the right side the soldier is wearing light equippment, perhaps he had to perform some special operations like sabotage or capture a german noble man on german territory.
2. ...still investigating...
3. Milites (member of the Limitanei)
4. ...still investigating...
5. conscription: On the right side you see the rich Magnate or land owner. he offers the officer (red tunica) money. In exchange the poor farmer can stay on his fields but has to work for the magnate (for free, of course). A first step to the medieval feudal-system. The farmer was no slave, but he also wasn't "free" anymore.
6. Late centurion
7. late legionary ... still investigating...
8. and a member of the famous manubalistarii

[Pompeius Magnus]

1. last stand of some elite units in the battle of Adrianople.
2. Clibanarii
3. Mounted soldiers, perhaps Promoti or Scutarii, the new backbone of the new cavalry?
4. Comitatenses. Some foot-soldiers of the regular Legio Comitatenses got training with the bow. The result were the Sagitarii.
5. Thanxs to the the User and Modder Gäiten who gave me the information for Pic No.5: The equippment (esp. helmets) are typically for legionaries of the 3rd century. The shields are beautiful painted without any christian symbols.. The soldiers wear the Lancea. Due to the
"warm" cloths and uniforms it is pretty sure that these legionaries were stationed in the north (Danube-area). Acc. "Imperial Roman Legionary" (161 - 284AD), from Osprey Publishing, the Legio XXII Primigenia (or perhaps only parts of the Legio, so called Vexillationes) fought with Emperor Gallienus. And from Gallienus we know that he fought most times against Germanic tribes and Sarmatians at the river Rhine and the Danube.
6. As you can see in the signature these troops were stationed in Britannia: No. 1 Roman cavalry officer AD400, No. 2 Roman cavalryman AD400, No. 3 Fleet sailors, No. 4 Junior Officer of the roman infantry. Early 5th century. Means the time-frame of IBFD! Due to the shield design the man is a member of the Legio Britannica Secunda. A Legion of the last mobile field army in Britain.
7. Archery training. In the middle you can see the "Campidoctor". That is the drill-officer.

[Pompeius Magnus]

Trier

[Pompeius Magnus]

murder

[Marku]

Pompeius you've revitalized my interest in this mod, thanks to your indepth guides. thank you so much. i wish my printer was working!

[Pompeius Magnus]

manu

[Pompeius Magnus]

british