Late Roman Battlefield Strategy, After Vegetius and Mauricius
I thought it would be a good idea to open a thread where people could post their battle tactics and strategies, both Roman and ‘barbarian’ - something along the lines of similar posts in other mods of RTW where people debate and illustrate various formations and responses in a historically accurate fashion. I have always been impressed with the earlier RTW mods’ portrayal of Roman army tactics and strategy against such enemies as the Greek phalanx and Gallic warband, etc. It struck me that something similar could be set-up here to both help new players and also develop debate about the best tactics in the late Roman period. See here for an example of an RTW thread:
The more I thought about it, the more it became apparent that the smaller units sizes in the later Roman empire were well suited to portraying accurate Roman tactics in IBFD. A late comitatus legio, for example, fielded around 1,200 men on paper, usually less with absences, sickness, etc. A single army stack could then in theory, on ‘Huge’ settings, contain two full late legions plus additional cavalry vexillations or foederate troops. Pompeius Magnus has illustrated this magnificently in his detailed post here:
What I would like to do is use this thread to focus on actual gameplay and tactics but with the following authorities used to add a level of authenticity in the manner in which Polybius, Tacitus and the other Roman authorities are cited to create authentic Roman RTW battles.
Obviously Vegetius and Mauricius are the two main writers I will focus on (using the Liverpool University Press 1993 and the University of Pennsylvania Press 1984 editions, respectively) with supplementary material provided by Adrian Goldsworthy and Phil Barker. So what I am going to do to kick off this thread is bring these authors into the IBFD world and see how well the translation occurs in actual gameplay! This will help develop our growing online battles by deploying authentic tactics and also help players experiment with different tactics.
To begin with, then: the late Roman legion is distinct from the Republican and Empire legion in several ways. The first obvious difference, as remarked above, is the size of the legion, which now stands at 1,200 or 1,000 men depending on Barker and Goldsworthy. This is a smaller battalion-size force rather than the regiment-size force of the earlier periods. It is generally agreed that this mobile field force is structured as follows: the legio is divided into six Ordines of 200 hundred men. The Ordo is further divided into 2 centuriae of 100 men. This is the tactical battlefield unit of the legio and is commanded by a Ducenarius, assisted by a senior Biarchus (each century of the Ordo has a Biarchus assisting either the Ducenarius in command of the Ordo or the Centenarius commanding the junior century in the Ordo).
6 of these Ordines combined form a legio but it must be remembered that paper strength never commutes into actual fighting strength and that Goldsworthy in particular suggests up to a third loss in manpower. So a 200-strong Ordo in IBFD terms equates nicely into a 160-strong unit card. A perfect translation. Let’s have a closer look at this Ordo and its effectiveness as a contained battlefield unit - but first some role-play, as it were!
The commander of a late Roman legion is ranked as a Tribune. This man has passed through a staff training college known as the Domestic Protectors, and kissed the purple to receive his commission. It is late in the Summer of the Consulship of Fl Fravitta and Fl Vincentius (401 AD), and our man, a native of Pannonia, of the province of Valeria Ripensis, called Brennianus, is posted to his first commission - command of the Geminiacenses, a legio which had once born the title of Gemina ‘the Twin’ in the old Republic and Empire days. This is probably not THE Gemina legion but a vexillation long since detached from the headquarters staff and now re-constituted as a legion in its own right. It is therefore both part of the old legion in terms of its battle-honours and traditions and also a new mobile field legion, part of the army in Gaul under the command of the Magister Equitum per Gallias. Our Tribune arrives in at the town of Vesontio, where the legio is garrisoned.
His first priority is to attend to the discipline of the legion and stamp his authority over it. Accordingly, one balmy late Summer morning, he surprises the Ducenarius, Maxentio, billeted nicely in a large town villa owned by the Prudentii gens, and promptly orders him to assemble the Primus Ordo of the Geminiacenses and then muster arms some 4 Roman miles north of Vesontio, in open ground bordered by small copses of sycamores and oaks.
Midday finds a sweating Maxentio amongst the men of the Primus Ordo, Legio Comitatus Geminiacenses, with our Brennianus on foot alongside him, watching his every move. The sun moves through the houses of the zodiac as the Ducenarius is forced to manoeuvre the men again and again under the stern glance of the Tribune. 40 men are missing from the unit roster: 25 are posted on escort and guard duties throughout the province, 8 are detailed on admin and food requisition duties, 5 are listed as sick or injured, 2 have deserted.
Unknown to both Maxentio and the men of the First Ordo, Brennianus has a little surprise up his claviculii sleeve . . .
So here we are, the Ordo, in all its naked glory:
160 men arrayed in a standard formation, 4 deep and 40 wide, giving a battle frontage, according to Vegetius, of about 120 feet. This Ordo, the First, is a front line Ordo and is equipped with armour, helmets, shields, swords, and plumbatae, the lead-weighted throwing darts, five of which are clipped behind the shield. It is a heavy infantry unit and equates roughly to an over-sized Company in the British Army.
Here’s the Ducenarius, Maxentio, with the Ordo’s dragon standard bearer, the Draconarius, behind him, with an impatient Brennianus to the rear. Love his red cloak. For all intents and purposes, the subdivision of the Ordo into 2 centuriae cannot be shown. As a battlefield unit, it remains intact at all times. Only in camp, escort and patrol duties will the Ordo split into a first and second Century.
Now as a battlefield unit, what can the Ordo achieve alone and without broader legion support?
It is versatile, for a start. It can re-form into a late Roman testudo or foulkon, after Mauricius, which is slow-moving and vulnerable to broken ground but excellent in defending against onrushing attackers. It can re-form into a loose formation should it need to move quickly across the battlefield over rough ground or through brush or scrub. It can extend its front up to 240 feet, two men deep, and it can re-from into various column formations for marching and flanking manoeuvres. Here are examples as the day moves on and the sun begins to slide into early afternoon:
All familiar stuff to us IBFD players. No real surprises here, to be honest. So, there we have the basic tactical unit of the legio in isolation and devoid of all the elements which make a legion so devastating in battle - the light troops, the archers, the different formations and battle-lines, etc. The Tribune Brennianus is in no hurry, though. He needs to find the mettle of his men at the company level before flexing the muscles of a full legion in the field . . .
But first, a little surprise -
Maxentio is about to order his Biarchus to dismiss the men for a late afternoon snack of olives, bread and honeyed wine, when our Tribune casually points out that there seem to be a band of German barbarians sneaking out of the sycamore trees ahead . . .
Even as the Ducenarius orders the Ordo to form ranks (again), he can’t but notice the smirk upon his Tribune’s face . . .
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 24, 2008 at 11:56 PM.
At this point, Brennianus informs the Ducenarius that word had reached him via scouts that a band of foederate deserters were marching north-east from the vicus of Allobantium and would at some point cross north of Vesontio. These German barbarians were under the nominal command of a certain Mammuthus, of Frankish origin, and had been about to be seized on charges of treason and theft and so had deserted the standards.
Maxentio discovers what it is like to hate a smug face and stares with increasing alarm as the warband of foederate troops decamps from the tree-line and moves menacingly towards the exposed Ordo. Clearly, this Mammuthus intends to slaughter the Roman troops before they can give his location away. The Ducenarius looks to his Tribune but Brennianus merely smiles back and waits to see what he will do.
Without thinking any further, Maxentio orders the Ordo to form ‘foulkon’ and then brace for the onslaught of the barbarians. He has a moment in which to calculate some odds and sees that the former foederates number some 200 odd and seem to be lightly armoured, carrying mainly shields for protection. His legionaries are exposed and without support but training, tactics and discipline might swing the odds in his favour.
Mauricius describes the ‘foulkon’ in some detail: it seems to be a development of the Republic and Principate testudo with the emphasis now more towards battlefield use rather than siege deployment. The first three to four rows of the Ordo interlock shields and brace their spears or javelins into the ground. The last row present spears horizontally through the overlapping shields, holding them as if they were about to throw them, thrusting away. Should the ‘foulkon’ be flanked then it splits so that every second file drops out to present a double facing. This ‘shieldwall’ is clearly a rigid battle-line designed to halt an opponent in their tracks and break up its own ranks.
Maxentio is gambling that the approaching barbarian warriors will throw everything into a frontal assault and hope to dissolve the lines of the Ordo by the ferocity of their initial charge. He’s not wrong.
What follows is brief and bloody. The Prima Ordo holds its line and the ex-foederates are slaughtered as they attempt to break down the shieldwall. Few, if any, think to flank the line. Mammuthus is cut down by a front-line ranker (who is later awarded a silver torc). Some thirty barbarians flee to the safety of the nearby sycamores while around thirty of the men of the Ordo are incapacitated with about half that slain.
Maxentio for a moment looks at the fallen about him and begins to hate the Tribune for the deaths of his men but then he sees the look of grim satisfaction upon his commander’s face and feels a sudden wash of pride surge through him. They have been bloodied under the gaze of the legion’s Tribune and not found wanting. Then he sees all the mangled corpses of the barbarians - the great carpet of them - and finds his pride becoming hard like steel . . .
So our late Roman Ordo is a fine battlefield tactical force but on its own is really just a brick in the late Roman legio. Both Vegetius and Mauricius stress very clearly the versatility of the full army in the field and its ability to field different troop types within the lines to counter specific threats - light troops such as exculcatores, archers, spearmen, plumbatarii, are all discussed in terms of their inclusion within a battle-line. Vegetius, in particular, mentions the combined use of these troops on the battlefield.
In terms of IBFD, our Ordo only lacks the ability to split and present a double-facing of the foulkon. This can be achieved however when we remember that Mauricius is talking about men in long battle lines not those in a single unit. Two ordines within the battle line could easily be set up to present a double-facing or moved into such a position once battle is under way.
This is an excellent site for video footage of re-enactors from the 'Comitatus' group deploying in several formations:
Is the Tribune, Brennianus, satisfied with the calibre of the men and officers of the Prima Ordo? It is difficult to tell for the next day, after a light, rain-drizzled, night camped in the field in their little papilio tents, two more ordines of the legion arrive from Vesontio with orders to effect a rendezvous with Brennianus and conduct further field exercises . . . The Tribune assures the men of the Prima Ordo as they tuck into barley gruel that no errant barbarians are nearby . . .
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 24, 2008 at 11:57 PM.
Vegetius goes into great detail about the depth and composition of the Roman battle-line, showing how much frontage is needed when deploying so many men, for example, and the typical size of an army. While a lot of this is mixed up with archaic sources as part of his writing brief (remember, Vegetius is seeking to rehabilitate a fall from grace, as it were, of Roman training and discipline), what does become clear is the proper order of the battle-line in a standard deployment at legion level.
We established that a late Roman legion has 6 ordines each commanded by a Ducenarius. All troops in a legion were expected to be proficient in a variety of weapons: swords, light javelins (the verutum), heavy javelins (the spiculum), spears (the lancea), bows, using the Roman or the Persian method of drawing, plumbatae (or martiobarbulii - the ‘darts of Mars’) and even the crossbow (the solenarion of the later ‘Byzantine‘ era). This allowed each soldier to perform a variety of roles in the legion and take up position in the battle-line as required by the Tribune. Vegetius outlines a typical battle-line which includes heavy infantry, light infantry and missile or archer troops. His basic reasoning is that the Roman battle-line is a wall which cannot be breached and therefore requires the heavy infantry to be placed in the front ranks, with the light ‘exculcatores’, or skirmishers, in the middle, and then the sagittarii to the rear. This presents a battle-line able to hold and then repulse an attack all the while showering javelins, darts and arrows down on the heads of the enemy.
While it is probable that each Ordo included troops who specialised in each of the roles above, in IBFD, we have to instead decide that each Ordo itself is a particular troop type: heavy infantry, light infantry, archer, etc. This allows us to assemble a legion of 6 ordines and present a battle-line consistent with both Vegetius and Mauricius.
The Geminiacenses Legio Comitatus, for example, contains 6 Ordines (numbered 1 to 6), of which the first 4 are heavy infantry (2 plumbatae, 2 standard heavy javelins), 1 Ordo is a light infantry company or exculcatores, and the remaining Ordo is a unit of heavy archers. This ordering is chosen to represent a legion dedicated to front-line close combat.
Let’s look at this in a bit more detail . . .
It’s the morning of the second day among the scattered copses north of Vesontio. Heavy rain is now falling and the ground is sodden underfoot. As the morning advances, two more Ordines arrive along the old cattle-track which is the only route through this terrain. First to arrive is the Sextus Ordo, under Ducenarius Probus, a company of sagittarii clad in helmets and mail corselets. Close behind these men, arrives the Quintus Ordo, exculcatores or light infantry, whose role is to harass enemy lines before contact and fall back behind the heavy infantry to hurl the light javelins. This unit’s commander, Crassus, is on leave and visiting Lugudunum and the court of the Magister Equitum per Gallias. It is understood that he will be seconded to the Domestic Protectors within the month. The senior Biarchus of the Ordo has now been raised to the title of Vicarius or ‘acting-commander’ in his stead - Brennianus will be watching him with a view to promoting him to Ducenarius over the following days as the second century‘s Centenarius has a reputation for drink and is therefore not suitable. These light infantry will also harry retreating troops and try to flank an engaged opponent or battle-line if possible.
Now Brennianus has ordered these units to rendezvous with the Primus Ordo so that he can watch them drill together as close-order infantry. The first thing our Tribune does is order the ordines to form lines in a standard Roman battle-line.
This requires extending the frontage until the heavy infantry are 3-men deep, the light infantry in the middle are 4 deep, and the archers are 4 deep also. This gives Brennianus a depth of 11 men and a frontage of even ranks standing at about 60. This gives a solid rectangular formation capable of withstanding a considerable attack and able to rain down waves of javelins and arrows. If flanked or attacked from the rear, the armoured sagittarii are able to draw semi-spathas and form a rear line of heavy infantry at a pinch.
The morning wears on and midday passes without a break as Brennianus watches the three Ducenarii order the men to form lines, advance, retreat, and open and close formations. The men of the fifth, or Quintus, Ordo in particular are put through their paces as they are ordered to advance forward of the main line again and again in extended order to act as a skirmishing screen for the legion. This role is vital for the battle-line as a whole for it allows both the legion to deploy securely and also test and harass the enemy lines prior to contact. Brennianus is unforgiving on the Biarchus and more then once curses him to Hades as his men swill around in confusion when attempting oblique right and left manoeuvres but eventually nods in satisfaction.
He then allows the Ducenarii and the Vicarius to break the men for a late lunch while assembling the line officers to walk across the terrain and discuss further orders for the early evening . . .
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 25, 2008 at 01:28 PM.
Mauricius is specific on the value of the depth of a battle-line. He outlines 4, 8 and 16 ranks deep as the optimal depth of infantry lines, with 8 being the medial. So a 160 Ordo unit would deploy as part of an extended battle-line within the legion with either 4, 8 or 16 men deep, all depending on the nature of the terrain, the composition of the soldiers and the enemy being faced. These ranks would be assembled in open order before closing up once the enemy had begun to advance. Again, it is worth emphasising that in Vegetius, in particular, the Roman army is primarily arrayed as a solid battle-line ready to receive an enemy charge. Offensive formations will be dealt with later.
The ‘Strategikon’ of Mauricius states that anything deeper than 16 adds nothing to the staying power of the battle-line and that anything less than 4 presents a line too flimsy to maintain. This presents a Roman commander with a number of options regarding the composition of the ranks: how many heavy infantry, exculcatores, sagittarii will be deployed in a 4, 8 or 16 line? It will be noticed that Brennianus in the sycamore fields north of Vesontio formed up the 3 Ordines 11 deep - not 8 or 16. This was in keeping with the breadth of the line in that the exculcatores included 200 men (a full unit) and his aim was to present an even rectangle with all 3 Ordines (it just looks nice . . .).
So as players we have several options here: how deep, how wide and what composition will our late Roman legion be formed in? Historically, we would be looking for a 4, 8 and 16 depth line, with even rows of heavy infantry, exculcatores and archers. The line would be arrayed in close order and as much as possible present even sides so that it looked like a rectangle. Again, this is the basic battle-line, the building block on which various tactics and strategies can be hung.
For those Classicists among you, there are obvious differences between this legion formation and the Republic and Principate legion. The prime difference is the shift away from an entire legion of heavy infantry, over 6,000, supported by auxiliaries who provide the various other roles needed on the battle-field. The later legion now is composed itself of different tactical roles, making it more versatile in combat but also less effective as a solid wall of steel. Another difference is the emphasis now upon lines of deployment and away from the checkerboard cohorts of Caesar and Trajan, for example. This is offset by the fact that the Roman legion has moved from a regimental size to a battalion size and that several of these smaller legions will be deployed on the battlefield in different roles (more of that later!). Again, for the moment, we are focusing solely upon a single legion and not looking at it within the context of it being brigaded with various auxilia, cavalry and foederate support.
So not only are there specialists within each legion, legions can also be formed with certain weapon types in pre-eminence. The Notitia Dignitatum lists several dozen legions across the east and west empires, some of which carry titles which highlight specialities: there are plumbatae legions, lanciarii legions, exculcatores legions, sagittarii legions, etc. So as players we can compose or recruit legions which can reflect some of these specialities.
For example, our Geminiacenses Legio Comitatus has 2 Ordines of standard heavy infantry and 2 Ordines of plumbatarii, troops specialising in use of the ‘darts of Mars’. This makes the legion a specialist legion. It is up to the player on how many Ordines reflect certain troop types. For example, the Notitia lists a certain Auxilium Palatinum (not a legion but a 500 strong newer unit raised first by Constantine - more on that later) as the Exculcatores Iuniores Britanniciani, clearly a unit with a high preponderance of light-armed skirmishers and missile troops. As a player, I might decide to assemble 3 Ordines to recreate this Auxilium - a single Ordo of sagittarii and 2 Ordines of exculcatores. This is not a unit I would station on the front-lines unless I was facing very light troops on foot or horseback.
But let’s get back to Brennianus and those poor lads slogging away in that muddy field . . .
It’s early evening and Brennianus is pushing the Biarchus, a stocky Gaul called Mettius, of the Quintus Ordo as if he wants to personally crucify him. After some time co-ordinating open and close march formations, the Tribune details Mettius to simulate an attack from cover on the marching flanks of the Primus Ordo and the Sextus Ordo . . .
This exemplifies the skill of the light troops in moving through rough and covered ground with speed. Mettius uses the small copse as cover with his men arrayed in close order and then advances quickly through the two marching columns of the heavy infantry and the archers before recomposing them and swinging around for another run even as the Ordines attempt to form ranks and face the enemy. Speed, agility and surprise form the best friends of the exculcatores - and Mettius uses these elements with precision and confidence.
The Tribune is finally impressed and allows all the men to break ranks to pitch the tents for another night under canvas. He retires to his own tent and a servant who waits on him with a nice amphora of Falernian red. Later, Brennianus invites Mettius over and gives him formal command of the Ordo, with a raise in rank to Ducenarius, with attendant increase in annona. The stocky Gaul, his face scarred and rough like a crudely carven mask, nods once, as though expecting such news. Brennianus struggles to hide a smile even as he passes over a wooden goblet of red to his new Ducenarius . . .
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 24, 2008 at 04:51 PM.
Late Roman writers often mention legions being brigaded together with another and that these twin battalions, as it were, often remain linked. Ammianus writes about the Petulantes and the Celtae, for example, also the Brachiati and Primani. What we have then is a tradition or practice of never fielding a legion on its own and that in the field these legions often seemed to be brigaded together as a combined force. Diocletian’s famed Jovian and Herculean legions remained bonded and were also famed as martiobarbulii throwers.
In IBFD terms, this is easily replicated but with the proviso that in campaign mode as opposed to custom or online mode, economics and devastation may prohibit the raising or continuation of two full legions in the field . . . Certainly as the western empire eroded away, this ideal or practice from an earlier generation would be hard to maintain. However, in principle, to simulate late Roman military doctrine as filtered through Vegetius, Mauricius and such writers as Ammianus, the brigading of a legion with another is desirable. This will take up 12 of the 20 unit slots in a full stack army, if we allow 6 Ordines per legion. For the sake or argument, let’s assume that similar legions were brigaded together - Diocletian’s being an example - so that our Geminiacenses Legio Comitatus stationed at the town of Vesontio always takes the field with the Lancearii Honoriani Gallicani, or the ‘Honorian Gallic Spearmen’, raised by the emperor Honorius. These men are famed for their use of the lancea, or spear, and possess a strong contingent of soldiers trained in its use.
This means that on exercises or field operations, both these legions operate together and can muster some 2,400 men in the field. It also means that each legion is a specialist - one in the plumbatae and the other in the lancea. This allows a player some choices when it comes to placement of the battle-line.
A month has passed in Vesontio and our Tribune receives orders to vacate the town and march north to rendezvous with the Lancearii Honoriani Gallicani at the Campus Vallianus, a region of flat land which will be the staging ground for a general muster of units of the Gallic Field army under the Magister Equitum per Gallias. Rumours abound that the Roman army will push north to the upper Rhine limes and demonstrate its superior arms and training to quell barbarian encroachments in the area.
Accordingly, with the supply wagons, slaves, families and merchants in tow, the Geminiacenses legion marches out of Vesontio, leaving not a few relieved townsfolk and decurions behind (not to mention several unacknowledged children). We can envisage the soldiers marching north along the main paved roads in good spirits, singing marching songs and keeping an eye out for any tempting farm produce or villa goods which may be bought or bartered on the way. As Simon MacDowall suggests in his Osprey book (Late Roman Infantryman, AD 236-565), such a march would not be in armour or close formation. Brennianus is if not content with his legion - he is from Pannonia after all and hewn from tough soldier stock - at least confident and so our legion, according to Vegetius, covers roughly 20 Roman miles a day with the wagons, mules and civilians all in attendance.
Two full days’ march from the Campus Vallianus, riders approach the long column with news that the Tribune of the Lancearii Honoriani Gallicani, an Italian of the ancient Aemilii gens, named Constans, has been ambushed and slain by a band of Franks while out hunting with his slaves. The men and officers and his legion are baying for blood and are at this moment tracking the band of barbarians - clearly a raiding party - south of the ‘Twins’ position. After a hurried conference, Brennianus assumes overall command of both legions and orders his own to form up in tight order to effect a meeting with the other legion . . .
A day later sees both legions arrayed in full deployment, strung out along a wide plain, with the Franks caught out in the open and unable to flee. The barbarians are a small band or raiders and hardly worth the time of the legions. It’s a standard line with both left and right wing Ordines over-reaching the middle and rear lines to be able to turn to prevent flanking. Behind the main battle-line, the tribune has taken up station with the escort cavalry, staff officers and ‘tribunus vacans’ - officers not yet assigned to a command position. This gives our Tribune a force of some 50 armoured cavalry capable of providing a shock charge to maintain the line or flank and rout retreating units.
Brennianus feels the mood of the men of his sister legion and determines that it is time for some blood sports . . . These barbarians are not going to be slain quickly or easily and must be made to account for the death of a Roman officer of the line . . .
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 25, 2008 at 12:05 AM.
Before we grimly watch on and witness the death of these Franks, let’s examine in a little more detail how exactly Brennianus has arranged his battle-line. The two legions are arrayed in parallel with the first four lines as heavy infantry, or defensores as defined by Mauricius, troops lined up in close or compact order, both lancearii, plumbatarii, and standard spiculum-throwers (the replacement for the old pilum). The next two lines are light troops, exculcatores, also referred to as cursores by Mauricius, that is, troops in open or extended order. The remaining two lines are sagittarii in full armour but lacking shields. This gives Brennianus a file-depth of 8, with the 2 legions along an extended front and rectangular in formation. There are no reserves other than the fifty or so guard cavalry and assembled staff officers: the vicarii, comites and tribunque vacantes, all forming a strong body of heavy cavalry typical of the late Roman era.
This corresponds almost perfectly with the first of seven suggested battle-line deployments outlined by Vegetius. This formation, with the infantry lined up in a rectangle over an extended front is one which is the most commonest in the times Vegetius lives in but is one which has drawbacks, also. It is a formation only to be used by a numerically superior Roman force and its aim, writes Vegetius, is primarily one of envelopment: in that the long wings will move in with the main line and close around the smaller barbarian force like an embrace. It’s defects are many: it requires a long frontage and therefore needs adequate even ground to sustain it; if the enemy force is superior it can easily turn one of the wings as no reserve force is available; the frontage is potentially thin and a barbarian cuneus or boar’s head could punch through the 4 lines of the heavy infantry., if sufficiently aggressive enough.
We cannot criticize Brennianus, however, as this is the perfect formation with which to both trap the small band of Franks and also allow the bulk of the troops to observe Roman honour being avenged.
As for these Franks, a small raiding party of some 240 barbarians, under a chieftain called Chnodamar, their eagerness to raid south and west of the Rhine, and also butcher a high-ranking Roman officer and Senator, now seems like hubris indeed. Pinned by the long line or limes of the Roman infantry in full armour and with extensive peaty ground behind them which restricts their ability to retreat, these Franks work themselves into a battle-frenzy and prepare to die honouring their ancient and moody gods. Chnodamar knows that no offer of truce or surrender will be heeded and so only a bloody death awaits him. On they come, roaring brute battle-cries and brandishing fearsome weapons as all the while the long ranks of the legions remain silent and impassive . . .
Brennianus has gaged the mod of the Lancearii Honoriani Gallicani with the eyes of a hawk and knows that the men of Primus Ordo, under the Ducenarius Castus, in particular feel the loss of their commanding Tribune. Among the small papilio tents the night before, Brennianus had heard many of these men lament his death as one mourns the loss of a father. Castus and the men of the Primus Ordo stand on the extreme right wing of the battle-line, where in ages past, the old first cohort would have once stood. It is an old tradition but the best and the first of a legion always stands in that place of honour. Now as the Franks advance towards their death with defiant cries, Brennianus raises his fist, and all along the files of the Primus Ordo, the stern shouts of the line commanders - the Ducenarius, Centenarius, the Biarchii, the Circitors - echo out like a martial hymn: “Silence. Observe orders. Do not worry. Keep your position. Follow the standard. Do not leave the standard and follow the enemy!”
Then the Primus Ordo steps forward and advances from the battle-line in full view of the two legions. Castus with the Ordo’s Draconarius behind him leads the men towards the left flank of the Franks and then shouts out the order to form the cuneus, or ‘caput porcinum’, the offensive wedge formation of the Roman army and the opposite of the foulkon or testudo. As the shouts of ‘ad caput porcinum’ fill the air over the tramp of the legionary steps, Brennianus, astride his Hunnish mount, watches in satisfaction and notes that the Franks are now milling about in confusion, attempting to face the advancing Romans . . .
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 25, 2008 at 11:40 AM.
This offensive formation, referred to as the ‘caput porcinum’, is often or traditionally represented as a wedge of densely-packed men who charge and pierce an enemy battle-line. It punctures a hole through these men and shatters their cohesion thus allowing the rest of the main line to advance into and dissolve the whole line. It has an iconic status in ancient or fantasy fiction matched only by the charge of the cavalry into infantry lines.
Recently, however, discussion has shown that the ‘wedge’ isn’t a wedge as such and does not charge as a solid mass into a defensive line like an armoured arrow head. In fact, Vegetius is very clear as to the purpose and shape of the ‘caput porcinum’: it’s main aim was to concentrate a dense column of troops wider at the rear than at the front so that an immense volume of missile weapons could be concentrated onto a narrow frontage of the enemy line, thus weakening it so that when the formation made contact it could penetrate it easily. So in this sense, we move from a triangular outline to a trapezoid one or even a rectangular one, like a French infantry column attacking a British line.
Pompeius Magnus has done a magnificent job of illustrating how such a formation can be achieved in IBFD in the following thread -
To re-cap Pompeius Magnus’ key points: order the formation to advance through the attacked line or unit so that it will penetrate it and then put them in guard mode so that they attack on all fronts from within the enemy formation. Very effective.
In the case of Castus and the Primus Ordo, things are not so simple, however . . .
The Ducenarius, aware that he is on parade, as it were, before two legions, smartly assembles the ordo into a ‘caput porcinum’ even as the Franks, arrayed in what Vegetius refers to as a ‘globus’ or ‘drungus’, that is, a loose formation of men who move quickly around the battlefield, turn to face them. To the barks of the line officers, the legionaries re-form into a stubby rectangle and advance in quick even steps towards this globus of barbarians. At approximately fifty paces, the Ordo halts and releases a volley of spiculii. It then follows this up with a sudden charge into the confused ranks of the barbarians. The shock is immediate and even though the barbarians are able to respond with a ragged volley of angons (similar in design to the old Roman pilum), these in the main rattle off the Primus Ordo’s armour, helmets and shields. The following fighting is vicious and without mercy. Legionary stabs into Frank as the latter hacks back, unheeding of his wounds. The only difference is the silence from the ranks of the first ordo of the legion as it carves a bloody path into the barbarians. It is now that the offensive formation reveals its limitations - against a loose order of men such as a barbarian drungus or globus, it lacks the ability to ‘punch’ a hole. Instead, the Franks are able to fall back in loose order over a carpet of their own dead but still retaining their cohesion. Castus decides that his initial charge in the ‘boar’s head’ has satiated the blood-appetite of his men and so orders the Ordo to fall back and re-form into a defensive line - after all, Brennianus had made it clear to him that first blood was to go to him and his men but that others were to have their due before the last of these barbarians were to be cut down.
(For information about the Frank angon - see this site:
With almost half of the Franks slaughtered before the spiculii and spathae of the Primus Ordo, the remaining barbarians halt uneasily in the field as the small Roman unit retires some distance from them. In the distance, these Franks can hear sharp, short, commands in Latin and quickly perceive a ripple in the long line of the shields hemming them in. Then, almost like a breeze shifting the branches in a forest, the lines of shields shimmer and other Romans advance through them at speed spreading out along the legion line.
Brennianus has determined that much as a hunt will rely on speed and agility, then so to should these barbarians be hunted down and butchered by the legion’s own ‘hunters’. So it is that the men of the Quintus Ordo, exculcatores and fleet of foot, emerge from the rear lines in open order and spread out like a long net around the Franks. Protected by the solid line of the Primus Ordo from a sudden rush, the exculcatores begin to harass the barbarians with carefully placed verutum throws, as one would pick out and slay deer in a herd. One by one, the Franks are brought down as the Quintus Ordo methodically trims their numbers. Bets are taken on the throws. From behind the light skirmishers, the heavy infantry, their lanceas raised upright in a rest position, shout out odds and pick out targets for them to pierce. It soon becomes a chilling sport which echoes in an almost Greek tragedic manner the fate of their commanding Tribune - as he was slain out hunting with his slaves then so to shall those who killed him be slain like the hunted . . .
Eventually, each man of the Quintus Ordo has exhausted his complement of light javelins and a certain stillness settles over the lines of the two legions. The Ducenarius in command of the Ordo looks back to the assemble staff officers and guard cavalry to see a distant Brennianus raise his hand in a clenched fist. Turning quickly back to his men, this officer barks out the command to draw swords and advance to contact - “ad spathas et ad pila”, as Vegetius describes the verbal command. Moving swiftly forward, unencumbered with armour or helmets, these men advance towards the wounded and exhausted Franks like hawks running a hare to ground.
Brennianus is satisfied. Watching all along the lines of the two legions he sees men nodding in grim humour as the exculcatores cut down the remaining Franks. Honour has been avenged and now it is time to end the bloody manoeuvre. He signals to his standard-bearer and then the cavalry move off at a trot to flank the legion on the right wing and then move around the engaged Romans and Franks in front. He then gives the command to wheel the cavalry ninety degrees in to face them and waits, not a hundred yards from the action.
He does not have to wait long. With the men of the Quintus Ordo darting in and out of the barbarians like hounds, their long swords stabbing with precision, the end is inevitable. A heartbeat passes and then with it all the will and resolve of the Franks crumbles and they turn to run in panic and despair. Brennianus allows them a moment of time in which these barbarians sink into the horror of their end, and then signals a charge to run them all down like beasts, with no mercy, all the while hearing the shouts of his legions urging him on like a god. It’s over in moments and all the Franks are lain out, hacked down in flight, and Roman honour has been satisfied . . .
The cuneus or ‘wedge’ formation is an offensive formation here displayed as a broad rectangle rather than a trapezoid as defined by Vegetius. It is possible to create a trapezoid using 2 ordines one in front of the other, with the first in the assault position as a rectangle and the second behind it in a wider rectangle. Both are placed together with little if no space between each. This unit is then locked into a single unit via the merge button and advances to contact as a ‘wedge’. If possible, at the last moment, the forward Ordo breaks into the enemy battle-line as per Pompeius Magnus’ description while the rear Ordo halts to maintain missile fire using the ‘hold ground’ button with the independent fire option activated.
Barker mentions the Germans in particular as using these cuneus or column formations against Roman lines and states that the Romans feared them for their ability to shatter their men. As long as the lines could survive the initial contact,however, then Roman commanders had little to fear from these ‘boar’s head’. A defensive tactic was developed to counter the ‘wedge’ and this was the ‘pincer’, as outlined by Vegetius: the ‘forfex’, which consisted of two wings closing around the cuneus like an embrace; something easily replicated in IBFD if you simply swing the two flanking units in the battle-line in towards the advancing cuneus as it makes contact. This will necessitate that you bring up reserves to plug the subsequent gap in the lines - and if you have no reserves, the forfex can be a dangerous manoeuvre to engage in.
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 27, 2008 at 02:44 AM.
As the days pass in quick succession following the slaughter of the band of Franks, Brennianus and the men of the Geminiacenses Legio and the Lancearii Honoriani Gallicani Legio under the watchful eyes of their respective campidoctors, or drill-sergeants, practice route marches and various formations. The nearby vicus of Manucium becomes the repository of huge grain supplies slowly being brought in from the outlying districts and these are shipped daily via the wagons and pack-horses, or sagmarii, of the two legions out to the Campus Vallianus. Fodder, fire-wood and water are all secured in a temporary fortified camp where the men spend the night in their papilio tents as sentries exchange watch-words until the dawn arrives.
Brennianus is surprised to receive word from the Magister Equitum per Gallias to the effect that the slain Tribune’s uncle, an important Senator in Lugudunum with connections in Ravenna itself, was so impressed with his act in hunting down the Franks and avenging Roman - and his family’s - honour, that the Tribune is raised in rank to that of Comes rei Militaris and placed in overall command of the troops assembling here on the Campus. Accordingly, he promotes Castus of the Primus Ordo to the rank of Tribune and places a certain Sallustius, one of the unattached Tribunes, in command of his old legion, the ‘Twins’. A codicil even arrives from Stilicho himself congratulating him on his rank and actions.
He is advised that more troops will be arriving at the Campus within the month and to make preparations accordingly. Drills and manoeuvres are stepped up.
One of the key aspects Brennianus works hard on is the deployment in various line formations designed to counter specific enemy formations or stratagems. Vegetius outlines seven such line formations of which the first has already been examined in some detail. To recap: the extended line which requires long even ground is primarily deployed when mustering superior numbers and whose aim is to envelop the enemy’s flanks. Its disadvantage is the lack of depth and/or reserves. It is also vulnerable to an opposing battle-line which is longer.
The second formation described by Vegetius is the oblique formation. This is a battle-line arrayed in a similar fashion as a rectangle but with the elite infantry and cavalry placed on the right wing. The line advances to contact in a staggered formation so that the right wing attacks the opponent’s left and traditionally weaker flank ahead of the left wing. The left wing remains behind and out of range of the opponent’s stronger right wing so that it cannot be targeted with missiles. The aim of the elite infantry and cavalry units is to turn the weak left flank and rout it. The opponent’s stronger right wing is unable to turn to support his left as that will then allow it to be enfiladed by the opposing left flank. Vegetius warns that any reserve infantry and/or cavalry should be placed on the left flank to prevent a similar move by the enemy should he attempt to oblique advance in counter.
The third formation is simply the reverse of the second, with the left flank advancing to contact while the right remains behind out of missile range but threatening the opponent’s left flank.
It should be stated that traditionally, in ancient warfare, the right flank was always the stronger flank and that left the weaker of a battle-line. Many reasons accounted for this not the least of which was the tendency for troops to ‘drift’ right across the battle-field into the left-facing shields of their companions. As a result, military doctrine dictated the placing of the stronger infantry and cavalry elements on the right to attempt to turn the enemy’s weak left flank as it inevitably bunched in to the right. Vegetius’ formations on the whole reflect this tradition but it must always be remembered that great commanders deployed as often against such traditions as they did following them. It was knowing when to deviate which made all the difference.
The late Roman army existed at several levels and with a composition which deployed a wide strategic structure. In terms of a hierarchy which reflected prestige and pay, the army was structured into three levels: the elite palatine units which served under the emperors themselves or one of their Praesental officers; the comitatenses troops who served in the bulk of the regional field armies, and finally the limitanei who were garrisoned on the limes or frontiers. Legions and units which originated in one tier could and did move to another so the structure was not solid but allowed a certain flexibility. For example, palatine units can be found in the various small field armies (for example, the Auxilium Palatinum, the Victores Iuniores Britanniciani, in the army of the Comes Britanniae) showing a demotion in status but not in pay. Likewise, after the debacle of Adrianople, several limitanei legions were removed from the borders and allocated into the regional field armies - being re-classified as pseudo-comitatenses but again still receiving their original pay and rations.
So a late Roman army in IBFD terms occupies one of several strategic roles which the player must choose - is it a frontier force of loosely connected legions and cavalry units, all stationed in local towns and castra and led by a Dux? Is it a regional field army under the command of a Comes and stationed in the larger, internal, towns and provincial capitols? Or is it one of the great Praesental armies under one of the Magisters or even the Augustus himself? Of course, as the empire collapses, such distinctions may become meaningless and scratch forces may be deployed as fire-breaks until some sort of normality is achieved!
This raises the issue of the composition of the army for an IBFD player. Having determined as best as the chaotic situation will allow, the strategic role of the various army groupings, now comes the choice of the units actually assembled in that army. Once again, despite some comments to the contrary by historians, the legion was never not the mainstay of the Roman army up until the time of Justinian and Belisarius. All major army groups in the later Roman empire deployed legion troops as the backbone of their strategy. Yes, the cavalry had a higher status and, yes, the Auxilia Palatinae were the preferred arm to enlist in, and, yes, foederate barbarians became more and more prevalent as a cheap substitute for the vanishing legions, but the legion remained the mainstay of the Roman fighting force wherever possible.
So, in principle, we can say that a typical composition of a late Roman army would consist of two legions which will take up 12 of the 20 slots in a full army stack; a cavalry vexillation of some type as Mauricius is very specific that the ratio of infantry to cavalry should be one third equites to two thirds pedites; and a barbarian foederate troop of some description: Goth, Frank, Hun, Arab, etc. Of the remaining 8 slots, if we understand a cavalry vexillation to be 3 to 5 ordines strong being either of a single type or mixed troops, then that leaves up to 5 remaining slots for the inclusion of a single foederate troop or a multitude of barbarian auxiliaries. It also allows the player the option of including an artillery ordo or two within the army but it must be pointed out that historically speaking Roman armies of this era did not as a rule drag field artillery around with them on campaign. Most artillery was now stationed within the towns and cities and manned by separate troops or separated off from the old legions to form single units of artillery of which very few existed. Artillery, when deployed was almost always as siege weapons.
As a footnote, mention is often given to Julian traversing woods in Gaul with an escort of cataphracts and artillerymen to argue either for some sort of elite crossbowmen in the Roman army or the prevalence of artillery in the legions so that men from those units could muster enough to form an escort to Julian. A close reading of Ammianus shows that it is the very unusualness of these troops as an escort which provokes his mention of them and that as the march is made on horseback, the idea of an elite unit of crossbowmen is also inappropriate. What Ammianus actually seems to be writing is that given the constraints on Julian and his desire to travel via an unusual route and through hostile terrain, the escort he chose was entirely inadequate and yet he managed to defeat several attacks in the woods and eventually reach his destination triumphant. Ammianus is using the artillerymen to big up his hero, as it were.
So, artillery inclusion would on the whole be unauthentic (shame, as they are so good at devastating barbarian drungi!). However, with the empire collapsing, who’s to say what an emperor will do in desperation?! Barker outlines the existence of 3 comitatenses units of ballistari, all in the east, but that a further 2 units of pseudo-comitatenses in the east and 1 in the west were later formed by collecting together garrison artillery. He posits that a Legio Ballistariorum consisted of 1,000 men with 50 pieces, mainly ballistae and a lesser number of onagri. This is one of the few IBFD units which is unable to be reconstituted in IBFD and again suggests that artillery should be reserved only for sieges.
To recap: front-line legions in the palatine or comitatenses armies would stand to with 6 Ordines, with a ratio of two-thirds heavy infantry to one third light infantry and archers. Many of these legions might specialise in certain weapons and therefore at least half of the heavy infantry should be trained to wield them. The old legions of the limitanei and promoted limitanei legions will not boast either such specialisation or so much heavy armour in its front-line ordines. Again, if you are assembling a border force under a Dux along the limes of Africa or the Danube, then these legions would consist more of lighter-equipped troops to reflect their roles as border-police and long-range recon patrols into the barbaricum or along the limes itself. These limitanei legions will still adhere to both Mauricius and Vegetius’ suggestion of the ratio of missile troops to combat troops.
As for the foederate troops, these are really up to the player and would reflect the size of the particular warband being recruited. As a general rule, groups of 500 or a 1,000 would generally reflect a realistic grouping but with absences and wounded, actual fighting numbers would always be lower. Foederati were either commanded by their own chieftain or fought under attached Roman officers.
Now that Brennianus has been raised to the rank of a Comes rei Militaris and placed in command of several units assembling at the Campus Vallianus, it will quickly become apparent how late Roman armies structured themselves. As the days pass in quick succession and more supplies are gathered around the informal depot of the vicus of Manucium, units from various outlying towns report to his standard as per the orders of the Magister Equitum per Gallias.
The first to arrive is the Senior Honorian Horse, a vexillation of some 300 heavy cavalry, under the Tribune Quintius. The Primus Ordo is fully-decked out in cataphract armour, with barding to the front of the horse, whereas the remaining 2 Ordines contain well-trained Roman cavalry in good armour and helmets. These are shock cavalry usually deployed on the right wing and used to flank an enemy battle-line or reinforce its own if barbarian troops manage to break-through. They are vulnerable to infantry or barbarian spearmen and lack the speed and agility of lighter horse on the battlefield. This vexillation is named after the reigning Augustus and as a result has received priority from the fabricae of Gaul. It thus boasts well-made armour and weapons, and the finest horses from the stud farms of Hispania, many of which contain Hunnic blood.
A day later and the First Gallic Horse rides in. This is a light cavalry vexillation, consisting of three ordines - one of armoured archers in the new fashion, and two of skirmishing cavalry after the manner of the exculcatores. It is also an under strength vexillation, having been mauled recently in a raid across the Rhine limes into the barbaricum and as a result the Secundus Ordo has been rolled up into the Tertius to make up a single Ordo, giving a field strength of some 200 cavalry. If time and money permits, it would be proper to re-enrol the remaining Ordo to recruit the unit back up to full strength. The First Gallic Horse is commanded by a Briton called Artorius (pace, pace) who is from distant Sarmatian stock . . .
The last to arrive is a Gothic warband under the banner of a certain Druthus, an exiled chieftain from the power struggle between the Theoderics in the provinces east of the Italies. This Druthus has received the rank of Tribune in the Roman army and as a result has access to Roman military arms and weapons from the fabricae in Gaul. His warband was originally some 500 hundred strong but is now standing at just over 400, grouped in 2 rough Ordines. These Goths are disciplined foederatii and fight well in close-order spearwalls, being tenacious and skilled fighters. We can assume also that these Goths are specific tribal group or offshot and are loyal by blood oath to Druthus.
Two legions of the line, two cavalry vexillations and a foederate warband thus stand below the standard of the Comes, Brennianus, on the Campus Vallianus. 12 units of Roman infantry, 5 units of Roman cavalry, 2 units of Gothic spearmen and the remaining guard cavalry of Brennianus himself. One full stack in IBFD.
As the Kalends of the new month arrives, Brennianus receives orders from the Magister Equitum per Gallias to take the Comitatus north and west along the limes of the upper Rhine and into Belgica and the lower Rhine confluences. It will take his troops many days of marching along the Roman roads but the route will be broken up with the fortified castra from which the Comes will draw supplies and remounts, equipment and fresh recruits, the latter if available. The impedimenta of the Comitatus will be the slowest element of the march and thus all the rest of the units will deploy in loose marching order according to the speed of these wagons and mules.
A month passes and finally Brennianus and his legions, vexillations and foederates arrive at the small old town of Camaracum, in the province of Germania Secunda, where word arrives that a Saxon force has penetrated up the tributaries of the lower Rhine and is advancing into the interior of the province, pillaging as it goes. A hasty consilium ensues and after hearing pleas from the local decurions and the governor, Bastus Cerialis, the Consularis of the province, Brennianus determines to advance to intercept the Saxons before they can effect a rendezvous with the Franks who threaten the northern limes along the Rhine. Accordingly, after receiving reports from his speculatores, or scouts, detached riders from the First Gallic Horse, Brennianus determines the best route to advance and catch the Saxons - a force somewhat larger than his own Comitatus.
What afterward becomes known as the Battle of the Mediovallum takes place five days later . . .
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; January 28, 2008 at 02:27 PM.
This is more of an illustrative AAR, I think, developing on from Vegetius and Mauricius and encouraging players to fight more realistic battles! Glad you like it, though.
The area north of Camaracum consists of rough uneven ground interspersed with low hills and occasional marsh. It is an unforgiving land, little suited to settlement or farming. It is known colloquially as the ‘middle barrier’ as it stands between the great Rhine river and the small peasant holdings which fringe the town. As such, the Mediovallum is often the site of skirmishing between the limitanei under the local Dux and various tribes of Franks who were now settled north of the river and increasing their presence on Roman soil also. It is in this unforgiving terrain that the Saxons are moving with the clear intention of affecting a link-up with the Franks in the area.
Brennianus, after receiving reports from his scouts and local detachments of limitanei, concludes that he must risk a general engagement in this area before that can happen and the barbarians increase in size and determination. Accordingly, he orders his Comitatus to advance in close order deep into the Mediovallum and throw a line across the path of the Saxons.
Four days are spent in drawing closer to the warband as the latter attempt to flank north and evade the Romans. The Roman speculatores are skilled men and have the advantage of knowing the ground in detail, however, and so eventually, one early morning, with a low mist burning away under a chilly sun, Brennianus finds the Saxons encamped atop a low hill in rough tents. Little trails of smoke drift up from their camp-fires and float lazily away. The odd rough barbarian horn sounds out like a dying auroch as the Romans advance out of the dawn haze into the low fields before the hill.
In glittering lines of mail and helmet, the legionaries, cavalry and foederates of Brennianus fan out across the ground and offer up battle to the Saxons. An offer the Tribune knows must be accepted as the Saxons cannot advance towards Frankish lands without crossing the Romans now. Battle will be inevitable.
Brennianus, after consulting with the Tribunes of the two legions, and of the two cavalry vexillations, and with Druthus, determines that the land will not support a long enveloping line without some adjustments: marshy ground to the rear and broken ground to the front preclude a single rectangular battle-line. This ground does present opportunities, however, and Brennianus decides, with the approval of the Tribunes and the staff officers, to stagger the battle-line according to the lay of the land. The effect of this is to create an angled line, with the left flank forward of the centre and the latter forward of the right flank. Behind the left, lies a large area of marshy ground through which the Romans cannot retreat without dire consequences. In the centre and along the right flank, boulders and broken ground present a defensible terrain which pushes the Roman lines back as they follow the quilt of the ground. Brennianus is aware that his left flank is thus presented to the Saxons while his centre and right are refused.
He deploys the First Gallic Horse on the extreme left along with the foederate spearmen of Druthus, with the aim to use the skirmishing cavalry to protect the Goths and deny the Saxons an easy assault. In the centre, with the broken ground before them he aligns the legionaries of the Geminiacenses in a standard battle-line. He orders the Tribune, the newly promoted Sallustius, to hold the line at all costs. On the right flank, further back, and again behind broken ground, he places the Honorian Gallic Spearmen, with the same orders: hold the line. The Senior Batavian Horse are ordered to muster to their standards on the far right of the battle-line and are to act as a flanking force or reserve should the legions begin to crumble.
Brennianus, with his guard cavalry and assembled staff, take up position to the centre-right of the extended front, on the extreme left flank of the Honorian Gallic Spearmen.
In general terms, this is a variation of the first order of battle outlined by Vegetius and shows that our Brennianus is adapting a general rule to the specific circumstances. Things he no doubt will have considered will be the lack of barbarian cavalry as the Saxons traditionally fight on foot in close order (something confirmed by his speculatores or a Spy in IBFD terms); the defensive opportunities of the broken ground in front of the two legions; the tendency for Germanic barbarians to fight in dense columns and loose groups rather than drilled ranks; and the wide open ground on the right and left flanks of the battlefield which are perfect for his cavalry.
Despite the stepped nature of the battle-line, Brennianus is going to fight a classic late Roman battle using an immobile long line, with the intent on withstanding the initial rush of barbarians and then enveloping the resultant confusion of men with the ordines of the legions and the foederates. In order to achieve this, Brennianus is going to first prod the Saxons a little . . .
The Roman Left Flank with the Goth foederates under Druthus and the two ordines of the First Gallic Horse. The marshy ground can clearly be seen here.
The men of the Geminicianses in the centre of the battle-line. Both the rocky ground and elements of the marsh are visible.
The right flank and the men of the Honorian Gallic Spearmen, with the Senior Honorian Horse on their far right flank.
The Senior Honorian Horse with the cataphracts standing ready in a narrow wedge formation. The remaining two ordines of heavy cavalry are arrayed in a wide rectangle to effect a flanking charge in force.
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; February 02, 2008 at 11:35 AM.
By mid-morning, with a fresh breeze clearing away what little mist there was from the night before, the Saxons on the low hill began assembling in their tribal groupings to march down onto the rough ground before the long Roman lines. Raucous shouts could be heard drifting across the expanse of the Mediovallum, and the men of the Comitatus, unused to the guttural language of the Saxons, remained silent and focused under the stern gaze of the line Ducenarii and Centenarii. The few remaining scouts out in the field retired warily before the barbarian host and rejoined their units in the field. Brennianus was content. The lines were solid and assembled well. His men were focussed. As he gazed slowly at the oncoming Saxons in their loose groups and warbands, he recognised both their strength and their weakness. He allowed himself a long slow grim smile . . .
The Saxons, as irregular troops, deployed in drungi and tight shield walls, under their chieftains and nobles, each occupying a hierarchical position in what was rapidly becoming a dense column, with small clusters of mailed warriors surrounded by larger groupings of spearmen and archers. These last were following behind the main column and clearly intended to support the main assault upon the Roman lines. It was difficult to distinguish a particular structure to the barbarians which smacked of any sort of planning or sophistry other than a fearsome rush into the lines of the legionaries, whom these Saxons had come to despise over the years as being weak and dissolute in war. Brennianus knew, however, that fighting limitanei under these northern Duxes was vastly different to meeting a field army Comitatus.
Brennianus allowed the Saxons to advance sufficiently enough for them to be somewhat disordered and then ordered his first ‘prod’ designed to allow him to control the battlefield. Once his messenger arrived at the Tribune of the First Gallic Horse and gave him the order, the two Ordines of the light cavalry vexillation advance at speed far out on the left flank of the Roman line, towards the oncoming Saxons. The skirmishing cavalry, all mounted on fleet-footed Gallic ponies, dashed forward of the mounted sagittarii and began to close in on the straggling lines of the far right wing of the Saxon lines. Like hawks or sparrows hunting through the air, these riders darted in and out on the edges, nibbling with their javelins, all the while the arrows of the Primus Ordo’ archers fell down from high over their heads. Brennianus watching from far over on the right flank knew that these light riders would never be capable of doing any real damage to these barbarians but that was not their orders. As the men of the First Gallic Horse flew in and then flew back around the flanks of the Saxons, the latter began to drift slowly into the centre of their column and the relative safety of their numbers. A few foolhardy warriors had locked shields and attempted to rout the skirmishing cavalry but had simply met with a withering hail of javelins and arrows before falling back in confusion.
It was now, as the Saxon right wing bunched in on itself away from the nibbling riders so that the entire mass of barbarians edged slowly away from the Roman left flank into the centre and the right flank, that Brennianus sent a second rider to Druthus with orders for his Goths to advance obliquely forward to further threaten their left wing. Raising a savage war-cry, all the more frightening as it came from the serried ranks of spearmen in tight formation, the Goths marched out of the safety of the battle-line and swung in towards the oncoming Saxons, angling like a door closing in . . .
Brennianus looked out and waited. Even though the entire Roman line remained still and silent, waiting for the Saxon onslaught, the Tribune had already dictated exactly where these Saxons were going to collide into the oval scutum. Their right wing was concertinaing into the centre and putting pressure on those Saxons to edge further in - towards the lines of his two legions . . .
The pressure of the light cavalry on the left flank and then the oblique advance of the Goths under Druthus drove the main Saxon drungi and columns into the centre and the right of the battlefield. The broken ground disrupted somewhat their formations - and the staggered lines of the two legions, one in front of the other, also forced the Saxons to split into two main attacking forces - one rushing into each legion. This further watered down the initial charge and force of the attacking barbarians and allowed the men of the legion frontlines to brace for the impact into their shields. Waves of preliminary missiles flickered between the opposing hosts like sparks from a fire (to paraphrase Ammianus) and then the Saxons crashed jointly into the legionaries.
Although the Saxons did not know it, they were already beaten. All the legions had to do was hold the line and the cavalry of the Senior Honorian Horse, now angling around the right flank, would do the rest. Far out on the left flank both the Goths and the First Gallic Horse had penned in a flanking force of light Saxon spearmen who were now surging against the spears in vain. Too little, too late. Now, as Brennianus looked on in approval, the heavy cavalry were surging around to the rear of the main Saxon columns on his right flank. The fighting was fierce, of that there was no doubt, and here and there, stout bodies of Saxon warriors and nobles had even pierced the lines of the heavy infantry, but the rear lines of exculcatores and sagittarii were able to harass them enough so that there was no real danger.
Now it was just a question of timing. One by one, groups of Saxons began to rout from the legion lines. Mostly the lighter troops, noted Brennianus, spearmen and the like. Barbarians unable to stand up to the discipline of the legionaries in a toe-to-toe match. This left the nobles and the main shield-warriors, all elite warbands but now being abandoned by the levy troops. It was time. With a thunder of hooves, the heavy cavalry swept in from the right flank and inundated these warriors in a deluge of blood and iron. With no horse of their own to check the Roman cavalry, the Senior Honorian Horse owned the battlefield, moving triumphantly down the line of the right flank legion - the Honorian Gallic Spearmen - routing one band of Saxons after another . . . Soon, the battlefield became no more than a carpet of bodies as the Romans cantered over the ground. Roman valour has triumphed over barbarian audacity and the Mediovallum has become a grave for countless Saxons in the process.
Here, at the Mediovallum, the combination of static lines configured to the ground in a variation of Vegetius’ first order of battle, along with a classic right-wing flanking manoeuvre while refusing the enemy’s own right wing, allowed the legions to hold the initial rush of barbarian ferocity and then cause them to melt in rout. It should be noted that the length of the lines allowed left and right oblique moves which boxed in the Saxons, denying them room to flank, and that the envelopment by the wings of cavalry effectively sealed them in like a lid on a box. Even though several Saxons broke through the Roman lines, the presence of the skirmishing troops and the archers behind them allowed order to be restored and wear out the Saxon’s impetus. In this instance, the sacrifice for length over depth allowed an elasticity which as Vegetius points out is able to absorb and then surround the attacking army.
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; February 01, 2008 at 01:26 PM.
Vegetius, who mostly focuses on infantry tactics as the cavalry arm is in no need of re-educating, outlines a series of battle-lines, each suited to a specific strategy. The first, second and third have already been discussed, that is: the long line if you have superior numbers and can envelop the enemy; and the two oblique lines designed to shatter or break the enemy’s right or left flank while preventing his own from aiding the embattled line. The fourth battle-line is a variation on the oblique line. In this version, the strong troops are placed on both wings, weakening the centre, and at around 500 to 400 yards rush forward to engage the wings of the opposing battle-line. The aim is to smash through and route the army while the centre of the battle-line holds its own.
The key to this variation is strong wings, preferably held by elite troops, massed in depth or column formations to aid their momentum and power. Light skirmishers and archers still provide the rear ranks but now concentrate fire on the wings of the enemy army. This is a battle-line, as Vegetius reminds his readers, which gambles all on a sudden, quick, rush to victory, and which leaves the centre exposed and vulnerable. Should the opposing wings or lines hold the assault then your army is vulnerable in the extreme for the centre is weak and your wings are now exposed.
This formation is an excellent formation for the deployment of the ‘boar’s head’ formation on either wing. Here, we can array a double ordine formation - one in a narrow column in front and the other wider at its rear - to simulate the trapezoid of the cuneus. As the whole battle-line advances to missile range, the two cuneuses . . . (cuneui?) charge forwards with the front Ordo punching through with the rear Ordo halting to maintain missile fire and then advancing in support once the enemy lines are thrown into disarray. The centre ordines will either halt to open missile fire on the enemy’s centre or advance to contact hoping that the wings will punch through before it collapses.
If, again, we are deploying a full-stack army then we can posit a Roman battle-line as follows: each of the 2 legions’ heavy infantry ordines will be split into 2 sections. 1 section of 2 ordines will form one half of the centre battle-line, while the remaining 2 ordines will form up in double-depth on its flank to simulate the ‘boar’s head’. What we have then is a single centre line of 4 ordines (2 from each legio) with each end-stopped as it were by 2 ordines in depth. The remaining light troops of both legions should be placed in the main behind the centre to reinforce it. Heavy cavalry should support the right wing as is traditional while light or skirmishing cavalry should be placed on the left to deter an enemy’s right wing advance. Any foederate forces might be placed in reserve in case the centre weakens or one of the wings falters.
Vegetius outlines a fifth battle-line as being a variation of the fourth. In this version, and in an attempt to bolster the centre-line, the light armament and archers are placed in front of the centre-line in an attempt to deter the enemy from engaging with it. In IBFD terms, we can imagine placing all the light troops out in front and ordering them to hold the line not skirmish so that if the enemy breaks through them, having been worn down by arrow and javelin fire, they will still have to face the main heavy infantry lines of the legions. Any field artillery should be placed here, also, ‘ad hortensium’ . . .
These 2 formations suit an aggressive general and one who is confidant of his troops and dismissive of the enemy’s. Terrain features heavily in the choice of these formations as charging uphill in a cuneus will severely hamper its power and effectiveness. Armies dependant on cavalry and light skirmishing troops will easily evade such a battle-line, and any obstacles which will slow down the advancing ‘wedges’ and/or impede their power will be of benefit to the opposing general. However, having said that, few battle-lines can hold once both wings have been disrupted or routed and knowing when to gamble is one attribute a general should cultivate.
I wouldn't deploy ballistae on the battlefield except on a rise behind and above the front lines. If I did have them out front as here, I would advance the centre 4 ordines to cover them before the main enemy lines made contact. Better yet, want to meet online and figure out the best strategy together?
Last edited by SeniorBatavianHorse; February 02, 2008 at 04:44 PM.
Battle Strategy and Tactics
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