THE

MILITARY SYSTEM OF THE ROMANS.

1. THE Roman legion, legio, was an organized body of Roman soldiers. It contained originally 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry; but its numerical strength was subsequently increased. In the time of Caesar it consisted entirely of heavy-armed infantry, and probably numbered from 3,500 to 5,000 men.1

CAESAR'S ARMY IN GAUL.

2. Caesar's army in Gaul consisted of two distinct parts, the Roman legions and the auxiliaries.

1. The Roman legions consisted of heavy-armed soldiers.2 2. The auxiliaries, consisting of foreign soldiers of various nationalities, served either as cavalry or as light-armed infantry.5

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3. The entire force at the command of Caesar during his Gallic campaigns seldom, if ever, exceeded 70,000 men. Beginning his work with a single legion, the tenth, afterwards so famous in the Gallic wars, he proceeded at once to raise re-enforcements, and soon found himself at the head of

1 A legion whose numbers were fully up to the normal standard was called legio plenissima and probably contained about 5,000 men. Veteran legions weakened by losses in battle were considerably below this standard.

2 In general, the legions were composed of Roman citizens.

3 Some of these were armed, equipped, and disciplined according to the Roman method, while others retained their native arms.

4 Caesar's cavalry was composed chiefly of Gauls; but it contained a few Germans and Spaniards.

Of the auxiliary infantry, the Balearian archers and the Cretan slingers were the most noted.

B

(XXV)

an army consisting of six legions and a force of auxiliaries nearly 20,000 strong.

4. The numerical strength of Caesar's army varied somewhat from year to year; but he generally had in his service about 5,000 auxiliary cavalry and from 15,000 to 20,000 auxiliary infantry. The following is a general estimate of the forces at his command during the seven successive campaigns described in the Commentaries.

1. In campaign I., 58 B. C., six legions, and about 20,000 auxiliaries, — cavalry and infantry; in all, from 40,000 to 50,000 men.1

2. In campaigns II., III, and IV., 57, 56, and 55 B. C., eight legions, with the usual force of auxiliaries; in all, from 50,000 to 60,000 men.2

3. In campaign V., 54 B. C., eight and a half legions (subsequently reduced by losses to seven), with the usual force of auxiliaries; in all, from 50,000 to 60,000 men.3

4. In campaign VI., 53 B. C., ten legions, with the usual force of auxiliaries; in all, from 60,000 to 70,000 men.4

5. In campaign VII., 52 B. C., eleven legions, with about 25,000 or 30,000 auxiliaries; in all, not far from 70,000 men.5

1 Caesar found the 10th legion in Gaul, brought the 7th, 8th, and 9th from their winter-quarters, and enrolled two new legions-the 11th and 12th-in Cisalpine Gaul. His auxiliaries consisted of 4,000 cavalry and a large force of light-armed infantry. The number of the latter, not definitely given in the Commentaries, has been variously estimated from 15,000 to 30,000. The estimate of Rheinhard is 15,000, that of General von Göler, 30,000.

2 For the second campaign Caesar enrolled two new legions. the 14th. These were added to the six already in his service.

the 13th and

3 Napoleon III. accounts for the half legion by assuming that Caesar procured several separate cohorts to serve in his fleet in his second expedition into Britain. The five cohorts and almost the whole of the 14th legion were lost under Sabinus and Cotta, among the Eburones. See Book V., 37.

4 In preparation for the sixth campaign, Caesar levied two new legions-the 14th and the 15th-and obtained another-the 1st-from Pompey. The 14th took the place of the 14th that was lost.

5 Caesar entered upon the seventh campaign with ten legions; but anotherthe 6th was added to the number in the course of the summer. These eleven legions were the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th. During this campaign, Caesar probably had a larger force of auxiliaries than at any previous time, as he besought the Aedui to send him all their cavalry and 10,000 infantry, and demanded cavalry and light-armed infantry from subject states in Germany. Moreover, he speaks of 22 cohorts of auxiliaries, collected from the province by Lucius Caesar. See Book VII., 34 and 65.

HISTORY OF THE ROMAN LEGION.

5. The history of the Roman legion naturally divides itself into three periods.

I. During the first period, the infantry of the legion in battle-array stood in the form of a solid phalanx, probably from six to eight ranks deep.1 The division of cavalry, 300 in number, belonging to the legion, was generally stationed in front of the phalanx.

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II. During the second period, the infantry of the legion was divided into thirty maniples, or companies, which, in battle-array, were arranged in three lines, with intervals between them, as follows:

1. The soldiers in the first line were called Hastati; those in the second, Principes; and those in the third, Triarii. The Hastati were comparatively young men, who had seen less service than the soldiers in either of the other lines; the Principes were in the full strength of mature manhood; while the Triarii were veterans in the service.

2. Each maniple in the legion consisted of two divisions, or companies, called centuries,5 each nominally under the

1 The unbroken front of this phalanx was probably about 1,500 feet long. Its original depth is not known, but Marquardt and Mommsen conjecture that it contained at first six ranks, Rüstow and Köchly that in its later form it contained eight ranks. Livy, I. 43, compares it to the famous Macedonian phalanx. 2 The change from the phalanx to the legion of maniples is supposed to have been made in the early part of the fourth century before Christ. It is generally ascribed to Camillus, but see Fröhlich, Kriegführung und Kriegskunst der Römer. Berlin: 1886.

3 The interval was probably equal to the length of a maniple. The legion of maniples was, doubtless, somewhat slowly developed. The form here given is that described by Polybius. A legion, arranged in three lines, of 15 maniples each, is mentioned by Livy.

4 The origin of these terms is doubtful; but it has been suggested that Principes, in its original application, probably designated the soldiers who were best armed and equipped; that Hastati was a general name for all the heavy-armed soldiers, though finally retained only by those in the first line, i. e., by the inexperienced soldiers; while the others had more specific and honorable titles; and finally, that the Triarii, derived from tres, were so called from their place in the third line, which was then the post of honor.

5 The century (ċenturia), originally a hundred men, probably contained at this time from 60 to 80.

command of an officer, called centurion; though the centu rion of the right century generally led the whole maniple.1 In active service, the two centuries stood side by side.

3. The quota of cavalry, 300 in number, due to each legion was stationed on the wings. It was divided into ten companies, called turmae, which were each sub-divided into three sections, called decuriae. Each decuria was under the command of a decurion.

III. During the third period, including the time of Caesar, the thirty maniples of the legion were combined into ten groups, of three maniples each. To this new military body, formed by uniting three maniples, the name cohort was given. The legion thus changed ordinarily stood, when in battle-array, in three lines, with four cohorts in the first line, three in the second, and three in the third.R

PHALANX, MANIPLES, AND COHORTS.

6. The phalanx, though it could present a front like a wall to an advancing foe, was yet too unwieldy for the exigencies of the battle-field. To an attempt to remedy this defect the legion of maniples owed its origin; but experience soon showed that the division had been carried too far, and that the maniple was too small a body to stand alone in the line of battle. Accordingly Marius, in reorganizing the army, proceeded at once to reunite every three maniples into a single company, called a cohort. The value of the change was soon apparent. The legion of cohorts, as organized by Marius, and perfected by later generals, while it avoided the special evils of the phalanx and of the legion of maniples, was found, in actual practice, to unite in a large measure the advantages of both.

7. The post of honor in the phalanx was awarded to wealth and station; in the other forms of the legion, to military achievement and experience. In the legion of mani

1 He was called the first centurion (centurio prior): in his absence, the second centurion commanded.

2 This change was made by Marius, about one hundred years before Christ. 3 For a full account of this order of battle, see 28. In the time of Caesar the cavalry had ceased to form a part of the legion.