Roman Battle Tactics 109BC-AD313 (Elite) [Paperback]

Ross Cowan (Author), Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Elite | Publication Date: July 24, 2007

The book clearly explains and illustrates the mechanics of how Roman commanders - at every level - drew up and committed their different types of troops for open-field battles. It includes the alternative formations used to handle different tactical problems and different types of terrain; the possibilities of ordering and controlling different deployments once battle was joined; and how all this was based on the particular strengths of the Roman soldier. Covering the period of "classic" legionary warfare from the late Republic to the late Western Empire, Ross Cowan uses case studies of particular battles to provide a manual on how and why the Romans almost always won, against enemies with basic equality in weapon types - giving practical reasons why the Roman Army was the Western World's outstanding military machine for 400 years.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Roman Army was not only the greatest military machine in the Western world for at least 4 centuries, the Roman Army was the foundation of the Western military tradition. This title contains the battle plans & colour interpretations of tactical scenarios." -Neoproprealism Journal (May 2008)

"Overall, this was an excellent book and directly addresses matters of interest to wargamers. The content can be immediately turned to use by developing scenarios from the diagrams provided. In the longer term, I think this book will create a greater appreciation among gamers of the difficulty in developing rules that adequately simulate the command and control and maneuver found on an ancient battlefield." -tabletopgamingnews.com (August 2007)

"...illustrated using photos of extant art from that period and the superb historical reconstructions of illustrator Adam Hook. His work brings to life what can be a bit complicated or esoteric to many readers... A book you'll enjoy reading and one that I can recommend to you along with any other Osprey title." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (July 2007)

About the Author

Ross Cowan was formerly a research student at the University of Glasgow where he was recently awarded a PhD for a thesis on the Roman army entitled 'Aspects of the Severan Field Army AD 193-238'. The major themes of the thesis are the organization of the Praetorian Guard and Legio II Parthica, their recruitment, numbers and equipment. Ross also completed his first degree at Glasgow. In 1999 he was elected a fellow of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland. The author lives in Glasgow, Scotland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (July 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846031842
• ISBN-13: 978-1846031847
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Research but no coherent theory, August 26, 2007

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roman Battle Tactics 109BC-AD313 (Elite) (Paperback)

Writing about Roman military tactics or organization is an extremely challenging task, given the fragmentary archaeological evidence available and heavy reliance upon a handful of ancient literary sources. Inevitably, modern historians attempt to tease out additional details about the Roman way of war from these fragmentary clues but this leads to multiple theories with no clear conclusion. The fact is, there are many things that we don't know for sure about the Roman Army and that we will probably never know. That said, Ross Cowan's Roman Battle Tactics 109 BC -AD 313, No. 155 in Osprey's Elite series, attempts to explain Roman military dominance in the late Republican and early Imperial phase through the use of literary and archaeological materials. I thoroughly enjoyed Cowan's earlier volume in the Warrior series and it is clear that he brings fresh insight to this subject, but this volume seemed more awkwardly constructed. Although the organization seems apparent, the volume seems to bog down into one battle description after another and reminds me of one of my college professors who gets so involved in an exercise at the chalkboard that he forgets about his class. It seems like the author turns his back on the reader about halfway through the volume in his quest for "the answer." Overall, this is a decent volume and it makes some interesting points, but it quietly drifts into a "death spiral" with no real conclusions.

Roman Battle Tactics 109 BC - AD 313 begins an introduction that describes the organization of the manipular legion, basic battle formations and the importance of intervals in the battle lines. The author goes far out on a limb in the sub-section on the cohort's command structure, contesting Adrian Goldsworthy's theory that the senior centurion commanded the cohort; the author says, "there is no evidence whatsoever for this." However, "lack of evidence" doesn't mean much in Roman history since there are many unknowns. The author then - with no real evidence of his own - claims that the legionary cohort had no commander and the individual centuries cooperated in battle. This claim appears flimsy at best and later at the Battle of Forum Gallorum in 43 BC, the author writes that a retreat was order by Mark Antony and "the legionaries finally listened to orders." Without a layer of command between legion and century, to whom would a commander transmit orders? Later, when the author discusses the cuneus and "pigs head" as a combined attack by multiple centuries, how would they centuries be able to accomplish this without a senior leader directing it?

The main part of the volume is divided into a 33-page section on legionary battle lines and maneuvers and an 11-page section on offensive and defensive formations. Essentially, the author explains a tactic - such as the orbis formation for all-around defense - and then explains its use in 4-5 battles. This approach succeeds in demonstrating that Roman tactics were fairly consistent during this 400-year period but it falls short of any "unified theory" about Roman tactics. I noted too, that there was fairly little said about the Roman use of tactical reserves but clearly this was one of the major Roman advantages over their Barbarian opponents. Perhaps the best part of this volume is the artwork by Adam Hook, which consists of 7 color plates: legionary centuries in close and open order; the testudo; the cuneus and the pigs head; a legion in battle array; a legionary century charging; Lanciarii attacking Parthian Cataphracts; and a cavalry wedge.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting resource on Roman battle tactics, May 6, 2008

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roman Battle Tactics 109BC-AD313 (Elite) (Paperback)

This is a fascinating little volume, slim but filled with interesting speculation and documentation on Roman battle tactics from 109 BC to 313 AD. By necessity, there is much inference about actual tactics, given the difficulty of ascertaining with certainty exactly how the legions fought.

Nonetheless, the author, Ross Cowan, uses the historical record judiciously to reconstruct tactics. He notes his goal at the outset (Page 3): "This book will focus on the tactics of the legion, because that is the formation for which we possess the most evidence, especially the legions of the Late Republic."

There are reconstructions of disasters, such as Crassus' disastrous defeat at Carrhae. There are discussions of Julius Caesar's great victories in Gaul and against Pompey's legions, including a nice description of the key battle at Pharsalus. Also interesting, the discussion of Antony's and Octavian's victory over the Republican army commanded by Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, after their murder of Caesar.

There is detail on the evolution of legion tactics, on the components of legions (from archers to cavalry to infantry and so on).

All in all, an interesting slim volume (only 63 pages of text). For those wishing to gain more knowledge of Roman battle tactics, this represents a nice entree to the literature.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect source for a complex topic, August 23, 2007

By 

K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Roman Battle Tactics 109BC-AD313 (Elite) (Paperback)

Though Osprey has provided a myriad of books on the appearance, gear, and organization of the legionaries and auxiliaries of Imperial Rome, this is one of the first to deal with exactly how these men fought in great detail.
Cowan, the author of the highly useful Legionary Warrior titles, describes both the various formations and the actual fighting styles of the legions, and supports his concise text with drawings and battle plans. As in his previous Osprey titles, he does not breeze over the warfare of the 3rd Century, but deals equally with all the general periods of Roman history held within these dates.
Also supplementing the text are plates by Adam Hook and numerous photos of military gravestones and other related items.