Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30368 in Books
• Brand: Osprey Publishing
• Published on: 2007-07-24
• Released on: 2007-07-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

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.

Customer Reviews

Very good but not for beginners
The book is very good in that it does what the title suggests; discuss battle tactics. It is for those with some knowledge of the subject. If a more introductory discussion of the soldiers' lifestyles, ranks and promotions,salaries etc is desired then this is not the book.

Interesting resource on Roman battle tactics
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.

Roman Battle Tastics 109BC-AD313
Good but thought it was better. Not enough detailed with pics which are userfriendly