Webster

The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions." --American Statesman Daniel Webster (1782-1852)


Showing posts with label Romans.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romans.. Show all posts

Friday, March 30, 2018

Roman Seige engines



Tactically, the purpose of a siege is almost always the same – to take control of a strongly defended position. The reasons for launching one are far more varied. The ancient world’s masters of siegecraft, the Romans, laid siege for a wide range of strategic goals.
Capturing Key Settlements
Sieges of towns often took place because of the strategic importance of those settlements. They could be key ports, capitals of enemy nations, or be in some other way vital to the society, economy, and politics of a region.
No siege better demonstrates this than the long Siege of Carthage undertaken by Scipio in 149-146 BC. Carthage was Rome’s greatest opponent in the Mediterranean. That sea provided the primary means of trade, transport, and communications. Any political or commercial empire would be held together by it.


As Carthage recovered from previous setbacks, it was once again becoming the greatest port in the Mediterranean.  A capital from which merchants and colonists would venture out – all over a world the Romans wanted to dominate. So the Romans set out to destroy the economically and politically vital Carthaginian capital. Years of effort, piles of gold, impressive feats of engineering, and the strict discipline of Scipio all went into a siege that eventually ruined Rome’s greatest rival.


roman_siege_machines
Roman siegecraft and works
Destroying the Enemy’s Capacity to Wage War
Some sieges were not so much about the fortified place itself.  They were more about preventing an enemy from making war. By whittling away troops and supplies, cutting them off from joining the enemy, or forcing armies to surrender, the Romans could prevent their enemies campaigning against them.


Ruins of Carthage. Photo taken in 1950.
Ruins of Carthage. Photo taken in 1950.
An example of this can be seen in one of the most famous sieges in Roman history, Caesar’s siege of Alesia (52 BC). The Gallic chief Vercingetorix gathered the main part of his army at a hill fort on a plateau, protected by rivers and steep slopes. Caesar had his men construct an elaborate ring of siege works around the site, including both inward and outward facing walls, ditches, and traps. The Gauls inside the fort were unable to attack the Romans. Once a relief force was defeated, Vercingetorix was forced to surrender and the Gauls’ capacity to fight was all but destroyed.


CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=626376
A reconstructed section of the Alesia investment fortifications. By Mariule – CC BY-SA 3.0
Breaking up Concentrations of Troops
One part of destroying an enemy’s capacity for war was breaking up concentrations of troops. By driving a force out of a fortified position, the Romans could prevent it from safely staying together. Men, unprotected by walls, were more likely to defect. Without a stable base of operations, it was harder for new forces to find and join an existing army.
This can be seen in the siege of Mount Medullus (26 BC) and the siege of Uxellodunum (50-51 BC). The latter followed Vercingetorix’s defeat at Alesia. Uxellodunum had become the remaining centre of Gallic resistance under the leaders Drappes and Lucterius. Caesar’s siege, which used tunnels and siege ramps, broke the final concentration of Gallic troops, preventing discontents from rallying against him.



Vercingetorix throws down his arms at the feet of Julius Caesar. Painting by Lionel Royer.
Vercingetorix throws down his arms at the feet of Julius Caesar. Painting by Lionel Royer.
Breaking Enemy Morale
Some sieges were about making a point. One of these was the siege of Avaricum (52 BC), part of Caesar’s Gallic campaign.
As he progressed through Gaul, Caesar had his troops raid the towns they passed. Like pillaging throughout history, this achieved two things. Firstly, it provided supplies for his army. Secondly, it struck fear into the opposing population. By showing that resistance meant suffering, Caesar hoped to shake the morale of his enemies.
Avaricum was the most symbolically important example of this. A prosperous town that played a vital role in the regional economy, it resisted when Caesar and his men arrived. It was not militarily significant – Vercingetorix tried to persuade the inhabitants to leave rather than hold it. Caesar laid siege to the town and let his troops run riot after it fell, making a point to the rest of Gaul – resistance to Rome could be deadly for all involved.


Model of the siege of Avaricum. Photo Credit.
Model of the siege of Avaricum. Rolf Müller – CC BY-SA 3.0
Protecting Lines of Supply
One of the towns attacked by Caesar and his troops on the way to Avaricum was Vellaunodonum. Like the other settlements attacked in this way – places such as Cenabum and Noviodunum – Vellaunodonum provided an opportunity to gather supplies and to put the fear of Rome into the Gauls. But there was also an element of necessity to this siege.
As Caesar recorded in his account of the Gallic Wars, the Senones town of Vellaunodonum was a potential threat to the Roman supply lines. It could not be left unconquered as he advanced. So he surrounded the town, forcing its inhabitants to surrender after just three days. With his lines of communication and supply secured, Caesar moved on.


A map of Gaul showing all the tribes and cities mentioned in the Gallic Wars. Image Credit.
A map of Gaul showing all the tribes and cities mentioned in the Gallic Wars. By Feitscherg – CC BY-SA 3.0
Drawing out the Enemy
Sieges could be useful in drawing out enemy troops and forcing an opponent to fight. A force suffering from an extended siege might charge forth to destruction when it had previously remained safely behind its walls. Other troops in the surrounding region might march forth to try to relieve the siege, exposing themselves to attack by the Roman army.
This was a tactic that Caesar used several times during the civil war, including at Thapsus (46 BC), Ategua (45 BC), and Dyrrachium (48 BC).
It was also used successfully by Sulla in his defeat of the Marians in 82 BC. On this occasion, it was the siege of Praeneste by Sulla’s lieutenant Ofella that made the difference. Ofella’s aim was not to take the town by force, so he built his siege lines far back from the walls. As the inhabitants were slowly starved, several relief forces were sent by other Marians in the area. These were defeated by Sulla’s field army, allowing him to destroy his opponents without the bloody cost of assaulting fortifications.


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Apparent bust of Sulla in the Munich Glyptothek.
 Yes it is a movie, but the beginning of "Gladiator" shows the Roman army and the seige engines being used and their effect.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

How the Romans became a Mediterranean Power and later an empire



The Roman Republic was a magnificent entity. It had its problems, as all governments do, but the men served it proudly and it took many decades before power was continually seized by the likes of Sulla and Caesar. The Republic’s heyday was during and just after the second Punic War, taking advantage of the experiences gained to conquer more of the Mediterranean. This great success was largely due to an earlier set of epic wars, much closer to home for the Romans. These were the Samnite Wars of 343-290 BCE.
Rome’s position before the Samnite Wars is almost laughable. They had fairly recently conquered their great rival city of Veii, less than ten miles away. They had expanded after that, taking down the Latin League and extending south down the coast.
Here the Romans first ran into the Samnites. The Samnites were native to the mountains and hills of south-central Italy and prided themselves on being fierce warriors. The rough hill people were able to bully neighboring tribes, and they grew their influence in the area. A victim of the Samnite’s bullying, the Campanians, centered on the city of Capua, appealed to Rome for help. Rome intervened on behalf of the Campanians and the wars began.

The wars lasted over 50 years, with three distinct wars and peace between each. During these wars, the Romans grew tremendously as a state and a growing territorial empire. Here are a few ways the Romans grew from the wars:
Expansive Building Projects
All roads lead to Rome, right? Well, Roman roads had to start somewhere, and that happened to be right in the middle of the Samnite wars. The Appian Way was the first true road built out from the city, with the exception of some older Etruscan roads going north. It wasn’t just a flat packed dirt road, nor was it simply paved, the Romans started with the highest of standards from the very beginning.
Starting with packed earth, layers of fine and coarse crushed rock were added with a slight ridge in the middle. Slabs of rock were fit like a jigsaw puzzle forming a smooth surface with drainage down to ditches if needed. Roman roads were smooth and dry, great for rapidly transporting armies, especially those utilizing pack animals and wagons, which would be most armies by this point in time.


The growth of Roman territory, note the small size at the start of the Samnite Wars.
The growth of Roman territory, note the small size at the start of the Samnite Wars.
Roman roads were especially important during the Samnite War as the only other routes south to their allies went dangerously close to a malarial swamp.
In addition to the roads, the first aqueduct was built during the same time. Appius Claudius actually spearheaded both projects (hence Appian way and Aqua Appia) and was a great example of the Roman educated elite doing their best to serve Rome. The Roman population was quickly outgrowing their access to fresh water, and the construction of the aqueduct was a monumental feat of engineering requiring both arches and tunnels to reach Rome.


The Appian Way still carries traffic today.
The Appian Way still carries traffic today. Paul Vlaar – CC BY-SA 3.0
The aqueduct allowed Rome to thrive even through a long period of warring and the solution to the water troubles was so effective that Rome had several aqueducts by Augustus’ day, and he even built one to make a lake for mock naval battles.
Facing Tremendous Odds
The Romans and the Samnites had roughly equal power at the start of the wars, with Rome perhaps having a larger population and Samnium having a slight edge in military power. Soon the Romans began facing enemies everywhere, however, and faced a long uphill battle.
The Samnites were joined by the Etruscans, the former rulers of Rome, but still powerful. The Romans were situated right between the Samnites and Etruscans, forcing a two-front war. The Latin League also rebelled early on, causing problems at the doorstep of Roman homeland. At some points, the Romans even had to face Gauls, their most hated and feared enemy since Rome’s first capture.

A ceremonial Attic helmet typical of many found in Samnite tombs, ca. 300 BC. Photo Credit.
A ceremonial Attic helmet typical of many found in Samnite tombs, ca. 300 BC. davide ferro – CC BY-SA 2.0
Part of Rome’s solution to facing enemies in every direction was the formation of Roman colonies. These full Latin rights colonies spread the true and trusted Roman influence. This was initially done to create a Roman presence on the southern side of the swamp between Latium and Campania so Rome could have a presence without having to constantly cross swampland.
Facing such odds, and in different directions gave the Romans an early understanding of strategic positioning. Having to march through hostile territory instilled the importance of marching camps and knowing how far from the enemy or allied armies a force was.

Map of the Third Samnite War. Photo Credit.
Map of the Third Samnite War. ColdEel & Ahenobarbus – CC BY-SA 3.0
The humiliating defeat at the Caudine Forks, where the Romans were simply trapped and forced to surrender, instilled a sense of situational awareness in the Romans. We can see this later in such engagements as the Battle of Telamon; with the exception of Hannibal, the Romans were not often fooled in wartime.
Upgrading the Army
Livy is the most complete source for the Samnite Wars, writing centuries after the events. We just don’t know much about the individual battles, but it does seem that the Romans developed their distinctive fighting style over the course of the Samnite Wars.
The Romans had initially fought in loose warbands, with heroic fighters standing out. they soon adopted the Greek phalanx style as it was simply more effective in larger battles. The phalanx was a solid style of combat but had a few problems in rough terrain. This was painfully evident when the Romans fought in Samnite territory and found their lines would crack and break as they attacked on hilly terrain.
The actual change of style is difficult to follow, but the Romans emerged from the Samnite Wars wielding a different sort of army. Forming three lines, with the youngest in the front and veterans in the rear. The manipular formation formed a checkerboard pattern when viewed from above, with large gaps within the three lines.

Manipulus formation. Image Credit.
Manipulus formation. Cristiano64 – CC BY-SA 4.0
This variable formation allowed Roman armies to adapt to any terrain and any type of attack, as long as they had the right officers and generals leading them. More fighting led to better leadership, which allowed the formation to work like a well-oiled machine.
This new army faced a powerful foe in Pyrrhus of Epirus, a man hoping to be the Alexander of the West. Pyrrhus attacked the Romans with a professional army under established leadership. The Romans took two hard shots but inflicted so much damage and gained valuable experience so that the third large battle was a decisive victory, ousting the talented commander.
Moral Strength

Manipulus symbol. Photo Credit.
Manipulus symbol. MatthiasKabel – CC BY-SA 3.0
Above all, the Samnite Wars gave the Romans a sense of grit and determination that is difficult to measure. Battles went down to the wire, and victory was far from certain. Though far from established fact, Livy records one instance where the Romans charged a Samnite position in battle several times with frustratingly little success. The Romans organized a frenzied last charge before nightfall and finally broke the Samnites. The Samnites were later said that they fled because of the eyes of the Romans, which seemed to blaze, with their frenzied glare and furious expressions.
In another battle, the Romans faced a combined army of Samnites, Etruscans, Gauls, and Umbrians. The Romans’ decisive victory despite overwhelming odds in this battle actually broke the alliance of the above-mentioned states. This was a titanic struggle, just on a regional scale, and gave the Romans the tools they would need to conquer and rule the entire Mediterranean.