Roman Testudo

[thegeekiestnerd]

No one had shields facing sideways

[jitxra]

i dont know if its just me becuase im in cadets, but you can hear them hum "Left Left Left Right Left Right" over and over to keep in step, would look better if they did proper halts but cant expect much in that armour and with there shields there

[Coveredfire01]

Imagine how devestating it had to of been to throw that many spears into a unarmored opponent, like the Barbarians for instance. would easily kill one, now imagine hundreds of them flying into the enemy ranks. Ouch

[000majorwinters000]

Definitely.

[monkaymonk123]

that looked just sad

[Soviet20]

Even an infantry or a cavalry charge could not completely break the formation because each roman soldier had four spears(I think), three that they would throw at incoming troops and the fourth one would be a Cavalry/Infantry spear.

Cavalry would very often stop at the sight of a spear and a wall.

[000majorwinters000]

Interesting. And Pila/pilum they were called, I believe. I didn't know they would keep the last one. That's a damn good strategy.

[salagadula84]

yea, they were called pila (plural) or pilum (singular). they were used more to force the enemy to discard the shield than scoring killing hits (they were made to get stuck into shields and bend, so you couldn't remove them, but they made wearing the shield so disconfortable that you had to discard it)

[000majorwinters000]

Ah, I always find it interesting to hear that. I've read that somewhere before, it's hard for me to imagine a formation of infantry throwing spears at another to render shields useless rather then kill. I could see the purpose for that though, and I'm sure many could still be killed by them.

[salagadula84]

a pilum has a very long point made of a soft metal (pure iron, or maybe lead). when they hit something, they would bend, making them difficult to remove. and if you hit a shield, it is hard to bring it with you, with an overbalanced weight stuck to it. I know that many of the ancient ways of fighting and tactics sound hard to imagine. Myself being in historical re-enactment and in medieval fencing since 2006 I had to reconsider a lot of what I assumed and expected.

[Hatchet898]

and they had 2 pila and a short gladius

[whowantsabighug]

they would only hav 3 spears, one heavy pilum one light and the other hand spear

[000majorwinters000]

Very early republican roman legions were armed with the spear. I'm not sure if they were early hastati or rorarii, but I know they were armed with 2 pila and a gladius at this point, and even before the marian reforms.

[Coveredfire01]

Hastati if I remember correctly

[000majorwinters000]

Well I know the early roman armies adopted the greek hoplite's way of warfare before they used maniples and legions, etc.

[stabika21]

i thought you meant the maryland mascot antway good vid

[seborc]

yes its a display to see inside

[Spartanhoplit]

Isauricas is totally right, archers could easely pierce the formation from the sides.

[000majorwinters000]

Absolutely incorrect. The testudo's sides were guarded. This is for display so you could see inside of it.

[Pezhetairoi]

supberb respuest!

[Isauricas]

The formation is incorrect, as the men who are guarding the left and right sides are using narrow long shields, and they are not covered by the large shields in the middle, therefore making them the target of an enemy archer, who could pick off the 2 on only 1 side and destroy the testudo by simply killing only 3 people. The 2 on both sides should be using large rectangular shields, and marching UNDER the large shields so they aren't shot to death.

[TitusLabienus]

Ok and where they should put them then you moron :D:D noobs...

[Isauricas]

Please read my comment again noob. Large shields on top that cover the inside troops and also the outside troops, and large shields on the left, right, and front sides to prevent archer fire from easily destroying the formation.

[TitusLabienus]

Ok go and destroy the formation then haha.. noobs ';,,;'

[Isauricas]

If the formation is exactly as I described it should be, Archer fire will not be able to easily pierce the formation. Thus only a heavy charge of cavalry or infantry will break the formation.

[000majorwinters000]

Jesus, what a senseless prick you are. Go destroy it? What are you, four?

[DCkster1]

The people with the narrow shields would be there to protect the Testudo from foot soilders, if an archer was aiming to stop the Testudo they would just simply aim for a foot.

[Isauricas]

ah but thats where the beauty of the large shields come in. With Large shields over head, and on the side, Archers will not be able to hit the feet, easily at least.

[Singinius]

You are assuming they had additional legionares with large shields. One of the key limitations in recreating ancient warfare tatics is that there is a severe limitation in people and equipment now compared to then. I am sure if there were more soldiers with more shields then the formation would be larger and seem more accurate. The reality is though, no matter how many you have in the formation at some point you get to the left and the right edge and those soldiers are not protected fromtheside

[Singinius]

The use of auxilla solders with lighter shields and armor to protect the flanks of the heavy infantry is very accurate. Sometimes they may be held in the rear and then run out to whichever side is needed at the right time,

[000majorwinters000]

I would hate to be in a unit of auxillia back then. :/

[whowantsabighug]

erm.. why?

[000majorwinters000]

frontline troops. Less important. Thrown about the battlefield.

[Generalce]

romane asskeras

[Generalce]

romano asskera

[RowinDrachenfaust]

hi, klar kannst du als "asiate" auch römischer Legionär sein, und wenn du einen Helm aufhast sieht man sowas doch eh nicht. Und ich denke neue Mitglieder sind diesen Gruppen willkommen. Ich hatte auch mal bei google nach so Gruppen gesucht und einige gefunden. deren addressen will ich hier aber nicht posten, da ich keine lust habe die nun zu suchen. du kannst aber mal auf die seite dieser veranstaltung gehen; schwerter brot und spiele, und schaust da wie diese Gruppen heißen.

[InSanctvs]

Das ist gut.

[jaf433]

Interesting.

[Gangleri33]

Schöne Schildkröte, würde mich interessieren, welche Gruppe das war.

Auf jeden Fall mal Grüße von der Legion Regensburg...

[qrel]

Das ist die Römercohorte Opladen, den Schildern nach.

Schöne Grüße

[RowinDrachenfaust]

das war dort in Xanten die größte Gruppe: Die Ermine Street Guard aus England

[elbobbo71]

Ach, da würde ich mich gar nicht drüber aufregen. Dumme Leute machen dumme Sprüche. Und wenn Leute eine solche Veranstaltung besuchen, werden sie sich wohl kaum herablassend darüber auslassen. Also: Ignoranz ignorieren :-)

[MitchMaker]

doch das is mir mal aufgefallen fast überall wo römer auftauch jetzt von veranstaltungen her kommen dann immer irgendwelche dämlichen sprüche aus asterix sicherlich das mag zwar witzig sein aber man sollte diesen reenactoren doch etwas respekt entgegenbringen

[elbobbo71]

Werden sie? Ist mir ehrlich gesagt nicht so aufgefallen. Vor allem in den letzten 10 - 15 Jahren gibt es ein reges Interesse an spinnenden Römern...

[MitchMaker]

schlimm dass die römer seit asterix so belächeld werden

[hollywoodwerewolf]

And yet if they survived for 25 years they were awarded the Citizenship of Rome which was extremely valuable. If they survived....

[elbobbo71]

Sure. Though occasionally, the heroism of an entire unit would convince the emperor to award them citizenship before the end of their term...

[hollywoodwerewolf]

Would the auxilliaries advance in the same line as the legions or would they take up the second rank or were they cannon fodder?

[elbobbo71]

Cannon fodder. Auxiliaries generally fought at the front of the battles, with the Roman citizen legions either fighting behind them or being held back as reserves for tactical manoeuvres. The auxiliaries faced a greater risk of death because they were always put on the front line, and so were constantly in the thick of the fighting, and their pay was only about a third that of a roman citizen.

[RowinDrachenfaust]

hm, denke die tapferen legionäre bilden die "Hauptwaffe", und die Auxilaries sind nur z.B. zum Flankenschutz, oder als Verstärkung gut. Warum sollte eine römische Armee zuerst in vorderster Front die Hilfstruppen verheizen, bevor die kampfstarken Legionäre eingreifen....

[MrIncredijoe]

@elbobbo71 that's so much bs i can't believe it. Auxilium is translated as help in latin. They were traditionally more like the town guard and watched forts do you really think that the great generals such as Scipio and Julius Caesar wouldnt have put their best men into the fight and they would have put non-proffessionals in.

[philosopher2king]

I think this is a "training" session so they'd have to make sure the testudo is sealed.

[MrIncredijoe]

@hollywoodwerewolf don't listen to this guy