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From Stones to Nukes

E-BookEPUBePub WasserzeichenE-Book
370 Seiten
Englisch
Books on Demanderschienen am14.02.20242. Auflage
This volume offers a sophisticated exploration of the history of weapons and warfare in Europe and the Atlantic world, aimed at stimulating and inspiring those with an interest in this domain. It invites readers to revisit the foundational principles that underpinned the development of contem¬porary armaments and military practices until shortly before the turn of the millennium. In an era where global challenges have become inescapable, this book emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with our shared origins and understanding our unique paths. As our world undergoes rapid changes in politics, society, economics, and technology, this exploration of history sheds light on the dynamics of change, both in times of peace and war.mehr
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E-BookEPUBePub WasserzeichenE-Book
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Produkt

KlappentextThis volume offers a sophisticated exploration of the history of weapons and warfare in Europe and the Atlantic world, aimed at stimulating and inspiring those with an interest in this domain. It invites readers to revisit the foundational principles that underpinned the development of contem¬porary armaments and military practices until shortly before the turn of the millennium. In an era where global challenges have become inescapable, this book emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with our shared origins and understanding our unique paths. As our world undergoes rapid changes in politics, society, economics, and technology, this exploration of history sheds light on the dynamics of change, both in times of peace and war.
Details
Weitere ISBN/GTIN9783758332548
ProduktartE-Book
EinbandartE-Book
FormatEPUB
Format HinweisePub Wasserzeichen
Erscheinungsjahr2024
Erscheinungsdatum14.02.2024
Auflage2. Auflage
Seiten370 Seiten
SpracheEnglisch
Artikel-Nr.13858154
Rubriken
Genre9200

Inhalt/Kritik

Leseprobe

Roman Military Power (753 BC-476 AD)

When the Romans overcame ancient Greece, they absorbed the best of Greek culture and, after nearly 500 years, passed on this legacy to the Western world, enriched with Roman law, military expertise, and engineering.

An advance detachment of 3,000 Greek soldiers landed at Tarentum. While still in Epirus, Pyrrhus formed an alliance and recruited more soldiers from rulers who wanted to avoid a war with Epirus. In the spring of 280 BC Pyrrhus landed in Italy with 20,000 soldiers, 3,000 horsemen, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, and 20 war elephants. While Pyrrhus was still waiting for his allies reinforcements, he changed his plans and decided to advance against the Roman troops, after he had heard the troops of the Roman Republic were approaching, engaged in plundering. Pyrrhus watched from his position near Heraclea as the Romans crossed the river Siris. Their displayed discipline impressed Pyrrhus; simultaneously, he realized the need to seize the initiative immediately.

Following Alexander the Great s proven tactics, his phalanx was to hold the enemy while he personally led the assault with his 3,000 riders. However, the Roman foot soldier, the legionary, was something entirely new for Pyrrhus and his army. The Romans carried rectangular scutums, which they overlapped to provide an effective barrier in defense, light spears (javelin), and a short sword.

The largest military unit of the Roman army, the legion, was divided into three lines, each of these lines was subdivided into ten chief tactical units called maniples. Each of the latter consisted of two centuries, i.e., 100 men. The formations greater degree of mobility posed a challenge for Pyrrhus. The Roman cavalry, reinforced by allies, additionally caused significant problems, forcing Pyrrhus to order an attack with his phalanx.

The Battle of Heraclea became one of the bloodiest in ancient military history. The more flexible Roman formation shattered Pyrrhus phalanx. Legionaries thrusted into every gap, striking with their short swords after shaking the solid enemy battle lines with spear throws. Pyrrhus phalanx began to crumble, but it wasn t until the war elephants were finally deployed against the cavalry of the Roman right wing that it started to disintegrate. The cavalry fled, disrupting the Roman formation as they retreated. Such chaos enabled Pyrrhus army to launch another successful attack. However, this victory was not yet a typical Pyrrhic victory.

In the long run, Roman discipline and tactics proved superior. Even in the three defeats against Pyrrhus with his elephants and massive forces armed with oversized pikes, the Romans displayed an unprecedented resilience that ultimately exacted a heavy toll on the Thessalian army.

The Roman-Greek conflict was primarily a battle of the pike against the spear. In the initial phase of combat, the Greek phalanx, typically 16 ranks, advanced with their long pikes at charge . The Roman maniples attacked in an open battle formation, usually 12 men deep. At a distance of 32 meters, they hurled lightweight javelins in large quantities. These spears either pierced through armor or brought shields to the ground. At medium range, heavier spears (pilum) were thrown, and the legionaries drew their swords, forming into a dense battle formation. The use of pila took its toll, disrupting the opposing phalanx through casualties and scattered shields. This was the crucial moment for the Romans to break through. Upon impact, legionaries deflected the thrusts of the long spears with their shields. In their aggressive approach, the legionaries exploited even the smallest gaps in the phalanx to penetrate. In one-on-one sword fights, Romans usually emerged victorious, as the Greeks were inexperienced swordsmen and carried smaller shields than the Romans.

Battle of Cannae, the Classic Envelopment Battle of Antiquity

In the foreground: the Romans; shaded blocks: infantry; patterned blocks: cavalry. 80,000 Romans believed they had the numerical advantage and a favorable position against 50,000 Carthaginians, who had their backs to the sea. Hannibal s cleverly deployed troops encircled the Romans and defeated them.

After the withdrawal of the Greeks, Rome ruled over southern and central Italy, including Etruria and the Greek colonies without any restriction, albeit Tarentum resisted stubbornly until 272 BC. However, Rome didn t become the great power it would later be overnight. This process took five centuries, during which the city itself was occupied twice by foreign armies.

After the battles against the ill-fated Pyrrhus, Roman armies could only be defeated if their opponents were vastly superior, if they relied on advanced tactics, or if the Romans deviated from their usual battle formation for some reason. The latter was the case in 216 BC at the Battle of Cannae against the Carthaginian commander Hannibal. Relying on their numerical supremacy, the Romans, under Terentius Varro, attacked using the old phalanx tactic.

Cannae, the first battle of annihilation, gained ominous significance in military history. Time and again, commanders attempted to replicate Hannibal s feat and achieve decisive victories. Particularly in Germany s recent military past, Cannae became the ultimate, desirable military objective. This occurred in 1870 at Sedan, in 1914 at Tannenberg, and in many major battles of World War II. What was overlooked is that Hannibal could win battles but not the war.

The focus on the grand, final decisive battle thus influenced strategic thinking. Until Cannae, the troops brought into battle (encounters) had been arranged in the structure of legions. However, in longer battles, the rear encounters were more of a relief for the front ones. Under Publius Cornelius Scipio, the rear encounters were employed for independent tasks. Only then did they take on a true encounter character.

The Battle of Zama on African soil in 202 BC, which ended with a Roman victory over Hannibal, erased the archenemy Carthage from history. Despite being economically weakened, Rome s military power emerged strengthened from the Punic Wars. Camp tactics and technology were further developed. Roman legionaries carried their entrenching tools, their camp stakes, and so on, to be able to set up a fortified camp at any time. Disciplinary training was of utmost importance, and it was the foundation of Roman military prowess.

In the Punic Wars against Carthage, the Roman legionary wore a shirt-like sleeveless tunic. Over this, they fastened a leather cuirass, a type of body armor, reinforced with metal in the heart area. Occasionally, mail armor was worn. The military footwear consisted of heavy-soled sandal-boots with hobnailed soles. The openwork upper was laced up the center of the foot and onto the top of the ankle. A military coat served as protection against the cold and as a camp blanket. The head was shielded by a bronze-sheeted helmet, which was hung over the shoulder during marches. As passive, mobile protection, the legionary carried a slightly curved rectangular shield made of glued planks covered with calfskin.

After the Battle of Cannae, the legionary was equipped with a new sword in addition to a dagger. It replicated the Spanish short sword used by Carthaginian elite troops, which the Romans refined into one of the most perfected bladed weapons. The only reason that led to the extinction of this weapon after the decline of Roman military power was the high level of swordsmanship skill required for its use. The sword, called the gladius hispaniensis, had a blade length of about 60-70 cm, was wide and double-edged, often featuring a reinforced sharp point. The hilt of the sword was long and robust but lacked a crossguard. The blade was sheathed in a wooden scabbard covered with leather and hung from a shoulder strap that ran diagonally from the left shoulder to the right hip.

The spear had been replaced throughout the entire Roman army by the heavy javelin, known as a pilum. In its perfected form, the pilum consisted of a wooden shaft approximately 1.3 meters long, with an iron shank, about 7 mm in diameter and 60 cm long, with pyramidal head, and additional weight inserted up to half its length, fastened to the shaft with clamps. The total length of the well-balanced pilum was about 2 meters.

Roman Artillery

A catapult with a vertically swinging arm.

A ballista launched either heavy bolts or stones.

Although traditionally a land power, the Romans established a navy for themselves during the Punic Wars, introducing a new feature. Their galleys, with a continuous deck and an elevated fighting tower, were equipped with boarding bridges. This corvus, a long plank with a spike for hooking onto enemy ships, could be lowered from their own ship onto the enemy s vessel. The Roman legionary, superior to the Carthaginian crew, would then board and capture the enemy ship in close combat. However, this invention could not be maintained for long because in bad weather, the weight of the corvus made the ships unstable. Galleys were lost due to the dimensions of the raised bridges and unbalance in heigh seas.

In Rome s long military history, there were naturally ongoing reforms in the military, and continuous improvements were made in weaponry. Gaius Marius, a great reformer of the Roman military system, reorganized the legions, improved and standardized the equipment. Light throwing machines were now also carried in the army. This artillery was used in positional warfare, in camp defense, and...
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