Roman+Military+Organization+and+Soldier+Information

** //By: Zack Merritt// **
 * Roman Military Organization and Soldier Information **
 * The Roman army was one of the first, if not the first, full-time paid army. It was the only reason Rome was able to grow and prosper as quickly as it did. They outnumbered, and outsmarted all of their enemies. The tactics, technology, and generals the Roman army utilized were unseen during their time and long after the Roman Empire collapsed.
 * There was only a Roman army when they were at war early in their history, but the Romans were always fighting somebody. The normal length of service for a soldier increased as the republic grew older. It started out at around 6 to 10 years. Then it went to 15 to 20, and topped out at 20 to 25 years. The leader of Rome promised all military veterans a plot of land. This caused issues when long time land owners would get their land taken away and distributed among retired war veterans.
 * The army was organized in a peculiar way. One legion consists of 5,240 men. The sublevels of a legion consist of Cohorts, Maniples, Centuries, and Contubernias. Cohorts hold 480 men, Maniples hold 160 men, Centuries hold 80 men, and Contubernias hold 8 men. When they prepare for battle, they stand in order of their cohorts. The front line is Cohort 5, Cohort 4, Cohort 3, Cohort 2, and Cohort 1. The back line is Cohort 10, Cohort 9, Cohort 8, Cohort 7, and Cohort 6.
 * The Roman Army had to rebuild their camp every time they took a break. Each soldier carried a bag of tools and stakes. They would use the tools to dig a barrier and stick the stakes into the ground to form a “palisade”. Everyone knew their jobs, so the camp wouldn’t take very long at all to construct. Each tent housed 8 soldiers, allowing them to create a family atmosphere. Soldiers found their life-long friends at war, because you had to trust the man next to you with your life.
 * One of the few problems a large army can have is producing enough food to feed the thousands of soldiers. A soldier’s diet would change based on the region he was fighting in. The Roman army however, was not affected by this problem because they would still manage to get their servings of meat, vegetables, and water every night. The soldier’s favorite meat was pork because it was a rarity in some regions.

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