The Unit’s Battle

Abstract

Abstract Having looked at the battlefield role of the general and his immediate subordinates, in this chapter I shall examine the fighting from the perspective of the individual unit, the cohort or ala. There have been many studies of the unit tactics of the Roman army, often in conjunction with the examinations of generalship discussed in the last chapter. Delbriick attempted to explain in detail how the legion, based on the maniple and later the cohort, worked in battle, dealing with equipment, formations, and tactics.1 Other scholars have adopted a similar approach, whilst differing on the minutiae of these aspects.2 The ancient sources were often ambiguous or silent concerning points of minor tactics, allowing room for debate. Most scholars, such as Keppie, have assumed that ancient authors believed that their audience had full knowledge of these aspects of military practice, and so did not deal with it. They have not considered the possibility that ancient authors did not consider tactics to have been important.3 Von Domaszewski doubted that the battle tactics of the legions of the Principate could ever be reconstructed, given the lack of technical detail in the literary sources after Caesar.