3rd centrury Roman infantry tactics - Stephenson vs Cowan

[Crispvs]

The fact that he bothers to mention it surely suggests that it was unusual. If I remember rightly, he mentions it as he is describing a desperate struggle where the Romans are in serious danger of being overwhelmed and I always had the impression that the pila were used as spears out of desperation rather than it being standard practice. If you look at Connolly's recent work on republican pila you might also notice that the pilum of Caesar's time was a much bulkier and unwieldy weapon than the more familiar Oberaden pila, which would not lend itself easily to use as a spear. In my opinion the use of the pilum as a spear at Alesia ranks up there with the use of an entrenching tool as a weapon of war. Undoubtedly it can and has been used this way, but it that is hardly what it is designed to do.<br>
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Crispvs <p></p><i></i>