The 1,000 man legion

[Timotheus]

Modern armies did the same with 'battle groups' (Task Forces, Kampfgruppen), where smaller groups are detatched from a larger force to undertake a specific task. Or does the US army still go into battle with whole divisions?

Goldsworthy doesnt agree. He feels that the smaller units made unit cohesion smaller and ment commanders had less experience properly using large forces on the battlefield. One example being Adrianapole. One entire unit could not be found on the battlefield.

1000 man units can be combined into larger units sure. 5 or 6 and you have what used to be a legion. That does not mean those 5000 men know how to align together, communicate, move, or attack as a combined unit the way they did when they were just one unit. Odds are they were only combined into groups that large when a battle required it. It doesnt bode well for an army if the first training some of the men get in fighting together is the battle they are fighting in.

Does he? Then I have to disagree with him. The units of the field armies were in the field for a far greater number of days, working and fighting together, than a legion would have in the days of Hadrian.

besides, this is a matter of training rather than experience of working together. if the training was right, than the practise would be the ssame for each unit, no matter if they were used to each other or not.

And this is proven! Even in the days of the Principate, expeditionary forces were smaller forces, say 500 to a 1000 each (like the Later regiments!) which were drawn from a number of legions. And this was standard practise, so apparently this did in no way diminish their effectiveness in lining up together, communicate, move, or attack as a combined unit the way they did when they were just one unit.

This was the uniqueness of the Roman army - each cohort, each contubernium even, was ready to be snapped into place with whatever unit it was combined with. It did not matter if it was their sister cohort or their parent legion or a totally different one. the orders were the same and every man knew what they were.

Or how do you suppose that a legion trained -? 6000 men on the training grounds every day? Of course not. I'm very surprised that Goldsworthy would have missed this. hock:

No they wouldnt have. When legions were 6000 men though their goal was find the enemy engage them in straight up battle and destroy them.

When legion size dropped to 1000 the strategy changed more to hit the enemy when they were nto looking and avoid large scale battle unless it couldnt be avoided.

1000 men no matter how well they train alone are never going to be able to learn how to work as an integrated team. Sure you can "pretend" that the legion on your left is going this and the legion on your right is doing something else and do your part but it will never teach you how to communicate within larger formations. It will not teach you how to deal with the chaos that many men will create. Nor will it teach you how to deal with the number of opponents that a 6000 man legion will face.

Tactics are different for different sized units. A 6000 man legion can split off units to station at other locations for a time when wintering for example and they can learn to work alone. A 1000 man legion located alone or paired with a second legion cannot no matter how hard it tries train to operate as a 6000 man unit. Its just not possible. You cannot pretend yourself the extra 4000 men.