Whatever became of the Roman Army in the West

[MarcellusCCLXXV]

I always was under the impression that the Teutoborg Forest was where most of the army was defeated and killed. The forces in Italy were probably for guarding the cities mostly and fielding an army was next to impossible. The guards wouldn't have been in the same class as the Legionary so would have stayed there and waited for the Hammer to fall. Every city to itself?
I am very interested as well!

Astiryu1, you are correct to think that the Roman defeat in the Teutoborg Forest in 9 AD was one of the greatest defeats experienced by the Romans. They lost three legions in that defeat, to put it into perspective. There were other great defeats in Roman history, though, Adrianople in 378 A.D. and the Valerian campagn against the Parthians in 260 A.D. are two defeats that immediately come to mind. As for victories, the Roman army was victorious in battle throughout its existence, to include well into the 5th Century. I guess one could make the case, however, that whereas the earlier armies generally were superior to the enemy in technology, discipline, leadership, and soldiering, by the late Roman era that superior state had pretty much gave way to a kind of operational and tactical parity. At the strategic level, the army could no longer execute the Roman grand strategy of defeating the enemy through forward defense (limitanei) and opeartional mobility in depth (comitatenses). Ironically, the East Roman Empire faired better, in spite of being less mobile. Geography played a great role in that success however, in my view.