08-05-2013, 04:05 PM
As a "very old" reenactor, I know a bit more of history behind that HBO scene (http://www.romanhideout.com/images/roman...photo7.asp) that I would like to share for the "youngers".
That manoevre was proposed at the public for the first time at Pont-Du-Gard in France by Dario Battaglia founder and President of Ars Dimicandi on may 31st, 2003. On August 31st, in Villadose (Italy), 2003 a detail was added on that tactic: the "balteum's hold" with the meaning to "control" the first line. Basically the guy on the second rank holds the companion in front of him in order to disallow him to be "attracted" to go ahead breaking the line. At the whistle sound the second rank "pulls" the balteus forcing the first line to go back.
I did many many times these manoevers with Ars Dimicandi (I subscribed the Ars Dimicandi Legio Foederalis) and IMO is unuseful and dangerous. I got many more hits, wounds and damages to the equipment (overall to my segmentata) by changing the line than while fighting and Dario said that this demonstrates that the segmentata was not used by the infantry in battle.
In Italy this invention caused a war between reenacting associations, and detractors started to refer to this manoevre as "trenino" (little train), as it is still currently referred.
After this experiment I thought that nothing in this experiment worked in the proper way and that nothing of what I knew about roman tactics was justifying that "invention". Dario opinion was the opposite: it worked perfectly. For this reason I decided to quit with Ars Dimicandi even if Dario is still a very good friend: our way to approach things is too different.
Dario was hired by HBO as Military Advisor as you can check from the ending titles of the first episode of "Rome".
That manoevre was proposed at the public for the first time at Pont-Du-Gard in France by Dario Battaglia founder and President of Ars Dimicandi on may 31st, 2003. On August 31st, in Villadose (Italy), 2003 a detail was added on that tactic: the "balteum's hold" with the meaning to "control" the first line. Basically the guy on the second rank holds the companion in front of him in order to disallow him to be "attracted" to go ahead breaking the line. At the whistle sound the second rank "pulls" the balteus forcing the first line to go back.
I did many many times these manoevers with Ars Dimicandi (I subscribed the Ars Dimicandi Legio Foederalis) and IMO is unuseful and dangerous. I got many more hits, wounds and damages to the equipment (overall to my segmentata) by changing the line than while fighting and Dario said that this demonstrates that the segmentata was not used by the infantry in battle.
In Italy this invention caused a war between reenacting associations, and detractors started to refer to this manoevre as "trenino" (little train), as it is still currently referred.
After this experiment I thought that nothing in this experiment worked in the proper way and that nothing of what I knew about roman tactics was justifying that "invention". Dario opinion was the opposite: it worked perfectly. For this reason I decided to quit with Ars Dimicandi even if Dario is still a very good friend: our way to approach things is too different.
Dario was hired by HBO as Military Advisor as you can check from the ending titles of the first episode of "Rome".
