Question regarding training in the Pre-Marian army

[Corvus]

Are there any sources that discribe training of the roman infantry prior to the Marian Reforms? 
How did young romans trained for their service? Was there a sort of basic training or agoge?

[Bryan]

No basic training, no agoge. In Rome itself, youths would go to the Campus Martius and train with one another, but nothing institutionalized. Other towns/municipum would have something similar, a large public space to train. It was part of their upbringing to have elders of their family train them in the ways of war. Romans and Italians of propertied families would grow up expected to serve their 6-16 years in the army, besides owning their own equipment they would (in theory) be trained in how to effectively use it. Not only individual fighting techniques, but also formations, tactics, etc. would have been part of the teachings for youths prior to them turning 17 and being levied for the first time.

Standardized unit training was highly limited until the Late Republic. Most armies would go through the process of levy, organize, and then they'd march out to campaign, they did not spend months training. Winter quarters in between campaign years was often the time that commanders set up training programs, though it was rare enough that only a few commanders did it, and mostly for legions that had previously not performed all that well. During actual campaigns there was little time to train, unless the army was left idle, like during a siege.

Scipio Africanus, in Spain, conducted an extensive training program for his legions, then again while waiting in Sicily to attack Africa. Cato the Elder is known to have trained his forces in Spain, but his works are lost and exactly what he did is unclear (he was apparently against teaching individual fighting techniques since he believed bravery and discipline were superior to skill in arms). Aemilius Paullus had a minimum program set up for his army during the 3rd Macedonian War. Scipio Aemilianus (his son) had a training program for his legions during the siege of Numantia that was VERY extensive. Caecilius Metellus instituted one with the help of his legates Marius and Rutilius Rufus (both of whom served with Scipio Aemilianus at Numantia) during the Jugurthine War. Both Marius and Rutilius Rufus stood up their own training programs when they became consuls, the latter created the famous tradition of using gladiator instructors to teach sword play to the soldiers, and Marius' training reforms are quite famous (though he didn't invent the furca, and Romans had been carrying their own weight for a while). By the time of the Social Wars it became common for generals and tribunes (many of whom would have served with Marius, or Sulla, who had served with Marius) to use those same training techniques, which passed on, with other big name generals like Pompey and Caesar using them, until it became standard to train them. Even Cicero believed Roman legionaries were well trained.

The extend of the training was marching for endurance, digging camps, sword drills, individual sparring and larger scale mock battles, pilum throwing, hurdling, vaulting, some swimming, and a little bit of close order drill (though the Legionary formations did not make it necessary for large amounts of drill, like phalangites would have needed to receive). Not only were the drills designed to increase individual fighting ability, they were also used to improve stamina and conditioning (something not well understood by the Romans), to add resiliency to toil, increase discipline, and add modesty.

[Corvus]

Thank you for the detailed Answer Bryan!
So fighting in manipular legion could be learned pretty quick same as fighting in hoplite phalanx?

[Bryan]

Thank you for the detailed Answer Bryan!
So fighting in manipular legion could be learned pretty quick same as fighting in hoplite phalanx?

Yes. A hoplite phalanx requires little actual skill at arms or mastery of drill. For everything the Spartans were able to do with a citizenry dedicated to nothing besides warfare other city states could replicate nearly as well by doing it only part time. What the phalanx required was bravery and discipline, to maintain ranks even during the chaos of close combat. 

The Roman system started as a hoplite phalanx and then merged into the manipular legion when they abandoned the aspis/clipeius as an infantryman's shield, when they started breaking legions down into maniples (instead of centuries), and when they started adding intervals into their line, all of which better suited fighting not in open and relatively flat plains, but in the more mountainous regions that Samnites thrived in. There is a reason that in Greece you can find a battle site that had been used a couple dozen times for major pitched battles, because hoplites would seek out those flat spots to fight their battles. Romans tried to do the same early on but either against the Gauls at Alia (where the flank of their phalanx was turned), or against the mountain tribes of the Samnites, they realized that they could no longer fight as a phalanx, a solid continous single line. Whereas the Manipular legion has numerous lines (as reserve) and has articulated and independent maniples (handful of troops) which can react better to different terrain. In addition the scutum allows better protection and does not require a shield mate to the right to protect your own right side, an individual can protect himself and not rely on anyone else. Even before swords became the common Roman hand to hand weapon, a warrior armed with a spear and scutum has more independence in a fighting line than somebody with a spear and aspis. 

Roman in a maniple would need to know a very few basic commands but nothing complex. Some basic facing movements, basic counter marches, testudo, opening and closing ranks and files. They didn't need to march in lock step formation, there was no need at all. There was no need for precise facing movements while marching. There was no need for file leaders. 

They would have benefited from conducting practice charges/advances, throwing the pila in unison (which dramatically increases the psychological effect of a barrage), going from Testudo to the attack in open order (something commonly used against skirmishing enemies). It would have been good to have maniples fight each other in mock battles with staves and sticks, that would help condition them mentally to the psychological effects of close combat and partially innoculate them to the stress. 

But like many Greeks believed there was no need to teach spear or sword fighting, because it was instinctive, instead focusing on discipline and bravery, the Romans believed the same. Virtus, roughly translated to manly courage, was tempered by iron fist discipline that made the draconian discipline imposed by the Wehrmacht and Red Army seem like child's play.