04-06-2008, 03:10 PM
I agree with the posters above but I'd like to mention one of the less famous Roman generals who's record I find quite impressive:
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (the guy in my avatar):
Roman emperor from 253 - 268
He was made co-emperor by his father in 253 and while his father took care of the east he was to govern the western half of the empire.
During the early years of his reign there was constant preassure on nearly all boarders and so he had to spend all of his time fighting incursions along the Danube and the Rhine.
We are told that he fought victorious campaigns along the Danube and then had to march to Gallia where he fought the Franks and Alemanni with only few forces (his father had taken many troops to the east for his war against the Sassanids and the constant preassure along the front didn't allow for big contingents to be removed from the other areas).
Still he seems to have beaten several Germanic forces and gained the title Germanicus Maximus 3 times during his early reign.
The death of his oldest son and violent attacks by the Sarmatians caused a rebellion among the Moesian and Pannonian troops. He left Gaul and marched south where he defeated the Usurpator Ingenuus and the Moesian troops (the desperate situation and the lack of troops is shown by the fact that the garrisons on the Rhine had to be reinforced by several vexillations from Britain).
In the meantime 2 groups of Alemanni had broken through the limes and marched into Italy. After his victory against Ingenuus Gallienus left his commander Aureolus in Pannonia to fight another Usurpator who was raised as a result of the defeat of the 1st usurpation and he himself marched back to Italy with only the core of his army (the Praetorians and II Parthica plus some cavalry troops) and defeated the Alemanni at Milan.
As a result of the capture of his father by the Persians another rebellion broke out in the East (the Macriani) and in Gallia (Postumus and the Gallic empire).
Gallienus fought the Sarmatians in Pannonia while his commander Aureolus was sent to Greece to fight the Macriani. The Usurpers lost. Gallienus defeated the Sarmatians and made an alliance with the Marcomanni who from now on defended the Northern boarders of Pannonia.
Now it was time to march against Postumus. We know that he managed to occupy the alpine passes and retake Raetia. The he advanced into Gaul. Postumus refused to meet him in the field and instead wanted to defend himself in a fortified town (name is unknown). Gallienus surrounded the town and offered a duel to Postumus which the usurper refused to accept. During the siege Gallienus was hit by an arrow and the operation was cancelled.
He spent the next few years reorganizing the state he had left (in the east Odaenathus had the high command and advanced on Kthesiphon but had to return to Asia Minor because of a gothic incursion)
Gallienus himself fought the Goths in the Southern Danubian area and won a decicive victory when his general Aureolus rebelled in Mediolanum and joined Postumus. Gallienus returned and started to besiege him. There he was killed by some of his officers.
Sadly we don't have too many details about his reign and nearly all reports are very negative (later senatorial authors hate him because he excluded the senators from the army and stopped the persecution of Christians). Still his military record is quite impressive, winning all his battles even with limited resources and stabilizing the situation along the Danube which let to a (for 3rd century standards) rather stable and quiet situation from 262 onwards.
In military matters he made 2 important changes:
1st he excluded the senators (and took all military posts out of the cursus honorum) in order to professionalize the officer class.
2nd he installed a mobile field army consisting of cavalry and infantry vexilations
Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (the guy in my avatar):
Roman emperor from 253 - 268
He was made co-emperor by his father in 253 and while his father took care of the east he was to govern the western half of the empire.
During the early years of his reign there was constant preassure on nearly all boarders and so he had to spend all of his time fighting incursions along the Danube and the Rhine.
We are told that he fought victorious campaigns along the Danube and then had to march to Gallia where he fought the Franks and Alemanni with only few forces (his father had taken many troops to the east for his war against the Sassanids and the constant preassure along the front didn't allow for big contingents to be removed from the other areas).
Still he seems to have beaten several Germanic forces and gained the title Germanicus Maximus 3 times during his early reign.
The death of his oldest son and violent attacks by the Sarmatians caused a rebellion among the Moesian and Pannonian troops. He left Gaul and marched south where he defeated the Usurpator Ingenuus and the Moesian troops (the desperate situation and the lack of troops is shown by the fact that the garrisons on the Rhine had to be reinforced by several vexillations from Britain).
In the meantime 2 groups of Alemanni had broken through the limes and marched into Italy. After his victory against Ingenuus Gallienus left his commander Aureolus in Pannonia to fight another Usurpator who was raised as a result of the defeat of the 1st usurpation and he himself marched back to Italy with only the core of his army (the Praetorians and II Parthica plus some cavalry troops) and defeated the Alemanni at Milan.
As a result of the capture of his father by the Persians another rebellion broke out in the East (the Macriani) and in Gallia (Postumus and the Gallic empire).
Gallienus fought the Sarmatians in Pannonia while his commander Aureolus was sent to Greece to fight the Macriani. The Usurpers lost. Gallienus defeated the Sarmatians and made an alliance with the Marcomanni who from now on defended the Northern boarders of Pannonia.
Now it was time to march against Postumus. We know that he managed to occupy the alpine passes and retake Raetia. The he advanced into Gaul. Postumus refused to meet him in the field and instead wanted to defend himself in a fortified town (name is unknown). Gallienus surrounded the town and offered a duel to Postumus which the usurper refused to accept. During the siege Gallienus was hit by an arrow and the operation was cancelled.
He spent the next few years reorganizing the state he had left (in the east Odaenathus had the high command and advanced on Kthesiphon but had to return to Asia Minor because of a gothic incursion)
Gallienus himself fought the Goths in the Southern Danubian area and won a decicive victory when his general Aureolus rebelled in Mediolanum and joined Postumus. Gallienus returned and started to besiege him. There he was killed by some of his officers.
Sadly we don't have too many details about his reign and nearly all reports are very negative (later senatorial authors hate him because he excluded the senators from the army and stopped the persecution of Christians). Still his military record is quite impressive, winning all his battles even with limited resources and stabilizing the situation along the Danube which let to a (for 3rd century standards) rather stable and quiet situation from 262 onwards.
In military matters he made 2 important changes:
1st he excluded the senators (and took all military posts out of the cursus honorum) in order to professionalize the officer class.
2nd he installed a mobile field army consisting of cavalry and infantry vexilations
RESTITVTOR LIBERTATIS ET ROMANAE RELIGIONIS
DEDITICIVS MINERVAE ET MVSARVM
[Micha F.]
DEDITICIVS MINERVAE ET MVSARVM
[Micha F.]
