Infantry Relief System

[Sean Manning]

I have heard of some ancient sources attesting to a method whereby a wounded or terminally exhausted legionary could switch places with the man behind him and could get relief. Is this true, and does anyone know the exact methodology behind this system? I found a video that I believe represents this system -relatively- well. ;-)

I think that this is just something which many modern people think they would have done if they were training an ancient army. Changing which soldiers were in front would let the best men rest ... but also put soldiers less brave, less calm, or less well-armed in the path of the enemy. I am not sure that Romans would have believed that the advantages were better than the disadvantages. Writers in the Greek tradition tend to emphasize the importance of having the best men, with the best kit, in front to face the enemy and in the rear to keep the other soldiers in place. But I can't recall any explicit evidence that the Roman army had specially chosen soldiers for the front and rear ranks before Maurice, so this does not disprove the theory which you are asking about.