09-01-2015, 04:20 AM
Andy, you bring up summer very valid points but you're mostly describing legions in garrison duties in the provinces. The OP referred to the aftermath of a hard eight months of campaigning (Mar-Oct, the literal campaigns months of the Romans).
So less of soldiers who had a nice warm bunk to sleep in every night in a well constructed frontier camp, more of Germanicus' punitive raid into Germania. How would they have looked upon getting back to their camps?
How would Caesar's 10th Legion have looked after the end of the year that included crossing the Alps in winter, numerous battles including Gergovia and Alesia and the thousands of miles marched that year? I'm guessing they would be gaunt and weathered, but still trying to keep everything serviceable and properly cared for, as best as they could considering the intensity of that year. A prideful unit, they would have understood the importance of what needed to look good and what didn't, appearance matters, which can be interpreted many ways. Considering Caesars reputation for ignoring some common components of military discipline for reasons of higher efficiency, I doubt the men were pretty parade ground soldiers.
So less of soldiers who had a nice warm bunk to sleep in every night in a well constructed frontier camp, more of Germanicus' punitive raid into Germania. How would they have looked upon getting back to their camps?
How would Caesar's 10th Legion have looked after the end of the year that included crossing the Alps in winter, numerous battles including Gergovia and Alesia and the thousands of miles marched that year? I'm guessing they would be gaunt and weathered, but still trying to keep everything serviceable and properly cared for, as best as they could considering the intensity of that year. A prideful unit, they would have understood the importance of what needed to look good and what didn't, appearance matters, which can be interpreted many ways. Considering Caesars reputation for ignoring some common components of military discipline for reasons of higher efficiency, I doubt the men were pretty parade ground soldiers.
