Auxilia Primary Weapon

[Paul Elliott]

I'm not sure I like the term heavy infantry when the armour and shields of legionaries weigh about the same as auxilia. Would 'close order' troops be a better description? Of course this would imply that the legionaries fight as a large unit in fairly defined ranks and files and not individually, whilst the auxilia as open order can fight in loose formations or in very small units of a just a handful. Useful I suppose when there is no room or time or curcumstance to assemble as a battlefield formation... It would imply the spear was primary though, over a gladius.