08-08-2015, 06:22 PM
Quote:The urge to resist has become too much....
Why the F**K are we using a computer game to try and sort out the fact that Romans fought in 1 rank or not?
Seems very illogical and very irrelevant and very silly to me.
Kevin
I think the pics and videos can be used as a tool to explain what words sometimes cant articulate.
For instance, in the last couple of months I saw a RTW video of a Roman infantry line with intervals between maniples encountering a solid phalanx of some sort of Greek hoplites. That one video was perfect for demonstrating the problems inherent with the idea that one side that operates in a solid line can break off in bits and pieces to push into any open intervals of their enemy, because as soon as they do it, their own line collapses.
I just spent over an hour searching for that video but have been unable to located it.
Also, we know for a fact that the Romans often fought in more than a single line, that part isn't disputed. They never fought in a single rank, that term has a very specific meaning, a line with the depth of a single person. Multiple lines were usually, between 2-4, and intervals between units, in combat, not just the approach march, are described by multiple ancient sources.
