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It still amazes me the harsh conditions these soldiers operated under so long ago.
These soldiers marched everywhere with a heavy load on their bodies, 18 miles a day to get to their next destination. They had to build roads and infrastructure on some of their routes. And then they had to fight hand to hand combat which is grueling as heck and nothing at all like shooting at the enemy with rifles, after all that marching. And to do that for over 20 years until retirement.
I know in the modern military age, there have been battles where troops had to walk many miles under terrible weather conditions to fight each battle, the European as well as Pacific theater in WW2. And you'd have to be in an elite infantry unit or special ops unit these days to have such grueling training regimens.
But it was the norm back then.
I think it's safe to say these soldiers were physically fit.
It still amazes me the harsh conditions these soldiers operated under so long ago.
These soldiers marched everywhere with a heavy load on their bodies, 18 miles a day to get to their next destination. They had to build roads and infrastructure on some of their routes. And then they had to fight hand to hand combat which is grueling as heck and nothing at all like shooting at the enemy with rifles, after all that marching. And to do that for over 20 years until retirement.
I know in the modern military age, there have been battles where troops had to walk many miles under terrible weather conditions to fight each battle, the European as well as Pacific theater in WW2. And you'd have to be in an elite infantry unit or special ops unit these days to have such grueling training regimens.
But it was the norm back then.
I think it's safe to say these soldiers were physically fit.
17 years of service. Back then most people die at that age of old age.
I would also feel sorry for an auxillary Roman soldier. Often these soldiers were not Roman citizens and had to serve 20 years or more to be granted Roman citizenship upon retiring from service.
It was a brutal life indeed and if anything like warfare up until the late 19th century most soldiers died from disease or the hardship of campaigning. It would be interesting to know what ratio survived to retirement.
Of interest is to understand how slight these men were compared to modern times. I saw an ancient greek helmet (In Athens) that looked like it would fit a 10 year old kid. Because of lack of nutrition they were significantly smaller which makes the grueling condition they lived under even more impressive.
Also we should understand the real face of battle during those times, which is not like the melodramatic extended clash of armies you see in the movies. We have no witnesses but most experts agree that hand to hand battle was an intermittent affair. Armies would stand face to face and hurl insults at each other for an extended period of time, throw ranged weapons like spears at each other, maneuver, than from time to time clash hand to hand for a few minutes before falling back and repeating the process, until one side or another routs.
I would also feel sorry for an auxillary Roman soldier. Often these soldiers were not Roman citizens and had to serve 20 years or more to be granted Roman citizenship upon retiring from service.
LOL any fool can these this is not a good deal, and are being ripped off.
It was a brutal life indeed and if anything like warfare up until the late 19th century most soldiers died from disease or the hardship of campaigning. It would be interesting to know what ratio survived to retirement.
Of interest is to understand how slight these men were compared to modern times. I saw an ancient greek helmet (In Athens) that looked like it would fit a 10 year old kid. Because of lack of nutrition they were significantly smaller which makes the grueling condition they lived under even more impressive.
Also we should understand the real face of battle during those times, which is not like the melodramatic extended clash of armies you see in the movies. We have no witnesses but most experts agree that hand to hand battle was an intermittent affair. Armies would stand face to face and hurl insults at each other for an extended period of time, throw ranged weapons like spears at each other, maneuver, than from time to time clash hand to hand for a few minutes before falling back and repeating the process, until one side or another routs.
So real warfare back then did not require much strategy and tactics. I always see these shows on History channel about great commanders and brilliant their battle plan is.
It still amazes me the harsh conditions these soldiers operated under so long ago.
These soldiers marched everywhere with a heavy load on their bodies, 18 miles a day to get to their next destination. They had to build roads and infrastructure on some of their routes. And then they had to fight hand to hand combat which is grueling as heck and nothing at all like shooting at the enemy with rifles, after all that marching. And to do that for over 20 years until retirement.
I know in the modern military age, there have been battles where troops had to walk many miles under terrible weather conditions to fight each battle, the European as well as Pacific theater in WW2. And you'd have to be in an elite infantry unit or special ops unit these days to have such grueling training regimens.
But it was the norm back then.
I think it's safe to say these soldiers were physically fit.
They ate well, got choice nightly companionship, saw the empire, and had great tales. For the poor I'm sure this was a far better alternative than living in the sewer or gutter in a mid-tier roman empire city.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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We live in the most peaceful era of human history. This is why it irks me when activists or the highly religious claim the world is now at its worst.
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