While the Romans were conquering Italy, they were making
many improvements in their army. All citizens between the ages of seventeen and
forty-six were liable to active service. These men were mainly landowners—hardy,
intelligent peasants—who knew how to fight and how to obey orders. An army in
the field consisted of one or more legions. A legion included about three
thousand heavy-armed footmen, twelve hundred light infantry, and three hundred
horsemen. After the conquest of Italy the states allied with Rome had to
furnish soldiers, chiefly archers and cavalry. These auxiliaries, as they were
called, were at least as numerous as legionaries. The Romans, in carrying on
war, employed not only their citizens but also their subjects.
METHOD OF FIGHTING
The legion offered a sharp contrast to the unwieldy
phalanx. Roman soldiers usually fought in an open order, with the
heavy-armed infantry arranged in three lines: first, the younger men; next, the
more experienced warriors; and lastly the veterans. A battle began with
skirmishing by the light troops, which moved to the front and discharged their
darts to harass the enemy. The companies of the first line next flung their
javelins at a distance of from ten to twenty paces and then, wielding their
terrible short swords, came at once to close quarters with the foe. It was like
a volley of musketry followed by a fierce bayonet charge. If the attack proved
unsuccessful, the wearied soldiers withdrew to the rear through the gaps in the
line behind. The second line now marched forward to the attack; if it was
repulsed, there was still the third line of steady veterans for the last and
decisive blow.
