Decimation was rarely used. Decimation was a punishment that the Romans inflicted on soldiers who had collectively abandoned their posts, acted like cowards in battle, or fomented some kind of rebellion in the ranks. This video makes it sound like a defeat in battle meant decimation.
@henrikg1388Ай бұрын
True. I believe that the use of decimation by Crassus in the Spartacus-rebellion, was the last documented use of it anyway, but I may be wrong.
@BeckVMHАй бұрын
I respect your comment; however, I didn’t get that impression and understood it to be only used as you’ve described. 2:49 The narration referenced, “Decimation, while rare….”
@GetRidOfCivilAssetForfeitureАй бұрын
@@BeckVMHa case of hearing what one only wants to hear.
@colinhunt4057Ай бұрын
@@henrikg1388 Your comment is correct. Crassus was the last one who used decimation. And largely it failed. Roman legionairies were citizens, and Crassus was just another aristocratic snot who bought his political offices including the consulship. Spartacus's revolt was crushed in the end by Gnaeus Pompeius.
@soldat2501Ай бұрын
@@BeckVMH I'll grant that's what he wrapped up with but he started 1:25 with , "Imagine being a Roman soldier in the heat of battle, knowing that failure could mean the death of not just you, but one in every 10 of your comrades. Especially after a devastating defeat." The Romans suffered a number of defeats, some more serious than others. They didn't all resort to decimation. Perhaps he should have led with how rare it was, as that was actually the case.
@citadel9611Ай бұрын
The reason why the Romans were so successful was simple: Discipline, Conditioning, and tactics. Decimation was rarely needed.
@MultiDigitalCoder-he7wpАй бұрын
Sad that what they were also mainly about was about coninually screwing over everyone else.
@bekirbekirbekirbekirАй бұрын
Yah yah this was because of "Discipline, Conditioning" but they couldn't invade germany that even don't have any regular army . Huns just swept out entire germany without Roman's super advanced discipline, conditioning, tactics (and weapons )
@alessandroiorio6248Ай бұрын
@@bekirbekirbekirbekir They invaded Germania whenever they wanted and almost always won (Caesar, Drusus, Germanicus, Maximinus Thrax...) and created a province up to the Elbe river from 7 BC to 9 AD. The later débacle at Teutoburg was further confirmation that the land wasn't worth investing in a second time; they never tried to settle it again because of the region's social, economic, and urban underdevelopment. But whenever they needed to invade those regions for slaves or retaliations they did and were successful. Besides, why are you criticizing the Huns ? They had advanced discipline, tactics and weapons and "conquered" those regions just as the Romans had done, by winning battles; but they never settled it nor supplanted the populations living there. These myths you wrote about need to stop, they are kind of cringe.
@bekirbekirbekirbekirАй бұрын
@@alessandroiorio6248 Exagerating roman army need to be stop.Thousand year history full of massacring primitive tribes. Just couple of fight against some regular armies and most of them failed. Despite possessing vast resources derived primarily from an enslaved populace, their repeated defeats in individual battles ultimately culminated in victory in the overall conflict. Romans was not invading anywhere to settle down as like France, Britain, Egypt, Anatolia etc. The simply want to invade Germany but failed. Oh ok they just dont want to invade.
@citadel9611Ай бұрын
@@bekirbekirbekirbekir The German victory was led by a leader named Arminius, who fought in the Roman military and learned their tactics. It was a great shock to the Roman empire, but it was hardly a situation of disorganized Germans who fought. As far as the Huns are concerned, their victories came about when the Roman empire had more foreigners fight in their legions than actual Romans, and the discipline was not the same.
@vincentlemire8703Ай бұрын
You don't mention that Corvus really only worked once. It was a secret weapon that lost its potency once no longer a secret. It would not have been too hard to avoid if you realize what the roman were up to, leaving them with a less maneuverable vessel overloaded with infantry. Still, for that one battle, it was a brillant tactic and key to winning the first Punic war as you said.
@Azmania3000Ай бұрын
Yep then they hit the swell and all mysteriously disappeared for some unknown reason 😂.
@randomobserver8168Ай бұрын
Decimation is a disciplinary procedure not a battle tactic. Categorization is important.
@rolandnelson6722Ай бұрын
Bravo! Categorisation is important. In our age major advantage goes to those that can categorise properly and not move the goalposts, but can anticipate others inabilities. In our age it is clear the innumeratti (innumerate people) control the world - through their vast numbers. But they can’t profit nor control their place in it. But those that can do the above have a tremendous advantage. The first flaw of the innumerate is that they can’t categorise.
@mikitz24 күн бұрын
True. It's as if though the gauntlet was used as a military tactic.
@user-pr2ms4ol8x19 күн бұрын
It could be classed as a battle tactic. Whilst not directly used in battle as a tactic, the threat of decimation made the roman infantry less susceptible to routing or ineptitude making them far more efficient on the battlefield.
@soggybottom346313 күн бұрын
Excellent. Honest, succinct analysis. I played a lot of rugby football in the UK as a boy and young fellow. One of the best, best pieces of coaching advice is: "Do the simple things well".
@stephenbesley3177Ай бұрын
At sea, the Roman solution was train troops on land using mockups and to make ships using previously manufactured parts that were numbereD or marked in a way that could be easily constructed. A flatpack navy if you will. Rome's real secret was engineering and legions full of artisans.
@philippekoglerАй бұрын
Strength and Honor!
@Chebab-ChebabАй бұрын
Fish and chips.
@arcomegis9999Ай бұрын
It's quite mind-blowing that the tribes of Italian Peninsula are highly adaptive in terms of survivability. The Romans in turn also possess that. They also learn from their defeats, often copying to a varying degree the tactics and strategies of their enemies. It sounds like a stretch but I think Romans stopped being underdogs when they defeated the Samnites and in turn complete their conquest of the peninsula. It's like Cao Cao becoming a superpower after defeating Yuan Shao at Guandu. The legionary and maniple system in their military is in fact "inspired" by the Samnites. The practice of employing mercenaries and subsequently auxilary troops comes from the defeat of the Successor Kingdoms and Greek powers. Especially, Pyrrhus and Hannibal in which the Romans learn to better employ such tactics and logistical capabilities.
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
I think you're absolutely right that the Samnite Wars were pivotal. The Samnites were tough opponents, which forced the Romans to learn how to adapt and innovate. I don't know enough about Chinese history to comment on the comparison with Cao Cao, but now I'll have to read up on it!
@roilheadАй бұрын
What is funny is that the US can't beat farmers with all their money / firepower & have lost all but 1 war since WW2.
@DrZipАй бұрын
Great video as always! Do you know how the Roman Empire was cut in half? -With a pair of ceasars (scissors).
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
😂😂😂 Who's the favorite philosopher among kids? Play-Doh
@colinhunt4057Ай бұрын
Dr. Zip, it was done because the imperial army had become too large with too many military emergencies on its assorted frontiers. Diocletian divided the Empire because it could not be effectively administered only from Rome. Thus there were a number of new capitals established as indicated here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian All of this came about after the crisis of the 3rd century. The Empire had become too large to be defended, and Diocletian abandoned the province of Dacia (Rumania), and some very difficult to defend areas such as Assyria. Also, by having four rulers in the form of the Tetrarchy, the Empire was to some degree protected from loss of a sole Emperor by assassination.
@vincentlemire8703Ай бұрын
Lol, so we don't agree on what tactic is, I guess. Their divide and conquer approach to diplomacy counts not as a tactic. A diplomatic strategy maybe? But absolutely an understated key to the longevity of the empire that you are right to point out.
@edricdayne357138 минут бұрын
4:35 Vercingetorix: We have you trapped in here with us. Caesar: I'm not trapped in here with you. You're all trapped in here with me.
@raywhitehead730Ай бұрын
Caesar wrote a book about some of his military campaigns. The chapter about a campaign always started about the same: food supplies were purchased. The Romans became very good at securing food and transportation of supplies.
@padraigpearseАй бұрын
Decimation was incredibly rare, I am very surprised you even mentioned it.
@The13thRoninАй бұрын
KZfaqrs only ever have a cursory knowledge of Ancient History.
@frankmorris4790Ай бұрын
Because it happened? History?
@mediumrare9051Ай бұрын
Rarely employed due to its effectiveness as a threat, well worth a mention.
@waynebrittenАй бұрын
You clowns he actually said it was rare.maybe you all better start to listen better
@brettmuir5679Ай бұрын
Maybe because the word is grossly misused nowadays. Today it is used interchangeably with devastating. We need to learn/ remember it means 0.1
@zedeyejoeАй бұрын
First you had training, so you knew that your troops would do has you had told them. Then a combat system that favoured close combat. No wild slashing but instead a mobile shieldwall where soldiers worked together, not as individuals. With a battleline relief system that stopped the soldiers from becoming over tired. Then build field fortifications to give your forces an advantage. And finally the knowledge that Romans never gave up. Lose 80,000 men, well build a bigger army and try again.
@colinhunt4057Ай бұрын
Add two other items to your list: the Romans were the first nation to ever institute a standard system of training. Mostly this was done in the training bases around Capua. Also new was the retention of very long service professional soldiers as centurions or non-commissioned officers.
@dorianphilotheates376912 күн бұрын
There seems to be a bit of confusion between “tactics”, operational organization, weapons technology, military/diplomatic strategy, and statecraft.
@richardallday7387Ай бұрын
Nicely done - especially the 'divide and conquer' explanation.
@tungzauzage977Ай бұрын
Well presented and edited with nice use of comic humor. Very professional and informative, appreciated.
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
Thank you, brother!
@sprintershepherd4359Ай бұрын
@@TheLegendaryLore drop the comedy i reckon . it was distracting and not that funny imo . you had some great still pics in this video . were they from a movie ? if so which movies ?
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
@@sprintershepherd4359 I though it would be fun to add some memes for a change :) Most of the non-attributed images are Midjourney.
@rudolphguarnacci197Ай бұрын
@@sprintershepherd4359 I liked it.
@rudolphguarnacci197Ай бұрын
@@TheLegendaryLore It is fun. You show a brighter side with these illustrations.
@gma7295 күн бұрын
GREAT VID. SUPERB CONTENT, LIKED 👍 AND SUBSCRIBED !!
@d.g.rohrig4063Ай бұрын
Here’s a tactic for ye, “During a battle at sea in 264 BCE, a Carthaginian ship was captured by Roman forces. The Romans examined the ship carefully and used it as a model for their own new vessels. By stealing the Carthaginian ship the Romans were able to improve their own technology and increase their naval power.” I’ve seen a video about this but alas, I couldn’t find it.
@dukeonАй бұрын
I’ve seen the same one 🤔 Good video too.
@evo1ov3Ай бұрын
Seen it too.Think it's from the Historia Civilis channel. But I have to check.
@d.g.rohrig4063Ай бұрын
@@evo1ov3 Nice! If you find it please share it here with us?
@arturovaldes546Ай бұрын
It BC , are you afraid of Christ.
@johnj4860Ай бұрын
Akin to Ukraine capturing new Russian tank and studying it's technology
@ancikul5969Ай бұрын
The success of the Roman army lay in the fact that they were always ready to learn and also copy others.
@riccardomulazzani7436Ай бұрын
Better explanation... The Romans observed the armors, weapons and tactics of their enemies... In this way they were always able to best evaluate the most correct countermeasures to destroy their enemies, but they had the intelligence to gain experience from each enemy they faced and if an enemy helmet, an enemy weapon or an enemy war tactic was valid they included it among their resources (but NOT simply copying it as you say) but ALWAYS improving it considerably and adapting it to the Roman army with intense training!!!!... By just copying they would certainly NOT have become one of the largest empires in history...
@matthewzito6130Ай бұрын
I can't believe they didn't mention the fire pigs.
@uncletiggermclaren7592Ай бұрын
Came expecting them, disappointed.
@JnstBrimstoneАй бұрын
Good video, thanks.
@dorianphilotheates376912 күн бұрын
You know what destroyed Rome? - Billionaires.
@jbrice28 күн бұрын
That's funny
@17cmmittlererminenwerfer81Ай бұрын
"Insane tactics"? You've never heard the axiom "If it works, it ain't stupid."
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
I guess you could call it risky or seemingly insane.
@user-ic1lo9wh5fАй бұрын
Insane and stupid ain't synonyms so what's your point?
@wiscosteveАй бұрын
Well I didn’t know about decimation until now thx
@Centurion101B3CАй бұрын
Hm, Important to show the instances of ingenuity within Rome's panoply of measures and means, but lacking a clear distinction between tactics and strategy. Adding that and providing clear examples would make this in and of itself well made production into an excellent one.
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
That is a fair point. Thanks for the constructive feedback, brother.
@waynevaughan9325Ай бұрын
Great vid
@user-sz5og5lt6hАй бұрын
Good job
@Epic15history11 күн бұрын
good video!!
@truecerium4924Ай бұрын
It sounds like decimation was commonly used. But in fact during Roman history from kingdom to late antiquity only few occurrences have been documented. It was too ineffective to lose trained soldiers and there were other means of punishment (interestingly threating them with not including them in a battle)
@brettmuir5679Ай бұрын
It is clearly stated in the video that the practice was rare. Did you listen or just browse?
@truecerium4924Ай бұрын
@@brettmuir5679 Calm down :) With my comment I am just supporting the point you made and added the exclusion from battle. Not every comment is an offence ´k
@brettmuir5679Ай бұрын
@@truecerium4924 not offended but annoyed by lazy viewers who misrepresent. Your comment was clear and blaring misrepresentation, just saying
@evo1ov3Ай бұрын
8:37 Oh wow! That is an amazing meme!
@jonc6463Ай бұрын
Informative thank you 🙏
@infoscholar5221Ай бұрын
This is a lesson many times forgotten, and it applies to all walks of life. Discipline, ration...Alas, alas...
@Sergio_deusАй бұрын
You never see about this tactics on Hollywood movies...Really wonder why. Also have to say, the memes were a huge surprise, but certainly a welcome one heheh
@shannonulmer11318 күн бұрын
Looks a lot like modern day America & the European countries WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!
@vonzigle12 күн бұрын
Thanks!
@TheLegendaryLore11 күн бұрын
Thank you so much, brother!
@slimyishАй бұрын
Decimation was EXTREMELY uncommon
@jasonjason5325Күн бұрын
Relax. He just mentioned it... 😂
@christiansorensen756711 күн бұрын
I wish the AI would get the Roman crest correct, instead of giving every soldier a parade crest on their helmet.
@drwalmgcАй бұрын
Hannibal trained them well.
@richardscanlan3419Ай бұрын
Not just confined to Hannibal, the Romans learnt a lot fighting v Pyrrhus and the Greeks,and even earlier v the Samnites. That was Rome's true strength,they were not afraid to learn from their enemies and adopt their tactics.Adaptability was their greatest strength.
@drwalmgcАй бұрын
@@richardscanlan3419 True.
@richardscanlan3419Ай бұрын
@@drwalmgc I'm an unabashed Romanophile.Have a reasonable knowledge of Roman history,though I'm not in Mary Beard's class;))
@mercb3astАй бұрын
@@richardscanlan3419 Their true strength was their geographic position, and the fact they outnumbered everyone they fought once they had unified most of italy. Long skinny peninsula meant the entire region could be rapidly mobilized navally. Rome reached a population of 1 million, oh, about 800 years before a city in China reached 1 million, and 1,800 years before London, the center of the largest empire the world had ever known up until that point. For Rome, quantity had quality of its own. They could afford to get massacred by Hannibal for a decade. Cause they could just field legion after legion. All they had to do was beat a major Carthaginian army once. Pyrrhus is another good example. Get smashed by Epirus over and over, but inflict just enough damage each time that the tiny state bleed itself out.
@richardscanlan3419Ай бұрын
@@mercb3ast good post,and the point about their "geographic position" is valid. I would add one other factor - Roman doggedness,they simply refused to be beaten,no matter how dire the situation.In this regard they were kind of unique in the ancient world.They simply wore their opponents out. Very similar to the Russians in the war with the Nazis.Win - no matter what the cost.
@floriangeyer3454Ай бұрын
Decimation was not common, applied in cases of mutiny, cowardice or desertion of a whole unit. And decimation was NOT always execution! Flogging was a common punishment in the legions.
@val4utubeАй бұрын
I think you misses an important one. The substitution, at the command of the centurion, of each man fighting ih the front in a line of battle, to be swapped by the one directly behind him.
@robbieatvicАй бұрын
You lost me when you brought up decimation in under 2 minutes, for gods sake it was extremely rare and any real ancient historian knows this.
@matthewrogerson9119Ай бұрын
You obviously didn't watch this all... did you????**
@user-ic1lo9wh5fАй бұрын
Where is he saying its a common practice though?
@surfdocer103Ай бұрын
2:50 decimation, while RARE…
@ImpericalevidenceАй бұрын
Ooh ooh how about public deflowering? Spit roasting if you catch my drift... I bet that one's not mentioned.
@bryanstellfox8521Ай бұрын
Decimation was a psychological enforcer more than a commonly used punishment. I guarantee just the IDEA of decimation motivated these troops to fight and die rather than be routed and perhaps be forced to club their best friend to death.
@ManufactureBeliefАй бұрын
One of the best Roman combat scenes I've seen is the opening act of the TV series Rome (2005-2007). Which showed the disciplined way the Roman infantry fought and how superior they were to their opponents. When the centurion blew his whistle.. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y9x6h7F4rZqtkmQ.html&ab_channel=Private Highly recommend this series to anyone fascinated by Rome..
@gaiusmarcus8Ай бұрын
Corvus literally turn the tide
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
LOL, true 😁
@cedricgist7614Ай бұрын
Thanks for this examination of Roman strategy and tactics that helped build an empire. I don't know as much about Rome's history as I should - so I was a bit surprised to hear talk of Roman forces being outnumbered. In other words, establishing an empire wasn't a slam dunk. I had to comment because I haven't much cared for, "the Romans," over the years. Yet I do give them credit for the positive legacy they left - law, engineering, organization - yes, even their military. It's the history of conquest and oppression that I hate.
@rdleaheyАй бұрын
The battle of Alesia sends chills up my spine. That’s how I learned of a Roman weapon used against cavalry. It was some kind of metal ball with three sharp spikes sticking out.No matter how you threw them, one spike would be sticking straight up!
@SupremeGreatGrandmasterАй бұрын
Do you mean calthrops?
@hgr.7857Ай бұрын
It would need 4 spikes to function that way; 3/4 spikes act as legs, the last 1/4 sticks up. As the other commenter said, it "would" be (is) a caltrop.
@vincentlemire8703Ай бұрын
I would not call 'decimation' a tactic by any useful definition of the word. It was discipline. And how well it worked is debatable and depend on the context. Though not an expert I know it was primarily used in the early to mid republican era, back when you were dealing with part-time legionaries who expected to go back to farming (or whatever) after a single season of campaigning. A lot of these guys really needed to be more afraid of their officer than the enemy to be motivated to risk their lives because they were not all gung ho volunteers. By the time of the late republic/early empire, as the army was quickly becoming professionalised, it might have still been 'on the books' but it was rarely used and only used at the general's own peril. I know Crassus revived it in his armies but his contemporaries Ceasar and Pompey never did. I'm sure we all know who has the best track record of these three, lol. Just because Crassus decimated a cohort and then went on to win against a slave army, it does not follow it was the right decision or that it played a key role. Ceasar and Pompey accomplished far more impressive feats without decimation. All in all Crassus is not to be regarded as a talented commander. It took all his spare change to put down a slave revolt and when faced by a real Army in Parthia he got crushed... A few generations later when Galba (of the 'year of the 4 emperors' fame) used it on a recalcitrant legion in 69AD it created shock and dismay more than anything else and contributed to him being extremely impopular with the army and one of shortest tenured emperor. I mean, if he was going to refuse to pay the expected bribes (aka donation) to the praetorian guard, he really hould have taken better care with maitaining the loyalty of regular legionnaires! LTDR As the army becomes more professional, decimation was phased out because it was becoming pretty much always a blunder. And I'm not convinced it was a smart choice even back in the days of the farmer soldier unless dealing with a fullblown mutiny (which did happen). A good commander should always be able to find a better solution than killing off 10% of his own men IMO!
@colinhunt4057Ай бұрын
It happened only in legions raised very quickly with poorly trained soldiers. It happened only when those legions were very poorly led by incompetent or amateur commanders. Your comment about Galba is quite right. Please note that Galba came to a very quick and sticky end, deserted by everyone. I agree with your comment about Crassus. Unlike Caesar or Pompey, Crassus had no military command experience whatsoever. He was simply a plutocrat with no redeeming military qualities whatsoever. He went on to suffer Rome's worst military disaster in two centuries at the Battle of Carrhae in Syria in 53 BC. Crassus led his army into an impossible situation, cut off from any water supply. Appropriately, Crassus did not survive his defeat but was killed on the field. The only comment I disagree with is about soldiers' mutinies. These were unheard of during the Republic and rare during and after Augustus. Roman legions never mutinied. They might be persuaded to revolt against the Emperor by their General who wanted to be Emperor. But the legions rarely revolted. There were a few spectacular murders of Roman emperors by Praetorian guards but no real revolts of an entire legion against their officers.
@WorthlessWinnerАй бұрын
Wasn't decimation very rarely used? It usually seems to be done for political purposes (appius claudius first bringing it in to punish the plebs for wanting rights, most future cases seeming to follow a similar vein). I dunno if it impacted the troops much if it's so rare and usually not done for cowardice as much as for your commander being a patrician psycho
@TheLegendaryLoreАй бұрын
Decimation was rare, but not rare enough to be unheard of. I'm certain the soldiers all knew the stories and understood it was a possibility. But even more so than decimation, the fear of getting executed for things like cowardice, desertion, or disobedience was always there. The threat of getting killed by fellow soldiers, or being executed on the spot by a commander was a real risk.
@masteryap3169Ай бұрын
Have agree with you. Decimation was very "questionable " disciplinary measure to use on your own troops. It could very easily backfire. Of note, no modern military use decimation or even a firing squad for cowardice. Better to foster "unit cohesion" then the barrel of a gun.
@michelguevara151Ай бұрын
the other tactic not often mentioned was to declare support for republics.. then enforce their own.
@SkorlangАй бұрын
Decimation was not a tactic, it was a disciplinary action. The Corvus was nat a tactic, it was a tool. Divide and conquer was a strategy, not a tactic
@PoetofHateSpeechАй бұрын
Most people don't understand the difference between strategy and tactics.
@workerant7874Ай бұрын
I believe he describes divide and conquer as a strategy. Several times.
@Skorlang29 күн бұрын
@@workerant7874 title says "tactics"
@timothyahernRoxyCat11 күн бұрын
I sure wish folks would list their sources.
@svon1Ай бұрын
and he did not even mention caltrop's or Manu-Ballista's (which are like hand held ballista's in case you fighting cataphracts) ... the alliance thing was a bit simpler though .... just ally with the weakest local ... being the punchbag for several generations and getting offered an opportunity for payback usually does not require much convincing... the constant copying of their enemy ...the swords were spanish, the mail celtic and the helmets gaulic .... and of course since the empire was founded ...half of all troops were auxiliaries recruited from all sorts of people across the empire, making the conquered people feel part of the empire, while also Romanizing them, while also mixing unique tactics
@doctordetroit4339Ай бұрын
Romans built a supply chain that was unmatched. And gained them victory, as they comparatively had unlimited resources to the point of battle, even if outnumbered. Even if they lost a battle....they kept coming and coming and coming......their logistics allowed that. Not much has changed since then. This is how the US operates today, worldwide. Rome did the equivalent in the known world back then.
@colinhunt4057Ай бұрын
Your comment about logistics is bang on. This was particularly true for their use of water transport, the Mediterranean, the Rhine, Rhone and Danube rivers. A Roman army was never more than about 100 miles from large scale water transport (ships or barges). Rome really was the Empire of the Middle Sea. It was made possible by superb logistics, unmatched by anyone until about the 18th century AD.
@stevemar4779Ай бұрын
Roman art of war.
@atkinsjoe575417 сағат бұрын
Great leadership
@markmulligan57116 күн бұрын
The corvus is fine for boarding action. However, in heavy winds and sea, having that added weight hanging fully deployable from your mast would have caused, let's say stability (capsize) issues. No combat admiral would have let his captains stow them somewhere lower and safer yet more difficult to deploy. Was it one or two, 2000,000 man fleets the Romans lost to Med winter storms? So the corvus probably killed as many Romans as Carthaginians. Like most new weapons, once everyone's survivors adopt them.
@darkhorse989Ай бұрын
The corvus was only used in the first few battles, it was too top heavy and after a couple accidents it was abandoned in favor of boarding planks, or outright sinking enemy ships.
@aircrew70518 күн бұрын
During the First Punic War in 264 BC, the Romans captured a Carthaginian ship and used it as a model to create their own fleet. The Romans were able to adapt to their enemy's tactics and improve their own technology by reverse engineering the ship. This helped them make up for their lack of shipbuilding expertise and increase their naval power In his "Stratagems of War," Polyaenus recounts the use of incendiary pigs during a siege by the Roman general Crassus. According to his account, the defenders of a town under siege attempted to scare off the Roman war elephants with squealing pigs, but Crassus ordered the pigs to be set on fire. The squealing and burning pigs were then driven towards the enemy elephants, causing them to panic and trample their own troops in their haste to escape the fiery pigs.
@andreasgraf512Ай бұрын
In my opinion, in addition to discipline, the military organisation and administration, standardised team equipment and continuous training should be mentioned first and foremost.
@Raz.CАй бұрын
You make it sound like Caesar decided to build both walls at Alesia, at the same time. Instead, he had already built the wall of circumvallation around Alesia when he heard about the enormous relief forces en-route. Rather than abandoning the siege and allowing Vercingetorix to escape, Caesar decided to maintain his siege on the city and the best way to do so, would by building an entirely new wall (series of fortifications), to protect the besiegers from the relief forces.
@thebobloblawshow8832Ай бұрын
Any of this sound familiar?
@Emperor-JustiniusАй бұрын
Yes very
@notsocrates9529Ай бұрын
No not at all. Why would people want to try tested and true methods?
@user-ju3mz4xp8zАй бұрын
Tactics? I thought this was about the Romans using the iron spike modules to injure opponents feet and the hooves of enemy cavalry horses, Or the use of new weapons that could fire multiple arrows or the use of their war dogs to terrify opponents.
@notsocrates9529Ай бұрын
Caltrops?
@colinhunt4057Ай бұрын
@@notsocrates9529 Caltrops had been used by the Greeks before the Romans. No, what tactics refers to is the combat order of a Roman legion organized down to its sub-units. Tactics includes the design of a Roman army as one of heavy infantry relying on short stabbing swords, large shields for extensive protection, and heavy javelins to break up enemy formations. A Roman army was a combined arms force consisting of a core of heavy infantry (outined above), large numbers of missile troops (archers or slingers), and a body of cavalry. A Roman army was the world's first (after Alexander the Great) combined arms army. Missile troops and cavalry were usually foreign mercenaries. The heavy infantry legionaries were Roman citizens on long-term service for 20 years.
@micgeinc669415 күн бұрын
I realize that the title was MILITARY TACTICS but it would be nice to mention that some lands surrendered just by the romans telling them about the security that the roman army will provide for them, and the trade with the rest of Rome. Some lands surrendered just by diplomatic threat from Rome. Big part of the answer why roman military worked was because it was a part of well working diplomatic, taxation, legal, financial, political, governmental and private manufacturing system. I heard a historian say that roman soldiers were very good per soldier but also very expensive per soldier. That any army could accomplish what romans had accomplished if they could find the money. The romans were very good at finding money. Tax evasion almost did not exist in Rome.
@johnj4860Ай бұрын
On my signal unleash hell 🤔
@rolandlabelle18823 күн бұрын
They killed children knowing that it would dampen the enemies moral
@rjwintl20 күн бұрын
and after taking kids back to Rome to make them into Romans a few like Arminius (Herman the German ) took those learned battle tactics and devised ways to beat the Romans at their own game … case in point : Teutoburg Forest in 9AD where Arminius organized an ambush of Three entire Roman Legions dispatched nearly all of them , 18,000 Romans annihilated by approximately 5000 Germans ( my people ) !!!
@HRHOCHUKOiiАй бұрын
Why i can't find the Prince by niccolo machiavelli video on your channel?
@josephnoneofyourbeeswax8517Ай бұрын
The Roman military defeated numerically superior forces the same way the Greeks did and every army ever has. Order and discipline defeats individual military prowess EVERY TIME EVER.
@colinhunt4057Ай бұрын
Order and discipline and training. This includes good supply, making certain your soldiers were properly fed and supplied on campaign with good boots, good garmets for campaigning and all the other thousands of items a functioning army needs in the field. This included a professional medical staff, mobile artillery for the legions where practical, and a properly organized transport service wiithin the legions for transporting everything.
@Nervii_ChampionАй бұрын
The Bronze Age and Iron Age (5000BC - 600AD-ish) had the coolest history and stories and characters. Arguably, many armies and tactics of the Iron Age (the Romans and Greeks/Hellenic states like Epirus and Macedon and Successor Kingdoms of Alexander) could MOP the floor with Medieval armies before gunpowder was involved. I would even argue the equipment was more suited to the task of melee and ranged combat, but I will admit the trebuchet is a very effective artillery. I wonder what the stories of the deep past of humanity are though, but it would be impossible to know in a place as fragile and vulnerable as Earth. There could be remnants of ancient human technology on the Moon and Mars and beyond for all we know. Us "normal" people would never be able to find out, anyway. Not the way we behave.
@lulutileguy14 сағат бұрын
decimation
@scaryfakevirus16 күн бұрын
Some of this is happening in Britain now by our current enemy - our own government.
@frankieshankly5368Ай бұрын
Their percistance was the real strength of the Roman empire. No matter how catastrofic defeats they endured, which they did sometimes over the centuries. They allways came back, for a millenium at least..
@KhalifrioАй бұрын
I'm not sure you know what the word Tactics means. Some of what you call "Tactics" were nothing of the sort. Decimation was a discipline measure that had nothing to do with tactics. Divide and Conquer was a Strategy. Strategy is not the same thing as tactics.
@m.j.9318Ай бұрын
Pls hold the line sir 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@Alexander-zn5drАй бұрын
And what exactly ís decimation?
@kvppvk27 күн бұрын
Lots of experts on here - especially in decimation. 😂
@marcinbadtke21 күн бұрын
Divide et impera - always valid. This is why democracy is so successful - people are divided and ruled (conquered) via media.
@user-tw8nh3fh2yАй бұрын
😎😎😎AWESOME VID 😎😎😎
@user-pz3bk3th1z21 күн бұрын
The Carthaginians will WRONGLY assume their Naval superiority ... 👊💥💀☠️
@keithmoriyama542114 күн бұрын
Romans V Mongols-- who would win?
@SvinfylkaАй бұрын
Thanks for the video but the title is misleading. Most of the video refers to strategy versus tactics in the military sense. If this were on tactics it would be on specific actions taken during a battle. Strategies generally refer to steps taken or planned outside the actions within a battle. Strategies: Divide and Conquer, addition of corvuses to quinqueremes. Tactics: Caesar building outer wall against Vercingetorix, Scipio Africanus having legions open lanes for Carthaginian elephants to pass through without killing the Romans, when and how corvuses were used in a battle Also these are not insane. Being a bit over-dramatic.
@user-xv1gn7yk3tАй бұрын
Decimation was good in modern times, If done regularly,, some actually fell on their swords, because of heavy mortgage payments etc, It saved pension payments, insurance payout etc, We have a lot to learn from the Romans,, Expansion ( profitable) owes itself to such discipline. Ignore history at your peril.
@GiacomoSorbi2 күн бұрын
Not a word on the excellent Roman logistics and/or having a professional military force, whereas most of their opponents were just peasants or farmers given a few lances, shields and poor equipment?
@tt756Ай бұрын
discipline
@REDTTURTLE25 күн бұрын
The secret of roman legions was the use of youngsters wearing a wolf fur, they launched rocks , light lances and provocated the enemy. Then they run away to hide behind the hard atmoured infantry. Barbarians tried to chase those young men and then arrived to the hard line, that first attacked them with pilum lances, then were helped by roman cavalry that attacked with lances the side areas... then the legion took the form of a pocket, that closed and killed every enemy inside with the gladium swords.
@roastbeef1967Ай бұрын
If it wasn't for the Cimbri....
@Epic16history11 күн бұрын
wow!!
@tronosneoaurorАй бұрын
Only watched 'till the corvus, and neither the decimatio, nor the corvus were tactics.
@dorianphilotheates376912 күн бұрын
If the Greeks hadn’t been at one anothers’ throats all the time, constantly butchering themselves with gay abandon, the Early Roman Republic wouldn’t have stood a chance...the Romans learned EVERYTHING from the Greeks (including warcraft). In short, sine Graecos, nihil.
@raywhitehead730Ай бұрын
The Romans lost quite a few battles. But they learned and adapted.
@alaypatel60506 күн бұрын
First minute is very in accurate. There were no armies that had better resources or superior weapons over rome after 2nd century bc. Its like saying today some country has better resources or weapons than usa.
@hugoboss917Ай бұрын
AI made video. Just look at the Roman helmets😅
@zenturnipАй бұрын
The artists of this video should have known the Roman soldiers and officers had no facial hair
@markbrandon7359Ай бұрын
1st pic shows the soldiers with beards Romans were clean shaven barbarians wore beards
@JoaoSoares-rs6ecАй бұрын
You start with the one thing roman commanders extremely rarely did, it was two legions not cohorts, the corvus wasn't actually use, because it nade the ships unstable.
@stevedavy2878Ай бұрын
Great presentation, and very nice to hear accurate prenunciation of words, without the usual americanisation, Worcestershire Sauce an all that.
@brantdangerАй бұрын
1) Decimation was not a tactic. It was a form of punishment designed to instill discipline. 2) Building the circumvallation and contravallation at Alesia is more of a strategy than a tactic, because once the construction was completed, there was very little flexibility in how the Romans could fight. 3) Dividing and conquering was not a tactic - it was a strategy. You don't even understand what you're presenting in this video, but nice try, and nice AI images.
@keithad6485Ай бұрын
For these soldiers to remain in a decimated unit tells me these soldiers were, in practice, slaves. If they were volunteers, they would have looked for the first chance to desert and return home.
@atrippisterАй бұрын
Decimation was extremely rare events. Most of this video is just bs
@omathitis8498Ай бұрын
Gork and Mork
@smiechu479 күн бұрын
AI images, AI voice, AI screenplay. The AI slop has arrived!
@rudivanrooijen7611Ай бұрын
Decimation wasn't a tactic. It was a disciplinary measure.........