The Roman War Machine

by John Peddie

An examination of the Roman armies of the late Republic and early Empire which looks at the logistical and operational techniques which made the armies' successes possible. First published in 1994.

Genres: History, Military History, Ancient History, Nonfiction

150 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 1994

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Where the Romans make a Desert, they Call it Peace" as Tacitus so ably pointed out. British Military Author John Peddie shows us how the Roman Legions actually accomplished their conquests and policing of the Empire. Peddie, a former British and Raj Army officer in India And Burma, has worked with mules, water buffalo, and Elephants in military and logistical situations , and knows how to dig a large unit into a fortress, so he's a good person to bring the tactical, logistical and engineering aspects of Ancient Roman Warfare into focus for those who read about the period. The Chapters are on Generalship, Command and Control (flags and horns), Supply Trains, Marching Camp Techniques , Supporting Arms and Weaponry, Waterborne and Amphibious Operations and Siege Warfare, and there are a lot of Maps, Diagrams, Line Drawings and many B/W photos, of both extant art and items and modern re-enactments. It's a wealth of information- and it really bring the massive technology and effort brought to bear to make the Romans masters of one the largest Empires of the Ancient World.

Peddie shows how meticulous the Romans were about their techniques, and how they understood that they were synthesizing their own resource heavy processes from all the Empires /Enemies they had Vanquished- like Epirus, Carthage, The Macedonians, the Etruscans, the Gauls and the Iberians. The Legion had been evolved to be the most malleable unit- and it was also filled with engineers and artillerists that gave it the ability to bend nature to its will. The Romans dug in every night in neutral or enemy territory- making a dirt fort around all their command- much as soldiers still do today. Peddie is there to make you understand that this would include their own 120 Legionary Cavalry- as well as any Auxiliary Cavalry- possibly thousands of men and horses- as well as the baggage train of the whole Army. We see how all parts of the Empire were made to contribute to the War Machine- and how massive that effort was in order to project power in almost modern scale. I learned a lot - and I have read quite bit about this period already.

The book is filled with adult concepts- but mainly of the management and support type- and little graphic injury descriptions, so a 12 year old Junior reader can follow the content- if they have the interest. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military History Enthusiast, this book is really useful- with a lot of great information for Scenario/Diorama development. The overall Military history buff gets a lot of food for thought about the mechanics of empire- what it took to garrison or send expeditions from Italy outwards- or from one side of the Empire to the other. Peddie's personal familiarity with pre-modern warfare in the Jungles and Rivers of Burma in 1945 really informs his analysis - and then our understanding of miles long mule and livestock trains, and crossing a river with Buffalo and Elephants. I think this would be a great secondary book for a gamer to read on the period- when the club wants to start a campaign or series of games- to add more reality to the endeavor. Having a modern warrior explain the systems and weapons of the Ancient World in easily digested terms can only help to understand our own past. A strong recommendation for any reader on the Ancient World.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for research purposes, and this book had the information I was looking for. The downside is that I couldn't read this book at night because it put me to sleep.

Some of the information wasn't relevant to my search for answers, but that same information might be exactly what others are looking for. For example, some people might not like that the book focuses too much time on modern British WWII examples of the same problems the Romans faced, but I found that interesting since I'm making a study of war, not just Roman war.

What I absolutely loved about this book is the details it went into: it had charts about how far did the various missile weapons reached, talked about how signals were passed along, how much food would need to be brought along, how many baggage carts, wagons, or mules needed to carry it, and the 'why' that's always stumped me: why an army could only move about 10-12 miles a day. The answer? The column was so long (when baggage carts, etc, were included) that the first part of the column would be reaching the new camp and starting to set up before the last of the column was even leaving the old camp! He crunches the numbers to prove it. These were just the types of numbers I was looking for, so I consider this book a jewel since I haven't found them elsewhere (in my admittedly small research done so far).

[Flint Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing book I was surprised to come across. This book explains the nuts and bolts of the Roman army. The writer's style is not that of a teacher, but neither is he overly academic. He says what he wants to say, explains all aspects of the Roman army on the move, and goes on. This a great book!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Lots of practical detail.