Roman Military Strategies

1. Roman Military Strategies By: Alex Werth & Bryce Babbs

2. The Strategy The mighty Roman army had military strategies of pure genius that aided in the obliteration of most enemies resulting in victory after victory, that gave the Romans nearly complete control of the mighty Mediterranean.

3. Testudo Formation The testudo formation was used by the Romans to protect a legion against a volley of arrows from the enemy, while still allowing the division to move forward.

4. Standard Formation • Standard attacking formation

5. First Formation • This tactic, designed for level terrain, assumes that your wings are more powerful. Should the enemy make their way around your flanks, the reserves will be able to counter. Once their wings are vanquished, you may press the center.

6. Second Formation • "He who judges himself inferior should advance his right wing against his enemy's left. This is the second formation." • This formation, considered by some to be the best, took advantage of the fact that the left side of a soldier, and so the left side of the army was considered to be weaker, because it had to support the weight of the shield. The right wing moved around the opponent's left, and attacked from the rear. The left wing kept its distance, while the reserves supported the left wing or guarded against the enemy attacking the center.

7. Third Formation • "If your left wing is strongest, you must attack the enemy's right, according to the third formation.“The third formation was considered something of a desperation move, to be used only when your left wing, usually the weaker side, was stronger than your right. In this attack, the left wing, supplemented by the Roman's best cavalry, attacked the opponent's right wing, while their own right stayed back in relative safety.

8. Importance • These are only a few of the Romans strategies, but all of the strategies they used brought them victory and made them one of the strongest empires of their time.