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"Roman Field Entrenchments" Topic


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Rebelyell200614 Sep 2014 4:54 p.m. PST

I was thinking about what I could do to supplement my late Roman Republicans without buying a few hundred dollars worth of minis, and I noticed that in the Field of Glory Rise of Rome supplement it allowed the late Republicans "field entrenchments". I've read that some Roman armies used caltrops and trenches to block enemy cavalry maneuvers, but is that it? Did they use stakes, wooden barricades or anything else on battlefields? And were "trenches" merely dug into the ground or did they line them with logs or planks?

LEGION 195014 Sep 2014 6:47 p.m. PST

Rebelyell, please check out the Roman fort on Ancient discussion for 15mm. If you are looking for 28mm I would try Acheson Creations or Grand Manner. If you are great at making scenery you can make some! ( I am not that great at making anything! ) Mike Adams

Personal logo BigRedBat Sponsoring Member of TMP15 Sep 2014 2:16 a.m. PST

Trenches with stakes and potentially spiked "lilies" in the bottom. They also carried sudis stakes that could be lashed together to make an obstacle not unlike a WW2 tank trap.

link

Bellbottom15 Sep 2014 4:07 a.m. PST

You could do worse than read Julius Caesars 'Conquest of Gaul' and 'The Civil Wars' both include multiple examples of Roman fieldworks.

Swampster15 Sep 2014 9:02 a.m. PST

Stakes were used by Sulla and Caesar against Pontic chariots.

Rebelyell200615 Sep 2014 3:46 p.m. PST

Stakes were used by Sulla and Caesar against Pontic chariots.

Would those be sudes-type of stakes, or cut down trees/tree branch stakes?

I remember from reading the Commentaries a long time ago about trenches and stakes and parapets used for sieges directly in front of towns and fortified camps, but what about fighting a little more distant from the camps?

Swampster16 Sep 2014 9:03 a.m. PST

The text isn't specific about the form of the stake. I'd imagine they'd be some used for the camp but set out so that infantry and cavalry could advance or retire through them as needed.

As well as the stakes, note the other fieldworks. Although this is often taken to be Chaeronea (where we know chariots to have been used) I think it may be Orchomenus where trenches are mentioned in other sources.

From Frontinus
"To meet these dispositions, Sulla constructed trenches of great breadth on each flank, and at their ends built strong redoubts. By this device he avoided the danger of being enveloped by the enemy, who outnumbered him in infantry and especially in cavalry. Next he arranged a triple line of infantry, leaving intervals through which to send, according to need, the light-armed troops and the cavalry, which he placed in the rear. He then commanded the postsignani,50 who were in the second line, to drive firmly into the ground large numbers stakes set close together, and as the chariots drew near, he withdrew the line of antesignani51 within these stakes. Then at length he ordered the skirmishers and light-armed troops to raise a general battle-cry and discharge their spears. By these tactics either the chariots of the enemy were caught among the stakes, or their drivers became panic-stricken at the din and were driven by the javelins back upon their own men, throwing the formation of the Macedonians into confusion. As these gave way, Sulla pressed forward, and Archelaus met him with cavalry, whereupon the Roman horsemen suddenly darted forth, drove back the enemy, and achieved victory.52
18 In the same way Gaius Caesar met the scythe-bearing chariots of the Gauls with stakes driven in the ground, and kept them in check."

The Caesar comment is almost certainly wrong. It may be that he used them against Pontic chariots or that Frontinus is misremembering the use of stakes against Caesar in Britain.

LEGION 195016 Sep 2014 9:26 a.m. PST

Also check out the new osprey book Alesia. It shows the Roman field works!!!!!!!!!! Mike Adams

TwinCities Gamer25 Sep 2014 10:27 a.m. PST

Rebel, you play FoG, right? If you don't want to make something from scratch,
I bought and painted up Roman palisades (resin 15mm) by Hovels LTD. I'd sell them at cost. PM me if you're interested & pic up here: link

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