Caesar’s Legion

Old Duffer's Book Corner

Reviewed by Charles Vasey

Stephen Dando-Collins for Wiley

This is an odd book, is it history of is it speculation? Is there a difference? The book purports to trace the 10th Legion from its raising by Caesar into Flavian times. This is a good excuse to move steadily through the Caesarian campaigns in a very effective summary. I had forgotten that the Legions were a Recruit-then-Die operation with no-one joining after the initial recruitment until reenlistment time. The recreation of Caesar’s campaigns, especially why his legions revolted seemed sensible to me. The purple prose was fairly limited, although some may bridle at Britannia being called England or Gaul France, and of course the ranks. It occurred to me that the Roman centurions can better be related to Ghurkha officers in representing their seniority yet the gap from the tribunes.


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