Hardy's paper, first published in The English Historical Review in 1887, offers considerably more than the brief title suggests. Not only does the author provide an outline of the movements of all Roman legions during the long period from Augustus to Severus, he also provides sufficient information to rebuild the history of each legion. This also shows the wide differences in fighting experience and military skill among them. Compare, for instance, some of the fighting western legions with the III Cyrenaica, which originally had belonged to the army of Lepidus from Africa. It was posted to the comparatively peaceful Egypt by Augustus, where it remained on garrison duty until AD 104 when it was moved to Bostra in Arabia. The only active duty in these long years seems to have been when part of the legion was sent to the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70.

This, by the way, also illustrates the role of the legion as provider of vexillarii, soldiers of legionary units (vexillationes) dispatched from the main training camp of the legion as expeditionary forces. Hardy's text gives a few examples of such usage of the legions, including the numbers of men involved. Although written more than a century ago, the conclusions of this paper remain fundamentally unchallenged.

In addition, the text can be read as a summarised history of the Roman Empire during these centuries. Any wargamer interested in the period should read this booklet. So should anyone with an interest in Roman military history and frontier policy. Highly recommended.

More Reviews:

Ancient Naval Tactics
Importance of Sea Power
Roman Frontier History
Movements of Roman Legions
Campaign Against Paganism