Later Roman Army

A Model Army

By PR Gray

Based on the information above, it is possible to develop some guidelines for a tabletop army. The WRG book and Ammianus Marcellinus give some information about battles that can be used to form anything from a small force to a complete army.

For example, the Battle of Strasbourg involved approximately 13,000 Romans under the Caesar Julian in 357 AD. Marcellinus identifies some of the units involved in the battle and others can be conjectured based on Marcellinus'identification of them as part of Julian's force in earlier and later campaigns in Gaul. Barker (pg 20) suggested that his identification of Julian's units account for 9,000 of the 13,000 present for the battle. Warry (pg 206) provides another incomplete order of battle, which includes two unnamed legions, several auxilia units (possibly 10 units or five pairs), one unit of clibanarii/catafractarii, one of horse archers and several light and heavy cavalry units. Elton (pg 106) also states that 10,000 were infantry and 3000 were cavalry. Using the numbers above, it is possible to scale this army down for a tabletop force.

The auxilia units mentioned are: Cornuti, Bracchiati, Batavi, and Regii with Petulantes, Celtae, and Heruli possibly present. If all of these were involved and each was close to full strength, then they would total approximately 3,500 troops. The additional three units would be about 1,500. This gives a total of 5,000 auxilia. The majority of these units formed the first of the two main battle lines. If there were three legions present, then they may have totalled at least 3,000 or more (based on the historical theories that field legions averaged 1000 men). If the legions were paired, then there may have been four in total.

There were possibly one artillery unit, one of horse archers (equites sagitarii), one of scutarii (light cavalry) style cavalry and a unit of catafractarii/clibanarii. Julian was guarded by troops of a Gentiles unit (possibly the Scholae Gentilium, one of the five scholae units). If each of these units was equivalent to the standard cohort or vexillatio, then the total was 2,500. There may have been one or two units of heavy (shock) cavalry to bring the total to 3,000-3,500.

The two senior commanders mentioned by Marcellinus are Julian and Severus, magister equitum (master of horse). Severus commanded the left wing and may have been the second in command as this title was often given to the second senior army commander (the magister peditum or master of foot being the senior, which indicates the continued importance of infantry in the Roman army). This suggests that the army was divided into at least two parts. This division is also indicative of the adherence to traditional organisation. A third unnamed general may have been present.

Julian's army was primarily an infantry force with the foot divided roughly evenly between legions and auxiliaries. The cavalry represented a much smaller portion and consisted of a mix of heavy (shock) and light (skirmish) types. The battle formation was fairly traditional with cavalry on the wings and the infantry formed in two or more lines in the centre.

I have used the editor's rules, Ancient Warfare (AW), to convert Julian's army into a tabletop army. AW uses a figure ratio of 80-120. A full strength cohort or vexillatio would be a minimum of four figures to a maximum of six. I tend to prefer a slightly modified ratio with each unit of auxilia represented by two stands of eight figures total. A legion is a minimum of four stands (16 figures). A skirmishing cavalry unit is represented by four stands (eight figures), a heavy (shock) cavalry unit is two or three stands (6-9 figures) and a unit of catafractarii is two stands (eight figures). Julian's army would consist of the following:

    10 units of auxilia (20 stands in five units of four stands)
    4 legions (16 stands in four units of four)
    1 unit of artillery (represented by two stands of one light artillery piece)
    1 unit of horse archers (four stands)
    1 unit of skirmish cavalry (four stands)
    1 unit of catafractarii (two stands)
    2 units of heavy cavalry (four stands in two units)
    3 commanders (one stand each with the bodyguards drawn from the Gentiles or other scholae)
    This gives a total of 15 units and three generals.

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