Why was the Roman Legion so Successful?
One of the cornerstones of Roman expansion, the Roman legion — a military unit of well armed heavy infantry — proved to be one of the most potent military forces in the known world.
Proving more flexible than the phalanx and better able to handle tough rugged terrain of its enemies the legion was better adapted than any prior infantry unit fielded by the Romans to handle the myriad of challenges demanded by their extensive military campaigns.
Nonetheless the legion also kept the strengths of their Greek forebears including the intense and systematic drilling and discipline exhibited in Greek and Macedonian armies fielded in bygone eras.
But the legion’s success also lay in its physical accoutrement. The Roman legion was often better armed especially in the later stages of the Republic than its enemies giving them an edge on the battlefield.
Often cases, the heavy armaments of the Roman legion — namely their heavy shields, helmets and body armor gave them a serious advantage over their enemies — who often only had shields — in long term engagements.
Yet another key to the success of the legion lay in the psychology of the Roman state itself.
The Romans were more willing in the long run than their enemies to absorb long term losses as is illustrated in their handling of devastating military losses at the hands of such preeminent generals as Hannibal and Pyrrhus.
Yet the Roman’s intense grit and desire to succeed in the long run was also matched by an equally intense curiosity about the military practices of their neighbors.
As Montesquieu noted, the Romans were always willing to give up their own practices as soon as they found better ones.
The latter practice of reverse engineering the weaponry and tactics of their enemies can be testified in such key weapons as the gladius (borrowed from the Iberians tribes of modern southeastern Spain), the quinquereme — a type of warship developed by their early rivals, the Carthaginians — as well as the gear and tactics of their heavy cavalry and mounted archers (borrowed from the Parthians and Numidians respectively).
These latter strengths in particular made up for the inconsistent quality of military leadership often exhibited in the earlier Roman campaigns.
Only the intense military and civic culture showcased in the Roman legion gave the Roman military consistent motivation and cohesion to properly pull through difficult, poorly strategized campaigns.
