Roman Army Daily Life

Rome developed an outstanding army. In one battle under Julius Caesar, the Romans defeated a force of over 250,000 Gauls with only 50,000 Roman troops. Such victories were due to intense trainting. A new recruit would have to train twice a day and march eighteen miles in full armor, three times a month. Each person had to be able to march twenty miles in five hours. The Roman commanders kept the troops busy in practicing battle formations and techniques, building roads, and building forts.

The army was highly structured. When the army would move into enemy territory, there were tasks to perform. They started the day before dawn packing up their tents and equipment. Their weapons weighed on average thirty pounds (fourteen kilograms) in total. Each group of eight soldiers was responsible to carry their own equipment, including tent, cooking utensils, anddigging equipment that weighed a total of fourty pounds (eighteen kilograms). They then formed into columns to march to their next location. During the day, cavalry scouts were sent out to check for ambushes. Scouts were also sent ahead to look for a good campsite.

When the main troops arrived, they set a guard and the rest began digging a rampart. To develop a rampart, troops dug a ditch around the camp piled up the dirt into a small hill. They then placed sharpened stakes on the top of the hill forming a palisade of sorts around the camp. The camp was laid out in the exact same format as a fort, so all the men were able to make their way around without any confusion.