Strategy and Doctrine
Roman Legion Tactics (Manipular and Cohort System)
Also Known As Manipular System
Ancient
The tactical system of the Roman legion evolved through two major forms. The manipular system, developed in the centuries after the Battle of the Allia in 387 BC and formalized by the mid Republic as the historian Polybius described it, organized the legion into three lines, hastati, principes and triarii, each subdivided into maniples of two centuries, fighting in a flexible checkerboard formation screened by skirmishers. By the late Republic, around 100 BC, the cohort system replaced the three line maniple structure with ten cohorts of six centuries each, organized by experience rather than by a soldier's property class, giving the legion a more uniform and adaptable fighting unit. Julius Caesar's own legions in the Gallic Wars fought under the cohort system. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core ClaimOrganize heavy infantry into small, flexible sub units, maniples under the earlier system, cohorts under the later one, that can maneuver, relieve each other in the fighting line and adapt to broken ground better than a single rigid phalanx. 1 Origin YearMarks the traditional starting point of the maniple reform after the Battle of the Allia; the legion's own tactical system kept evolving for centuries afterward, with the cohort system standard by about 100 BC. Classification
Domain (Land, Sea, Air, Cyber) Connections
Associated With
Source UNRV Roman History: Julius Caesar and The Gallic Wars
Caesar's legions fought under the cohort system during the Gallic Wars.
Source Wikipedia: Roman legion
The Roman Legion is the standing force that fought under this tactical system.
Source Wikipedia: Roman legion
Developed By
Source Wikipedia: Roman legion
Practiced By
Derived from entity-description (backfill w-bfill-g2-0924): "Julius Caesar's own legions in the Gallic Wars fought under the cohort system"
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Roman legion
WikipediaManipular system and Cohort sections
The earliest surviving detailed description comes from Polybius, who was writing c. 150 BC and his account most likely was influenced by the organization of the Roman army after the defeat of Hannibal in the Punic wars some 50 years earlier.
Mid Republic (509-107 BC) section
Each of these three lines was subdivided into (usually ten) chief tactical units called maniples.
Domain attribute (roman-legion-tactics)
The tactical system of the Roman legion evolved through two major forms.
- Associated With: Roman Legion
- Associated With: Julius Caesar
Developed By: Roman Legion, article text
By the 3rd century BC, this system was seen to be inefficient. Under the new Polybian system the ranks were no longer structured by wealth, and instead by age and experience.
View the Source UNRV Roman History: Julius Caesar and The Gallic Wars
UNRV Roman HistoryAssociated With: Gallic Wars
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