Military: The Roman Military

The Roman military was the first successful professional full time military, which was partly because the Roman generals paid an immense attention to detail. “Roman generals paid close attention to camp layouts, soldier’s equipment and most crucially, logistics. Often it was a the details that gave the Romans the edge, the depth of a ditch dug around a camp or having a warm breakfast before a battle were all considerations made by Roman commanders” (“The Roman Military”). Legionaries typically carried a large shield (scutum), two javelins (the pilum) and a sword (the gladius) with them. The shield had a convex surface, was four feet long and two and a half feet wide. It was made of two layers of wood with canvas and leather stretched