Roman Conquests, The Danube Frontier - Dr Michael Schmitz

 

In the week leading up to the Christmas break, I finished reading another book in the series from Pen & Sword Books, covering Roman Conquests, with this particular volume focussed on the Danube Frontier and written by Dr Micheal Schmitz.

Pen and Sword Books - Roman Conquests

If this series of books might be of interest, I also reviewed Roman Conquests - Britain by Dr Simon Elliott back in early October, see the link below.

JJ's Wargames - Roman Conquests, Britain, Dr Simon Eliott

I well remember greeting the publication of this book with great anticipation at the time as I was well into my Romano-Dacian project and eagerly in search for as much information and historical input that I could find to inspire and inform that work and so I signed up for a pre-publication pre-order, with the book being promoted as authored by Philip Matyszak who wrote the volume covering Roman Conquests in Macedonia and Greece.

The last unit added to my Romano-Dacians was a cohort of legionaries back in September 2019 and work remains to finish off the other half of this collection. I love this hobby!

A frustrating delay in the publication followed, during which I took a break from my Romano-Dacians to refresh my palette for my AWI collection followed by a distraction into the Age of Sail, and so I have had this particular book on my pile of reading material since its publication in 2019.

Thus in preparation for a return to work on my Romano-Dacians, I thought I would grab some inspiration from Michael Schmitz's work and refresh my knowledge around Roman activity of this particular frontier

The back of the dust jacket summarises what the book is designed to offer:

Narrates the campaigns to conquer Pannonia, Moesia, Thrace, as well as the great wars against Dacia and their allies.

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Describes and analyses the forces, strategy and tactics of both the Romans and their adversaries.

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Discover how Roman Legionaries modified their equipment to minimise the effect of the deadly Dacian falx.

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Illustrated with maps, photographs and stunning colour paintings.

So my thoughts after reading the book is that if you know absolutely nothing about Roman warfare in this particular part of their Imperial frontier that started to become front and centre of Roman strategy in the wake of the first civil war and the rise of Julius Caesar, through to the Marcomannic War or Northern War fought by Marcus Aurelius and beyond, heralding the collapse of the Western Empire, then this book will really set you up with all the key history points and facts required to get an understanding of what this frontier was all about.

Personally, I only partially added to what I already knew from my other reading and improved upon that with the chapters covering the early campaigns of Caesar, Augustus and Tiberius with the latter being of particular interest setting up as it does the formation of the pre Dacian conquest under the Flavian dynasty (Vespasian, Titus and Domitian) and the factors that led to the decision by Trajan to solve that particular problem by a total annexation of Dacia under a Roman Governor.

Likewise the chapters covering the Marcomannic Wars, first and second, fleshed out a clearer understanding of what is known amid the academic historical speculation adding to other recent reading from sources such as the Ancient History magazine that produced a very interesting edition covering the warfare from this particular period.

I think Michael Schmitz makes a very compelling case in underlining why the rise of a united Dacia, with all its individual tribes coming together under one supreme leader, first under Burebista and subsequently under Decebalus, together with its access to superior weaponry and tactical know how provided by Roman deserters and that it was not just another barbarian confederation unable to keep its troops in the field for long before the need to service its agrarian economy interceded its need to oppose a Roman invasion, makes it very clear why it was such a threat to Roman security.

Improved head and arm protection on display in combat with Dacians and their deadly falx - Radu Oltean

These factors alone put it at the top of the Roman 'hit-list' but then added to when an opportunistic, cunning and militarily able leader like Decebalus took charge looking to build a wider confederation of local allies along the Danubian frontier only reinforced the need for Rome to find a final solution.

Of course the huge gap in our knowledge of this war is that Trajan's own history of it is lost to us save about eight words of introduction announcing where he moved to at the beginning of the war, and thus we are left with a lot of educated guesswork from the wonderful Trajan's column, probably sculpted by artisans who had never seen a Dacian or indeed a Roman army in battle panoply; partially mediated by perhaps a more reliable portrayal of the armies on the Adamklissi Monument, depicting Roman Legionaries in all the different types of armour they possessed together with the improvements to arm and head protection not illustrated on the column.

I think for me, the most thought provoking parts of this book is Schmitz's emphasis on the 'what ifs' and the implied challenges the Dacians presented. Namely, what if a more coordinated response from Dacia's allies in the form of the Sarmatian and German tribes had been formulated to oppose Trajan, mixed in with the undoubted use of Roman know-how that sadly is a point of conjecture alluded to by the sight of Dacians firing ballista at advancing Roman legionaries from the walls of their fortresses on Trajan's Column.

As a wargamer of this period, I am still not sure any rule set I have come across adequately or sympathetically quite captures how a Dacian army operated in the field, with a mix of Roman technology, more armoured troops, heavy falxes as a shock weapon added to your typical warband army as seen on the German frontier, supported by bow and kontos armed Sarmatian cavalry, which is basically what I have produced.

Romans falling in with a Dacian wagon convoy during the Moesian winter offensive in Trajan's Dacian War - Radu Oltean

The fact is that the Dacians were quite able to beat and destroy Roman armies on their home soil and that potential has to be there on the table-top to make sure the Roman player knows he faces a significant challenge to his all conquering legionaries.

On that point as well, Schmitz highlights the fact again and again, as illustrated on Trajan's column, that Decebalus seems to have forced Trajan to relegate his legionaries to an elite body of engineers building bridges, forts and roads in the wake of the real fighting spearhead, his auxiliaries, and German tribal allies carrying wooden clubs; better suited to fighting in the broken terrain of the Dacian mountains, as Decebalus wisely avoided battle in the lowland plain fronting the Danube and pulled back into his mountain stronghold to contest the few passes that allowed access to his capital, Sarmizegatusa. 

In fact the only occasion we see the legionaries in action is at the end of the campaign as Trajan uses them to storm the Dacian fortress in testudo formation.

My other key area of interest, covered by the book, is the Marcomannic Wars fought across and around the Roman province of Dacia against those same German tribes from Trajan's time, the Marcomanni and Quadi, plus a few others together with free Dacians and of course the Sarmatians. 

Again Schmitz does a good job of thought provoking with the limited information available together with a very handy review of the Roman generals that fought alongside Marcus Aurelius and his co-emperor Lucius Verus, adding some useful comments about their abilities which can only help inform those ratings on a wargames table.

I have always thought these wars would make a nice extension to the Dacian collection, with the added problems imposed on my Romans of too few troops and the occasional man dropping dead from the Parthian plague and causing the loss of even more troops. 

That together with snowy terrain and Romans facing of against Sarmatian heavy cavalry, what's not to like?

Ok so this book does the job it lays out on the cover, with a good look at the key Roman campaigns fought in this area, up to the final collapse of it and the abandonment of trans-Danubian Dacia in around 271-272 AD, less than two-hundred years after Trajan had completed its conquest.

Rome likely expended more blood on this frontier over the centuries than practically any of the others and given the threat it posed in terms of access into northern Italy by land or across the Aegean by sea, it is clear why its possession and control was so important to the Empire.

I  enjoyed reading this book and know I will refer to it for inspiration around table-top games I intend to play with my own collection, but I can't end without highlighting a few niggles and caveats that occurred to me whilst doing so.

The text is plagued with numerous mis-prints that become slightly tedious as you find yourself going back over a sentence that does not make sense due to an annoying typo. Even when preparing this review and referring to the dust cover notes, I found one there, which I corrected for this post but actually is written as follows;

Describes and analyses the forces, strategy and tactics of the both the Romans and their adversaries.

Come on Pen & Sword, this is sloppy from a professional publisher like yourselves that fulfil a very important role in publishing military titles for the general reader and our hobby and does a disservice to the work of some very interesting authors such as Dr Schmitz.

In addition, yes the book does come complete with six black and white line drawn maps of the region which is very much appreciated considering the track record of some military publishing today, but they seemed to me to be rather generic in the various towns and sites indicated on them, with many of those mentioned in the text not placed on any of the maps to help illustrate where the heck the reader was being pointed to.

The Dacians took full advantage of the terrain by constructing blocking positions on mountain sides and valleys - Radu Oltean.

Finally, yes the book does come with stunning colour artwork but, I noted with a wry smile, that said artwork was taken from another great book covering the Dacian Wars by Radu Oltean, a treasure among my library and kindly autographed by Radu after ordering it directly from him back in 2015.

I can't recommend this book more strongly and would be a good read alongside Schmitz, if you have the slightest interest in the Roman wars against Dacia and I note this is Volume I so I hope we will get a second volume in time, oh and there is more of Radu's inspiring artwork in this book. 

JJ's Wargames - Dacia The Roman Wars, Volume One

Roman Conquests, The Danube Frontier is 162 pages which includes:

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1. Illyricum: The Push Towards the Danube

Chapter 2. Julius Caesar

Chapter 3. Octavian's Illyricum

Chapter 4. The Danube as the Northern Frontier

Chapter 5. The Pannonian Uprising of AD 6 to 9

Chapter 6. The Dacians: an Emerging Empire

Chapter 7. The Flavian Danube

Chapter 8. Trajan's Dacian Wars

Chapter 9. Hadrian

Chapter 10. The War of Many Nations

Conclusion: 'The Best Defence is a Good Offence'?

Notes

Select Bibliography 

Index

Maps include (Dacia, the Danube theatre in relation to the wider Roman Empire, Illyria, Pannonia, The Western Empire, Thrace)

My copy of the book is in hardback and has a list price of £19.99 UK / $39.35 US but I note at the time of writing can be purchased from around £14 to £15.

I quite like this series of books based on the two I've read and I think are a useful resource if the area covered is a theatre of interest to you.

That's it for now, as I'm off to prepare for a Christmas break with friends and family, and I will post my annual Christmas Eve greeting to readers tomorrow followed hopefully by a post covering some Xmas gaming fun enjoyed in the holiday and my annual year end review.

A Sensory History of Ancient Warfare, Reconstructing the Physical Experience of War in the Classical World - Conor Whately

 

When I saw this title on the new listings from Pen & Sword I was really intrigued and thrilled to get it as a birthday present and moved it rapidly to the top of my 'to read' stack of books that occupies a discreet section of my book shelf.

The back of the dust jacket lists the reasons for that intrigue thus:

• An ambitious new approach to the subject of ancient warfare.
• Assesses the evidence for what ancient battles and sieges would have looked, sounded, tasted, smelled and felt like to its participants.
• Re-examines the contemporary testimony of ancient historians, poets and artistic representations, as well as the evidence of both traditional archaeology and reconstruction/re-enactment.
• Case studies examined in detail are: Cinaxa (401 BC); Issus (333 BC); Cannae (216 BC); Jerusalem  and Masada (66-74 AD); Strasbourg (357 AD); Edessa (544 AD). 

One of the really interesting aspects of historical wargaming for me and others is developing, through our games, a different insight into the issues that faced the commanders and their men engaged in the struggle we are attempting to replicate on the table and part of that understanding starts with an appreciation of what the situation looked like from the man on the ground being Alexander the Great inspiring his men before the Battle of Issus with encouraging words whilst passing direct orders to subordinates, to the poor bloody infantry standing in the front line, shield braced for impact and preparing to face the ultimate challenge in the life of most human beings, faced with the terrible prospect of mortal combat with the enemy up close and personal.

Having a clear understanding of the challenges faced by each soldier, at each level of command within an army, better still described by them as near to the time of the action that they were able to record their experiences of that action, the more likely we are able to reflect those experiences in the game we produce and thus start to appreciate why events may have unfolded in the way they did.

Thus with the other aspects of the hobby such as reading accounts, walking the terrain, looking at the insights that modern day re-enactors can bring, we can use these perspectives to feed into a more appreciative experience around the wargames table.

So it was with a cautious level of interest that I approached this title as an opportunity to perhaps fill a gap in the literature surrounding the experience of warfare in the ancient world that is better represented in other periods, such as John Keegan's 'The Face of Battle' published in 1976 and a book I read several years ago now or Paddy Griffiths 'Forward into Battle'.

Interestingly Whately highlights the particular impetus for his book as being The Smell of Battle, the Taste of Siege: A Sensory History of the Civil War by Mark Smith a similar tome that covered the assault on Fort Sumter in Charleston, the sights of First Bull Run, the smells of Gettysburg, hunger at Vicksburg, and the close quarters of the submarine H.L. Hunley. He then goes on to state when considering a similar study for the ancient period;

"Digging deeper might seem problematic, for Smith was able to draw on a body of evidence that we do not have in antiquity, namely early photographs, newspaper reports and personal diaries, among others. Yet, despite these seeming limitations, we have extensive accounts of warfare, and some of the striking and useful pieces of evidence include the historical epics )Homer's Iliad), Latin histories (Livy's Ab Urbe Condita), later  classicizing histories (Procopius' Wars), and military manuals (Maurice's Strategikon)."

Noting that with the aforementioned studies, their focus in the main is on generals at the expense of the common soldier, and indeed with little or no inclusion of the experience of women and children and the day to day life of civilians, he highlights other sensory sources such as papyrological, legal and material evidence, looking at foodstuffs and the trade in animals, thus giving a sense of the foods people were eating and the animals they were in daily contact with; this evidence contributing to building a picture of the living conditions of the soldiers and their diets, mixed with the topography of a given theatre and its associated weather patterns, adds in to the sensory picture of what warfare would have been like for the 'Common Grunt'.

My own picture of the Epitaph of Marcus Caelius, first ranking Centurion of the 18th Legion who died in the Varian disaster aged 53 and referenced by Whately in his introduction to the book describing the likely battle in the Teutoburg Forest from the view point of the Roman soldiers engaged in that battle.
JJ's Wargames - Xanten LVR Archaeological Park & Roman Museum

The book then launches into an introduction that attempts to portray firstly the experiences of the common Roman soldiers to their commanders, faced with fighting in the Teutoburg Forest, rain soaked, hungry, weighed down with their kit under constant attack or threat of attack from close assault and missile fire, eventually overwhelmed as much by fatigue as by the enemy as they slipped around on muddy ground trying to hack their way through a forest whilst staving off an ever more confident foe.

This first description rather sets the tone for the book presenting the reader with a description of the other seven battles and sieges, based on the literary accounts and sources described with the author filling in the missing bits and attempting to 'cross the T's and dot the I's'.

In his introduction Whately attempts to define what a 'Sensory History' looks like when he describes the structure of Smith's American Civil War book, noting that in it, he divides the book into five chapters to help understand one particular engagement through the lens of the five physical senses; recounting one chapter devoted to the sounds of the Battle of Fort Sumter (April 1861) or the visual impact in another chapter covering the Battle of First Bull Run (July 1861).

As his Teutoburg Forest account illustrates, and he readily acknowledges, the same kind of sensory accounts in the ancient world don't exist and thus the prose has to turn to conjecture.

An example of the difficulty of writing a book like this is exemplified by the listing and detailing of the various sources for describing Alexander's battle with Persian King Darius in 333 BC, ranging from Plutarch, Justin, Polybius, Diodorus, Curtius and Arrian and the mosaic from Pompeii.

Here we have accounts written in the first, second and third centuries AD no doubt relying on other previous and perhaps first hand sources now lost to history and with four of the aforementioned authors, Plutarch, Justin, Diodorus and Curtius 'short of technical military material'.

Lucius Flavius Arrianius (Arrian) the Greek historian, and Roman commander who fought the Alans, one of the more accomplished military sources.

Perhaps the most compelling source is Arrian who was at least an accomplished general and author of the short tract on tactics, famous for his defeat of the Alans in the second century AD, and describes the Battle of Issus in detail which Whately goes through, but rightly pointing out that;

'Unfortunately, despite the battle's fame, the contradictory details found in the different accounts make reconstruction difficult' 

And so the reader is left to consider what follows with that very important caveat, which is educated guesswork at best; interesting yes, but not entirely satisfying in terms of moving our understanding much further forward other than conjecture.

Apart from the enjoyable aspect of reading the detail about certain battles that I had a top line familiarity with prior to reading this book and enjoying the accounts that were pieced together from sometimes opposing sources, I can't say I was convinced by the attempt at building the sensory picture.

The fundamental difficulty I have with the book is that it seems to me to fall down at the hurdle that Whately highlights himself in his introduction, namely the lack of primary source evidence, and in his 'Acknowledgements' section of the book when he refers to an exchange on Twitter which posed the question 'could this kind of work be done about the ancient world given the source limitations?'

Thus we are left with an account that, frankly, I could probably assess myself based on my own extensive reading of other periods of military history, mixed in with the usual diet of 'sandal and swords' fiction that I like to read anyway to supplement the lack of such first hand primary accounts that very much feed the imagination when I'm working on other period collections.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh and that my perspective is slightly coloured by my disappointment at what the dust jacket boldly declares as an ambitious new approach. Yes the book is definitely ambitious, but I remain unconvinced about the 'new approach' and until we have the unlikely discovery of the diary of an ordinary optio in the ranks of your typical Augustan legion, giving me the real life first hand insight into ancient warfare, similar to the accounts of Peninsular War veterans outlined below, I think I will remain unconvinced.

The artwork of Peter Dennis in Osprey's, The Jewish Revolt, really appear to capture well the experience and likely look of  the sensory experience of combat, with the siege of Jerusalem and Masada both featuring in the text.

To perhaps better exemplify my point and to further extend Whately's consideration of Mark Smith's Civil War account, and the lack of similar classical ancient sources you can look at the wealth of primary accounts from an earlier period of military history before even photographic evidence and the wonderful first hand accounts left by British and some French veterans of the Peninsular War, devoid of any poetry or attempts to influence a political master, but simply telling the reader what they saw and experienced in the face of battle, descriptions that we simply lack for the classical period.

These are accounts that I used to help me construct a very focussed look at recreating the Battle of Talavera for my own Talavera 208 project:

Lieutenant Girod de l'Ain of the 9me Legere is quoted describing the attack of the British light cavalry into the Northern Valley as seen from his position on the lower slopes of the Sierra de Segurilla as his regiment skirmished with General Bassecourt's Spanish infantry;

"this was a charge by some English cavalry, that we saw arrive from afar like a hurricane, it was a regiment of dragoons charging in order of battle and launched full tilt... We observed this line of enemy cavalry, incapable of manoeuvre, following a single direction so blindly, that we shouted with one voice: 'They are deserting, they are deserting!' But soon saw one of our regiments of legere (the 27me Legere) which, marching in column close to an isolated house, found itself in the path of this cavalry; not having time to form square, it threw itself around the house, with their backs against the four walls; the square thus found itself naturally formed, and the more solid ... The English line extended well beyond both sides, to right and left ... the two wings no longer master of their horses ... continued on their course straight ahead, always flat out. We then saw a line of French cavalry, which stationed in the rear, came up at the 'petit trot' before the English cavalry; it was the brigade of General Strolz, composed of the 10eme and 26eme Chasseurs a Cheval. We anxiously wondered what would happen when these two lines of cavalry met; but the shock did not last long: we saw the English line pass through the French line, without stopping or losing their formation; we only had time to notice a few sabres flash in the air and the smoke of some pistol shots... but soon our chasseurs remounted and, a little shaken, launched themselves at the gallop in pursuit of the English dragoons, which only stopped in the waters of the Alberche, where they were all taken prisoner."

The attack by General Lapisses's  French I Corps, 2nd Division at Talavera

Ensign Aitchison of the 3rd Guards recalled the attack;
"The French came on over the rough and broken ground  ..... in the most imposing manner and with great resolution."

A French officer described the first line of columns attack;
"The French charged with shouldered arms as was their custom. When they arrived at short range, the English line remained motionless, some hesitation was seen in the march. The officers and NCOs shouted at the soldiers, 'Forward March; don't fire'. Some even cried 'They're surrendering'.  The forward movement was therefore resumed; but it was not until extremely close range of the English line that the latter started a two rank fire which carried destruction into the heart of the French line, stopped its movement and produced some disorder. While the officers shouted at the soldiers 'Forward: Don't Fire' the English suddenly stopped their own fire and charged with the bayonet. Everything was favourable to them; orderliness, impetus, and the resolution to fight with the bayonet. Among the French on the other hand, there was no longer any impetus, but disorder and surprise caused by the enemy's unexpected resolve. Flight was inevitable."

And finally 

Ensign John Aitchison of the 3rd Guards described the effects of French artillery fire and the troops response to it;

"a tremendous cannonade - shot and shells were falling in every direction - but none of the enemy were to be seen - the men were all lying in the ranks, and except in the very spot where a shot or shell fell, there was not the least motion - I have seen men killed in the ranks by cannon shots - those immediately around the spot would remove the mutilated corpse to the rear, they would then lie down as if nothing had occurred and remain in the ranks, steady as before. The common men could be brought to face the greatest danger, there is a spirit which tells me it is possible, but I could not believe that they could be brought to remain without emotion, when attacked, not knowing from whence. Such however was the conduct of our men I speak particularly of the Brigade on 28th July, and from this steadiness so few suffered as by remaining quiet the shots bounded over their heads."

I applaud Conor Whately for his attempt with this book, but the constraints he and other ancient scholars work under in this particular area of military history when attempting to extract the detail similar to the level that we have in the accounts above, makes this book's ambitions a very high bar to pass and one that I felt it missed despite the effort.

In addition I think the contribution made by re-enactment groups that have worked really hard at trying to recreate the dress, living conditions, food and other aspects of walking a day in the caligae of your average Roman soldier as with the Ermine Street Guard group, and others, for example, have offered more of the understanding and insight that the classic sources struggle to match.

The other area that I feel offers the kind of opportunity this book attempts to develop is the gradual translations of the tablets being found on Hadrian's Wall at Vindolanda where the kind of 'first hand' insights that the classical world lacks are starting to be revealed, and I hope and look forward to a book compiling the best finds to help give a comprehensive look at that world through them. Perhaps that book exists and I've missed it!

The tablet above is a letter of appeal from a civilian to a governor seeking redress for a beating received at the hands of a subordinate.
Translation:
" he beat(?) me all the more.......goods...or pour them down the drain(?). As befits an honest man(?) I implore your majesty not to allow me, an innocent man, to have been beaten with rods and, my lord, inasmuch as(?) I was unable to complain to the prefect because he was detained by ill-health. I have complained in vain(?) to the beneficiarius and the rest(?) of the centurions of his unit. Accordingly(?) I implore you mercifulness not to allow me, a man from overseas and an innocent man, about whose good faith you may inquire, to have been bloodied by rods as if I had permitted some crime."
JJ's Wargames - British Museum, Part Two, The Romans

Finally in terms of fictional accounts to help bridge this large gap, I can think of no better recommendation that picking up copies of Adrian Goldsworthy's Vindolanda series of fictional accounts of life in first century Britain and the exploits and adventures of Centurion Flavius Ferox which I think now number three books in the series and very enjoyable reads; with all the scholarly input that Dr Goldsworthy is able to weave into them with the inclusion of a detailed note at the back of each book outlining the known historical record that underpins his fictional account.

A Sensory History of Ancient Warfare is published by Pen & Sword Books and is 175 pages which include:

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Part I: The Greek World

Chapter 1 The Battle of Cunaxa (401 BC)

Chapter 2 The Battle of Issus (333 BC)

Part II: The Roman World

Chapter 3 The Battle of Cannae (216 BC)

Chapter 4 The Sieges of Jerusalem (70 AD) and Masada (72-74 AD)

Part III Late Antiquity

Chapter 5 The Battle of Strasbourg (357 AD)

Chapter 6 The Siege of Edessa (544 AD)

Conclusion

Notes and References

Bibliography and Further Reading

Index

The fact that I sincerely applaud Conor Whateley's attempt at composing a 'Sensory History' is demonstrated by my reading it cover to cover and really enjoying reading about the battles described and the unique aspects surrounding them, together with the sources relied upon to do that. For that aspect alone I enjoyed it and include it as a useful resource and addition to my Ancient's book collection, but in terms of its declared objective of presenting a sensory historical account of them, I remain unconvinced, but tentatively look forward to other new insights going forward from perhaps other yet undiscovered sources.

My copy of 'A Sensory History of Ancient Warfare' is in hard back and has a list price of £19.99, but at the time of writing can be picked up for a little as £11.00 

Roman Conquests, Britain - Dr Simon Elliott

One of my birthday presents this year was this new book by Dr Simon Elliot recounting the narrative of the incomplete Roman conquest of Britain from Julius Caesar's initial 'reconnaissance in force' in 55-54 BC through the campaigns of expansion and pacification that followed the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.

I was looking for such a book as this, which would bring my understanding of the Roman invasion and occupation of my home island up to date, and to accompany my planned exploration of some of the key sites in the UK on my 'bucket list' and to perhaps include others after reading it.

As I've mentioned in previous reviews of ancient history book titles, I always approach them with a certain caution in that from previous experience one is never sure that the read is going to offer much new in its insights or end up just being a rehash of previous sources of which the primary ones become fewer and fewer the further back you go, that mixed with a generous portion of so called 'educated guesswork and speculation' that seems to constitute a lot of the discourse in this area until archaeological finds come along and upset the apple cart.

The cover on this book, beautifully illustrated by Dominic Allen and published by Pen and Sword, boldly states on the back of the dust jacket;

'Offers a clear narrative and analysis of the Roman conquest from Julius Caesar's failed incursions (55 and 54 BC) to the Claudian Invasion (43 AD) and the subsequent campaigns of expansion and (never completed) pacification.'

'Analyses the weapons, equipment, organisation, leadership, tactics and strategies of both the Romans and their British foes, and how each attempted to adapt.'

'Draws on the very latest historical research and archaeological finds.'

'Well illustrated with colour photos and colour artworks.

Dr Elliot is described as;

'an award winning and best selling historian, archaeologist, author, broadcaster, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent, Trustee of the Council of British Archaeology, Ambassador for the Museum of London Archaeology, Guide Lecturer for Andante Travels and President of the Society of Ancients....'

I have to say I enjoyed the read and it does pretty much what it says on the cover and, given my earlier points about limited source material, gave me a solid understanding of the key periods illustrating well the unique aspects of Britain in the Roman Empire; for example, how long it took the invaders to occupy and pacify the territory they took from the Claudian invasion in 43 AD to Agricola's campaign in the north that culminated in the Battle of Mons Graupius in 83 AD, a period of forty painfully slow years of expansion compared with Julius Caesar only taking eight years to conquer the far larger territory of Gaul.

The process of the Roman invasion and gradual occupation of Britain is well illustrated in this map
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman.Britain.campaigns.43.to.84.jpg

The progress of this 'stop-start' occupation is explained well and I certainly came away with a very good understanding of the the critical factors that enabled the Romans to make the progress they did against an enemy that, in the main, chose not to meet them in open battle but resorted to guerrilla tactics designed to wear down their opponents and attack their supply lines.

This campaign winning factor was the creation of the Roman fleet or 'Classis Britannica' that was able to take full advantage of Roman command at sea by dominating the British coast and riverine routes in support of Roman advances, never too far away from their support to rapidly move troops, bring up supplies and land scouting forces ahead of the main thrusts, that kept the enemy off balance and in retreat until forced to make a stand and suffer the likely consequences.

How kids of my generation had the Roman invasion of Britain illustrated in the children's magazines of the time 'Look and Learn' and 'Tell me Why'.

The challenges of pacification are also well discussed and the evidence that supports the known and suspected uprisings that kept the Romans occupied behind their forward line often as much as before it, with archaeology on key Roman military structures showing evidence of ditches dug forward and behind in these periods of unrest, only for the rearward defences to be removed later along with the threat that caused their construction.

After reading this book, my urge to get on and finish my Romano-Dacian collection is reignited, which must say something of what a good read I found it to be.

As an example and with a personal particular interest in the Principate era and the Trajanic-Hadrianic time of the occupation I found the chapter covering the always dangerous period of change from one emperor to the next very interesting, covering the relatively peaceful time of Trajan as he focussed his efforts on Dacia and later Parthia dying in Syria and with Hadrian at his side.

Elliot references the Historia Augusta for this period when it states that;

'the Britons couldn't be kept under control  . .'

and quotes the Roman rhetorician Marcus Cornelius Fronto writing to his former pupil, Marcus Aurelius in the AD 160's, stating that the heavy casualties suffered by the Romans in the Rome-Parthian War at that time were comparable to those suffered at the beginning of Hadrian's reign.

Among the evidence he puts forward to support the ferocity of this British uprising includes the funerary monument to Titus Anneus, a centurion of the I Tungrorum auxiliary cohort in the vexillation fort of Vindolanda referencing him being killed ' . . . in the war.', together with one of the recently excavated tablets, specifically number 164 remarking on the ' . . . nasty little Britons. [Brittunculi]'

He goes on to state that the troubling level of the insurgency, which he quotes Moorhead and Stuttard as describing it 'threatening the very survival of the province', and required the creation of a special task force, with a tombstone to Titus Pontius Sabinus, Primus Pilus (Senior Centurion) Legio III Augusta, recording his being seconded by the Emperor Hadrian to command an emergency task force called the 'expeditio Britannica.' which included vexillations from three legions, based in Germania Inferior  (legio VIII Augusta, legio XXII Primigenia and legio VII Gemina); which if troops were also drawn from his own legion may have amounted to an expeditionary force of some 4,000 men, supported by auxiliaries as mentioned on an altar in Maryport, Cumbria to Marcus Maenius Agrippa commander of cohors I Hispanorum, an auxiliary cavalry regiment attached to the expeditionem britannicam by Hadrian.

York (Eboracum) and Chester (Deva Victrix) figure large in the later attempts
at Roman pacification of Britain, both of which I visited
and looked at the evidence of their Roman past
JJ's Wargames - The Yorkshire Museum, York
JJ's Wargames - Deva Vicitrix, Roman Chester, Part One

Elliot speculates as to who might have been causing the trouble, with the Brigantes, only recently pacified, put forward as prime candidates, with the raising of auxiliary troops from this region of northern England for service overseas a likely reason for revolt, but trouble north of the border, later to be consolidated with the construction of 'Hadrian's Wall', was always a threat and cannot also be discounted and it seems likely that the trouble may have overwhelmed the local garrisons which may explain the disappearance of legio IX Hispana, and the intervention of Centurions Sabinus and Agrippa.

For any wargamer interested in the Roman period of ancient history and in the British occupation, all this detail of suspected uprisings and revolts is glorious stuff to feed any thoughts and ideas for modelling a collection to recreate these potential clashes and I found my imagination running riot with ideas as I read Elliot's accounts of what is thought was going on in these islands at specific periods of that occupation.

The campaign that should have completed the final occupation of Britain and led to the invasion of Ireland in time, but never fulfilled after Agricola was recalled to Rome
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agricola.Campaigns.80.84.jpg

Intermixed with the narrative is a generous inclusion of the latest archaeological finds that support the conclusions and the evidence on the ground illustrating Roman activity at any given time given the level of construction that followed and preceded Roman activity from roads and town construction to marching camps and military impedimenta left in their wake.

There is a lot in this book and the journey through the various periods, and the many emperors and Roman commanders, might be mind blowing to the casual reader with only a partial knowledge of Roman history, and I would recommend a listen to Mike Duncan's old podcast 'A History of Rome' for a good grounding in the places and people involved in its long-long history and which will make all the names covered in this book much more familiar.

That said I thoroughly enjoyed the read and, as I read to inform and inspire my hobby, came away with lots of ideas and inspiration and would recommend it to similarly inclined pursuers of our hobby.

The last 'really big' Roman resurgence campaign was led by Septimius Severus in what would be described today as a campaign of 'shock and awe' and stabilised the north for another ten years after its conclusion.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman.Britain.Severan.Campaigns.jpg

There is however one gripe I have with the book, and it's a familiar one, but an example that stands out in my mind as a classic transgressor. You would think that a book covering the Roman invasion and incomplete occupation of mainland Britain would have included at least one map, perhaps just to illustrate some of the key places mentioned.

As a reader who is native to these isles and who has travelled among them quite extensively even I found reference to certain obscure towns in and around the northern border of England and Scotland new to me and my heart goes out to readers who are not familiar with the layout of Britain, but who have a strong interest and desire to know more.

The Romans would go on and on developing their defences in Britain in the face of continual uprisings and invasions illustrated by the octagonal tower in York, built in the later occupation.

Even putting this post together required me to source the excellent colour map from Wikipedia seen above to illustrate the extent of Roman military operations covered in this title from the Claudian invasion in 43 AD to the Agricola invasion of Scotland in 77 AD and a similar map included in this title would have been very much appreciated.

As the President of the Society of Ancients and a wargamer himself, if his collection of Severan Roman figures included as part of the collection of colour plates is to be considered as illustrative, I would have thought the inclusion of at least a few maps would have been a high priority given the bane of the hobby this part of our reading often includes, and I feel a bit like Nelson calling for more frigates and the want of them, please, please, please, Pen & Sword and other publishers, will you start to put this omission right and get appropriate maps included in your titles.

Rant over on that particular irritation and back to the book contents and the final conclusion to this book that draws on a theme I made in my last book review looking at the Two Battles of Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807 and drawing the comparison of government led misappreciation of the threat a potential enemy presented with that conflict and the later Invasion of Iraq in 2003 and indeed Churchill's decision to bombard the French fleet in Mirs-el-Kabir in 1940, both with distinct similarities to this previous conflict with Denmark.

In his conclusion to the decision by Romano-British elites to expel Roman tax collectors in the 5th century, effectively detaching themselves from an overstretched empire, quoting Zosimus;

'The barbarians caused such suffering among the inhabitants of Britain . . . that they revolted from the Roman Empire. They no longer recognised Roman law, but reverted to their native customs. So the Britons armed themselves and took many risks to ensure their own safety and keep their town free from barbarian attacks.'

He goes on to liken this to the first 'British Brexit' and the defining characteristic of the Roman occupation that underpins Britain's very distinctive relationship with the rest of Europe, part of it but separate and that as well as the roads, towns and borders that separate the home nations of Britain being a left over aspect of the incomplete Roman occupation, the fact that English is as much a German based language as it is Latin has also come to define these islands in relation to its European neighbours and illustrates how we are still living with the consequences of our Roman past today.

A very interesting and thought provoking comparison to modern times, with not exactly the same circumstances but certainly with a similar rhyme, to quote Mark Twain.

Roman Conquests Britain by Simon Elliott is 229 pages which includes the following:

Introduction

List of Tables 

1. The Legions of the Roman Principate

2. Known Auxiliary Cohorts and Alae of the mid-late 2nd century AD

3. Regional Fleets of the Roman Principate

14 Black and White Plates, 16 Colour Plates

Chapter 1: The Roman Military in the Republic and Empire

Chapter 2: Britain in the Late Iron Age

Chapter 3: Julius Caesar and Britain

Chapter 4: The Claudian Invasion of Britain

Chapter 5: Early Conquest Campaigns AD 43 - AD 61

Chapter 6: Later Conquest Campaigns AD 62 - AD 193

Chapter 7: Septimius Severus in Scotland

Chapter 8: Later Campaigns in the Far North

Conclusion

Timeline of Roman Britain

List of References and Bibliography

Index

The book is hardback and published by Pen & Sword and has a cover price of £19.99 but a quick glance on the net shows the title selling from £14.50 to £15.00.

North Wales & Border 2021 - Roman & Megalithic Anglesey

Legio XIIII 'Gemina' make an opposed landing on Anglesey, c.60 AD - Angus McBride

Last week, Carolyn and I decided to take advantage of the relaxed travel restrictions ahead of the May Bank Holiday to travel up to Pentre, a little village outside of Shrewsbury where we stayed in a very nice  'air bnb' to base ourselves for a little bit of exploring the delights of North Wales and the border area.

A little stop-off in Hay on Wye during our travel up to Pentre, where I managed to make a few additions to the library.

With six months of lockdown we, like the rest of the country, were eager to get out and about and as this was a part of the UK that we both had places on our list we wanted to see, together with a lockdown habit of enjoying long walks, we planned to combine the two and spend a few days walking and exploring the area.

The Wheatsheaf Inn built in 1792, one of the seventy pubs that were in the County Town of Ludlow in that year, that have since reduced over the intervening centuries, seen here next to the historic gatehouse on the old town wall encompassing five hundred historic listed buildings.

No 'Plastic, Make Believe' interiors here. Imagine if these old walls and timbers could talk! Not having been in a pub for over six months, popping into the Wheatsheaf on our way up to Pentre made a very pleasant detour to our journey 

After driving up on the Sunday afternoon with a stop off in Hay-on-Wye, the book capital of Europe, where Carolyn indulged my curiosity to see what military history additions to my library I might discover, more anon, with some book reviews to follow, and a pleasant pint in the oldest pub in Ludlow only recently reopened for the return of visitors, we got settled in at Pentre; and then on the Monday our first day exploring took us off down the A5, London to Holyhead road, to Anglesey with the picture above by Angus McBride firmly lodged in my mind as I imagined seeing this last refuge of Druidism in Briton, before Seutonius and Agricola changed the history of these islands for ever.

The area of our little post-lockdown expedition, with our base just outside Shrewsbury indicated and the drive along the old A5 to Anglesey with the three areas of interest we planned to visit that day.

The weather on the Sunday and Monday had been rather indifferent with drizzle accompanying our stroll around Hay and Ludlow and a chill-out day to follow, walking locally, which encouraged getting under cover to drink and read books, but for our journey to Anglesey on the Tuesday, God was in his Heaven and the sun shone bright amid azure blue sky as the temperature started to climb.

After crossing the Menai Strait, that separates the island from the mainland we continued on to Holy Island and Holyhead where we planned to check out the remains of Roman occupation and explore the last stop in Wales before reaching Dublin across the Irish Sea with the South Stack Lighthouse marking the last point of land and with a very nice four mile cliff walk thrown in before heading back to the Strait and calling in at an amazing Megolithic burial mound that harks back to the pre-Roman times on Anglesey and Britain as a whole, with Tolkienien descriptions of 'ruins in the landscape' and 'Barrow-wights' springing to mind with monuments like this no doubt inspiring his literature.

Caer Gybi - Holyhead Roman Fort

The 260 square mile island of Anglesey (Ynys Mon in Welsh) is situated off the north-west coast of Wales and is the largest island in Wales and the seventh largest in the British Isles.

It is linked to the mainland over the Menai Strait by the Menai Suspension Bridge designed by Thomas Telford in 1826 and the Britannia Bridge, built in 1850 and replaced in 1980.

The principle town on the island is Holyhead on Holy Island with a ferry port that normally handles over two-million passengers a year travelling too and from Ireland.

The English name for the island is obscure, but it is referenced as such by Viking raiders in the early tenth century and later adopted by the Norman invaders of Gwynedd, however the Welsh name has a much earlier and established heritage, first recorded by the Romans in the Latinised form 'Mona'.

The Roman Conquest of Britain 43-84 AD
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman.Britain.campaigns.43.to.84.jpg

It is the Roman and early period of Anglesey that the island is famous for and historically associated with the last stronghold of the Druids in Britain and where their religion and influence was stamped out and crushed by the Romans in two invasions of the island in 60 and 78 AD, and places Druidism alongside Christianity as the two religions that were actively opposed and suppressed by Imperial Rome.

It appears not much of the early Roman occupation of the island is visible with the first century Roman fort at Aberffraw underneath the current village, excavated in the 1970's, revealing a thirteen foot wide  V shaped ditch and earthwork bank, later added to with another similar U shaped ditch some five and a half feet deep with evidence of abandonment and another medieval ditch added at a later date, this together with some Samian pottery shards.

The above ground archaeology harks back to the latter days of Roman occupation as Britannia became the target for raids from Ireland and the Continent, requiring the building of coastal defence strongpoints and watchtowers ready to to repel such incursions, which I looked at in a previous post on a visit to Portchester back in 2017, built to repel raids along the Saxon shore.

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2017/04/portsmouth-2017-portchester-castle.html

 

The only remains of the Roman 3rd - 4th century fort in Holyhead are the familiar herringbone style stone and mortar walls that surround the church of St Gybi, with one long side of the enclosure overlooking the natural harbour. 

British Campaigns of Agricola 78-84 AD
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agricola.Campaigns.78.84.jpg

With walls almost thirteen feet in height and nearly five feet thick in places it makes an imposing footprint on the town with three corner towers, one original, still standing and with easy parking making it a great place to start our day tour.

One corner of the enclosure was made into a remembrance garden and close by was a poignant reminder of Holyhead's link with the sea and the sacrifice made by two Holyhead ferry boats commandeered for war service in World War One. 

 

A postcard showing the Dublin ferry SS Hibernia leaving Holyhead, later commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Tara and sunk off North Africa in 1915 
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/1915-sinking-hms-tara-hmhs-14867538

Another Holyhead Steamship, SS Anglia, seen here as a WWI Hospital Ship before her sinking in the Channel after hitting a mine, bringing injured troops back from France in 1915
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMHS_Anglia

In Roman and Medieval times the harbour water would have come up much closer to the foot of these old walls, but today's modern harbour facilities lie beyond the main road into town and as you can see the day was set well for our exploring with wall to wall sunshine and blue skies.

Caer y Twr - Iron Age Hillfort/Roman Watch-tower

Just a little way out of the town the road leads to a former quarry that has now been reclaimed as part of a natural park for wildlife that has a visitor centre and carpark that enabled us to grab the walking boots and head out along the cliff paths towards the South Stack lighthouse, the last stop before Dublin, and on the highest ground on the island, above it, the obvious place for a late-Roman watchtower.

On our way out from the carpark we discovered a rather interesting object, that to the untrained eye might have suggested something to do with the former nearby quarry, and with no signs to indicate precisely what it was I started to take a closer look.

The rifling marks on the interior and the breech looking mechanism suggested a naval type of gun and later research shows the remains of gun mountings above the lighthouse so I came to the conclusion that this is one of those former coastal guns.

I could find no references to this piece of military history positioned on the start of the cliff path out to South Stack Lighthouse. It appears to be the barrel of a naval type gun, probably WWI vintage and about four inch calibre with rifling in the barrel and the breech mechanism seen here. There were coastal gun positions overlooking the lighthouse, so perhaps this is one of those guns.

The walk out along the lower cliff path provided stunning views out over the sea, cliffs and back towards Holyhead, but Carolyn was unlucky with her hopes of seeing Puffins that nest in these cliffs.

Irish pirates have been replaced by Irish Ferries, but indicate what an important sea route this remains in modern times.

As we climbed higher the end of the headland came into sight with the lighthouse indicating lands end.

On reaching the end of our first two mile section of our walk the ground suddenly rose still higher and the remains of ancient dry stone walls and more squared off walls with mortar holding things together came into view indicating an area that had once been occupied.

The views back to the town and the fort made this an ideal place to set up a watch point, able to take advantage of an Iron-Age enclosure of dry stone construction to encircle the later buildings with ample opportunity to signal via beacons of any activity on the sea beyond.

Having climbed quite a bit we grabbed a bite of lunch sat enjoying the views and then decided to head back to the car via the higher track that is also used by vehicles supplying the lighthouse.

There is lots of wildlife evident in the area and among the birds spotted on our route back to the car was a very photogenic Stonechat that was very happy to perch close by and have his picture taken.

 

A male Stonechat or Saxicola torquata - A common resident, perches prominently on tops of bushes. Male has black head with prominent white half collar, back and wings are dark brown, streaked black, breast is orange-red. Habitat is heaths, scrubby hillsides and hedgerows. Voice is a metallic chak-chak and jingling warble. What a treat!

This little chap was certainly not camera shy and obviously photogenic!

A real treat to end our walk along the cliffs

The birds weren't the only ones enjoying the perfect flying weather.

RAF Valley, built in 1941, is nearby and home to the RAF flight training squadron using Hawk T2's and Texan T1's for fast jet and propeller aircraft training, and the day was perfect flying weather for Stonechats and Hawks.

Bryn Celli Ddu - 'The Mound in the Dark Grove'

We were feeling pretty tired by the time we got back to the car, but we still had one more place to visit before heading back to Shrewsbury for a well earned curry that evening.

Given the pre-Roman history of Anglesey we were really keen to see the evidence of those early inhabitants and there was one particularly interesting monument that lay close by our route back on to the mainland.

 

The UK abounds in pre-historic sights and monuments and Anglesey must have quite a high number per square mile in comparison to the rest of the home nations, if this sign in the car park close to Bryn Celli Ddu is anything to go by.

If you are interested in prehistory and the monuments associated with the megalithic and Neolithic periods then the British islands abound with burial mounds, henges and stone rows that give a glimpse into the lives of these ancient peoples, and you can check out previous posts on the blog that illustrate the many examples to be seen. 

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2017/08/uffington-white-horse-and-waylands.html

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2018/03/belas-knap-long-barrow-cotswolds-2018.html

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2020/07/dartmoor-walk-down-tor-stone-row.html

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2020/08/dartmoor-walk-drizzlecombe-ceremonial.html

http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2020/09/dartmoor-walk-lakehead-hill.html

The burial mound at Bryn Celli Ddu is a stunning example of these kind of monuments and with its name meaning 'The mound in the Dark Grove' had other connotations of the Druids and their Sacred Groves that made this a place I wanted to include in our visit.

The Mound in the Dark Grove, a stunning way to end our day in Anglesey.

The mound is thought to have been built around 3,000 BC and would have originally had an outer henge or earthwork and inner ditch with standing stones within, but today only the outer edge of the  ditch survives, with a few of the upright stones standing within it.

A mix of burnt and unburnt human bones were found within the inner passage of the mound together with quartz pieces, arrowheads, seashells and stone beads.

The passage way into the tomb is somewhat unique in that it has been constructed to allow shafts of sunlight from a midsummer solstice to travel the length of it into the inner chamber, suggesting the solstice had a significance to these people and the Neolithic builders.

Standing close to the mound and gazing out towards the mountains on the mainland beyond, through the nearby trees, made this a very special place to visit and one to remember.

Anglesey was a great place to visit on our first opportunity to get back out exploring and enjoying freedom that we used to take for granted, and I'm looking forward to showing some of the other great places we visited on our week away.

Next up: More reinforcements for my Cape St Vincent Spanish fleet , then part two of this series of posts and I will have another War of 1812 book review to do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caer_Gybi_(fort)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caer_y_Twr

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryn_Celli_Ddu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Valley

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_conquest_of_Anglesey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid