Roman Military Training

The Roman army was experienced and strong because of the initial training of soldiers. Recruits weren't immediately put into battle because the empire didn't want to waste their time watching recruits get hurt or harm others in battle, so a four-month training period was created to weed out the weak soldiers. This four-month initial training period consisted of fighting, digging tunnels, and building defenses, three skill key to winning battles (Patricia, 246). Recruits trained with weapons made of wood that were twice as heavy as the weapons the men would use in battle, so the men could become stronger and be able to easily fight with the normal weapons. The recruits were given ranks to determine what groups the recruits would be placed in which pushed the recruits to do better (Patricia, 246). Recruits would also practice drills and battle tactics daily to further prepare them. Recruits were instructed and trained by officers known

The Roman military divided its men into different groups, each group having a different number of men. The Roman military did this to organize the soldiers and be able to instruct different groups to do certain tasks during battle (Lawrence, 173). The men in these trained together but could also be able to join with other groups as well. The basic unit of the army was called the century, which consisted of one hundred men. Within that group there were ten squads, with each squad living and training together. After the century, groups of around six hundred men were formed with six different centuries called cohorts. Legions had around six thousand men and were made up of ten cohorts (Lawrence, 173). By placing soldiers in different groups, soldiers could easily follow instructions, fight in unison with other groups, or break off and flank the enemy, and were successful due to the military tactics the groups