Jimbow

Choosing the ground you fight on is as important as any other factor, and has to be lumped in with all of the other parts of combat. The Romans were incredibly flexible and quite ingenious when it came to adapting to enemy methods, the testudo being a good example. It would seem that once the phalanxes advanced they came to uneven ground, and lost cohesion to the formation. At least, that is what was supposed to have happened at the Battle of Pydna. At that battle, Paullus ordered the legions into the gaps to attack the phalangites on their exposed flanks. At this range, within the killing reach of the sarissa, the Roman methods and superior shields and armour won by a long stroke (excuse pun I honestly thought that the Romans would be able to get under the reach of the sarissas, thus rendering them useless, but apparently that wasn't the case. At the Battle of Cynocephalae, it seems to have been a desperate and inspired attack on the phalanxes exposed and vulnerable rear that turned the tide and won the day for Rome. The sarissas would have been even useful then, had the Romans understood that their being raised was the sign of surrender. Alas, they didn't. Polybius also asserts that once the phalanx is broken in any way it is left open for infiltration by more agile and flexible Romans, who can actually wade in and cut it down from within. Phalanx vs Legion

Just joined, but someone asked about castles in Wales. The castles were built by the Normans after they invaded and took control in 1066. Wales was an incredibly difficult region to control, so the castles were built to control the populace. Their positions are strategically placed so as to enable a quick response to any uprising or trouble. We're really talking late 11th and 12th Century.

And I obviously haven't worked out how to put text into a proper quote box

[/quoteLike if the netherlands were to convert ot romanism they have no need for missles or tanks. No one will invade them. they haven;t yet.] Sorry, very late on this, only just joined. I seem to remember Holland was invaded and taken over by Germany in WW2. The Dutch Queen Wilhelmina was based here in London during the war, while the Dutch ran their resistance operations from here also.

I would recommend Graham Sumner's books in the Osprey series, Roman Military Clothing 1 & 2. Here's a link: Osprey Roman Clothing They both deal with different periods, and have excellent illustrations and text. The clothing would be made from wool. There are illustrations of centurions, but can't remember off the top of my head how much winter wear is in there. Certainly the different types of cloaks feature heavily. Leggings are also depicted, but the period seems to influence to a degree the style of dress. There are opinions that the trousers would be of varied styles, some even checked as they were obtained from local tribes. But that's all hearsay Cheers, Jim.