[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

And the two winners are:  Osasander and R. Walsh.  

Osasander two questions demonstrate an envious depth of knowledge and solid appreciation for ancient Roman history.  A winner!  

R. Walsh similarly shows an acute awareness of the lessons history can teach us.  A winner!

Viggen will shortly contact each separate to provide the free code from Smashwords.

Thanks to all for your participation.  It was fun!

[Empires of Faith: The Fall of Rome to the Rise of Islam]

The title of the book itself is very intriguing and, perhaps, open to debate.  It will be interesting to compare and contrast this book with several others that address related topics.  I suspect that, taken together, these books will significantly add to the body of knowledge concerning the interplay between empires and how the world evolved.  This is a must read book that I want to add to my library.  The reviewer of the book, Ian Hughes, is himself a scholar and published author.  His recommendation to read Empires of Faith is noteworthy.

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

Ancient Rome STILL has much to teach us today! What do you think will be the next "revelation"?

Mr. Walsh, I appreciate your question.  You are obviously a student of history and mindful of the lessons it can still teach us.  I share that view point.  This is a fascinating topic and much has been written about it.  With that in mind, 10 years ago, I read Samuel P. Huntington's book, "The Clash of Civilizations," Simon & Schuster, 1997 (367 pages).  Huntington's focus is very broad and includes more than just lessons from ancient Rome, but there are common threads (good and bad) throughout all civilizations that spell success or failure.  He talks about the rule of law as the foundation of a successful and dynamic civilization.  I believe a country's ideology, will, resources, wealth, and debt also play a critical role.  Rome maintained influence in their world through diplomacy, their military, their wealth, and desire to maintain their empire.  When Rome began to contract, she lost her ability to influence events.  Some would argue that western civilizations have been contracting for many years and the pace is even accelerating.  This can be caused by an ideology, lack of will, or scarcity of resources.  I'll leave it at that.

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

Great opportunity! I really hope to win and read. Thank you!

 

Cynthia

Ms. Cynthia, Thank you for your post!  Obviously you appreciate history and historical fiction.  My book is a creative blend of the two.  I took pains to ensure my fictional Legio XVII would not be confused with actual historical events.  To do this, I have Legio XVII operate on the fringe of the actual Roman effort to contain and defeat Hannibal, but much of what Leg XVII does is impacted by the 2nd Punic War.  For example, the Commander of Leg XVII has to identify creative solutions to recruit and outfit the Legion in terms of Legionaries, equipment, animals, etc, because the entire Roman Army is committed to defeating Hannibal and resources are scarce.

 

Good luck to you and thanks for posting.

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

When you say Cisalpine Gaul and Austria, you mean Northern Italy and Im guessing the Tyrol.... which is close to Italy and was the Northern gate into Italy... a essential corridor to break any opportunistic movements in and out of Italy by Hannibals supporters, or other hostiles....

 

I might be wrong about the locations, but thats pretty smart, a theater wide cordon. Its always bothered me the Romans couldnt secure their own territory from blatantly alien, fast as hell couriers sending messages to and from Hannibal while in Capua to Spain.

 

In your opinion, how did the Romans set up their legions in the North? Did they quickly retrace and reclaim Hannibals route in the Alps, redouble patrols around Marseilles, set up a elementry coast guard near Capua to check trade, and use spies and double agents, or were they a mix of that and thick headedness (Rome Knows Best), or just completely, miserably lost and demoralized, effectively turtling?

 

I toss and turn in my assumptions here. How effective is a supreme, Executive Unicameral Senate at setting and executing such a diverse program of strategies?

Hi Onasander!  Yes you are correct.  Northern Italy and Tirol (I'm used to the German spelling since that's where my father was born).  

Hannibal posed an existential threat to the very survival of Rome and it required all of Rome's resources to simply contain him in the south (as well as take back all the important towns that went over to Hannibal).  I have no direct evidence that Rome sent any Legions to Northern Italy much less Tirol between 218-207 BC.  Nonetheless, it would have been extremely shortsighted of the Senate to forget that they had a mortal enemy in their own backyard who even sacked Rome in 387 BC.  Also, Rome established colonies in Northern Italy, Piacenza and Cremona, in 218 BC and undoubtedly would have continued to support them with supplies, work details, etc.  In my book, Leg XVII is sent to Northern Italy to demonstrate Rome's continuing interest in the region, visit the colonies, and maintain a presence.  It makes sense to me that Rome attained and maintained her dominance by always looking down the road for the next threat even while fighting the current one.  The USA does the same thing.

In 207 BC, Rome did sent multiple Legion north to confront Hannibal's brother Hasdrubal and won a decisive victory.  Again,in 206 BC, Legions were sent to Milan to contain Hannibal's younger brother Mago and defeated him in 203 BC.  Other than those two occasions when troops were actually deployed, I suspect that Rome did what any great power does to maintain situational awareness~whatever it takes.

​How effective was the Roman system of governance?  I would speculate that like all great world powers, including the USA, it's very messy, scandalous at times, ineffective, flat out stupid, brilliant, short sighted, but somehow, it all works~for a time.  Rome had the Senate, Consuls, Magistrates, and the Tribunes of Plebes not to mention lots of special interests.  For the most part, they got the job done.  

  

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

Excellent! Love historical novels, history, and things which illuminate leadership, and character, or lack thereof.

We share a common appreciation!  I think you will recognize that fact in my book because the backdrop of Leg XVII, the 2nd Punic War, is historically accurate. Leg XVII is not directly involved with fighting Hannibal, but Hannibal's presence in Italy impacts Leg XVII from it's initial creation as a Legion to its last battle.  Leg XVII is sent on an independent 30 month mission to the Cisalpine Gaul and Austria to take care of Roman business long neglected because of Hannibal.  My main character, Manius Tullus is a good commander with enviable character traits.  There are others in the Legion who fall short and he had to deal with them.  I think my book won't disappoint you. 

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

Looking forward to the read. How did you handle the planning in your text. Was it similar to S3 planning?

 

David J Winter

Author of The Fall and Rise, a story of Constantine (review on this site in 2010 by Ian Hughes)

Hi Mr. Winter, I think I detect a kindred soul!  Yes, I was the S-3 of the 2-15 Inf Battalion and Ass't S-3 of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd, Inf Div.  Lots of planning for battalion vs battalion exercises and REFORGER experience.  Additionally, I was exposed to strategic and operational planning while on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon.  My take away, we have a lot of smart and dedicated commanders.  It's humbling.  In my book, I have the Centurions and Tribunes discussing how to fight a particular battle.  There's differing viewpoints, pro and cons, and the commander makes the decision.  I also do it with the commanders opposing the Romans.  Thank you  for your post.   

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

I have seen evidence Scipio Africanus wrote a art of war. While the main work is obviously lost and cant be easily reconstructed with confidence, what do you think his main focus in reforming the outlook of the roman military and political elite would of been, what lessons, maxims, principles would he of emphasized the most..... and do we see this carried on by later military commanders behaviorally, up to and including the far flung social wars?

 

I thought I start you off with a easy question.

Osasander, I can see why you're a Senator!  Glad you didn't ask a tough question!  I think I'd rather be asking you questions.  And yes, I feel intimidated, but I'll give it a shot.  My understanding of Scipio was that he was personally flexible in his thinking and use of troop formation.  He initiated a novel use of the Triarii in Spain and ensured his Legionaries were trained and healthy enough to march and fight.  I've incorporated both principles into my book.  History is full of examples of inflexible commanders who did not "love 'em and lead 'em." Today's US Army's number 1 priority, as it has always been, is the mission, but troop welfare is an integral part of accomplishing the mission.  Scipio understood that and it permeates my book.  Thanks 

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

I am in!

 

Hi Legio17, thanks for a great competition. Do you have a favourite author of novels set in roman times?

Hi Jhm718, Thank you for your participation and easy question to start me off.  I enjoyed reading Robert L. O'Connell's, "The Ghosts of Cannae," Random House, 2010 because it taught me something.  It was well researched and uncovered new information about the Battle of Cannae.  I used some of his conclusions in my book.  The other book I recently read really scratched an itch I've had for years.  I wanted to be with the Legionaries as they marched cooked their meals, and fought and R.W. Peake's book, "Marching with Caesar-The Conquest of Gaul," did it for me.  This 2014 Smashwords' book takes place at the soldier's level, but is mostly silent at the planning level.  My book fills that gap.  Thanks for the question.  

[WIN!!! Legio17: Roman Legion at War]

UPDATE by UNRV.com:

Win a free download of Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War, comment or asks the author a question below

and stand a chance to download it for free Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War

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The purpose of this post is to tell you about an historical fiction ebook I just published, "LegioXVII: Roman Legion at War" and why I think you may be interested in reading it.  First, I want to mention that this is my first post here, but I have been a fan of UNRV for the last four years.  I used it extensively during my research.

 

Why the book?  I wanted to create an image of Leg XVII beside that of Teutoburg Forest!  I first heard about 9 AD way back in 1960 and found it unsettling.  How did this disaster happen?  Fifty years later, I think we all pretty well know how it happened: poor Roman leadership and a very clever adversary.  Leg XVII only existed for 50 years.  It was never reconstituted after 9 AD.  My book gives the Legion a history that takes place during the 2nd Punic War, but is not involved with Hannibal.

 

Another reason I wrote the book is because I felt I had something unique to add.  Now I love ancient battles as much as anyone, but, in addition to battle scenes, I wanted to describe the intense planning that underlies a successful outcome.  To do this, I drew on my 28 year active duty career in the U.S. Army where I served at the platoon, company, battalion, and brigade level.  I was also in the Pentagon for 24 years as a staff officer and civilian on the Army Staff, the Joint Staff, and Office of the Secretary of Defense.  Operational and tactical level planning has been my life.

 

In the book, I tried to be historically accurate concerning the 2nd Punic war and with my characters.  Any errors are unintentional.  Let me know what you think!  I'd appreciate your perspective.