Commentators talk much about the morale of the Ukrainian troops and the edge that this has given them over the Russians, even in a technology-dominated conflict. Ancient warfare was a matter of hand-to-hand fighting, where morale is absolutely crucial – ‘defeat in battle always starts with the eyes’, said Tacitus – and the imperial Roman army offers a masterclass in how to generate it.
That army was, uniquely, professional. The soldiers’ physical fitness, kit, mastery of weapons and technical training in battle tactics were second to none.
Their loyalty to the group was reinforced by the closely knit units of eight in which they lived, ate and slept, training and fighting with similar units, all coming together to form the larger units – centuries and cohorts – of which the legions consisted, and under the same officers too.
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