Paper Work Roman Style

We are indebted to the Roman Army for many military institutions , soldiers and scholars alike reaching back into the ancient period to Roman models during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when standing armies once again became commonplace in Europe. Bur Roman models didn’t always work, and it took time for the proper bureauacracy to develop, for the ancient sources failed to mention one very important Roman military invention, Paperwork.

The Roman army was the first in history in which a significant number of the troops were literate, evidence exists to suggest that at the height of the Empire probably a third of the men could both read and write. There is plenty of evidence for this, as literally thousands of letters, orders, and documents and more have been found in the trash at the sites of Roman Army posts from Britain to Germany to Egypt. Although the precise quantity and nature of the paperwork demanded by the Roman Army is still unknown, and probably changed over the ages, as well as depending upon the nature of the units involved, what is known will surely bring a faint smile to anyone who has pounded the keys in a headquarters.

Enough material has survived to give us a good idea of the volume of paperwork that had to be managed in the era of the “Five Good Emperors” (AD 96 - 180).

>> Morning Reports and Orders of the Day, include unit designation, date, number and classes of personnel, commanding officer, password of the day, personnel movements, and special notices and orders, such as oaths, religious observances, and personnel assigned to guards, the standards, etc.

>> Monthly Reports, Unit Rosters summarizing the status of personnel.

>> Daily Activity Report, prepared by the unit clerk for the “praepositus - provost” from written or oral reports by subordinates, possibly termed “renuntia” and probably used in the preparation of After Action Reports and similar documents.

>> “Pridiana,” an annual personnel summary filed on December 31st, giving accessions, losses, (with cause of death, discharge, execution, promotion, etc.) and absenteeism throughout the year.

>> “Acta,” Compiled headquarters paperwork, including, orders, directives, intelligence reports, and more.

>> “Commentarii,” What we would call, “After Action Reports,” outline accounts of operations , of which edited versions of (Caesar’s have survived because he took precautionary measures to insure additional copies were sent to additional commanders)
commander’s diaries, reports from subordinates, daily activity records, and other documents including the commander’s “acta.”

>> Pay records, although in this period the troops were paid quarterly, records would have had to be maintained on an almost daily basis, due to deductions, bonuses, bank deposits, discharges, enlistments and so forth.

>> Receipt Books: A number of these have been found, indicating that units maintained an official register of purchases and outlays, apparently with special account books for particular commodities, such as fodder.

>> Staff reports: Personnel responsible for managing particular types of supplies and equipment, such as tentage, horses, or artillery, or performing special functions, such as the medical staff, engineers, quartermasters, paymasters, and so forth, had to file reports from time to time to permit the more efficient management of resources, and, of course, personnel attached to the intelligence service would have been responsible for maintaining a steady stream of information to commanders...

Although none have survived, there were presumably also some sort of personnel files. Certainly there had to be some way to keep track of a soldier’s career, particularly as he began to move up the promotion ladder, into the centurionate, and perhaps even higher, since changes in rank usually seem to have involved transfers from one unit to another, often in distant theatres.

In addition a Roman headquarters would have had a fairly substantial shelf of reference materials. This would have included army regulations, of course, as well as standard manuals for engineering, fortification, construction and siege works, and “itineraria” essentially handbooks for troop movements, which provided information on routes, local resources, and so forth, including what we would call “strip maps.”

Finally every commander, or at least every serious commander, would have had a personal library of military literature, including general’s memoirs, , of which there were a surprising number, though only Caesar’s have come down to us, treatises on strategy, tactics, deception, and so forth.


Reference: Al Nofi “Paperwork Roman Style, Command Information Center (CIC), Scrivener’s Mess, (scrivenersmess@yahoogroups.com), http://www.strategypage.com/cic/docs/cic276b.asp

Respectfully Submitted;

Marcus Audens

“E” For Effort, Roman Mobilization During the Second Punic War

The personality of Hannibal so dominates the Second Punic War (218-202BC) that the Roman victory in this titanic struggle is often overlooked. One reason for that victory was the prodigious effort made by the Republic to maintain strong armies in the field at whatever cost. As a result, despite repeated devastating losses and blows - Lake Trasimanus, Cannae, and others - the Romans never lost heart, tapping the enormous resources and energies of the Republic to eventually attain a nearly total victory.

It is estimated that in the course of the long war, nearly 100% of eligible male Roman citizens, served at some time or other. For many periods as much as half of the eligible men were under arms. Out of a pool of available male citizens which never exceeded about 340,000, fully 120,000 died in the war, by one estimate, as many as 80,000 of them as a result of cambat.

Altogether, some 55 legions were raised during the war. This figure includes four legions raised from the discharged veterans of the 30 legions that were disbanded in the course of the conflict, plus four more from the remnants of the 15 that were destroyed in combat, and the two composed of slaves who volunteered in exchange for eventual freedom. Although the average term of enlistment for the 55 legions that srved was about five years, several were under arms for much longer periods.

Legionary Service-(218-202BC)

Years (under arms)------Legions
> 15 -------2
> 11 -------2
> 10 -------1
> 8 -------11
> 7 -------2
> 6 -------5
> 5 -------6
> 4 -------4
> 3 -------7
> 2 -------10
> 1 -------5

The two legions which remained under arms for 15 years were composed of the survivors of the disaster at Cannae in 216BC, when four legions were destroyed, two of which had been recruited in 218, and two in 217. Thus, upon their discharge in 201BC, a year after the end of the war, some of the veterans of the two legions cannaneces had been in service for more than 18 years.



Reference:

Al Nofi (CIC), “E” For Effort, Roman Mobilization During the Second Punic War.” (ScrivenersMess@yahoogroups.com), http://www.StrategyPage.com/CIC/docs/CIC001b.asp

Respectfully Submitted,

Marcus Audens