Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War by Thomas A. Timmes

battle, but saw the wisdom of the move.  He immediate refreshed his new Maniple about how to defeat the power of the Gallic sword.  As they advanced, he shouted words of encouragement and reminders.  “Throw your shield up!  Pin his arm!  Thrust your gladius !”
    When the gap between the advancing Romans and waiting Gauls closed to within 50’ Manius gave the order to “Prepare to throw the javelin” followed quickly by the order “Throw.”  He immediately followed this order with another “Prepare to throw the pila ” and “Throw.”  The Hastati of the three Legions on-line unleashed their 4500 javelins and immediately followed it with 4500 pila .  The air was filled with the hissing of 9000 iron-tipped wooden spears slicing through the morning mist.  The swarm of missiles was followed by the sounds of impact as the javelins and pila found their marks on shield and warrior.  The first and second Gallic ranks simply dropped amid shrieks of pain and panic.  The weighted pila penetrated deeply into Gallic shields, armor, and flesh.
    Manius then ordered the Maniple to, “Present shields,” “Draw gladius ,” “Make contact with the man to your front.”  This is how the Legion trained and these were the orders they expected to hear from their Centurions.  Manius’ strong voice and expected commands gave them confidence to overcome their fears as the lines closed to within a few feet.  The Gauls, their long hair flying, were fiercely yelling to bolster their confidence; the Roman lines were steely silent.  Roman shields touched each other slightly; their gladius protruded from the side, and their helmeted head was barely visible above the top of the shield.  Each man was in a semi crouch as he prepared to violently thrust his shield upward to stop the Gallic sword from renting his shield.
    As the lines smashed into one another, Manius put his whistle in his mouth and clamped down.  In the excitement and deafening noise of clashing shields and shouting men, he could not forget to rotate the lead Legionaries.  Each man in front facing the enemy was to fight as hard as he could until he heard his Centurion’s whistle, then he would step to the right, put his shield over his head, and move to the rear of his file.  Each Roman soldier kept his hand on the back of the man to his front to ensure the lines did not get mixed as individuals moved forwarded and rotated.  The man immediately behind him would then take up the fight.
    After two or three minutes, the whistle would sound again and he would move to the rear.  This ensured that the individual actually doing the fighting was always fresh.  No other army used this technique.  The average Roman was probably about 5’4” tall and weighed 130 pounds.  After two or three minutes of 100% effort, both physical and mental fatigue would set in resulting in near muscle collapse and inability to concentrate.  A non-Roman fighter fought until he was killed or so exhausted that he simply moved himself out of the battle line.
    The Romans advanced from both directions, throwing volleys of javelins, which devastated the lightly armored Gaesatae at the rear, who were fighting with only small disk shields. Some rushed wildly at the Romans and were slaughtered. Those who survived the flying missiles withdrew into the body of the Gallic army and caused disorder as they desperately pushed through their own ranks.  The Romans advanced relentlessly, thrusting rapidly with their short sword and butting down opponents with their broad heavy shield.  As the Gallic ranks compressed tighter and tighter, even the vaunted Gallic sword became useless.  The fighters were so tightly compacted, they could not raise their arms to swing their swords.  The last thing many Gauls saw that day was a Roman shield smashing hard into their face and chest and then a quick sharp stabbing pain in their stomach.
    Papus instructed his two Legions on the flanks to swing around the