Vegetius

Vegetius Kevin A. Brown B.A, M.A., J.D So vis pacem para bellum is one of the most renowned phrases in military history, "He, therefore, who desires peace, should prepare for war" Flavius Vegetius Renatus, On Roman Military Matters (St. Petersburg: Red and Black Publishers, 2008), 52. Such a quotable and memorable idiom is, by itself, reason enough to give its author a certain level of distinction, but what do we actually know of Flavius Vegetius Renatus, the author of this famous quote? On Roman Military Matters encompasses the first three books of Vegetius' five book treatise known as Epitoma Rei Militaris or simply De Re Militari. It is a slender work, modern translations of Vegetius' first three books are generally less than one hundred pages long. Yet it remains one of the great surviving works on the military principles, methods, and tactics of the late Roman Empire. In his book The Roman Soldier G.R. Watson states "Of the specific sources the most important is the treatise De re militari of Vegetius, which is the only ancient manual of Roman military institutions to have survived intact." G.R. Watson, The Roman Soldier (New York: Cornell University Press, 1969), 25. Additionally it contains a number of concepts and maxims that seem to transcend time and are applicable to any military endeavor. While the vast majority of military treatises from antiquity and the Roman Empire have been lost, De Re Militari survived and was copied and read throughout the Middle Ages. More than 320 manuscripts containing De Re Militari survive from the medieval time period; over 54 of those existing manuscripts were written prior to 1300. Charles R. Shrader, "The Influence of Vegetius' De Re Militari", Military Affairs, Vol. 45, No. 4 (December 1981): 168, and 171, n. 10. At the siege of Montreuil-Bellay from 1149-51, Count Geoffrey V of Anjou turned to De Re Militari for answers on how to breech the castle's defenses. Matthew Bennett et al., Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World AD 500- AD 1500, Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005), 188-9. Count Geoffrey's son, the great Angevin King Henry II and his grandson Richard the Lionheart were both known to carry Vegetius' work with them on their extensive military campaigns. Shrader, 169. Machiavelli, better known for his famous works The Prince and The Discourses also wrote a treatise on war entitled the Arte Della Guerra first published in 1512. Arte Della Guerra relied heavily on De Re Militari and included the general maxims of war from the end of Vegetius' Book III without modification. Shrader, 170. De Re Militari was translated into French in 1284, an English version was prepared in 1408, and a printed edition was issued by Utrecht printers in 1473 or 1474. Shrader, 172, n. 12. It continued to play an important role in the focus on strict discipline and coordinated formations which "...transformed the nature of war in the 17th Century." Shrader, 167. The fact that De Re Militari was still an important work well into the 18th Century is supported by the fact that George Washington carried a copy on his campaigns and quoted from it in his Farewell Address. Shrader, 171, n. 8. Despite the fact that Vegetius produced only one treatise on military affairs in his life he has been called "The most widely read military theorist before Clausewitz...." Everett L. Wheeler, Review of Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science by N.P. Milner. The Journal of Military History, Vol. 58, No. 1 (January 1994): 136-8. De Re Militari appears to have been completed and presented to a Roman Emperor, most likely Theodosius the Great or Valentinian III, sometime between 383 and 450 A.D. Robin G. Livens, Review of Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science by N.P. Milner. The Classical Review, New Series, Vol. 44, No.1 (1994): 211-2. The original text is believed to be a combination of military records and the works of Cornelius Celsus, Paternus, the elder Cato, Frontius, the laws and regulations of Emperors Augustus, Trajan, and Hadrian, and quite possibly other unrecorded sources. Ibid. It was written a short time after the disastrous defeat of the Eastern Roman army under the Emperor Valens by the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople in 378 A.D. Surely the effect of the defeat weighed heavily on the mind of Vegetius when writing his treatise. Very little is known about the life or background of Vegetius. It appears that he was born in the Eastern Roman Empire or one of the border provinces, most likely Pannonia or Illyria. Shrader, 168. He seems to be of patrician birth and states that he traveled widely throughout the empire. His vocation was as a comes sacrarum largitionum or imperial finance minister and those duties may have familiarized him with some military matters. Shrader, 168. There is no evidence of his ever commanding troops or serving in any military capacity and even the reason for his writing De Re Militari is a mystery. Livens, 211. De Re Militari contains five books. Book I is entitled "The Selection and Training of New Levies." Book II is "The Organization of the Legion." Book III is "Dispositions for Action" (and contains his general maxims.) Book IV addresses "Fortifications and Sieges" and Book V concerns "Navy Ships, Navigation, and Warfare." For the purposes of this paper I will be focusing on the contents of Books I, II, and III. Vegetius states in his preface to Book I that he is doing nothing extraordinary, he is merely "collecting and explaining" the knowledge and observations of the ancients. Vegetius, 5-6. The first matter he addresses is the fact that Roman greatness was the result of the discipline and training of its military. It was this skill and discipline, according to Vegetius, that allowed Rome to conquer the world. Vegetius recommends recruiting soldiers from the country rather than the cities. He believes that country-stock would be more inured to the hard work and labor involved in the military. He suggests that young men should be recruited into the military at puberty, when their young minds and bodies are more easily "imbibed" to instruction and they will have plenty of time to be trained, disciplined, and acquire their military skills. Vegetius, 9-10. Vegetius suggests recruits be between five feet ten inches and six feet tall, that they have a lively eye, broad chest, muscular shoulders and other physical attributes. He cautions against choosing recruits who professions more properly belong to women such as fishermen, weavers, fowlers, and confectioners. Instead he suggests smiths, carpenters, butchers, and huntsmen be chosen and, if possible, ones of reputable families and manners. Vegetius, 10-11. At this point in Book I Vegetius focuses on the most consistently reoccurring theme in his treatise; that is the discipline and training of soldiers. He states the new soldiers must first be taught the military step and to endure long marches, taught to swim, and trained at the post in the use of the gladius, learning to thrust rather than cut with the sword. Vegetius, 12-15. He goes on to recommend drilling in the armatura, training in missile weapons (the bow, sling, and pilum), taught to vault and carry burdens, and to wear the cuirasses and helmets so as to become used to their weight. Vegetius, 16-23. Vegetius goes on to discuss the importance of being trained to entrench camps, drill in ranks, and engage in monthly marches. Vegetius, 23-6. He concludes that the formation of good and serviceable armies requires the "exact imitation of the ancients" Vegetius, 26. and that "...discipline cannot be too often inculcated, as well as the strict attention requisite in the choice and training of new levies" Vegetius, 27. In Book II Vegetius addresses the organization and makeup of the legions. In this he is definitely calling for a return to the structures of the old Empire. He explains that the military consists of three parts; the cavalry, infantry, and marine. The infantry is divided into two parts the legions and the auxiliaries. He explains the difference between the legions, the strength of Rome, and the auxiliaries, light allied troops, who if properly trained and disciplined, can be of material service. Vegetius, 31-3. He calls for the legion to consist of ten cohorts, "consisting in the whole of six thousand one hundred foot and seven hundred and twenty-six horses." Vegetius, 36. The legion is to be commanded by tribunes, subaltern officers (Optiones), centurions, and praefects. He describes the order of battle for the legions, with the cavalry posted on the wing, and the shields of the soldiers marked with their individual cohorts. Vegetius, 42-4. Book II also contains a number of concepts such as the keeping of records and accounts, the depositing of half of the soldiers pay in a sort of mandatory legionary savings account, promotion within the legion, military music, and the heavy weapons (ballista) and assorted tools needed to be carried by the legion. Throughout Book II Vegetius returns to the subject of discipline and training stating "In war discipline is superior to strength; but if that discipline is neglected, there is no longer any difference between the soldier and the peasant. The old maxim is certain that the very essence of an art consists in constant practice." Vegetius, 49. Book III of Vegetius' treatise is surely the most intriguing and often quoted. It contains his famous quote So vis pacem para bellum as well as his general maxims on war. Vegetius begins in his preface by praising the ancient Spartans for their dedication to the study and constant practice in the art of war and points out that the Romans had always made it a point to follow their example. Vegetius 51-2. Book III also stresses the care, treatment, and training of soldiers as well as tactical considerations, formations, and battle maneuvers. Vegetius recommends that the army not be too numerous, stressing that discipline makes small armies sufficient to successfully defeat your enemies and are easier to move and supply. Vegetius, 53-4. He relates the necessity of caring for the soldier's health, keeping them well supplied with food, wholesome water, and forage, caring for the sick, avoiding marshes, and severe weather without proper clothing or firewood. Vegetius 55-6. He believes that mutiny can best be avoided by limiting idleness and keeping the men busy with training and exercise. If mutiny does occur Vegetius recommends punishing only the ring-leaders. Vegetius, 57-9. Vegetius spends a significant amount of time in Book III outlining very useful and realistic tactics and techniques of battle. He discusses the use of reconnaissance, avoiding ambushes, crossing rivers, and encamping an army, even going into such detail as the posting of watches and the length of time each man should stand guard. Vegetius, 66. He discusses campaigns and battles, suggests that the commander seek the advice of his experienced officers, Vegetius, 67-8. avoid general actions in favor of "...surprises, ambuscades, and stratagems", Vegetius, 70. avoid combat after long marches, and, whenever possible, to choose to fight from the high ground. Vegetius, 75. Vegetius describes the proper use of cavalry and reserves, maneuvers in action, outlines seven general battle formations and when they should be used, the conducting of retreats, and the use of spies. Vegetius, 75-90. In short Vegetius produces a very concise and useful field manual for the conduct of battle and the leading of troops in combat. Vegetius ends Book III by recounting a number of general maxims for the conduct of warfare. Most reflect his continuing theme of the importance of discipline and training to effective combat operations and include such statements as "Valor is superior to numbers"; "An army is strengthened by labor and enervated by idleness"; "It is better to have several bodies of reserves then to extend your front too much"; "Few men are born brave; many become so through care and force of discipline." Vegetius, 91. Vegetius' De Re Militari offers a number of interesting concepts to the military historian. It gives us a fascinating look into ideals that were respected and sought after in the late Roman Empire. Vegetius is making a determined argument for a return to the military standards that made Rome the masters of their world. This is far from the reality faced in Vegetius' lifetime. Vegetius may have called for a Roman Legion to be made up of more than 6,000 men armed with gladii, pila, cuirasses and helmets, picked from the best of Roman citizenry but these standards were not reflected in the Empire of the beginning of the fifth century. In the fifth century the legions were shrinking in size, many, particularly in the west, numbering only a thousand men, the gladius was being replaced by the longer barbarian spatha, the pilum was being replaced with the medieval pike, fewer and fewer infantry had cuirasses, and even the rectangular shield of the legion was being replaced by a round, hollow buckler bearing the regimental badge. H. St. L.B. Moss, The Birth of the Middle Ages, 395-814, (London: Folio Society, 1998), 21-2. In both the Eastern and Western Empire the legions themselves were now composed more of barbarian soldiers than Roman ones. Provinces such as Gaul, Illyria, and Isauria had become the major recruiting grounds for the legions. Ibid., 23-4. Vegetius is arguing for standards that had already disappeared from Rome and would never return. While this may not give us insight into the actual makeup of the Roman legions of the fifth century it does gives us a glimpse of the Empire as it was in antiquity, as well as the standards to which the later Empire aspired. More importantly Vegetius gives us a usable and practical handbook on warfare. He gathers from antiquity maxims, strategies, and common-sense wisdom in military affairs that transcend time periods. In the modern world a soldier is taught to march and keep in step on his first day in the army, just as Vegetius advised some 1,600 years ago. The idea that training and discipline is vital to success in combat, to take the high ground, avoid the sun in your eyes and dust in your face in battle, to see that your men do not fight after a long march, and that they are well fed and given access to clean water, are timeless principles of warfare, as applicable to the modern battlefield as they were at the Battle of Cannae. Some aspects of Vegetius' treatise are of interest only to historians. The use of the pilum and gladius or how to deal with armed chariots and elephants in combat may have long lost their military significance, but those concepts are not at the heart of De Re Militari. At its heart De Re Militari is about the art and profession of training and leading men in combat, and the techniques for doing so, and that is the reason why leaders from Henry II to George Washington have turned to it over the centuries. WORKS CITED Bennett, Matthew, et al. Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World AD 500- AD 1500, Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. Livens, Robin G. 1994. Review of Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science by N.P. Milner. The Classical Review, New Series, Vol. 44, No.1: 211-2. Moss, H. St. L.B. The Birth of the Middle Ages, 395-814. London: Folio Society, 1998. Shrader, Charles R. "The Influence of Vegetius' De Re Militari", Military Affairs, Vol. 45, No. 4 (December 1981): 167-72. Vegetius Renatus, Flavius. On Roman Military Matters. St. Petersburg: Red and Black Publishers, 2008. Watson, G.R. The Roman Soldier. New York: Cornell University Press, 1969. Wheeler, Everett L. 1994. Review of Vegetius: Epitome of Military Science by N.P. Milner. The Journal of Military History, Vol. 58, No. 1 (January): 136-8. Page | 12