Roman Strategy Against Barbarians Essay, Research Paper
STRATEGY AGAINST BARBARIANS Ideal system that kept all Barbarians out ? thus stationing
of large armies on the Rhine and Danube frontiers.? Any Roman defensive system faced three major problems: Never
permanently eliminate all enemies Wars
partly dependent n factors outside the defensive system: leadership
abilities Barbarian kings, disruption following civil war, famine in
barbaricuim. Limited
manpower and resources available. Weaknesses ? most troops on frontier so moving them to an
area of trouble necessarily weakened another area, made the Emperor militarily
weak as only possessed military power when with his army, 3rd and 4th
century 3 field armies, or non-border armies developed. Border troops had three main roles: policingm gathering
intelligence and stopping raids. OPERATIONS Developments strategy seem to have been limited in our
period ? little change in the Barbarian?s military ability, no external factors
that would have forced chamge ? operationally little change needed or occurred. CONCLUSION Conventional Argument increasing barbarian pressure, army
barbarised loses effectiveness, barbarian settlements collapse of the West. Barbarization is doubtful in both extent and impact,
effectiveness sof the army did not decline 350 ? 425 so collapse army after
this period or not in the army at all. ? something wrong with the Late Roman
Army Loss of Adrianople ? allowed settlement of Goths in Balkans,
not new or worrying but when used against usurpers allowed creation if an
identity never possessed by Barbarian groups ? Stilicho?s failure to beat the
Goths ? not until 450 Goths a real pain in Gaul. Political and military events for the collapse of the
Western Empire ? ot barbarisation of inefficiency ? events had military and
financial consequences. Only in decades after 450 was collapse inevitable ? connect
this with loss of Africs reservoir of manpower and money ? not enough to bring
empire down, and Armies still relatively strong. 461 Severus faced with hostile Goths and Vandals, political
instability ? could not conciliate with commanders in Gaul and Dalmatia ? no
Roman leader could now deal with existing frontier Rhine and Danube, Goths in
Gaul and Vandals in Spain Military failure may not have been a major cause of the
West?s collapse, not military structural weakness ? too much pressure on the
frontiers, defeat at Adrianople, too many civil wars, not enough soldiers ? all
contributed to the fall of the West? -
do NOT need to add structural failure of the army to the list.