This post owes much to Professor Philip Sabin, author of the article The Face of Roman Battle, published in The Journal of Roman Studies, Volume 90(2000) pages 1-17. Dr. Sabin is Professor of Strategic Studies in the War Studies Department at Kings College, London.
My usual process of preparing articles is to research a topic and develop a consensus between the literature and my own opinions, but Dr. Sabin’s article is so interesting that I’m going to use it as source material for the whole post.
Sabin asserts that there are four areas of study that make up the mechanics of ancient battles: duration, casualties, mobility during the battle, and the role played by the supporting troops located behind the front lines.