The second area of discussion is casualties. Data shows that casualties among armies Rome defeated amount to about 50%. This contrasts with the figure for hoplite battles which ran about 14%. The difference is explained by pursuit which occurred more often in Roman times. One has a hard time imaging a hoplite phalanx dragging their heavy shields in pursuit of a retreating enemy. The Romans, however, made a practice of it. When Rome was a victor, it lost about 5% of its force, although there was the occasional “Pyrrhic victory”. So the typical Roman battle had low or high casualties on each side until the rout when the losing side’s casualties accelerated.
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