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Caesar's Great Success: Sustaining the Roman Army on Campaign
Logistics have become a principle, if not a governing factor, in modern military operations. Armies need to be fed and supplied and the larger the army, the greater the logistical difficulties that have to be overcome. Two thousand years ago, when communications were far more primitive, the size of armies was limited by the difficulties of supply. It was because the Romans developed a sophisticated supply system that they were able to maintain large armies in the field - armies that conquered much of the then known world.
In Caesar's Great Success_: Sustaining the Roman Army on Campaign_ the authors examine and detail the world's first ever fully-developed logistical supply system - the forerunner of today's complex arrangements. This includes an examination of the sea, river and land transportation of food while on campaign, and of how the food was assembled at the operational bases and subsequently distributed.
The defence of the Roman food supplies, and especially of lines of communication, was an important factor in Caesar's operational planning, as was interdicting the enemy's supplies.
The eating habits of Caesar's men are considered and what items could be obtained locally by forage and which were taken by requisition - and how much food a legionnaire was expected to carry on campaign.
With this, the nature of the actual food consumed by the legionnaires is therefore examined and sample recipes are provided with each chapter of the book to enable the reader to relive those momentous days when Caesar and Rome ruled the world.
In Caesar's Great Success_: Sustaining the Roman Army on Campaign_ the authors examine and detail the world's first ever fully-developed logistical supply system - the forerunner of today's complex arrangements. This includes an examination of the sea, river and land transportation of food while on campaign, and of how the food was assembled at the operational bases and subsequently distributed.
The defence of the Roman food supplies, and especially of lines of communication, was an important factor in Caesar's operational planning, as was interdicting the enemy's supplies.
The eating habits of Caesar's men are considered and what items could be obtained locally by forage and which were taken by requisition - and how much food a legionnaire was expected to carry on campaign.
With this, the nature of the actual food consumed by the legionnaires is therefore examined and sample recipes are provided with each chapter of the book to enable the reader to relive those momentous days when Caesar and Rome ruled the world.
- GenresRoman History
248 pages, Hardcover
Published June 19, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 20, 2020
From a military history perspective, the book answers many questions about the logistics required to successfully deliver supplies to a large Roman army, over extremely long distances. Caesar was particularly effective in planning the various means of transportation and quantities required to feed his men and horses while on campaign in foreign lands. This has many recent parallels in modern military logistical doctrine and strategy, some of which are covered by the authors. Interestingly even though we now have the benefit of being rapidly being supplied by air, modern armies still move vast amounts of supplies by ships and trucks.
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The weight of equipment and food often carried by the legionnaires was quite staggering, especially considering that after a day-long march they were expected to build a fortified camp and/or fight a battle. Even modern-day elite soldiers would find this a challenge.
Perhaps understandably, the book reads as an academic thesis, being lightened somewhat by some interesting Roman recipes. However, one recipe could have been left out of the book ‘Caesars Salad’ - absolutely nothing to do with Caesar or Roman cuisine apart from the name!
The amount of research undertaken by the three authors Alexander Merrow, Gregory Starace, and Agostino von Hassell is impressive, the list of references is immense! I would love to know how they were able to successfully and seamlessly collaborate in writing the book.
.
The weight of equipment and food often carried by the legionnaires was quite staggering, especially considering that after a day-long march they were expected to build a fortified camp and/or fight a battle. Even modern-day elite soldiers would find this a challenge.
Perhaps understandably, the book reads as an academic thesis, being lightened somewhat by some interesting Roman recipes. However, one recipe could have been left out of the book ‘Caesars Salad’ - absolutely nothing to do with Caesar or Roman cuisine apart from the name!
The amount of research undertaken by the three authors Alexander Merrow, Gregory Starace, and Agostino von Hassell is impressive, the list of references is immense! I would love to know how they were able to successfully and seamlessly collaborate in writing the book.
June 19, 2020
The Roman General Julius Caesar must rank in the top three of the Western Hemisphere’s greatest generals. During his meteoric rise in the 1st Century BCE, Caesar dominated multiple enemies in far-flung environments, winning dozens of battles along the way. Nevertheless, argue the authors of Caesar’s Great Success, it was Caesar’s logistical brilliance, two-thousand years ahead of is time, that makes him stand out from the rest. They set out their case in this occasionally quirky book.
The opening chapter narrates Caesar’s campaigns and examines the size of his army during those operations. That was a huge number, bearing in mind all the animals and non-combat manpower involved, and they all had to be fed. Caesar’s army required mountains of grain as the staple ingredient in their diet – they marched and fought on bread and porridge. The soldiers supplemented their grain with meat, salt, olive oil, and cheese to a greater or lesser degree, and they drank sour wine (posca). Caesar’s success came from ensuring his men had a good supply of all that. The authors are careful to point out that Rome already had a logistical framework in place, but Caesar enhanced its administration and transport infrastructure, improving road and river communications. He was also a master of creating and maintaining effective supply lines. We follow the army on the march, discovering what the soldiers carried, how they constructed marching camps, why they foraged and what for, and requisitioning supplies, which at times took the form of pillaging and plunder. All of this logistical effort had a strategic purpose. Caesar’s campaigns often had supply in mind, though he sometimes surrendered that security for speed and surprise. He also blocked enemy supplies, especially water sources. The authors illustrate Caesar’s tapping into a ‘timeless framework’ of logistical support through a comparison with the North African campaign in World War II. They conclude with a chapter on Caesar’s legacy in modern cuisine, though they dispel the myth that Caesar Salad had any connection to the great general!
The claim that logistical brilliance was Caesar’s Great Success may be over egging the pudding, but the authors cannot be blamed for hyping what is after all the unsexy side of military history. That might also explain the peculiar inclusion of recipes to end each chapter and the colour plates of meals. The unnecessary addition of the comparison with a World War II campaign also feels contrived: a more useful historical comparison might have been with Alexander the Great’s army as detailed in Donald Engels’ excellent Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army (UC Press, 1980) that covers much of the same ground. Setting aside those conceptual issues, the authors have produced a valuable book for understanding how Caesar’s campaigns worked and his strategic considerations. Their sifting of the evidence used to recreate the soldiers’ lives away from the battlefield is deftly handled, as is the authors’ setting that into the broader context. Merrow and his colleagues have written a recipe for related inquiries into other ancient armies, and you won’t read Ancient military history quite the same way again after reading this book.
The opening chapter narrates Caesar’s campaigns and examines the size of his army during those operations. That was a huge number, bearing in mind all the animals and non-combat manpower involved, and they all had to be fed. Caesar’s army required mountains of grain as the staple ingredient in their diet – they marched and fought on bread and porridge. The soldiers supplemented their grain with meat, salt, olive oil, and cheese to a greater or lesser degree, and they drank sour wine (posca). Caesar’s success came from ensuring his men had a good supply of all that. The authors are careful to point out that Rome already had a logistical framework in place, but Caesar enhanced its administration and transport infrastructure, improving road and river communications. He was also a master of creating and maintaining effective supply lines. We follow the army on the march, discovering what the soldiers carried, how they constructed marching camps, why they foraged and what for, and requisitioning supplies, which at times took the form of pillaging and plunder. All of this logistical effort had a strategic purpose. Caesar’s campaigns often had supply in mind, though he sometimes surrendered that security for speed and surprise. He also blocked enemy supplies, especially water sources. The authors illustrate Caesar’s tapping into a ‘timeless framework’ of logistical support through a comparison with the North African campaign in World War II. They conclude with a chapter on Caesar’s legacy in modern cuisine, though they dispel the myth that Caesar Salad had any connection to the great general!
The claim that logistical brilliance was Caesar’s Great Success may be over egging the pudding, but the authors cannot be blamed for hyping what is after all the unsexy side of military history. That might also explain the peculiar inclusion of recipes to end each chapter and the colour plates of meals. The unnecessary addition of the comparison with a World War II campaign also feels contrived: a more useful historical comparison might have been with Alexander the Great’s army as detailed in Donald Engels’ excellent Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army (UC Press, 1980) that covers much of the same ground. Setting aside those conceptual issues, the authors have produced a valuable book for understanding how Caesar’s campaigns worked and his strategic considerations. Their sifting of the evidence used to recreate the soldiers’ lives away from the battlefield is deftly handled, as is the authors’ setting that into the broader context. Merrow and his colleagues have written a recipe for related inquiries into other ancient armies, and you won’t read Ancient military history quite the same way again after reading this book.
July 28, 2020
Highly recommended!
These Romans are crazy,” Asterix and Obelix, the quintessential comic-book Gauls, always asserted. However, even their creators couldn’t avoid portraying the efficiency and rationality of the Roman republic and its army – even as they parodied it. This book, though a more serious introductory study of the development of Julius Caesar’s system to sustain his legions, was nonetheless just as captivating for my middle-aged persona as those wickedly clever graphic novels were for my pre-adolescent self.
The book, cooperatively authored by three military historians, should be a welcome addition to the library of anyone interested in the development of Rome’s military might during the waning days of the Roman republic – a period that definitively laid the foundation for the following decades of imperial conquest. Moreover, the lively and well organized text is interspersed with recipes (adapted to current culinary practices) for basic dishes that sustained the legionaries on campaign. Moving the work a step beyond popular history, an extensive bibliography of primary and established secondary sources is provided – a boon for anyone interested in further immersion in this subject.
Following a concise 100–44 BC chronology that covers major events of the Gallic Wars and the Roman Civil War period, the authors provide a snapshot of Caesar’s military leadership, the Roman army of his time, and Caesar’s campaigns against the Gauls and his Roman political rivals. Although Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with the now-rote statement that “an army marches on its stomach,” his insight was neither new nor unique. Caesar’s campaigns into Helvetia, Germania, and Gaul ranged far beyond Rome’s frontiers and necessitated a coherent and smoothly functioning sustainment network. Victory in his subsequent clashes with political rivals in Spain and North Africa was also underpinned by this system. In the succeeding chapters, the authors describe types and availability of the typical foodstuffs consumed by the legions, the development of Roman logistics (spurred on by Caesar himself), innovations required within the logistics chain based on local geography and availability of supplies, and the challenging dynamics of effectively supporting armies constantly on the march. Bringing some modern perspective to the narrative, the penultimate chapter contrasts the logistical challenges faced by British and Italo-German forces in North Africa in 1941–42 with those experienced – and overcome – by Caesar.
For some, a forced confrontation with Caesar’s “Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres…” in second-year Latin class negated further interest in this period of Roman history. However, this book is a highly readable reentry into the era and provides insightful details about the development of the support system that supplied many of the essentials carried by each legionary in his pack. Moreover, for those with an interest in culinary history (or who are just plain “foodies”), the recipes provided are simple, tasty, and can be enjoyed while standing around a campfire – just as they were two millennia ago.
These Romans are crazy,” Asterix and Obelix, the quintessential comic-book Gauls, always asserted. However, even their creators couldn’t avoid portraying the efficiency and rationality of the Roman republic and its army – even as they parodied it. This book, though a more serious introductory study of the development of Julius Caesar’s system to sustain his legions, was nonetheless just as captivating for my middle-aged persona as those wickedly clever graphic novels were for my pre-adolescent self.
The book, cooperatively authored by three military historians, should be a welcome addition to the library of anyone interested in the development of Rome’s military might during the waning days of the Roman republic – a period that definitively laid the foundation for the following decades of imperial conquest. Moreover, the lively and well organized text is interspersed with recipes (adapted to current culinary practices) for basic dishes that sustained the legionaries on campaign. Moving the work a step beyond popular history, an extensive bibliography of primary and established secondary sources is provided – a boon for anyone interested in further immersion in this subject.
Following a concise 100–44 BC chronology that covers major events of the Gallic Wars and the Roman Civil War period, the authors provide a snapshot of Caesar’s military leadership, the Roman army of his time, and Caesar’s campaigns against the Gauls and his Roman political rivals. Although Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with the now-rote statement that “an army marches on its stomach,” his insight was neither new nor unique. Caesar’s campaigns into Helvetia, Germania, and Gaul ranged far beyond Rome’s frontiers and necessitated a coherent and smoothly functioning sustainment network. Victory in his subsequent clashes with political rivals in Spain and North Africa was also underpinned by this system. In the succeeding chapters, the authors describe types and availability of the typical foodstuffs consumed by the legions, the development of Roman logistics (spurred on by Caesar himself), innovations required within the logistics chain based on local geography and availability of supplies, and the challenging dynamics of effectively supporting armies constantly on the march. Bringing some modern perspective to the narrative, the penultimate chapter contrasts the logistical challenges faced by British and Italo-German forces in North Africa in 1941–42 with those experienced – and overcome – by Caesar.
For some, a forced confrontation with Caesar’s “Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres…” in second-year Latin class negated further interest in this period of Roman history. However, this book is a highly readable reentry into the era and provides insightful details about the development of the support system that supplied many of the essentials carried by each legionary in his pack. Moreover, for those with an interest in culinary history (or who are just plain “foodies”), the recipes provided are simple, tasty, and can be enjoyed while standing around a campfire – just as they were two millennia ago.
July 28, 2020
Most of my generation's knowledge of Julius Caesar was obtained from reading Shakespeare in High School or watching Elizabeth Taylor and Rex Harrison in "Cleopatra". Rex, by the way was Caesar. What we saw was a one dimensional figure who won battles in the Gallic Wars, Invaded Britain and eventually crossed the Rubicon, starting the Civil Wars and became the Dictator of Rome.
But until I read Caesar's Great Success, I had no knowledge of his earlier life, one of living in a privileged family that held much power and influence, nor his talent for planning logistics. I thought he just yelled "charge" and the mighty Roman Forces would overrun the enemy.
Caesar's Great Success brings to life the everyday planning that was was needed to wage successful campaigns. They had to make sure that food,water and fodder were in plentiful supply in order to keep the soldiers, their attendants, and pack animals fortified.
In order to keep the supply lines safe, a system of depots or oppida were constructed to store essentials. When the Army crossed waters it generally took eighty seven ships to carry rations, weapons and supplies. A major part of the terms of surrender focused on the amount of corn and grain that the conquered would cede to the conquerors. A forage party faced as much danger as soldiers joining a battle, which meant a legion or two would go with them to protect their mission.
But what makes the book so much fun to read is the collection of recipes of food and drink that sustained the Roman Army through much of their campaigns. Man does not live on bread alone and each of these recipes sound like a culinary adventure in and of themselves.
So, if you have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and an appetite to expand your gourmet experience, I strongly suggest you give this a read.
Phil Ruggiero
But until I read Caesar's Great Success, I had no knowledge of his earlier life, one of living in a privileged family that held much power and influence, nor his talent for planning logistics. I thought he just yelled "charge" and the mighty Roman Forces would overrun the enemy.
Caesar's Great Success brings to life the everyday planning that was was needed to wage successful campaigns. They had to make sure that food,water and fodder were in plentiful supply in order to keep the soldiers, their attendants, and pack animals fortified.
In order to keep the supply lines safe, a system of depots or oppida were constructed to store essentials. When the Army crossed waters it generally took eighty seven ships to carry rations, weapons and supplies. A major part of the terms of surrender focused on the amount of corn and grain that the conquered would cede to the conquerors. A forage party faced as much danger as soldiers joining a battle, which meant a legion or two would go with them to protect their mission.
But what makes the book so much fun to read is the collection of recipes of food and drink that sustained the Roman Army through much of their campaigns. Man does not live on bread alone and each of these recipes sound like a culinary adventure in and of themselves.
So, if you have an insatiable thirst for knowledge and an appetite to expand your gourmet experience, I strongly suggest you give this a read.
Phil Ruggiero
August 2, 2020
I came (with food), I saw (new foods), and I conquered (on a full stomach)
If you are reading this review, you likely are already familiar with Caesar's various campaigns in Gaul, the Civil War, and Africa. Caesar's Great Success, however, is a must read to truly understand the magnitude of these accomplishments. Specifically, this book presents an altogether different tale of Caesar's exploits - not who he defeated and where, but rather how he fed and sustained his vast armies so far from Rome. Well-researched and well-written, Caesar's Great Success details the unparalleled and intriguing transportation system Caesar implemented throughout his campaigns. The book especially excels in its discussion of the food and drink favored by Caesar's legions, even providing recipes for the brave who wish to replicate a typical campaign meal. Buy this book, pour yourself a glass of posca, and enjoy!
If you are reading this review, you likely are already familiar with Caesar's various campaigns in Gaul, the Civil War, and Africa. Caesar's Great Success, however, is a must read to truly understand the magnitude of these accomplishments. Specifically, this book presents an altogether different tale of Caesar's exploits - not who he defeated and where, but rather how he fed and sustained his vast armies so far from Rome. Well-researched and well-written, Caesar's Great Success details the unparalleled and intriguing transportation system Caesar implemented throughout his campaigns. The book especially excels in its discussion of the food and drink favored by Caesar's legions, even providing recipes for the brave who wish to replicate a typical campaign meal. Buy this book, pour yourself a glass of posca, and enjoy!
June 17, 2020
A new and interesting study that considers Caesar’s operational acumen through the lens of logistics. I thoroughly enjoyed the etymological tangents, instructions on recreating Roman cuisine, and appreciate the amount of primary source research that went into this. What is more important is this book is the first logistics history I can recall since John Lynn’s “Feeding Mars”. As Lynn starts after the fall of the Roman Empire, Merrow, Von Hassel, and Starace fill a glaring historical gap and provide an interesting comparison in Chapter 7 logistics aspects of the WWII North African campaigns and those of Caesar’s exploits in the same terrain. After having read this book, it has got me thinking about how Caesar’s use of requisition and frumentarii might inform a reduction in the “tail” of a modern expeditionary force.
April 11, 2023
The book is interesting but it could have benefited from additional editing and polish. Some sections seemed repetitive or redundant and could have been cut. Other sections had great details but were too short.
Overall, if you are very interested is this specific topic (specifically the logistics of Julius Ceasar's armies, not Roman logistics in general) then you may enjoy this book. It's a quick read and gives some keywords which can be a jumping off point. Other than that, I would not recommend it to most people.
Overall, if you are very interested is this specific topic (specifically the logistics of Julius Ceasar's armies, not Roman logistics in general) then you may enjoy this book. It's a quick read and gives some keywords which can be a jumping off point. Other than that, I would not recommend it to most people.
October 2, 2022
Focused book for Military historians and logisticians
This book was surprisingly specific on the logistical methods and strategies of Julius Caesar, despite the paucity of sources and the passing of two millennia. As usual logistics boils down to roads, rivers, bridges, ships and horsepower to move supplies. Rome’s engineering prowess provided the tools for Caesar to exploit far reaching resources and project his army further and faster than any opponent
This book was surprisingly specific on the logistical methods and strategies of Julius Caesar, despite the paucity of sources and the passing of two millennia. As usual logistics boils down to roads, rivers, bridges, ships and horsepower to move supplies. Rome’s engineering prowess provided the tools for Caesar to exploit far reaching resources and project his army further and faster than any opponent
January 27, 2021
This was an excellent read. It was a well researched and well written book. As a former military supply officer, it was a fascinating account of the importance logistics play in military conflicts going all the way back to the Roman Empire. I would
January 16, 2022
This book serves as great insight into the logistics of Caesar’s armies. Although rather unpolished, it remains a must read for the fan of the imperatorial era
January 22, 2020
A good look at how he kept his army feed during battles and on travel from place to place. It looks at one aspect of Caesar and battle - food. Good for those who like this kind of topic.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews