HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE

To the Greeks and Romans, the world was a scary place. The further you went from the centres of civilization, the more the world would change. Mountain ranges would lie in your way, dark forests threatened, the waves would crash against the shores, and moreor-less humanoid, wild barbarians lurked everywhere.

By Murray Dahm and Jasper Oorthuys

Of course, we now know that the Low Countries don’t have craggy mountains bordering the North Sea. But taking an army on campaign still presented plenty of challenges long before you met the enemy in pitched battle, even if the commanding general did have a good idea of the topography and peoples of the lands he was about to enter. Xenophon had reason to consult the Delphic Oracle for advice about the gods he needed to sacrifice to for a successful journey and safe return (Anabasis 3.1.6). Challenges of campaigning Even if we ignore the danger of fighting an enemy army, the list of potential challenges to the successful outcome of any campaign was formidable. Start with a simple question: where is the enemy, and how do we get there? The ancients had…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.1

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