Posted on 11/02/2011 8:30:47 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
I might play the God gambit, I would fly in on a Harrier, set down in front of the Senate or Emperor’s palace and say I am Jupiter and kill the first one that doubts me. Then show them how I can call lightning (missiles) down out of the sky.
Then the Senate, and anyone else in power, can choose to defy me if they have the will.
Hernando Cortez burned his ships to make a point with his men that it was conquer or die. Do you really see a Marine Colonel going all-in like that? Modern values kind of mitigate against wholesale slaughter. Even if he were to give such an order the Marines might hesitate to engage in wanton killing. Unless of course everybody "got their mind around the situation". (Realized that they had little choice).
“Finally we know that the Spainiards made use of native allies. This was the key to their victory.”
Proper point made. I agree. War dogs are often forgotten as Spanish weapons of that time, good show.
A point of clarification - It was the horse and LANCE (not sword) that were the Conquistador’s decisive weapons. Lightly armored Spanish footmen armed with swords had a tremendous advantage over the indians, granted, but no force of indians ever withstood a mounted cavalry charge.
Developing an actual vaccine would probably be beyond their capacity, at least initially, but no doubt one or more of the Marines would know about inocculation, which probably reduces the mortality rate by 90%+.
Anywho, it does not appear smallpox was present in the Roman Empire, at least none of the Greek or Roman medical writers describe this highly describable disease.
The most common theory is that Arabs brought smallpox to Europe in the 7th or 8th centuries.
I also believe Marines, at least those posted to 3rd-world toilets, are vaccinated against every damn thing there is.
Sorry. Mr. Marine is dead.
He may know a little about edged weapons fighting, but Mr. Centurion is a pro with 20+ years experience. He has a pilum or two, a shield and body armor.
This matchup would be just about as one sided as Marine with loaded rifle at 100 yards against a Centurion.
Sorry. Mr. Marine is dead.
He may know a little about edged weapons fighting, but Mr. Centurion is a pro with 20+ years experience. He has a pilum or two, a shield and body armor.
This matchup would be just about as one sided as Marine with loaded rifle at 100 yards against a Centurion.
Not sure. It’s not routine for smallpox immunization, and it is and was present in Egypt. So presumably, marines dropped in that part of the Empire could be affected by it.
Routine inoculation of the US military recuits for smallpox was discontinued in 1990. So 22 years later, it will be only the servicemen over 40 who are still immune to smallpox.
Yeah, but what if you start in North Africa? What then? :)
An issue nobody has brought up is the probably superior fitness of the Romans.
Marines, while they are fit by modern standards, just might not measure up. They generally rid into battle.
Roman legionaires marched 20 to 25 miles every day, carrying 60 to 80 pounds of gear apiece, then build an entire fort before turning in for the night.
Not to knock our Marines, but how many of them could keep this up week after week, then be fresh enough to fight hand to hand all day, the rough equivalent of NFL football but with no timeouts or breaks?
Conditioning is one thing, but I don’t think that Marines would be less fit. Diets are so, so much better. I’d be more worried about mental fitness. Much of the Marine doctrine is to be a part of the whole system. Cut off from that system would be very hard to adapt.
... but could they hold on to it?
Conditioning is one thing, but I don’t think that Marines would be less fit. Diets are so, so much better. I’d be more worried about mental fitness. Much of the Marine doctrine is to be a part of the whole system. Cut off from that system would be very hard to adapt.
I am not sure the Roman soldier’s diet was inferior. They ate mostly whole grains. When supply lines weren’t interrupted they seem to have been remarkably healthy. At least you seldom read about sickness being a big problem, even during sieges, whereas during the medieval and early modern periods it was always a race between starvation of those in the fort and the besieging army killing itself from filth.
The Romans may not have understood the germ theory of disease, but they were really good at practical sanitation. We didn’t climb back to their level till the middle of the 19th century.
There’s a lot we don’t have, which is accurate casulty records. The reason they were so effective is because if you poked a hole in somebody, they died. They had no sulfa, no effective antiseptic to prevent dying.
I’m not sure how many medical supplies the marines carry, but that stuff would be more valuable than their ammunition.
I've worked with Marines in the field, and I know and respect the Marines . . . but North Africa would be a problem. Cleopatra would roll herself up in a carpet to be delivered, and the Marines would not continue beyond Alexandria. They do have their priorities straight. Since there was no threat to the United States at that time, they would pursue other interests.
May 29, 1453. A Tuesday if I rememeber aright.
Let me know how you like it. It really holds up for being a few centuries old. Translation is excellent. Another classic I love is the Siege of Malta by Fuller. Wow-that should be a movie.
I have not. I will look into it. Just recommended Siege of Malta by Fuller. Best military history I have ever read. Should be a movie.
Why would people from a republic teach democracy to a republic?
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