Reenactors simulating a Roman defensive posture.
Posted on 11/02/2011 8:30:47 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Reenactors simulating a Roman defensive posture.
Or could Chuck Norris do it on his own?
From the trilogy, "Axis of Time."
As long as they don’t run out of ammo.
Typical MEU Loadout:
Qty Nomenclature Element
4 M1A1 main battle tank ground
7 to 16 Light Armored Vehicle ground
15 Amphibious Assault Vehicle ground
6 155mm howitzer: M198 or M777 ground
8 M252 81mm mortar ground
8 BGM-71 Tube Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire Guided (TOW) missile weapon system ground
8 FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile ground
4 to 6 AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters aviation
3 UH-1N Twin Huey utility helicopter aviation
12 CH-46E Sea Knight medium lift assault helicopter aviation
4 CH-53E Super Stallion heavy lift assault helicopter aviation
6 AV-8B Harrier jet aviation
2 KC-130 Hercules re-fueler/transport aircraft
Note: usually maintained in the continental United States aviation
2 Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit logistics
1 LMT 3000 water purification unit logistics
4 Tractor, Rubber Tire, Articulated Steering logistics
2 TX51-19M Rough Terrain Forklift logistics
3 D7 bulldozer logistics
1 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement dump truck logistics
4 Mk48 Logistics Vehicle System logistics
7 500 gallon water containers multiple
63 Humvee multiple
30 Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement trucks multiple
Many types of equipment are, or will soon, undergo a transitory phase as they are replaced. Some examples include the MV-22 Osprey replacing the CH-46, Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle replacing the AAV, and the H-1 upgrade program (where the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom replace the AH-1W and UH-1N).
Supplies for 15 full days of operation at intensity, without support.
That’s a LOT of bullets and gas, folks. Especially against arrows and a Gladius.
A few dozen Spanish with muskets and swords defeated 5 0r 20 million Aztecs, so yeah, the Marines would win, unless they ran out of bullets.
The Marines [and the authors of the idea] should have checked with Hannibal Barca. He killed something like 80,000 Romans in one afternoon [one of three major battles he won], and still lost the war.
And although the Romans ceased colonization after Teutoberg Forest, they destroyed most of Western Germany over the next three years.
What if Napoleon had an A-bomb at Waterloo?
Level it and create terror.
Absolutely the potential would be there to recreate power, and possibly to eventually refine fuels, although as stated fuels might take years. Crude chemical weapons would not take years.
With electricity alone however, you have thermal imaging and light amplification. Never let Roman forces rest at night. Even fabricated crossbows are going to wither forces who can't see.
When does the film hit?
The Marines would suffer more casualties from the local water, than they would the entire Roman Army, in the field.
All it would take is one guy capable of making BIO-DIESEL in a garage.
Military engines are designed to run on all types of diesel, not just the pure kind we have in the states.
Could a Single Marine Unit Destroy the Roman Empire?
BTW, just how big is their "unit?"
The marines would have to use their superior firepower to enlist recruits, maybe inspire major defections from the Roman government and military. They need to leverage the awe into some kind of capitulation by the Romans.
But if they just start out somewhere and commence fighting, they will run out of ammo and fuel.
In his book Guns of the South (New York; Ballantine, 1992), Henry Turtledove speculates what might have happened had the Confederate army been equipped with Kalashnikovs in 1864.
There is a science fiction/fantasy writer named David Drake who has written a number of short stories featuring Roman soldiers. Several told of a Roman legion that had been defeated and the survivors sold into slavery. Their new masters were from a Galatic trading empire that was restricted to using low-tech methods to conquer planets so they could trade with them.
Then I guess it wouldn't be his "Waterloo" any longer.
Our weapons systems, applied early in the battle, would ease our logistics load by wiping out most of the enemy within a week.
The rest of our efforts would be mop-up (pacification).
Next week on What If...what if Spartacus had a Piper Cub?
Reminds me of the SNL skit “What if Spartacus had a Piper Cub?”
ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.