Reenactors simulating a Roman defensive posture.
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?
Could a Single Marine Unit Destroy the Roman Empire?
BTW, just how big is their "unit?"
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
I think the fallacy here is that anything at all that changed back BC would alter the course of history such that there might not even be a United States of America, let alone a modern USMC. I think Alternate Universe plots are more acceptable. One of the best ones, I believe, was “Gunpowder God”, by H. Beam Piper IIRC. The central character is a Pennsylvania State trooper, a real outdoorsman, who stumbles into some kind of wormhole while out hunting woodchucks, and find that his surroundings are much the same, but populated by humans in a sort of early middle ages situation. He signs on with one of the competing factions, teaches the art of manufacturing black powder, soon becomes a favorite of the local female warlord . . . well, it was a good story and I’d enjoy reading it again.
Do you go get 'em? Fun to ponder. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it. Well maybe a little. The F14s(?)encounter with the Zeros was interesting.
Technology is a game changer. If Lee had nothing more added than just radio communications to coordinate his attacks at Gettysburg, he wins.
No, a single Marine unit couldn’t slay mass numbers of Roman troops without resupply, but Hernando Cortez defeated an entire Inca Empire with less men than what is being discussed here.
That is the wild card. The technology the Romans encountered by a Marine unit would make the Romans believe they were being punished by the Gods and would more than likely just hand the Empire over to them. Huge metal rooms that move and shoot and explode things. Metal sticks that launch deadly projectiles. Even the radios alone would freak out the Romans.
So no, the MEU could not defeat a Roman army, but they could certainly conquer the Roman empire if they were mistaken for gods.
IMO kind of a silly idea. The Marines, while their ammo and fuel lasted, would be able to destroy any group that tried to resist them. But they’re still only a couple thousand men. If they try to spread out and occupy territory, they’d be defeated in detail. So they’d have to stay together and could control any 5 or 10 square miles they choose, but only that one patch.
They’d be like the British in our Revolution. March anywhere they choose, with rare exceptions such as Saratoga, but their control exists only within their own lines. Or the Americans in Vietnam. Combat power does NOT necessarily translate directly to political power.
What would actually happen, IMO, is that various ambitious Roman politicos would see an opportunity to grab power and would approach the Marines to strike an alliance. This would be the Marine’s only chance for long-term survival, so they’d shortly be co-opted into the Roman political system.
keep writing...
My favorite historical “what-ifs” don’t depend on time-travel:
1. What if Anthemius of Trallus, one of Justinian’s engineers in the construction of the Hagia Sophia had actually developed his use of steam power for more practical uses than annoying his neighbor with simulated earthquakes? He is credited by some with having done this by means of a primitive reciprocating steam engine (albeit without a governor).
and (even more obscure)
2. What if Otto III had lived a long life with his intended bride?
Smart Marine Commanders, finding themselves thrust back into
history inexplicably should be smart enough, not to try to influence history but to hunker down defensively while they try to figure out how they got there in the first place and why. Any chaplains in the group would also realize that it was during the days of Augustus that Christ was born. A more interesting location for the modern battle group to have appeared would have been Palestine at that time.
The Romans were adaptive, and mathematics was not unknown at the time. Seeing that it was possible that such weapons could be invented, the Roman power brokers and Caesars would have spared no expense at copying such devices. Roman technical might would have leaped frogged two millenia in very short order while its social institutions would remain barbaric and cruel.
The power of flight would also have been discovered as such marine military force units use reconnansance drones, and choppers and some have harrier jet units. The Romans knew about lodestones(magnetism) and seeing how we put magnetism to use in making electricity, the Romans developing electric power would cause Rome to be a nightmare for the entire world as they would be able to break past the Parthians in the east and to intrude into India. Some Roman genius will say...hmmm perhaps we could power our ships with substances made out of “pitch” as well as the new generators powered with this strange “electricity” and thus the Romans will find the New World and press on to China.