The everyday life of a soldier

Good fellow passionate, I had a flash today, we speak so often about the military life and accomplishment of soldier of antiquity, i wanted to speak about their everyday life in the army of the different nations. You know, what they ate, how many hours, in general, their drill permitted them to sleep per night, the march they had to do, the drill, their family life when away, and, in fact, every aspect of life outside battlefield. So comment about all you know, all your questions you can ask here.

I am not an expert, but enough are here on thjs forum, and I feel this has the potential of a very interesting thread!

Cheers to all

Well... The Roman Marian Reformed Legionarie builded huge camps every afternoon even after a long days march...

It is pretty hard to get reliable scources about the everyday life of a soldier, but the diet can be traced in their bones...

Aside from mercenaries (of whom there were many washing around the place), the "professional" soldier was a rarity. Most were levies or some other form of citizen-militia serving out of obligation to poleis or ruler.

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Originally Posted by QuintusSertorius

Aside from mercenaries (of whom there were many washing around the place), the "professional" soldier was a rarity. Most were levies or some other form of citizen-militia serving out of obligation to poleis or ruler.

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True, but some were going there voluntarly also. The pay check was a good reason to risk your life in a time where social statut was allpowerful.

any idea about the diet? Blacksmith got me curious. i know studies have been made on the subject, though i can't remember...

There was a thread about this in the EB2 forum some time ago. It got derailed pretty fast, but some links were posted.

My gf got me this book for Christmas last year. Was a good read although its written more for the 300 audience rather than the serious historian. Not to say its historically inaccurate but just that it is very casually written. I thought it was interesting and quite informative about everyday legionary life.

http://www.amazon.com/Legionary-Sold.../dp/0500251517

Not good, consider being dragged out of youre house, to fight in a war against people youve never even heard of, have youre family die due to no grain becuase youve been out campaigning for the cause of a mad dude, and as usual with the 99.99 % chance of dying......:D

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Originally Posted by Lazy O

Not good, consider being dragged out of youre house, to fight in a war against people youve never even heard of, have youre family die due to no grain becuase youve been out campaigning for the cause of a mad dude, and as usual with the 99.99 % chance of dying......:D

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oh oh ohhh... many MANY voulenteered to the armies of the time... why you might ask?

Well lets take the "post 2nd punic war scenario" the practicians (and Equestian classes) where buting out the small landowners because of the wealth of the conquest of Carthago, and when the marian reforms where implimented it gave a chance for everyone to have a diecent "work"...

just to sum it all up... most of the soldiers of the time was paid a fine... not big but better then nothing... and back then you had little chance of making more...

for further notice... national draft's was not emplimented before late 17's

I wasw talking about the average farmer who just happened to be dragged off as a lugoae :D

or pantodapoi :D (not phalangitai too!)

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Originally Posted by Basileus_ton_Basileon

or pantodapoi :D (not phalangitai too!)

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still worse, akontistai... (at least Pantodapoi are used as reserve, when akontistai are meatshield for the main army)

Brave Brave Sir Robin, yeah, i saw that book as well, it was a good read. Ludens : i didn't know tehre was already another thread on the matter, well, Mine isn't only about the romans, as loads (true or not) are already written about them, but on every nations, each asking what he want and telling what he knows.

Question : how many kilometer an army would walk per day (not on forced march)

40km perhaps? The general can always tell his drummers to beat -slighty- faster for a little bit more.... :P

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Originally Posted by Basileus_ton_Basileon

40km perhaps? The general can always tell his drummers to beat -slighty- faster for a little bit more.... :P

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That's a forced march, something the baggage and artillery couldn't keep up with. String too many of those together, and you'd kill all the pack animals and cavalry mounts.

A disciplined army is doing well if it can march 10 miles (16km) in a day. That's assuming country that is conducive to marching, make the terrain rougher and you'll get less.

Would you think breaks to eat would happen every few hours (3-5hrs) or the army would eat on the march? And what of those wanting to empty their bowels? I ask this in all seriousness too, without the intention of creating unnecessary toilet humour.

In fact, that's a very good point... When you're 5 men on march, 1 want to release himself, he can just wait... but when it's 20 000 men on the march, and 5000 want to release themselves... it's another problem! and about the breaks, I guess it depends if they were on forced march or not... I read accounts of japanese armies (early shinto period) being forced to march days and nights, without stoping, in order to reach a hill before the ennemy. (we must take into account that Samourais were renown for their... devotion to their masters...)

I know from Wellington's campaigns that soldiers were allowed to leave the column in order to relieve themselves. Many used this opportunity for a bit of daylight robbery of local peasants. The 95th regiment's officers (Wellington's rifles) dealt with this problem by instructing the soldiers to hand over their weapon and pack to their messmates before leaving. This achieved three things: without his pack the rifleman could catch up with the column more quickly; he no longer had his rifle to threaten the locals with; and his comrades would become grumpy if they had to carry his stuff for too long, so he had to return quickly.

Incidentally, I doubt that anyone would be able to hold up their bladder for much more that 24 hours (unless they are seriously dehydrated); so I guess the no-stopping bit is poetic license.

About non stoping, I was speaking about total break. I, of corse, guess they left the column to go... do their needs...

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Originally Posted by Ludens

I know from Wellington's campaigns that soldiers were allowed to leave the column in order to relieve themselves. Many used this opportunity for a bit of daylight robbery of local peasants. The 95th regiment's officers (Wellington's rifles) dealt with this problem by instructing the soldiers to hand over their weapon and pack to their messmates before leaving. This achieved three things: without his pack the rifleman could catch up with the column more quickly; he no longer had his rifle to threaten the locals with; and his comrades would become grumpy if they had to carry his stuff for too long, so he had to return quickly.

Incidentally, I doubt that anyone would be able to hold up their bladder for much more that 24 hours (unless they are seriously dehydrated); so I guess the no-stopping bit is poetic license.

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That's what I was imagining the ancients would probably do as well. It's the most efficient way of dealing with it. -M

Would you think the Romans would have fed their men better than the Greeks? or vice versa? I'm guessing not a substantial amount was issued to each man anyways.

I guess it was depending very much on the harvest of the year... rich harvest = more food for taxes and offering, and more left for army purpuse... poor harvest = tight belts... It's my opinion, though i could be wrong. were the rations rationalised to a fix portion per soldiers no matter what?

Would cavalrymen have walked alongside their cavalry to give the horses a break every now and then, or just ridden them the entire march? Who knows, cavalrymen could swap with one another to conserve energy too ;-)

Each cavalry man had with him more than one horse, so I guess he was riding all the time, while one of his horase was resting... kind of :)

What did they eat?/What were they fed? (The men not the horses ;-P).

Oats, barley... in some kind of pudding (as I try to think what would have been the easier to transport) they would have goats in the following caravan, for milk and meat. This is at home, and when in ennemy territory, of whatever they could find, as rarely would they send for more provision. as Sun Tsu said : one peck (of provision) from the ennemy is worth 20 pecks from home (as the animals that would be used to bring the food and provision up to the front would also have to be feed during the way, so it would take 20 "unit" of barley in oprder to bring one to the front)...

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Originally Posted by stratigos vasilios

Would you think the Romans would have fed their men better than the Greeks? or vice versa? I'm guessing not a substantial amount was issued to each man anyways.

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I think their commissary and supply arrangements were better. They took that sort of thing more seriously.