What are the advantages & weaknesses of Japanese against Roman warfare?

[Marshall Louis-Nicolas Davout]

[QUOTE=andrewt;2053356809]Rome wasn't known for their cavalry nor archery. They pretty much suck at it. Mercenaries would be no match for the Japanese.

If we're talking about the Eastern Roman Empire, they're more a contemporary as they fell 200 years before the Sengoku Jidai. The Western Roman Empire army that we're being asked to compare is over 1500 years older. I think some people are assuming that there are 0 significant advances in metallurgy during all those years.

I don't think the Roman gladius can even compare to a modern steak knife.[/QUOTe


Hmm I can agree.The Japanese had clever leaders,something which the romans lacked.Takeda Shingen,Oda Nobunaga,Uesgai Kenshin,Date Massamue.

What they're forgetting is the fact that that Japanerse armies had more units than ever.Tachi Samurai,There were a wide a amount of Samurai and they seem to underestimate that yes pretty much,cavarly was elite.Katana Ronin and Yari Ronin,Ashaguri Nagainta and there were a wide amount of monk warriors.Sure the Romans would have flung javlens,but the samurai dont fight with shields.They would have charged no matter what.And the fact everyone seems to forget,that becoming a samurai,let alone a yari ashaguri took years of pratice.Or months.

Samurai were higly skilled swordsmen.In fac it is strange to think that european armies fought with shields,and eastern armies fought with shields,but the Japanese were the only people to never fight with a shield!Think of it,all the people of the world have some sort of shield. Even still they would have been highly skilled in how to use them,and they would have slit a roman straight before had a chance,think of no-dachi samurai immideatly plungining their swords into a samurai's throat.You could see it that way