Wheeling into Line

A Roman Legion of Caesar's time, circa 50 B.C., deploys for battle. This formation is made by coming off line of march (see previous photograph) which was in three parallel columns. The three lines simply mad a right face in the direction of the enemy and they are prepared to attack or meet an attack in three lines, Triplex Acies. The operations of the legion reflect the activities of the Roman Army of the early Republic.

The basic military principles remain true to our own time on the battlefield. Move to the enemy and deploy. Where a unit(s) enters the battlefield is now called the line of departure. It advances toward the enemy with its axis of advance being an imaginary line that runs through each line of the unit from flank to flank. This axis controls the unit's facing toward the enemy. This is marked with the two red arrows on the front line.

In this legion, one may interpret each cohort of the legion as four figures (yellow arrow). The large red arrows show the direction the legion is moving in three lines. The D denotes the direction.