“It leaves their body wide open, thereby they are more easily killed with a rapid stab,” Artorius said.
“All correct,” Vitruvius said, obviously pleased. “Recruit Antoninus, step up here.”
Antoninus came forward and faced the others.
“Now raise your sword arm like you were going to slash.”
Antoninus did so.
“If you look,” Vitruvius said, “you’ll notice that with his arm up, his torso is stretched out, and his body is wide open for attack. Plus, it puts him off balance.” With that, he shoved Antoninus to the ground with little effort. He then extended his hand and helped the recruit get back to his feet.
“As I said, the primary use of the gladius is as a stabbing weapon. You rattle your opponent with a blow from your shield; you finish him with a quick stab to his vitals. The ideal spot is just below the ribcage. If you can strike him underneath the ribs and up at an angle, your blade will go right to his heart or lungs. You want to avoid stabbing directly into the chest, as there is the probability of your blade ending up stuck in the ribs. The abdomen and bladder region also work. Usually these areas are not immediately fatal, however your opponent will be out of action, and he will die soon enough. For a quick kill, you can also aim for the throat or just beneath the jaw. If you cannot get a shot in at the vitals, aim for the legs. A quick stab to the thigh will put him on the ground quickly. Now, you try it. Remember, just as with a shield punch, draw your power from the hips. Alright, go ahead and do it.”
Vitruvius and Macro watched as the recruits went to work stabbing away at the wooden poles. Artorius again visualized a hulking German in front of him. He imagined the sheer agony he would put the man in when he stabbed him in the guts, or the throat, or underneath the ribs and into the lungs. Once he was satisfied that things were progressing well, the centurion left.
“Hold your weapon firmly, but do not keep a death grip on it,” Vitruvius told the recruits as they practiced. “Your weapons should become an extension of your arms. They should become a part of you.” After a while, he had the recruits cease in their exercises.
“Alright, you’ve started to grasp the most rudimentary basics of individual combat. Are there any questions before I release you for your afternoon meal?” Vitruvius asked.
“Yes, Sergeant,” Magnus said. “I understand that battles can sometimes last for hours. I also understand the need for us to be in extremely good physical shape. However, these weapons seem to be excessively heavy.”
Vitruvius smiled. “Is there anyone else who thinks that their training weapons are excessively heavy?”
There was a pause before he continued. The recruits did not want to appear weak in front of the Sergeant. “Understand that, yes, the training weapons are heavier than service weapons, twice as heavy, in fact. You are right, Recruit Magnus. Conditioning is extremely important for a legionary. If you can sustain the fight using these training weapons, then using your actual service weapons will come easy. That is it for weapons drill today. Next will be your afternoon meal, followed by classes on century battle drill, and then more physical training with Optio Valgus.”
That afternoon they went over the basics of maneuvering a century as part of a larger element, the Cohort. Centurion Macro taught these classes himself, since he was the one who would direct such maneuvers on the battlefield. The recruits then returned to the practice field, where the centurion had a large parchment stretched out on an easel. There were numerous diagrams drawn on it.
“While individual fighting prowess is important, it will do you no good if you cannot work together and fight as a team,” the centurion began. “The lowest element of any legion is the section, which consists of eight soldiers. Ten sections make up a century. When deployed for battle, the century will usually form up on line, facing the enemy. The centurion always takes the position at the right of the line and in the front rank if the century is in column formation. The optio takes the position at the extreme left or at the rear of the formation if the century is in a column. Their job is to make certain that the century holds the line, stays in formation, and executes properly. The signifier will position himself next to the centurion. He is the one who will relay all signals and orders.
“The cohort consists of six centuries. Normally, it is the smallest unit that will ever operate independently. Standard battle formation for the cohort is centuries on line, one behind the next. Soldiers in each rank will be staggered with those to their front. This will ensure proper overlapping coverage and make it easier when the cohort conducts a passage-of-lines.”
“Excuse me, sir, but what is a passage-of-lines?” Magnus asked.
The centurion didn’t miss a beat in explaining. “You may recall that the old Greek phalanx consisted of many ranks, often sixteen or more, that were stacked one behind the next. Each phalanx would crash into the other, and they would maul each other with spears about four meters in length, until one broke. If you were in the first few ranks, chances were you were going to end up dead. No matter how decisive a victory was for one side, both would always suffer appalling and unnecessary losses. The passage-of-lines is one of the Roman innovations that help us to avoid this. Once soldiers in the front rank become fatigued, the centurion will give the command ‘set for passage-of-lines.’ At this time, the soldiers in the front rank will set in place and quit advancing forward. The centurion in the next rank will then give the command ‘execute passage-of-lines.’ The soldiers in the second rank, moving together as one, will rush past those in the front rank and smash into the enemy lines. This must be executed with precision, and all soldiers must remain together on line for it to inflict maximum shock on the enemy. The men who were previously in the front rank will back up while attending to any dead or wounded and make their way through the remaining ranks to the rear of the formation. Are there any questions concerning this?”
There were none.
Afternoon physical training consisted of going for a run around the inside of the fortress, only this time with a log pressed over their heads. As much as this added to the degree of difficulty, Artorius found that he was not as winded as he was after his first run. That night there was the usual friendly banter around supper with the rest of their group. Their companions were more than friendly, though there was definitely a degree of separation that would continue to exist until they completed training. Afterwards, it was a brief trip to the bathhouse before going to bed. Artorius was finding sleep easier to come by at night. He knew his conditioning was improving, he was learning the ways of the legion, and he was slowly transforming into a soldier. He longed for the day when he would be a civilian no longer.
The next day offered more of the same. The problem was Artorius’ arms and back still ached from the day before. It was not long before they started to burn under the strain of having to wield the practice gladius and shield for so long. He began to seriously regret not having included more endurance exercises in his old workout regime. He knew he was strong, but did not possess the muscular stamina necessary to go for long periods of time.
Sweat seemed to gush from every one of his pores. His arms felt ready to fall off as he continued to strike his wooden adversary, that only the day before he had attacked with such zeal and fervor. Just when he felt like he couldn’t go any further he heard a loud yelp as one of the other recruits felt the wrath of the centurion’s vine stick.
Where had he come from? He glanced over to see Magnus leaning on his shield while Centurion Macro alternately screamed in his ear and smacked him across the back with his vine stick.
“You worthless bag of sheep shit!” the centurion bellowed. “You say your body hurts? I’ll teach you the meaning of hurt!”