User:Hawkeye7/Book Reviews

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Alexander Merrow, Agnostino von Hassell and Gregory Starace - Caesar's Great Success

By Hawkeye7

Roman camp

I am always on the lookout for books on the logistics. While my special field is the 20th century, this title looked too good to pass up. The book has a brief recap of Caesar's campaigns in Gaul, Spain, Greece and North Africa which forms the first chapter of the book, but it is presumed that the reader is wholly familiar with them. This is not unreasonable.

Instead, the book concentrates on the basics of supply and transport in a readable and accessible form. This book is not chock full of jargon and figures, and there is minimal Latin and references to classical works. There is a chapter about subsistence, which describes how the Roman Army of Caesar's day was fed. There is a description of the diet and common beverages, such as the famous posca vinegar ration. Another chapter covers how supplies were procured and distributed. Caesar usually arranged for foodstuffs to be obtained from allied local tribes. Forced acquisition and pillaging were also employed on occasion. The working of his supply lines is detailed, but the book emphases how Caesar was willing to sacrifice security for operational mobility, moving away from his supply lines.

Each chapter of the book includes a recipe for a Roman delicacy, so the reader can bake their own Roman hard tack (bucellatum), make their posca and prepare their own langoustines with herb sauce ("serve with Roman mice").

Highly recommended. Publishing details: Merrow, Alexander; von Hassell, Agnostino; Starace, Gregory (2020). Caesar's Great Success: Sustaining the Roman Army on Campaign. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-47385-587-8. OCLC 1151197085.