Marcomannic Wars

[Ray]

I have stsarted a new project using 28mm figures, my period is the late 2nd Century during the Marcomannic Wars fought between German tribes and the Roman empire, i have read a fair amount about this period via the net,but i cannot find anything on battles, and i am looking for literature on the subjuct,could any of you please steer me in the correct direction.

[Jim Webster]

I suppose you're looking at Dio Cassius  and Herodian

Herodian is at http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodian/hre000.html

but also at http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/

Jim

[Ray]

Thanks Jim

[Patrick Waterson]

Dio Cassius (or Cassius Dio) covers Marcus Aurelius' campaigns against the Marcomanni et. al. in Book 72:

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/72*.html

Dio is not much of a weapons and tactics man, he just gives a basic narrative which serves for orientation in the period.

Patrick

[Ray]

thanks Patrick, that's a good help.

[aligern]

Ray, some f this is a slightly earlier period, but I don't believe that German fighting styles change dramatically from 50BC to 200 AD.
1) Caesar Gallic Wars book I has a fair description of the army of Ariovistus, an expansionary German tribal alliance.
2) Tacitus Germania, good on German equipment and style
3) Tacitus Annals on maroboduus, an earlier Marcommanic leader.
4)  Old, but good an article by EA Thompson on Early German Warfare originally published in Past an Present some time around 1968?
5 Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan's Column to Icelandic Sagas [Paperback]
Michael P. Speidel (Author)  About £20 from Amazon and it will change your mind on German armies and enable you to build a much more interesting force! (apologies if you already have Speidel).
6) Anne Hyland, 'Training the Roman cavalry'  Worth Seeing if you can get the Roman cavalry to operate as they actually did.
7) Adrian Goldsworthy's book on the Roman army of the period. I recall it has a section on the German enemy too.

Hope that helps
Roy

[Ray]

Thanks Roy, and sorry for the late reply, your list has certainly helped, i indeed have some of the books you mention but  not Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan's Column to Icelandic Sagas .
Ray

[Duncan Head]

Ian Ferris, Hate and War: The Column of Marcus Aurelius (History Press 2008). Not directly about the course of the wars, but an interesting book with photos of many of the Column scenes.

There's also a recent biography of Marcus that I haven't read: Frank McLynn, Marcus Aurelius: Warrior, Philosopher, Emperor (Vintage 2010).

Amazon also threw up this:
Peter Kovacs, Marcus Aurelius' Rain Miracle and the Marcomannic Wars (Brill, 2009). Being Brill, it's not cheap - RRP £94 - so might be a library job.

cheers,
Duncan

[Ray]

I was on Amazon and ordrered the Speidel book. It looks ionteresting and should help to get my Germans to look authentic, i have been looking at the others mentioned,some ihave and others i will buy.
Thanks for your help

[aligern]

I think that Speidel would justify she units  within a German army, particularly  a confederation army, that were bound together by sanctified vows, wore specific costumes and had specific roles. So you could have a unit of infantry trained to attack horses, a unit of bear warriors, a unit of clubmen, a unit of Cannenfatian cavalrymen with heavy spears etc. That makes it all rather less vanilla than a lot of tribal units all with much the same look and task.
roy