TheLand said:
Thanks! It would be helpful if you could give an approximate date when these thing would have been invented, and any details about what they were (perhaps a link?) Also, if some kinds of cultures used particular inventions and others idnd't, that would be useful to know as well.
For instance, I don't know much at all about what the Roman signal system was (horn calls? burning beacons?) or when it was introduced. Nor do I know if anyone else used the same kind of thing.
I´ll try to talk a little bit about each of the suggestions:
-Poliorcetics: the art of siege is as old as cities and it can be tracked to sumerian & akadian times. Still, a planned and developed system was first introduced by greeks. For the time frame of the game, the best example of siege was the roman one over Syracuse (214 b.C.). From then on, Syracuse was used as example in many cases such as Scipio Aemilianus´ siege of Numantia and Caesar´s siege of Alessia.
-Counter Poliorcetics: Rome lernt lots from the Syracuse experience. I´m sure you all know about Archimedes; he was the genial inventor who designes lots of ways to repeel romans. Still, another great way to destroy a siege from the inside was shown in Numantia taking the "ghost raid" and gerrilla tactics.
-Bagagge Train: the first army taking food and supplies in mules was the Assirian one but Rome refined it even more to the exent of creating a sort of village (called cannava) close to every army encampment. With Marian Reforms, logistics were even more developed (each soldier carried a part of the necesary equipement). This logisctical system was one of the keys for the conquest of Gaul.
-Professionalization: the first professionals of war appeared in history are mercenaries coming from the veterans of peloponesian war (I´m sure you all know about Annabasis). Still, the first nation to consider war as a full time job was Rome after the marian reforms.
-The Storm: greeks were the first ones designing catapults (often called "ballista"; the spoon-like device is an onager) and other grand scale projectile-launchers. Still, the first massive bombardmente occured during Titus´ time during the siege of Jerusalem. The first general use of war machines during sieges & in the battlefield can be seen in the conquest of Gaul.
-Signal System: when formation warfare appeared, methods to bring and cohordinate orders had to be made; musical instruments and banners were the main method. The most famous example were the double-flutes of spartans because of its high-pitched sound (and thus, spartans fought in silence). The most refined way could be found in Rome, specially after the implementation of manipular tactics with Marian Reforms: Rome used a combination of banners (from Aquila & Imago to Vexilum) and musical instruments (specially horns and trumpets; there was even a special charge in the army called "cornifer", the one who played the horn).
-Encampment: II Punic War innagurated an era of long-term wars in far away lands for Rome. Wars lasted for years and sieges happened also in winter, so Roman soldiers had to get stablished in a semi-permanent (and eventualy permanent) way in an area. Castra were designed for this porpouse and they are the root of many cities (Leon, Trier, York...) and, of course, the grandfathers of Limes (Danube, Rhine and Hadrian´s Wall).
-Gerrilla Tactics: the first folk known using this kind of tactics are thracianas but the place most famous gerrilla warriors of the Ancient Age is reserved to the fearsome celtiberians. The peak of this style of asimetric war was archived by Lusitanians with Viriatus and Arevacians during the siege of Numantia. Both folks could repeal and even beat a much bigger and organized armies. Sertorius brought the style back fighting Sulla.
-Marching formation: scholars tend to say that roman army was the most succesful of his time not for the gladius, but for the caligae. The hability to march over long, long distances in short periods of time was based upon a strict discipline and serious logistic calculations, specially after the Marian Reforms.
-Levies: II Punic War, iberian conquest and wars in Helenic peninsula led Rome to change the way of recruiting troops (they even changed the calendar for that!) because of the increasing number of needed soldiers. Marian Reforms were the culmination of this requirement but even before, Gracus´ brothers politics aimed towars getting a bigger recruiting pool.
-Contubernium: this institution is both the "marriage" of slaves in Rome and the name given to the groups of 8 soldiers assigned to a tent. This 8 soldier squads developed strong ties of friendship and thus, were the base where conspiracies in legions spread. Contubernium led to the meaning of obscure conspiracies, but also where the base for the soldiers´ loyalty to generals.