Testudo - Roman Army Tactics in Action - Roman army display by The Ermine Street Guard

Roman army battle tactics display, showing the Testudo formation. Watch the excellent Ermine Street Guard Roman reenactors forming a Testudo by combining their shields. My film also includes interesting facts and information about the Testudo.
Roman Army
The Roman Empire was built in part upon it’s military strengths. The Roman Army was a formidable force, efficient, organised, highly trained and with excellent equipment and tactics. The Testudo allowed troops to move about the battlefield without being picked off by archers.
Roman Testudo
The Testudo was a shield-wall formation used by the Romans, which took it’s name from the turtle or tortoise. The Testudo was a defensive formation used by the Roman legionaries to protect themselves against archer fire. It was very effective in siege warfare to enable the troops to attack a city’s walls. A Testudo would normally be formed by 27 legionaries. It was made by legionaries forming into a rectangular formation, with the front and side row held their shields vertically to form shield walls to create a protective shell. Troops inside the formation held their shields aloft to create a roof, balancing the overlapping shields on their helmets. The interlocking shields created a protective barrier. The troops were able to move forward slowly into battle, keeping the protective barrier of shields in place. The slow movement and the protective shell resembled a turtle, where the formation got its name from.
The Testudo did have weaknesses, which included the fact that the formation wasn’t very fast or agile. The troops in the front-line of the formation were most vulnerable because gaps in the shield wall exposed part of their heads and lower legs. The tight formation made hand to hand combat difficult. The testudo could be defeated, as demonstrated at the Battle of Carrhae when the Roman Testudo was defeated by the combination of Parthian horse archers and armoured cavalry.
Subsequent use
After the end of the Roman Empire the testudo formation continued to be used in military conflicts, including use by Muhamad, the Vikings and the Crusaders. In current day riot police continue to employ similar formations.
The Ermine Street Guard
The Roman re-enactors featured in this film are the excellent Ermine Street Guard who put on displays throughout the year at various Roman sites in Great Britain and Europe and are well worth going to see them in action. Check out their website for details:
www.erminestreetguard.co.uk/
They have been running since the 1970s and have established a strong reputation as
one of the leading groups of Roman Army reenactors, paying careful attention
to detail and authenticity of everything they do, including armour, weapons and
equipment. The displays include aspects of the Roman soldier's training, the shooting
of artillery pieces and a static army camp display. Occasionally they are also joined
by fully equipped Roman cavalrymen.
Music credits: Courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
To All the Glory by Howard Harper Barnes
Phoenix Rising by Edward Hogg
March Towards the End by Bonnie Grace
Sound effects
Soldiers marching courtesy of soundbible.com
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