Invicta

[WIP] Roman Army Scouts, Spies, and Saboteurs

Added 2021-03-04 00:08:12 +0000 UTC

We have a new "Units of History" episode in the works on the various intelligence units of the Roman army. They were extremely valuable but never get talked about. Below is a preview of a portion of the script:

The Procursatores

What developed was a more robust approach to reconnaissance in the form of the Procursatores . These were generally groups of mounted troops who fanned out in the close vicinity of the main army. They tended to stay within a day’s march of the infantry column and were expected to operate self-sufficiently.

The composition of these troops varied greatly. Rome’s equite cavalrymen filled the role initially but quickly passed on the torch to more capable allies and auxiliary troops. Caesar for instance famously employed Iberian, Gallic, and Germanic horsemen for many of these activities. In terms of their numbers, they were usually quite small in proportion to the overall force. For example in Julianus' campaign against the Persians, his army of about 60-80,000 men employed a mere 1500 Procursatores or roughly 2% of the total force.

Whilst deployed, the Procursatores primarily acted as a screen for the army who would make first contact with any nearby force. These patrols were maintained day and night with their frequency being increased in dangerous territory. When the enemy’s presence was discovered a message was typically sent back to notify their commander with some basic information on what had been encountered. A good eye and experience would be invaluable in this role. For example smoke and fires indicated an encamped force while a low, wide dust cloud suggested the movement of a large body of infantry and a tall, narrow cloud meant the movement of cavalry. If line of sight on actual troops could be achieved, the little details mattered. What unit types were there, how many could be counted, were they disorganized, did they have their shields uncovered and their equipment ready for battle?