The Romans left an outstanding legacy of innovation and adaptability rarely matched by any other ancient civilization. But like any great civilization, it also had many shortcomings. One of these has come to be known as the worst battle tactic in Roman history due to its poor immediate and long-term results.
To understand why this battle tactic is the worst the Romans ever used, we must first understand why they deployed it. During their campaign in modern-day Britain, the Romans were attempting to conquer and pacify the island. This campaign started in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius.
During these campaigns, the Romans faced fierce opposition from Celtic tribes which was made even more difficult by the marshy nature of the local terrain.
Stilts in marshy lands: the Romans’ worst battle tactic
Since the Romans were carrying out their campaign in marshlands in eastern and southern England, they had to improvise so their soldiers could successfully carry out battle in spite of the terrain.
To move through the mud, the Romans decided that they would equip their soldiers with stilts, in the hope that it would enable them to traverse the marshes more easily. However, this endeavor had quite the opposite effect: while the stilts prevented the Roman soldiers from sinking into the mud, it made it impossible for them to maneuver rapidly and severely limited the actions they could realize in combat. This left them exposed to attacks from the Celtic tribes, who were far more familiar with the terrain and much more agile.
Owing to the disastrous battle that ensued, this military tactic is widely regarded as the worst that the Romans ever implemented as instead of making their soldiers stronger, it simply made them weaker.
Poor strategy hindered Roman campaign in Britain
The Roman stilt strategy proved to be absolutely devastating for the Romans both in terms of immediate loss of life during the campaign and in their long-term efforts to conquer Britain.
Due to the failure of the battle tactic, the Romans were forced to retreat from the marshlands, instead choosing to assert their control in more defensible positions, such as the grasslands.
This retreat also caused many of the Celtic tribes to unite against their invaders, paving the way for leaders like Cararacus and Boudica to rise. The defeat also served as a cautionary tale for the Romans, as despite their overwhelming technological superiority, they conceived and implemented one of the worst battle tactics in their otherwise legendary military history.