Force Projection in the Punic Wars: Contrasting Approaches

Abstract

This paper examines how several ancient states dealt with the issues of military recruitment, how they differed and ultimately how these varying approaches met the needs of their countries. A general overview of how ancient Mediterranean democracies raised and equipped forces to conduct operations that steadily moved from local defense to enforcing inter state policy will be given. Specifically the cases of Rome and Carthage will then be examined and contrasted. The emphasis will be on the mechanics of how states actually recruited their forces, how commanders were appointed, how they were trained, what they were expected and asked to do by their governments, and how successful were they in prosecuting these goals. This analysis postulates that it is against a democratic state's long term interests to rely on non-government, for profit (mercenary) military and security forces.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 14, 2013
Accession Number
ADA589674

Entities

People

  • Ali J. Besik

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Money
  • National Security
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Personnel Management
  • Political Systems
  • Security
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.