War is a high stakes logistics competition with tactics thrown in to give purpose to the logistics. Rome was a logistics empire in the same way that England and the US were. Kublai Kahn was not remembered as a great warrior like say, Oda Nobunaga, he was good at war because his troops always got food and reinforcements. Hell, this basic principle is a large part of Sun Tzu.
Excel makes logistics easier. Every empire wants that shit.
Every time I read this meme about I reach for the big iron on my hip only to see the secod part and remember there was that other Cesar that people worship…
I am glad to be here
The reason Roman legions were as successful as they were was because of Rome’s bureaucracy and logisitical efficiency. Their road network existed to allow legion and their food trains to go anywhere in the empire unrestricted.
Same reason that the US military has been as successful as it has in WWII and at least some part of the 20th century- it’s never about tactics, it’s about mastering industrial logistics to move any gear, any where, with a day’s notice.
Yes. The Romans would have fucking KILLED for Excel.
Hell, Napoleon put out a massive bounty on the invention of canning. The idea had been shown theoretically possible and he understood what a massive logistical edge he would get from the ability to ship food other than hard tack with his armies. Before canned goods war didn’t just kill soldiers, soldiers pillaged the countryside (regardless of whose side they were on) for food.
People really underestimate how difficult it has been historically to actually feed armies. Even today the US is doing wild crap like establishing fast food chain restaurants in military bases and making sure that continental US food is available in South Korea and Guam to ensure morale is maintained.
Their road network existed to allow legion and their food trains to go anywhere in the empire unrestricted.
oh don’t get me started. The success of the entire roman empire was the roads and infrastructure (also aqueduct but less so). You can trace the success and growth of civilization to transportation technology. Direct correlation, close enough and rational enough (i haven’t run the numbers but I’m confident making an ass out of myself) I’m willing to say it’s causative. The biggest change we’ve seen has been computers, and integrating that fully into transportation (which we still haven’t done. because it’s nigh fucking impossible to get computers and humans to drive together safely. it’s almost like we need a new transportation revolution) will overhaul society. however we do it.
Putting computers on wheels was always a terrible idea. Computers go on rails. We’re failing to overhaul society because we’re using wheels where we should be using rails.
Reading the comments above, I wasn’t even done before I was imagined how to write this exact response lol. Guess I’ll contribute this instead:
Roads are for local human freedom, rails are for proper logistics, which is where you want your computers integrated as much as possible. People don’t realize that in WW2, most of the distance travelled by tanks was on trains, not by their own power which is very resource intensive.
ultramarines and bobby g
