De re militari

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De re militari (Latin "Concerning Military Matters"), also Epitoma rei militaris, is a treatise by the Late Latin writer Flavius Vegetius Renatus about Roman warfare and military principles as a presentation of the methods and practices in use during the height of the Roman Empire and responsible for its power. The extant text dates to the 5th century AD. Vegetius emphasized things such as the training of soldiers as a disciplined force, orderly strategy, maintenance of supply lines and logistics, quality leadership and use of tactics and even deceit to ensure advantage over the opposition. He was concerned about selection of good soldiers and recommended hard training of at least four months before the soldier was accepted into the ranks. The leader of the army (dux) had to take care of the men under his command and keep himself informed about the movements of the enemy to gain advantage in the battle. De re militari became a military guide in the Middle Ages. Even after the introduction...

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