
Could a Single Marine Unit Destroy the Roman Empire? - jonbaer
http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a7341/rome-sweet-rome-could-a-single-marine-unit-destroy-the-roman-empire/
======
Someone
_" So, as soon as the Marines ran out of gas, their tanks would become little
more than hunks of metal."_

That may be optimistic. According to
[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Sparrow2/publicat...](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Sparrow2/publication/224624994_Improving_Reliability_and_Operational_Availability_of_Military_Systems/links/55243a080cf2b123c5173845.pdf),
_" The M1A2 Abrams main battle tank has an MTBF of 27 hours"_, so if they have
fuel for a week, chances are that tank will break down before they run out of
fuel, even if they bring spare parts for doing minor repairs.

Modern war needs insane efforts in logistics.

~~~
flukus
> "The M1A2 Abrams main battle tank has an MTBF of 27 hours"

There's logistics and there's this. How is this at all acceptable? In a real
war with the likes of Russia it's entirely possible that supply lines could be
cut off for extended periods.

~~~
Koshkin
> _the likes of Russia_

May I point out that there are no "likes of Russia", Russia is unique in all
respects that matter. A war with China, for instance, would have little in
common with a war with Russia. (I guess, China is unique in its own way.)

~~~
flukus
In this case "the likes of russia" is anyone that can disrupt supply lines
during a land war, which would easily include China. Just look at all the
trouble cause by a guerrilla war in a small country like Iraq.

------
devoply
You are sent back in time? Why the hell would you even attempt to start a war.
If anything you would want to make friends with the Romans and become generals
in the Romans legions and establish your position in the Empire. You would be
a complete fool to start any sort of conflict in a place like that. Having all
your future knowledge could help quite a bit with doing something like this
and get your men fed and kept alive until they are old and dead.

~~~
qnsi
Yeah, interesting concept for reddit thread, but would make for a bad plot for
a movie in my opinion

------
Koshkin
One thing to keep in mind is that soldiers back in the day had to be
exceptionally strong, if they were to survive a single battle. That, and the
fact that "natural" selection was much more effective than it is today.

------
squozzer
If they were to land close to Rome, they would probably capture it before any
legions could respond.

If they failed to capture Rome before running out of ammo, they would probably
lose.

That said, they would certainly have huge advantages, including psychological
ones (superstitious Romans might mistake Marines for armies of an angry Jove).

If they succeed, and set themselves up as Praetoria Novae, some of the smarter
Marines might be able to accelerate Rome's military technology a few hundred
years by introducing gunpowder and bronze cannons.

