The Battle of Strasbourg 357AD

[Imperial Dave]

https://www.thecollector.com/battle-strasbourg-rome-vs-alamanni/

Hopefully firing up enthusiasm for wargaming the campaign....

[CarlL]

I think the history and the 'paradigm' of the victory of the last (pagan = not Christian) Emperor are probably draws to us all gaming this period. Not sure about the campaign, have to re-read this from the Roman history.

I followed your link but didn't last long there as it throws up so much crap - ads and whatever - that its hard to focus on any content.

Would (from memory) Ammianus Marcelliuns be our source?

CarlL

[nikgaukroger]

John Drinkwater's "The Alamanni and Rome" has a good analysis of the campaign as well as being well worth reading anyway.

Ammianus is indeed the main source. Libanius and Zosimus in addition.

[DBS]

Ammianus is indeed the primary source.

IIRC, without digging out the text, there are some oddities such as Julian marching to Troyes with just cataphracts and ballistarii, which even Ammianus has to admit was a tad sub-optimal when they were repeatedly harassed on the march by Germans.

There is also, of course, dear old Serapio, your standard hairy barbarian king who, errr, happens to be named for a pagan Egyptian god.  One of those occasions where the filthy barbarian vs noble Roman meme breaks down a tad as Ammianus has to admit that Serapio's father named him such because of a very long sojourn as a Roman hostage.

EDIT: posted at same time as Nik.  There are also some suspicions that, as with possibly a lot of Roman vs barbarian battles, the Roman sources may have exaggerated the German numbers, and that, shockingly, the Romans may have outnumbered their foes in reality.  After all, one advantage of a professional and well organised army ought to be the ability to get larger numbers of chaps to the battlefield to get a decisive result.  Again, spoils the meme a bit, but only an idiot thinks a "fair" fight is a good idea.

[Jim Webster]

https://www.thecollector.com/battle-strasbourg-rome-vs-alamanni/

Hopefully firing up enthusiasm for wargaming the campaign....

What 'wargaming the campaign?' 
Is this a cunning plan you're preparing in your secret holiday hideaway, complete with volcano and white cat, or have I missed something?

[Imperial Dave]

Not this week Jim but gave me a thought