What if? Roman Army vs. USMC MEU

[USSWisconsin]

The notion of using coal is a good one. Can an Abram's gas turbine run on whale oil?

I doubt the ships propulsion could be converted to coal - it might be useful for heating, but wood would be more available. They would have navy distilate fuel for how long? Perhaps they could produce methanol fuel (ethanol would be energy and labor intensive - they could make that too, but discipline about the men drinking that could be a concern) for vehicles like the Abrams and some smaller enginesa - but diesel would be unlikely. The LHA is going to run out of fuel and cease to be mobile, they would need to move it to a good location and leave it there. Whale oil might be a source of lube oil, but I'm afraid the engines are going to run out of consumables in a relatively short time - long before the men get old...

[Tanker]

What if..........The Roman Army (all of it) was standing on the exact same spot that the MEU was transported to and was transported back to Camp Lejeune?

[Officer of Engineers]

The RSMs are going to have their hides for such improper dress.

[Tanker]

The RSMs are going to have their hides for such improper dress.

Oh, that would be funny to see...

[Albany Rifles]

I doubt the ships propulsion could be converted to coal - it might be useful for heating, but wood would be more available. They would have navy distilate fuel for how long? Perhaps they could produce methanol fuel (ethanol would be energy and labor intensive - they could make that too, but discipline about the men drinking that could be a concern) for vehicles like the Abrams and some smaller enginesa - but diesel would be unlikely. The LHA is going to run out of fuel and cease to be mobile, they would need to move it to a good location and leave it there. Whale oil might be a source of lube oil, but I'm afraid the engines are going to run out of consumables in a relatively short time - long before the men get old...

Aren't all of the ships engines gas turbines?

Hard to run on other than distilate for long periods of time.

All of the vehicles could operate for short periods of time on other than JP8 but you start to run into corrosion and filter issues pretty quickly.

Remember, multi-fuel engine means run on anything multifuel but then you have a maintenance workload.

[Albany Rifles]

The RSMs are going to have their hides for such improper dress.

Nah...they would just think they were reenactors staying in character.

[Doktor]

What if..........The Roman Army (all of it) was standing on the exact same spot that the MEU was transported to and was transported back to Camp Lejeune?

You mean like to switch places or the Romans to appear next to MEU?

For one I guess that base wont fit 300,000 people

[ArmchairGeneral]

...diesel would be unlikely.

Olive oil!

Hey, if peanut oil works...

[1979]

You mean like to switch places or the Romans to appear next to MEU?

For one I guess that base wont fit 300,000 people

they could fit in two football stadiums.

[Mihais]

They'd be pretty dissapointed by our gladiatorial games.

[Doktor]

They'd be pretty dissapointed by our gladiatorial games.

Instant revolt

[YellowFever]

After the initial encounter ( Praetorian guard and militia ) it is unlikely that the Romans would march on the MEU, probably they would fall back to Greece,Spain and north Africa and dig in.
Most of the food and goods received overseas would be cut, just 8 years before Marc Antony was able to raise in Egypt a army that rivaled that of Octavian.
Without the LHA is a long march on those colonies and fuel is not exactly easy to procure.

Hey, I'm just giving the guy that started the thread what he wanted.

It'll be a piece of cake for the Marines to take Rome. I never said anything about how long they'll stay relevent afterwards.

And the objective is Rome as you said. Who cares if they regroup in Spain or other parts of Italy. It'll take them a long time to get back in the fight and if the commander of the MEU is smart, those Roman armies will slowly be attrited long before they get close enough.

[YellowFever]

The RSMs are going to have their hides for such improper dress.

What, I thought short leather skirts were the norm for Marines....

[USSWisconsin]

Aren't all of the ships engines gas turbines?

Hard to run on other than distilate for long periods of time.

All of the vehicles could operate for short periods of time on other than JP8 but you start to run into corrosion and filter issues pretty quickly.

Remember, multi-fuel engine means run on anything multifuel but then you have a maintenance workload.

If the LHA is a Tarawa Class, she has steam propulsion. Since there would be no replensihment - the vehicles wouldn't be operational for very long after they ran out of the ship's fuel reserves. I'm sure the MEU could win any battle while their ammunition and fuel held out - but once that was gone - they'd need to have positioned themselves for survival in ancient times.

[troung]

The Marines are egomanics in wheeled death trap trucks like the humvee and LAV-bs - the Romans could use their short swords and cut the tires and immobilize them. Javelins and stones could bring down the V-22s and AV-8s which are unsound modes of transport and the fact the MEU lacks battleships would enable the Romans to cut them down.

Seriously the Romans move in formations which would be criminal almost 100 years ago - the Spanish were closer in tech to the Aztecs or the British and Sudanese at their final show down - then the Marines and Romans are.