The Roman Army, 31 BC–AD 337: A Sourcebook

The army in the field 97
during the night and after daybreak quickened the pace of his retreat
with the result that the soldiers in a terrified panic abandoned their
artillery and catapults and most of the other war engines, which the
Jews then captured and subsequently used against the men who had
left them behind… (Section 555) They (the Jews) had suffered only a
few casualties, while the Romans and their allies had lost 5,300 infantry,
and four hundred and eighty cavalry.
158 Frontinus (1st–2nd C.AD), Stratagems 2. 3. 23
The Emperor Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Domitian), when the Chatti
by retreating into woodland repeatedly interrupted a cavalry battle,
ordered his cavalrymen, as soon as they reached impassable ground, to
jump from their horses and fight on foot; by this ploy he ensured that
his victory should not be denied by difficulties of terrain.
159 Arrian, Ectaxis contra Alanos 11–31
When the army has arrived at the appointed place, all the cavalry by
wheeling in a circular movement is to adopt a square formation; scouts
should be sent to high ground to watch for the enemy. Next, at a signal
the men will prepare their arms in silence and when this has been done
take their place in formation. (Section 12) Battle formation should be
as follows. Each wing of the infantry (auxiliary) should hold the high
ground, since that will be its formation in terrain like this. The
Armenians under the command of Vasakes and Arbelos should be drawn
up on the right wing, holding the highest point on that wing, because
they are all archers. (Section 13) The men of the Italian cohort should
be drawn up in front of them, and they will all be under the command
of Pulcher who commands the Italian cohort. And Vasakes and Arbelos
and their cavalry and infantry should be positioned in support of him.
(Section 14) The allied force from Lesser Armenia, the light-armed
troops from Trapezus, and the Rhizionian spearmen should be drawn
up on the left wing and hold the highest ground on this wing. The two
hundred [Apulians] should be drawn up in front of them and one
hundred of the Cyrenaicans so that their heavily-armed men can be a
protection for the spearmen, who can shoot over their heads from the
high ground. (Section 15) The heavy infantry of the fifteenth legion
should occupy all the central area on the right, beyond the mid-point
of the entire area, because these troops are by far the most numerous.
The infantry of the twelfth legion should occupy the remaining area on
the left side, right up to the outer limit of the left wing. The infantry
should be drawn up eight ranks deep, in a closely packed formation.