My name is Martius and I am a Roman soldier. I am twenty-five years old and I am in a legion. My family has been serving in the Roman Army for many years, and many stories have been passed down. I think that the battle with the Celts was one of the hardest, though.

 

I knew that it would be a hard battle when we first got to the battle field and I saw their swords, obviously made for slashing and cutting. Then, I remembered our secret weapon, our Pilum. With our Pilum, or spear, we would be able to throw them and not get them returned. Also, I think that we had a very big advantage in armor. They had practically none! Our Lorica (body armor) was a big advance and savior to our army. The most important piece was the breast plate.  It has saved many men. It was just a simple jacket of overlapping metal, but much more than the Celts. The Celts did have boots like us, though. Our Caligae (boots) didn't win us any adavantage over them. Our Scutum (shield) was well built, but the Celts stole our design. Theirs is long, wooden and covered in leather. It protected the whole body. It was a shame when I took my Gladius (sword) and aimed for a Celts rib and he deflected it with his shield. He also managed to take a swipe at my hand. Luckilly, it was only a flesh wound and it was my left hand. That did give me a bit of a disadvantage of handling my Scutum, though.

 

By the end of the war I was in pretty good condition, despite the wound on my hand and a gash above my eye. After our victory I was able to return home to my wife and children and heal over time. Now, I await new orders from our leaders and hopefully a new begining.