Romans

I was reading a book on Ancient battles last night, and I figured out what was wrong with the Romans, other than the civil disputes. They didn't utilize their cavalry to it's best ability, and they couldn't defend against massive charges well. Cavalry is probably the strongest pre-automoatic-weapons weapon in the world. It is fast and the cavalry come down upon the men, so gravity quickens the blows. The Romans had cavalry and used it, but they depended mainly upon their foot legions. The Goths were not as disciplined as the Romans, but they had superior numbers, lending much weight to their charges. It's like a bowling ball, the Goths, hitting the pins, the Romans. The heavier the ball, or the bigger it is, the more force it strikes with, so more pins are knocked over. Now imagine if the pins were very close together. Then it would be easier to knock more pins over, because by hitting the first ones you would hit the last ones, in the formation that is. Thus, when the front line of the Roman infantry formation was hit, it fell back upon it's companions behind, driving them bakc as well. This confused the men and muddled their formations. This packed them together, meaning an attacking Goth could hurt more than one man with a stroke. In one battle against an oppenent with very good Cavalry, the romans were so packed together that they couldn'st move and some were crushed or suffocated. The men were so packed together that the dead didn't fall, they remained upright. Just a little mental fodder for you.