Curmudgeonly & Skeptical presents Boned Jello: Nuking Caesar?

Saturday, November 05, 2011

Nuking Caesar?

Could a Single Marine Unit Destroy the Roman Empire?

“

James Erwin was browsing reddit.com on his lunch break when a thread piqued his interest. A user called The_Quiet_Earth had posed the question: "Could I destroy the entire Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus if I traveled back in time with a modern U.S. Marine infantry battalion or MEU?"

The question struck a chord with the 37-year-old Erwin, a technical writer from Des Moines, Iowa, who happened to be finishing a book called The Encyclopedia of U.S. Military Actions ... [Cont]

”

Who amongst us haven't fantasized about driving an A-10 Warthog over Gettysburg PA, on July 3 1863? Or unloading his B-52 on Madison Square Garden, on July 16, 1992? About 10PM?

“

Erwin’s story, which he titled Rome, Sweet Rome, has a cult following among reddit members, its own subreddit on the site, and has inspired fan music and art. But from the beginning, his posts received comments critiquing the accuracy of his conjured tale.

”

But, why Caesar's Rome? Well, they did give is Mussolini and the Fiat Strada. Anyway, it's caused quite a to-do on Reddit, if you're of a mind.

Sid

Rodger the Real King of France 11/05/2011 12:02:00 PM 12 Comments

"If the number of Islamic terror attacks continues at the current rate, candlelight vigils will soon be the number-one cause of global warming. "
Argus Hamilton

12 comments:

Ace said...: There was a story similar to this in a long-ago issue of Analog magazine about a fighter pilot in NATO era Germany returning to base in England who traverses a time warp and ends up in on an airbase in WW1 England.

After they determine he's not a Hun, it is decided that they need to throw him into some important air battle over France. It takes a long, long time to filter enough "fuel" to fill his tanks and he eventually takes off (ignore the fact that the runway is probably a pasture).

He attempts to use his air-air missiles to knock out the German planes, but they don't put out enough heat to attract the missiles. He ends up flying right through them and they're ripped apart by the turbulence.

Etc. etc. But I digress ...

PS: My "word verification" word today is "pousi", which must be a cross between "pelosi" and "pussy" ...; 11/5/11, 12:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Full length movie (Title?) had a nuke carrier go back in time to the Pacific and prepare to take out the Japanese fleet heading to Pearl Harbour. Good stuff.
x; 11/5/11, 12:52 PM
george said...: Funny, I've been on a fantasy lately where I go back and change just a few things in the Constitution...where to begin?
wv: vingst is that like virgin angst?; 11/5/11, 12:57 PM
BlogDog said...: Ace, I remember that story. I want to say it was called "Pikadon" after the Japanese for the flash-bang of a nuclear explosion. But I'm not sure of that title. Maybe the name of the aircraft was "Pikadon."

Anonymous - That movie was The Final Countdown. It took me a moment to track down the title but I got to it.; 11/5/11, 1:06 PM
Anonymous said...: To answer the question, yes, if they have sufficient logistical sustainment.

Casca; 11/5/11, 2:58 PM
Alear said...: Cecil pondered:

Would I be able to take down a fully-grown T. rex armed only with my Beretta 92FS 9mm pistol and a full clip?

He suggests Templar's top-rated cartridge is a 4-bore Nitro, a bratwurst-sized round with a T.Rx score of 362 that looks like it'd punch through a brick wall. If you'd rather not have the recoil dislocate your shoulder, you can get by with the venerable .460 Weatherby.; 11/5/11, 5:02 PM
DougM said...: The Romans would certainly change tactics after the first encounter, so the permutations are fascinating.
However, riflemen, light armor, artillery, & recce eventually beat spears, swords, and ballistae.
(What? Well, yeah, as long as the ammo holds out.); 11/5/11, 6:27 PM
Anonymous said...: One of my favorite what if spoofs:What if Spartacus had a Piper Cub?
Or the Twilight Zone Sherman tank at The Battle of the Little Bighorn...

RAK; 11/5/11, 6:37 PM
Anonymous said...: One of my favorite what if spoofs:What if Spartacus had a Piper Cub?
Or the Twilight Zone Sherman tank at The Battle of the Little Bighorn...

RAK; 11/5/11, 6:37 PM
Snackeater said...: Limited supply of beans, bullets, band-aids, and most importantly--water? Not to mention no fuel, commo or GPS? No contest--Marines're gone w/in two weeks. But I imagine the Romans could'a put their body armor to good use.; 11/5/11, 8:38 PM
Malagate said...: Fellas, I can't believe I remember, but I can help with the "Analog" reference. The name of the story was "Hawk Among the Sparrows." The name of the plane was indeed "Pika Don." (Japanese, maybe?)The things that lurk in your memory banks.

Anyway, a more important question is "What if George Washington had an invisible robot friend?; 11/6/11, 10:01 AM
Anonymous said...: I remember that too, about 1970, two part serial.

Jerry Pournell answered this in the three Janissaries novels, and David Drake answered it backwards in Ranks of Bronze where aliens kidnapped/bought a Roman legion and took them off planet to serve as mercenaries. The cover blurb read "The Aliens made only one mistake. They left them their weapons." Great fun.

Harry Turtledove wrote the Videssos cycle about a displaced Roman Legion, and of course the truly great Guns of the South.

And of course the original, L. Sprague DeCamp's Lest Darkness Fall.

Yeah, sci fi geek. For about 50 years.

--Sapo Mal; 11/6/11, 3:12 PM

Saturday, November 05, 2011

Nuking Caesar?

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