The Roman Conquest of Italy was both laborious and enlightening for the Romans. After many conflicts with the Etruscans, Sabines, and the Samnites, to name a few, the Romans had adapted their military tactics and government structure in order to rule over Latium, and later Italy itself. The early Roman Republic, which had already been sacked on several occasions, originally favored the Greek hoplite tactics and phalanx formation. However, because of the rough terrain and lack of standardization, Rome eventually adopted Samnite maniple tactics. These tactics organized soldiers based on their skill and arms into distinct units of 120 men, who were divided into three battle lines. because of the checkerboard pattern of troops, Rome's armies could effectively function and the level of independent maniples. This sort of structure would stay with the Roman Republic throughout their conquest of Italy, and was most effective under the reformations of Marius. Marius at last forced the Gauls out of Italy, using legions of men with less need for supply lines, greater endurance, and standardization of equipment, which would become a standard for each Roman legion. Does this help?
