Talk:Velites/GA1

GA Review

I have now reviewed this article under the six Good article criteria, and have commented in detail on each criterion below:

1 Well written PASS

There are a few things minor I've noticed, however.

• In the last section, about Marius' military reforms, it would be helpful to add a general time frame of the reforms, so one wouldn't have to click on a different article to find out. "Reforms" should also be lower case.

• There are a couple of glitches in the introduction, unis (instead of units), and evntually (instead of eventually). Also, Maniple needs to be disambiguated to Maniple (military unit).

• There is a bit of overlinking, mostly in regards to Hastati, Principes, and Triarii (they should be linked in the intro and perhaps once in the main text, not every instance). Also, because all four entries in the "see also" section are already mentioned and linked in the text, they can safely be removed.

2 Factual accuracy PASS

• The only issue I see is that the lead section is unsourced; however, since it doesn't contain information that is already sourced in the article, it shouldn't be a problem.

3 Coverage PASS

• The article seems to cover all of the aspects of this type of infantry; their equipment, usage in battle, history of their development and retirement, etc. Looks good to me.

4 Neutrality PASS

• No evidence of POV issues in the article.

5 Stability PASS

• Seems to be stable, no issues here.

6 Images PASS

• Images are not required under GA criteria, so there are no problems here.

Once the relatively minor issues in point 1 are sorted out, this article should be ready for GA. Great work on this article! Parsecboy (talk) 14:45, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! It's my first GAN. Anyway, I've corrected the issues you pointed out, the Marian reforms now have a date, the spelling errors have been corrected and the Hastati, Principes and Triarii are linked to once, in the introduction.--Serviam (talk) 23:17, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

It's also my first GA review (although I have been involved on the receiving end before, so I know more or less what to look for). I'll go ahead and promote it! Parsecboy (talk) 12:53, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi! I think that this article needs some work. It seems to repeat itself in many places. I would also be very interested to know any ancient sources which refer to this tactic you mention about the Velites riding along and dismounting to use their javelins, since such an account I have never encountered or given attention to. Your reference to their being first used in 211 BC is wrong, since their use is attested in many battles before that (e.g. all the battles against Hannibal in Italy as well as against the Gauls before that) Thanks!

GK1973 (talk) 13:44, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

The issue with the velites dismounting is written by Livy. This was the key tactic for the Romans to counter the superior Capuan cavalry, but don't nail me to the exact book. I will have to research that. Wandalstouring (talk) 13:58, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, I will find it myself.

GK1973 (talk) 14:01, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

French Army

I think that certain units of the French Army of the Revolutionary/Napoleonic period were called "Velites" after the Roman model. Drutt (talk) 23:23, 4 May 2009 (UTC)