US Marines vs Roman Empire: Reddit Question Spawns Serial Novel

Could US Marines Defeat the Roman Empire?

It started out with a question from Reddit user The_Quiet_Earth:

• 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?

Several other users responded with theories on how quickly a modern-day military force could spank the Roman legions, but redditor Prufrock 451 took it to a whole new level. He began writing the US marines vs Roman legion matchup as a serial story, beginning with the marines' mysterious and anachronistic appearance in ancient Rome. I thought it would read like something from Deadliest Warrior, but actually feels more like Generation Kill meets Rome.

The exercise quickly spawned /r/RomeSweetRome, though no new installments have yet appeared. Hey, Prufrock451 has a life. Other redditors have submitted fan art, military tips, and words of praise.

The original AskReddit link above has days 1-7 of the story: it's a quick, dense, and thought-provoking read. By the way, it's flash fiction, not slashfic. Big, big, big difference.

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