The period known as the mid-Republic, ranging roughly from the beginning of the second Punic War to tribunate and murder of Tiberius Gracchus in 133BC, was a time of great expansion in the Roman world. In order to comprehend better the nature of Roman imperialism in this period, it is important to understand how the Romans fought in battle. For decades scholars have argued over the mechanics of mid-Republican infantry combat. In the early twentieth century there was fierce debate among the great German military historians and building on this debate, throughout the last century, a general consensus arose over the mechanics of infantry combat. These models were grand-tactical and produced rather static images of massed groups of highly disciplined soldiers relentlessly advancing against any enemy which crossed their path. So pervasive were these models that this remains the most popular image of the Roman heavy infantry. In the mid '70s pioneering new work sparked a new school of thought in ancient military history and inspired a number of soldier's-eye-view histories, particularly in the field of Greek battle, where there are contemporary accounts, but also some on Roman warfare.