just thinking about the disease/medical angle is interesting. Are soldiers vaccinated against smallpox now? Plus all the other ways of dying of illness that we no longer take for granted but were a normal element of human life forever, up until very recently.
a solar-recharge capability for communications would certainly open some interesting possiblities for the romans once they co-opted the survivors (hopefully).
If they lost, but managed to somehow preclude augustus marrying tiberius’ mother it might have saved his children, as well as germanicus. That single issue (tiberius and his mother) was a major negative in how the roman empire developed. You could argue that germanicus being removed from the rhine left that territory to be allowed to be lost.
That would make for an amusing ending.
The American Marines storm Rome, kill the emperor declare themselves to be the new leaders
And then die of smallpox infections.
Sounds like an outer limits episode.