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ORIGINS '' computer game, copyright 2004 Creative Assembly and Activision ]] The earliest known depiction of a phalanx-like formation occurs in a Sumerian Stele . In this particular instance the troops seem to have been equipped with Spear s, Helmet s, and large Shield s covering the whole body. Egyptian infantry were also known to have employed similar formations. However, historians have not arrived at a consensus regarding the relationship between the Greek formation and these antecessors; the principles of shield wall and spear hedge were almost universally known among the armies of major civilizations throughout history, and as such it is impossible to reject the possibility that the similarities were due to convergent evolution instead of actual diffusion. Some Historians and authorities date the formation of the Hoplite phalanx of ancient Greece to the Eighth Century BC in Sparta , though this is being revised as it is more likely that the formation was devised in the Seventh Century BC after the introduction of the Aspis shield (popularly but mistakenly known as the ''hoplon'') by the city of Argos , which would have made the formation possible. OPERATION The Hoplite phalanx was a formation in which the hoplites would line up in lines, no less than four deep, in very close order. In this formation, the hoplites would lock their Shields together, while the first few ranks of soldiers would project their spears out over the first rank of shields, thus allowing for the first three or so ranks of spearmen to engage their spears against the enemy. Therefore, one might say that the phalanx was essentially a formation in which the hoplites created a mass spear and Shield Wall . The effectiveness of the phalanx depended upon how well the hoplites could maintain this formation while in Combat , especially when engaged against another phalanx. 's strategy at Leuctra. The strong left wing advanced while the weak right wing retreated. The red blocks show the placement of the elite troops within each Phalanx .]] When in combat, the whole formation would consistently press forward trying to break the enemy formation; thus when two phalanx formations engaged, the struggle essentially became a pushing match, in which, as a rule, the deeper phalanx would almost always win, with very few recorded exceptions. At the Battle Of Leuctra (371 B.C.) the Thebans under Epaminondas took this idea to extremes, thinning out their right and center in order to put a massive 50-rank deep phalanx on their left. This formation, known as the oblique phalanx, allowed the Thebans to turn the Spartan right flank even as the Spartans pushed back the right and center of the Theban line. The Spartans were defeated, shattering the myth of Sparta's invincibility in land warfare. The Macedonian Phalanx is an important variant of the basic Greek formation. Based on the reforms of Iphicrates and Epaminondas , the soldiers in this new phalanx (''phalangites'') carried long pikes called Sarissa that were more than twice as long as the hoplites' Xyston ; as these pikes had to be held in two hands, they adopted the smaller ''pelte'' shield instead of the traditional ''aspis'' and strapped it to the forearm, thereby freeing the left hand to help bear the weight of the pike. Their longer pikes allowed more ranks to project the heads of their weapons beyond the front of the formations. At the same time, the weight and coverage of their armor was lessened in order to reduce the expense of equipping them. As a result of these developments both Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander The Great were able to raise an army of competent, well-drilled infantry at a much lower cost (in terms of both time and money) than the Greek city-states to the south. Even though the longer weapons of the Macedonian phalanx also meant that their formation was less flexible than that of the Greeks, it was not seen as a great disadvantage since the phalanx was meant to serve only as a part of a combined-arms force that also included a variety of Skirmisher s and Mounted Troops , most notably the Prodromoi scouts and the famous Companion Cavalry . The Macedonian phalanx generally worked to pin the center of the enemy line while the Companions attacked the flanks and the light infantry hovered around to cover the phalanx's immediate flanks and plug any gaps in the line caused by advancing through difficult terrain. The natural tendency during battle would be to drift towards the right side. This is because the individual hoplites carried their shields on their left arm. Battles were won when the exposed right side (carrying spears) could overpower the opposing army's left side (carrying shields). DEMISE While the phalanx formation was formidable and nearly indestructible from the front, the formation would find it difficult to protect its own flanks and rear because it was a relatively slow-moving formation and once engaged it could not easily disengage or redeploy itself to face a threat from those directions. Therefore, when the phalanx was flanked (attacked from either the left or right side) it was rendered nearly defenseless. We see this at the Battle Of Cynoscephalae , in which a force of Roman Legionaries defeated one wing of a Macedonian army and then detached several cohorts from the victorious wing to strike the flank of the other Macedonian wing. The Macedonian Phalanx could also be disordered while moving through broken terrain and in this condition it had to be supported by friendly Light Infantry standing ready to plug any gaps in the phalanx line as they appear. When these light troops were either absent or failed to do their duty, as in the Battle Of Pydna , the phalanx would become extremely vulnerable to attack by more flexible troops such as (again) the Roman legions. Another weakness the phalanx faced was light missile troops such as Archer s or Slingers . These troops could stay a safe distance from the phalanx while at the same time subjecting it to missile fire, thus forcing it to either Surrender or Retreat . An example of this is the Battle Of Lechaeum , where an Athenian army led by Iphicrates , containing a considerable proportion of light missile troops armed with Javelin s and Bows , succeeded in routing an entire Spartan ''mora'' (a Spartan unit numbering anywhere from five to nine hundred hoplites). It was due to the two abovementioned weaknesses that after the Peloponnesian War the phalanx did not perform very well unless included as part of a combined-arms force. When the phalanx was employed without Cavalry and/or Light Infantry support, it could not cope with the greater tactical flexibility of the Roman Legion . It was dethroned from its prestigious position among ancient tactical formations after the Battle Of Pydna ( 168 BC ), after which Macedonia and Hellas were made Roman Provinces . Some legends (with little to no historical support) state that a Spartan phalanx drove off marauding Visigoth s after the Battle Of Adrianople in AD 378 . REVIVAL The phalanx never quite died out; the Roman Legionaries at the time of Caesar and Arrian were known to have defended against (and even attacked) cavalry by using their ''pila'' as thrusting spears instead of thrown javelins. In the 3rd Century the Roman army even directly adopted the phalanx formation for units campaigning in the East, such as the Legio II Parthica . The phalanx also formed an important part of the Skoutatoi formations in the later phases of the Eastern Roman Empire . In addition, the Viking -era Swine Array and the Anglo-Saxon Shieldwall bore striking similarities to the early hoplite phalanx. The Frankish army at the Battle Of Tours might have used a phalanx-like formation. Later on the pike phalanx enjoyed a major revival in the form of the Scottish Schiltron and Swiss Pike Square (see also Landsknecht ). The Swiss phalanx was a much narrower formation than the hoplite phalanx, usually no more than 20 or 30 men wide but considerably deeper. The Swiss phalanx had great success - particularly against French Cavalry - for almost a half century, but their ascendancy came to an end with the Swiss defeat in the Battle Of Marignano in 1515 . It was replaced by the Spanish Tercio , which combined the solidity of the phalanx with the flexibility and firepower of attached Musket formations. SEE ALSO
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