04-22-2011, 01:23 AM
Something that I have reenacted and whose results was interesting was the first rank to fight in underarm and the second and third in overarm positions. The first rank of the opponents suddenly has to keep their shield low to better guard the lower parts of their bodies thus making it more likely to inadvertently make themselves vulnerable in their face and shoulder area. Reenactor hoplites who were faced with such a double threat tended to bow forward a bit to present a shorter target and so better protect themselves but then they had some balance problems... Anyways, this is another thing that would be interesting to reenact more...
