Wheeling the phalanx

[Aryaman2]

If your spear/pike phalanx is in open order the commands:

EPI DORI KLINE (turn to your spear i.e right) or
EPI ASPIDII KLINE (turn to your shield i.e leftt) can turn the trooper in 90 degrees in a matter of seconds.

METAVOLI = about face can change the frontage 180 degrees also in a matter of seconds.

I demonstrated all of them in Watford as an individual and we have trid them in Greece in formation. No big deal.

If you are in locked shields formation, then you are in deep trouble.
Only under the assumption that you are not engaged by an enemy you mast fall in open order and then execute the above commands.
Spartans and crack merecenaries would achieve British Guards "fall in
square" in about 2 minutes. The others....well....tough.

Pikes formation would need probably 4 minutes. If they were outflanked by an enemy in 100 meters or less they were toast!

Kind regards

Stefanos, that means that the soldiers in a phalanx would take any place in it, is that a sure fact? I mean, taking as a comparison the pikemen squares XV-XVII centuries, soldiers had their determined place, and to turn 180º the formation had to perform countermarch.