Hoplite spacing and formation

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Lets talk about Sparta.I believe the order was given in each enomotia just befor the battle.The enomotia had the way to form a phalanx of several depths.
Lets say that the archaic enomotia was 25 men.If they wanted to fight 12 deep,each enomotia would stay still in line.This was the open order.Just befor engaged,the 13 rear men would come forward.This way you had the enomotia in two lines with the ouragos in the rear.
Lets say now that they wanted to fight 8 deep.The phalanx would again be formed with each anomotia in single line. Then the first eight would stay still, the next eight would come next to them and the rear 9 would take position just next to the folowing enomotia.
To fight 6 deep, again they would form phalanx in single file,each enomotia several steps apart.Then the first 12 stay still while the folowing 13 march in the middle space between the two enomotiae.This is open order.Manouver takes place with this formation.Then with the signal for battle the rear 6 would come forward,the fourth file of the enomotia having 7 instead of six.
25 is the number given by Herodotos,and given that the front of the phalanx has locked shields with the enomotarch in the extreme right,then it is the ouragos who stays out of formation,to keep the lines in order during deployment and othismos.
There are also other posibilities as to how the enomotia formed 8 deep,but I think what i said is the more likely.In taking more steps to form 8 deep,the phalanx could make 4 deep.It is always the same thing,what changes is the space between each enomotia when they first form phalanx with each enomotia in single line.It was the responsibility of the enomotarch to take the correct number of steps,acording to the order for the depth of the phalanx.
Xenophon changes the number of the enomotia and possibly in that age the ouragos was part of the phalanx.But the deployment would be the same.
What do you think about this model? I repeat there are other possibilities but I find this one most likely.
Paul B,the othismos was not how a battle had to be fought.It is the result of two phalanxes of similar strenght and marale opposing each other. The synaspismos helped in the protection of the soldiers,in the number of soldiers fighting in the first line,in the ability of the enemy to penetrate the formation, and to keep order in the phalanx.The C model helps in anouvering,deploying,protecting and allows for the second in line take the place of the dead front ranker.It may be weaker in othismos against D,but I'm saying that D was impossible and inpractical,so it is not likely that a phalanx locked in C would ever face another deployed with D.
I remind you,also that pressure was a characteristic in battles with no locked shields.Our Roman friends could shed some light to that battle where the dead were staying still because of the pressure. Both C and D allow for better and systematic pushing than any other formation.
And by the way, I'm not even sure that a hypothetical D(that i've never seen in reenactors,only in history channel) would beat a C in pushing.Someone has to try it.
Khairete
Giannis