The Makedonian phalanx -- why such depth?

[PMBardunias]

What Paul B. is expounding is certainly feasible, and very likely to have been the case for the early phalanx. ( but could also apply to 'Homeric Infantry').

I agree. As I said from the start we should not doubt that by Xenophon's date the drill you describe so well was in place for at least the best trained units such as his mercs and the Spartans. I would add two caveats: 1) surely less preffesional musters of part time soldiers lagged behind in the learning of this drill and in fact may never have. 2) We can't be sure that this drill was in any way standard or the only way of doing things.

We also don't have enough evidence to show that they initially formed in opened order instead of simply lining up, then doubled to form close order. I have no problem at all with the idea that they double as you describe down to the penultimate double- for which I would posit a rank 4 wide by 8 deep for an enomotiai of 32 as thukydides describes. So we are halfway in agreement!

This is simply not correct. Anyone with experience of drill can tell you that even raw recruits have no trouble maintaining open order at 6 ft intervals.

I don't agree, but the point is moot until someone reenacts it. One thing though, if they do bunch up- a very natural thing to do- when shoulder to shoulder, they will simply squeeze a man ou of line and cause him to stand behind the rest of the rank, extending the file by 1. If two adjacent men in rank bunch in opened order, then they choke off any attempt at doubling.

...I would suggest that the opposite conclusion can be drawn here - that the "Ten Thousand" displayed a very high dgree of discipline and cohesion....With the armies some 600 yards or so apart, and the Persians still coming on, they sang the Paean and began to move forward at the walk, just like the 'rehearsal'. As the advance accelerated, part of the phalanx began to get ahead ( probably on one wing or the other), and the remainder 'straightened' the line by moving at the double....On this occasion the "Ten Thousand" were disciplined enough to shout to each other not to run all out, and thereby lose cohesion, but to follow up the enemy without breaking ranks.

I was agreeing with you. This incident shows that they could and desired to maintain cohesion, and not run pell mell after a fleeing foe. One reason for this is that since they were not coming up against another unit, there was not "wall of men" to force them to form a line of their own. This force should not be underestimated. One reason why drill became so important in linear combat with firearms is that you had to stop your troops cold at a virtual line in the sand toopen fire and hope they would all stop at roughly the same time. Pulling up just prior to collision with aother unit leds this organization naturally. What we don't know from that incident is if this cohesion was a local phenomenon. Did they stop persuit in a long line, or, more likely to me, did each unit pull up the men within shouting distance.

Some of the scythed chariots, abandoned by their drivers, came their way, but they simply 'opened out' and let them through.

They would have been in close order, so how was this done in your scheme?