New hoplite book

[PMBardunias]

2) Rather than the second man in file, it must have been the last that could best use a sideways stance and put shoulder into shield for an all-out shove.

Agreed, I diagrammed this a while back, see blow.

In fact, this suggests how othismos could be controlled, with the rearmost hoplite executing orders to either push or pull back, the command then traveling forward from man to man as each experienced pressure or release from behind.

Because the force adds from back to front in each file, the "wave" has to start with the rear and be as simultaneous as the men can accoplish. In this he would be analogous to a coxwain in coordinating movement. We know that Spartans sang to eachother in the ranks just before battle and that "those who dance best for the gods were best in war." It is possible that they chanted in unison or perhaps the rear rankers did during othismos. This is a time honored way of coordinating effort and has given us sea shanties and via "work songs" the Blues! And just where do the flute players go after the Spartans start fighting?

Of course, such sophistication would be possible only for a well-trained phalanx, separating it from a simple mob in panic.

A mob is not so bad, as long as you keep them moving in the same direction, panic is the problem. You could take men and pile them into deep ranks and with little training they would be able to push pretty well. That said, like rowers, having a coxwain helps a great deal. Probably up over 8-12 ranks, coordination becomes difficult, but the added ranks still help. Because it is always easier to react to pressure than to initiate pushing, if your enemy pushes your 8 rnaks back into another 8 behind them, the front group forces the back group to coordinate their pushing. I hope that is as clear written as it is in my head. Plus if by chance you did manage to get 25 or 50 ranks to push close to simultaneously for one cycle, it would be a hell of a force.