[split] Phalanx warfare: use of the spear

[Paul Bardunias]

And if the phalanx is getting pushed back because they aren't winning the othismos then the only thing the men in the rear ranks of the losing side will know is that they are losing. Hence their morale plummets and then they break and run to save their own skins, because the sooner they break the more distance they get, they might survive the rout.

I could not have said that better.  They face the old "I don't need to outrun the Spartans, I just need to outrun my own fleeing friends" conundrum.

We joked about tree sex at the time. If I had Pressfields address I send him the pic.  But I don't think that hoplites trained that way, in fact I don't think they trained for othismos at all.

[JaM]

and how would they know they are not winning? by them being pushed back? that would just make them pushing harder...for the worst for the guys in the front row.. Until these guys are somehow physically threatened, they would not rout.. so you would have to flank them or something... but i dont see how would they start panic sooner than those in front rank

[Paul Bardunias]

and how would they know they are not winning? by them being pushed back? that would just make them pushing harder...for the worst for the guys in the front row.. Until these guys are somehow physically threatened, they would not rout..  so you would have to flank them or something... but i dont see how would they start panic sooner than those in front rank

It is a maxim of combat formations that all routs start from the rear.  You can panic all you want in the front rank, but you have no way of escaping, so you either keep fighting or fall down.  This effect, the morale bonus of men behind you that make it impossible to retreat is one of the main reasons given for deep ranks by those who doubt othismos, Like Goldsworthy.  I think it is surely at play, but only part of the answer.

[JaM]

anyway, back to physics of such push.. i did not tried it, but my base knowledge of physics (i was manufacturing engineer major, with university level of Statics, Dynamics and Physics, but its been like 20 years i didnt used that stuff) i can tell that amount of force you generate with two blocks pushing against each other would be about 2x of what a single force can do against a solid object. Yet in this case, you have shields locked together in overlapping manner, therefore force from another file would add to yours, while certain amount of a force in third file, would also apply indirectly (pushing at the shield next to you, it would transfer some kinetic energy to yours) so all in all, overall pressure against single shield would be 2x what you got *2 for the enemy formation. (guessing its the same 8 ranks)  or practically 4x what you achieved by pushing against the tree with single file of 8 men.

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not exactly.. its not the pushing that gives you support, but the mere presence of them, having somebody behind you that improves your morale... the knowledge you are not alone..

remember reading this at Gary Brugemman page:

The Society for Creative Anachronism holds full contact battles with wooden weapons. They have little to teach about the Roman legion but one participant who is a "Roman" soldier did have one useful comment. He noted that even in their mock battles it is very important psychologically to know who is next to you and behind you. The support and protection of those around you is critical to one’s ability to fight. If this is true in a mock battle, it must have been more so in real ones. This would seem to argue in favor of a closer spacing. Given the considerations above, a lateral spacing of three feet seems appropriate.

http://romanarmy.info/spacing/spacing.html


(sorry for so many edits)

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on a side note, i think the best way how to assess these things would be a computer simulation.. not a PC game, they don't usually have realistic physics and are usually made to be fun and not to be accurate.. but some sort of a simulation, that would take all these things into account and would allow you to play the combat scenario, so you can see result of it.. Of course, you would need to have full human skeleton modeled etc, but that is something that is not that hard to get these days.. many modern game engines can easily serve as simulation overlays, as they use full Physics in them (be it Unity or Unreal Engine or anything else)

Main advantage of such modeling would be so you can simulate actual combat.. with its morale effects, with people hesitant to go into danger, material strength etc etc.. but of course, it would all depend on quality of input. (sorry if i got a bit carried away..)

[Bryan]

and how would they know they are not winning? by them being pushed back? that would just make them pushing harder...for the worst for the guys in the front row.. Until these guys are somehow physically threatened, they would not rout..  so you would have to flank them or something... but i dont see how would they start panic sooner than those in front rank

They were already pushing, and even though the back rankers are pushing their whole phalanx is getting pushed back. That is why they know they are losing. 

The rear rankers are almost never threatened and almost always the first to run, which is why both the Greeks and the Romans had officers stationed in the rear ranks or behind the formation. Rear rankers, unless given special status and higher rank, are never going to be part of the percentage of forces that are considered "quality." If you have eight men and have to assign them into a phalanx, the best will go in the front, where they are needed the most. The Greeks, especially the Macedonians, actually also started putting sub-officers in the rear ranks just to prevent what we are describing.

[Paul Bardunias]

anyway, back to physics of such push.. i did not tried it, but my base knowledge of physics (i was manufacturing engineer major, with university level of Statics, Dynamics and Physics, but its been like 20 years i didnt used that stuff) i can tell that amount of force you generate with two blocks pushing against each other would be about 2x of what a single force can do against a solid object. Yet in this case, you have shields locked together in overlapping manner, therefore force from another file would add to yours, while certain amount of a force in third file, would also apply indirectly (pushing at the shield next to you, it would transfer some kinetic energy to yours) so all in all, overall pressure against single shield would be 2x what you got *2 for the enemy formation. (guessing its the same 8 ranks)  or practically 4x what you achieved by pushing against the tree with single file of 8 men.

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not exactly.. its not the pushing that gives you support, but the mere presence of them, having somebody behind you that improves your morale... the knowledge you are not alone..

Hmm, my initial reaction is "yes".  I am not sure what your point is.  Your physics is a bit off because the tree is pushing back with equal force on my men by definition.  They are basically static, so there is no velocity multiplier.  If they begin to form shock waves through the crowd then, yes you can have coincidence and high instantaneous pressures.  But yes, when we tried three files of 6 pushing together we approached half a ton of peak pressures.  The key is as you add files, you also spread the area of impact of those files.  So the force of three files is absorbed and countered by three opposing files for example.

But lets say you are right, I am sure that real hoplites could put out more man for man than we did, all you do is reinforce the value of this tactic.  The aspis will not fail even with more than a ton of force on its face and men can breathe the whole time in the hollow of the aspis.  There surely were times that the aspis failed, if it were cracked perhaps, or had been damaged in spear fencing.  We know that some aspides were crushed at that "battle like no other", the second phase of Coronea.  When that happened, you died.

[JaM]

wait, so you say push would start only after shields are against each other?

btw my point was about different vectors, shield is not flat, opposing shield neither, so vector of your group pushing would apply at different place than vector of opposing force. (unless forces are perfectly synchronized with each file perfectly against each other)

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Brian wrote: The rear rankers are almost never threatened and almost always the first to run, which is why both the Greeks and the Romans had officers stationed in the rear ranks or behind the formation. Rear rankers, unless given special status and higher rank, are never going to be part of the percentage of forces that are considered "quality." If you have eight men and have to assign them into a phalanx, the best will go in the front, where they are needed the most. The Greeks, especially the Macedonians, actually also started putting sub-officers in the rear ranks just to prevent what we are describing.

yes, but if they are just pushing, they are not endangered.. so they have no reason to start rout... if anybody would have that reason, it would be those men in front rank, not those in the rear...

[Bryan]

wait, so you say push would start only after shields are against each other?

btw my point was about different vectors, shield is not flat, opposing shield neither, so vector of your group pushing would apply at different place than vector of opposing force. (unless forces are perfectly synchronized with each file perfectly against each other)

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Brian wrote: The rear rankers are almost never threatened and almost always the first to run, which is why both the Greeks and the Romans had officers stationed in the rear ranks or behind the formation. Rear rankers, unless given special status and higher rank, are never going to be part of the percentage of forces that are considered "quality." If you have eight men and have to assign them into a phalanx, the best will go in the front, where they are needed the most. The Greeks, especially the Macedonians, actually also started putting sub-officers in the rear ranks just to prevent what we are describing.

yes, but if they are just pushing, they are not endangered.. so they have no reason to start rout... if anybody would have that reason, it would be those men in front rank, not those in the rear...

The battle starts when the two sides make contact, either spear fencing or shield pushing or a mixture. Combat doesn't mean nonstop fighting, likely some lulls would occur where the two sides would break apart. But once full on othismos started the side that stops pushing will get pushed back by the side that does. Think Sparta at Leuctra. Not only is it demoralizing to get pushed back but during this their promachoi will also being taking more casualties (if they are too tired to push then they wont be able to defend themselves either). 

The reason the rear rankers rout is that they are knowing their side is losing in the push and will lose the battle (at least from their perspective). They will know that those who survive the rout of a battle are those who are able to run away. They are in the best position to run away, all they are waiting for is that breaking point, when their courage breaks completely and they run. Stay and die, run and live, fight or flight, basic survival mindset under super stressful times when the pulse is at 180+ and the blood pressure is shooting through the roof. Besides those wounded who are unable to run fast enough, the ones in the rout who will be killed are likely to be those in the front ranks, who will not be able disengage directly without exposing their backs to their enemy's spears and swords. The rear rankers, unless they are officers who are specifically chosen not to run away (and even that doesn't always work), then the rear rankers are those who are going to break and run.

[Paul Bardunias]

wait, so you say push would start only after shields are against each other?

btw my point was about different vectors, shield is not flat, opposing shield neither, so vector of your group pushing would apply at different place than vector of opposing force. (unless forces are perfectly synchronized with each file perfectly against each other)

yes, but if they are just pushing, they are not endangered.. so they have no reason to start rout... if anybody would have that reason, it would be those men in front rank, not those in the rear...

Yes, front rankers might push against each other and shield-bash etc. when they first come to grips, but othismos only starts after shields are pressed together.  Then ranks pack in behind the men who are already leaning against each other.

The thing with the vectors is that they are countered by vectors just as complicated, so the result is a wash and not much different than a single file against another file.  The caveat to this is that the more complexity you add, the more you might get freak shock waves that lift men off their feet, etc.

The reason they break is that they know the front is losing.  There are many cues that pass back in the ranks to make this clear.  The last guy does not need to see the front rank to know a panic is close, he just needs to see the man in front, who also sees the man in front- eventually the second rank man in the one who assesses the front ranker.  The whole "feel" of the phalanx changes when its losing, and giving ground is a pretty big indicator.  If the unit gets to a point where all ranks want to rout, only the rear few have the freedom to do so.  This is why deeper ranks help, usually. The rear rankers panic will always be less than those ahead, but their threshold to flee is lower because they can.

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This is funny Jaroslav, but I just realized that you are the reason I wrote my book!  Not like guys like you, but you.  A couple of years ago I got a notice that my name came up on a TW thread.  It was your presentation of Mathew's book that made me send out a call to my peeps as to why no one had shot down what to many of us was obvious baloney.  You may not know that many of us on RAT told him he was going wrong back in the day.  I realized then that those of us who knew better had a duty to correct the misinformation and Fred Ray and I finally pulled the trigger on writing a book.  So if what I am posting here makes you question what you currently believe at all, then I have done my job.  Note that I am not saying I am all correct (I have to present it that way for arguments sake), there is so much we don't know.  But I do hope to balance some of the notions that are out there.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Rear rankers were officers in Greek armies, or at least the most experienced men. It is both in the Hellenistic manuals and in Xenophon's Cyropaedia, where it is specifically mentioned that the rear rankers are there to FORCE the rest of the file to fight.
The front rankers were the best equipped, the officers and the best fighters. It was commonplace that the weakest men, the youngest and less reliable were put in the middle, and then the oldest and most reliable in the rear. In Hellenistic times the ouragos was second in payment after the file leader, second in rank in the whole file. He was above the half file leader, who would fight in the front rank in case of pycnosis!

So let's consider the psychology of the rear rankers again:
They are the oldest men, perhaps in their 50s, they know the best men of their city are to the front, most prone to die but unable to help them. Just in front of them, in the middle of the line are their sons, men in their 20s probably, perhaps in their first battle.
Their purpose is to decide how long the fighting will go on. The men in front of them will often tend to push backwards, especially if there is some trouble on the front. They have to push them back, threaten them (it's in Xenophon) or even kill them, in order to keep the cohesion of the phalanx.
At the same time, they hold the lives of their citizens, friends, relatives in their hands. If they see that the battle is lost, they will be the ones to order, or cause the retreat or the rout, without orders from the general in the front. The genteral is locked in the front rank, if not dead by now.

I think little credit is ever given to the rear rankers. I believe they often were the ones who decided the outcome of the battle or the casualty rates. It probably worked organically at first, since the oldest age groups would be naturally placed in the rear, but it is obvious that their role was acknowledged by the late classical or early Hellenistic times.

[Bryan]

When it comes to rear ranker officers, was that only specific hoplite city states in Xenophon's day or was that all of them since the 5th century BC? I was under the impression some city states were more advanced as to drill and subofficers within the phalanx than others were. I mean some small nobody city state in Aetolia isn't going to have the same level of drill than the Spartans or Thebans are able to maintain, so if they don't have the complexity of the drill they also don't need the officers to pull it off. Which would include official positions, like file closers/ouragos.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Being in the Hoplite push is not fun, but it is not deadly by itself either.
I can testify that the early archaic bell cuirass was not designed with the othismos in mind, the waist rim of the cuirass is impeding the placement of the shield on your back. I could feel that if I let it the flange would be bent flat. In fact it did bend a little, which I fortunately restored completely later.
So I shifted to my leather spolas in order to go on with the experiment. This alone is food for thought regarding both the evolution of tactics and the evolution of armour!

So the most unpleasant thing in the othismos is the lack of controlling your body. The torso flattens against your own and the back shield. Your thighs also square to the point of both touching the bottom of your shield rim.
Despite all this, you can still easily breathe, and your right arm is free to move in almost all directions if raised overhand. If you have it down I suspect it will certainly be cought by some shield. There would be absolutely no room for a spear anyway.

When I was the rear ranker it was also interesting. As we kept on pushing I could feel the line compressing. At first I couldn't explain it since the tree was an unmovable oponent, but as I thought about it, when you first place yourself against the man in front of you, you naturally take a somewhat sideways stance, with one leg forward and one back. You may even be a little crouched in the beginning, so your shield has some distance from your body.
As the pressure keeps on adding, or simply continues with the same degree these gaps close, each man is squared against his shield, torso touching shield rim, pelvis also turned forward rather than sideways. The rear ranker feels this compression like a small forward movement, like having a gap in front of him. When the line is as compressed as it gets that's when we achieved maximum force. The ground is ploughed by the men's feet, like Pressfield described. Actually there is a photo of our feet and the ground.

The othismos is not something you would like to get into, it is something you wanted to survive from.
The shield is designed for this thing precisely. Another thing that was proven is why the porpakes always had wooden cores, even those who had also full metal cover. And also why they had such complex and curvy shape.
The porpax was meant to fit on your ribs, something that happens in the othismos. One of the only metal porpakes was flattened out during the experiment, even with the bearer's hand in it. There is a photo also of this.
The shields were heard creaking in the front ranks, and yet none was damaged, most importantly none of the closest reconstructions which were in the front ranks!

An army which had experienced the othismos enough times to be able to exploit it would have a great advantage. If you could still fight with some effectiveness under such conditions (and this is mainly a psychological feat) then you could easily and quickly get out of it as a winner, since only a few deaths can result in the instantaneous lack of pressure, which the wining side will interpret as a victory and the losing side as a defeat!

That's how it felt to me.

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When it comes to rear ranker officers, was that only specific hoplite city states in Xenophon's day or was that all of them since the 5th century BC? I was under the impression some city states were more advanced as to drill and subofficers within the phalanx than others were. I mean some small nobody city state in Aetolia isn't going to have the same level of drill than the Spartans or Thebans are able to maintain, so if they don't have the complexity of the drill they also don't need the officers to pull it off. Which would include official positions, like file closers/ouragos.

The whole point is that this practice could have easily evolved out of necessity, since you don't need rob be a genius to place your best men in the front and the oldest men in the rear! The oldest men always have some authority over the younger ones, despite not having an official rank. It is possible that the Macedonians made official ranks for the ouragoi because their armies were no longer organized in tribes or age groups. The ouragos could have been a younger but trusted officer

[Bryan]

There are a whole lot of odd things that the ancients did that I should think they didn't need to be a genius to realize they are counter productive.

As Paul has said, every single loss in a hoplite battle after othismos started means the rear rankers were the ones who started the rout (they need to run off to give everyone else room to run too). So if the rear rankers are always the oldest, steadiest, and given increased levels of responsibility, would that still happen often? Wouldn't battles become bloodier, as older ouragos kill their own middle rankers who keep moving backwards?

I'm just saying that besides the Spartans, Thebens, and to some extent at certain times, the Athenians, I can't remember any other city state that had well trained/drilled/repeatedly successful hoplites forces.

[Paul Bardunias]

The shields were heard creaking in the front ranks, and yet none was damaged, most importantly none of the closest reconstructions which were in the front ranks!

Thanks Giannis,  I hoped you'd chime in.  With your permission I will post some of that description on my blog some time.  I really loved the sound of othismos, there was a lot of gasping grunting, but there were times when the only sound was the creaking of the shields.  It sounded like being on a wooden boat. "there was no shouting, nor was there silence, but the strange noise that wrath and battle together will produce"   I was struck at the time that this is a sound that Greece has not heard for 2,000 years!  Wonder if Athena was listening.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Sure Paul, I'm sure you wanted to be in there yourself, but you had other important stuff to do. Many of the interesting observations however were made before the official experiment when we were mostly 'playing' like little boys and like a plague more and more people were adding into the pushing match. It was there that bad positioning and odd circumstances flipped me facing backwards! The things that can happen!