> Mikko Rintasaari wrote:
> > Sloppy of me, but I do know that. I was trying to simplify. Hoplites is
> > what I meant. Tho hoplite actually means "Heavy infantry", or "heavy
> > weaponed", and vere called so even after the introduction of phalanx
> > tactics.
Hendrix:
> Hoplite means a wielder of a hoplon, the large shield (although hoplon also
> means "weapon"), but was used as a general term for what we would call heavy
> infantry. They usually fought in phalanx ("line of battle") formation,
> regardless of whether they were classical hoplites (with one-handed spear and
> shield) or hellenistic pikemen.
*smiling* Yes, we are both learned in military history, and propably boring the socks off most of the readers (not to mention somewhat off topic). Earlier hoplites also tended to fight more open battles, going man to man in a chaotic melee, as well as fighting in formations.
> > Yes, the roman legionaire shield & gladius was a nasty combination in a
> > shieldwall. A real macedonian phalanx would eat them for breakfast tho,
>
> Well, not at, say, Kynoskephalai 197 B.C or Pydna 168 B.C, famous battles where
> Roman legions wiped out Macedonian phalanxes. (True, they were late hellenistic
> phalanxes, and so heavier armed and less mobile than earlier, but still.)
> Macedonian-style phalanxes actually went out of fashion because it was
> generally aknowledged that they could not stand up against Roman style
> legionaries.
All the mentions I've seen of battles between romans and macedonians seem to tell that the romans had no luck breaking the phalanxes unless they managed to lure them into forests, or other unfavorable terrain.
The roman cohorts were more manoverable of course, and the legion had more varieties of troops, and thus more flexibility.
> > but is sure was mean on those unarmed celts that were used a manly free
> > for all melee.
>
> Which is doubtless why the Romans preferred not to close with them, preferring
> to take them out with skirmishers. Er... ;-)
That's right. Bastards! (I've on respect to the Romans, I'm afraid. The only thing they vere good at was bureucracy. Even the famous gladius is an ugly simplification of a beautiful, leafbladed celtic shortsword. And of course they also learned to make soap from the celts, and chainmail...)
> Just a view from somebody who has painted far more 15mm ancients than is
> good for me.
>
> --
> Henrix
*smile*
-Adept
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