>From: David Dunham <dunham_at_pensee.com>
>
>Guy Jobbins wrote
>
>> i can't remember what the general opinion on the
>> frequency of shield walls in orlanthi society is.
>
>I did a quick search; in King of Dragon Pass the term does occur, but
>it's not an integral part of the game, so you could consider it to be
>more a poetic description of a line of warriors than a highly
>polished military maneuver if you prefer.
>
>(I think they exist, but are not necessarily the same thing as the
>Yelmalion shield walls.)
Isn't some sort of shield wall essential to effectively using the spear and shield combination? In a free for all it would be very difficult for a spearman to keep enemy swordsmen far enough away for the spear to be an effective weapon. Certainly it won't be the drilled formation of Yelmalio, probably varies from a rough line of warriors to a packed block who at least understand the idea of protecting the warrior to their left.
>From: mills_at_midohio.net (Joe Mills)
>Well, I have a wonderful book by Victor David Hanson, "The Western Way of
>War". The focus on the book is on the "hoplite experience" as opposed to
>tactics, but let me quote briefly from p.31, "In this world of perennial
>battle, fighting in the ranks of the phalanx required utmost courage,
>excellent physical condition and endurance, but little specialized training
>or skill with weapons." He later points to Thucydides, who has Pericles
>chastise the Spartans for "excessive" hoplite drill.
>Now this book was written in 1989, and I haven't paid much attention since,
>but I doubt if Hanson was all that far off. In the main, is his point, the
>hoplites were landowning farmers, not professional soldiers.
>Yes, every man had an assigned place in the phalanx, but that does not make
>them professionals or point to use of tactics. Well, I must hedge that.
>Doesn't the greek word for "tactics" mean the ordering of formations?
>
>Well, I'm way off my field, so feel free to punish my hoplite scholarship.
>But I do recommend a reading of Hanson if you're interested in hoplite
>warfare.
Well it's a long time since I looked at hoplite warfare but the general view then was that the absolutely essential element was drill. As soon as the formation was broken the phalanx was defeated so when facing the enemy *any* formation change, advance or retreat had to be carried out without losing formation. Certainly the standard of drill varied with the better drilled phalanx being able to perform more manovers. By concentrating on drill and formation fighting rather than weapon skills an effective fighting force was achieved on a part time basis. Just like the yeoman archers of England - a few hours a week, every week from childhood in a narrow range of skills.
End of The Glorantha Digest V8 #146
Powered by hypermail