The phalanx was a rectangular shaped unit of soldiers standing tightly together several ranks deep. The men were armed with long spears or pikes, and frequently carried large shields as well.
The battle line was formed by placing one phalanx next to another. If manpower, allowed a second phalanx line was formed behind the first.
The first documented use of the phalanx is found on a Sumerian stele dating from 2450 BC. Egyptian Pharaoh’s armies also employed this formation.
Greek Phalanx
The Greeks and Macedonians made the phalanx their standard heavy infantry formation.
The Greek Hoplite phalanx varied in size but was at least four ranks deep. The Hoplites were armed with a 6-9 foot long spear called a Doru, which could be carried underarm to present a solid wall of spears as the formation advanced. Alternately the Doru could be wielded overhand as a thrusting weapon once enemy battle lines made contact.
A variant on the standard phalanx is the oblique phalanx, where one portion of the battle line is deeper (has more ranks behind one another) than the others. This strengthened portion of the line is used to break the enemy line like a battering ram.
The first documented use of the oblique phalanx was by the Thebans against the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC).
Macedonian Phalanx
The traditional Greek phalanx was wider than it was deep. Macedonian King Philip II developed a square phalanx.
The standard configuration for this Macedonian phalanx was 16 men wide by 16 men deep to form a company-sized unit called a syntaxiarchia or Syntagma. (Smaller units of 8 by 8 men, known as a tetrarchia, were also used when manpower was low or a wide front needed to be covered.)
The Macedonians carried a long pike called a Sarissa. This weapon came in varying lengths between 13 and 21 feet.
The Macedonian phalanx was really a “hedgehog” formation. The first five rows carried their Sarissas horizontally, confronting the enemy with five parallel rows of pikeheads. The center ranks of the phalanx carried their pikes at an angle, ready to lower them if the front ranks were breached.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The phalanx (especially the square variant) could roll over looser infantry formations. Its bristling wall of pikes could almost always defeat a cavalry charge, too. Only another phalanx could equal its mass and inertia in a frontal assault.
On the other hand the phalanx was inflexible. It was slow to turn, and was vulnerable to attack from the rear or sides by cavalry or light skirmishers.
Unless protected by a solid wall of shields carried by the ranks on the front and both sides, the phalanx could also be worn down by archers, slingers, and mobile skirmishers throwing javelins.
Early Middle Eastern and Greek phalanges, which carried one-handed spears, did protect themselves with very large shields. Since the Sarissa was so heavy, Macedonian soldiers needed both hands to hold their pike. A small shield called a Pelte was strapped to their forearms, but offered only limited protection against massed fire.
Enduring Value
In the end, the Macedonian phalanx was viable because Philip and Alexander used it as part of a combined arms force. The phalanx formed the main battle line and fixed the enemy through steady frontal pressure while cavalry and mobile light infantry outflanked the enemy. The light infantry also shielded the phalanx from side and rear attack.
The phalanx was such a strong formation that it was used into the Renaissance. Swiss and German mercenary armies of the early modern era only abandoned it when cannon made their battlefield debut and square formations became vulnerable targets.
|
