Ancient military formations evolved over time.The phalanx was highly developed by the Greeks. Roman formations evolved for different terrains and provided greater flexibility.
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Ancient military formations evolved over time. The Phalanx was particularly significant and reached it’s peak effectiveness under Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great.
The phalanx formation relied on the tight grouping of infantry supported by their shields and long lances for greatest effectiveness. The need to keep it compact meant that it could only move slowly and operated well on flatter ground.
The Romans adopted the Phalanx from their Etruscan neighbours though they later adapted it to better suit more terrains such as those of Italy during the wards against the Samnites. The issue with these terrains was that they would make it easier for the compact formation of the phalanx to be broken up. The Romans developed smaller more flexible units based on the “manipuli”.
It is interesting to note how the power of the infantry gradually decreased over time until cavalry became more dominant, particularly in the latter part of the empire.
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