That video just rehashes the basic organization and doctrine of a pike phalanx and the equipment given to its soldiers. It says nothing about the efficacy of the phalanx in an actual battle against armies of the Celtic tradition. That such a formation is "invulnerable" from the front is p...

Saw this on YouTube and thought I might share it with all of you. This video squares with my understanding of the Macedonian Phalanx (which I tried to explain earlier in this thread). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaHh-Lbp-6Q I am not sure what this video shows that we didn't already know. You sh...

Saw this on YouTube and thought I might share it with all of you. This video squares with my understanding of the Macedonian Phalanx (which I tried to explain earlier in this thread).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaHh-Lbp-6Q

There is no reason I am aware of to doubt the account of the Battle of Pydna. Livy sourced Polybius who was contemporary and in fact spent many years after Pydna living in the household of Paulus as a Greek hostage. If you wish to discount ancient history, I suppose that is your privilege. Just so ...

I have great respect for the fact that you own a Master's degree but as for precise comments on exactly what happened at Pydna or any other ancient battlefield, I have serious doubts given the fact I don't even know if we have a first hand account of the events of Pydna. My understanding is that th...

It is stretching the evidence to say that pike units were "unassailable" (on "level open ground") from the front by sword-wielding units. Leaving aside the issue that Romans had pila as well as sword, and would be able to exploit any disruption caused by the pila, in the early s...

Isn't this already addressed by ZoCs? I mean if you march a Pike unit in front of an enemy unit you want to pin, its movement options are exceedingly limited. I have used ZoC mechanics in every game in order to get flanking moves done. Also how do we know Alexander's Phalanx's were less brittle? He...

Isn't this already addressed by ZoCs? I mean if you march a Pike unit in front of an enemy unit you want to pin, its movement options are exceedingly limited. I have used ZoC mechanics in every game in order to get flanking moves done. Also how do we know Alexander's Phalanx's were less brittle? He...

Aryaman wrote:I am your side in this discussion

Thanks. I am glad somebody is.

In his book "Invincible Beast", Chris Matthew argues that the phalanx was actually a rather flexible tactical unit: https://www.amazon.com/Invincible-Beast-Understanding-Hellenistic-Phalanx-ebook/dp/B01GJE6E28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511509900&sr=8-1&keywords=phalanx+beast No ...

In his book "Invincible Beast", Chris Matthew argues that the phalanx was actually a rather flexible tactical unit: https://www.amazon.com/Invincible-Beast-Understanding-Hellenistic-Phalanx-ebook/dp/B01GJE6E28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511509900&sr=8-1&keywords=phalanx+beast No ...

Well, there were some differences between the early Phalanx of Alexander and the later ones facing the Romans. I have read that the Phalanx under Alexander was not as vulnerable to being flanked. It was said that they could change facing without trouble, whereas the Phalanx units facing the Romans w...

I have run battles using a Macedonian army against the Gauls. Repeatedly the Gaul's Warbands hit a fresh formed Macedonian Phalanx (from the front on open ground), caused heavy casualties and drove the Phalanx back. The Macedonian phalanx was all but invulnerable when attacked from the front on open...

I fought a battle as the Macedonians vs the Gauls. I was shocked as a Gaul Infantry unit attacked one of my Pike Phalanx units on open ground from the front and drove it back with heavy casualties. This happened several times during the game, every time from the front and on open ground. If the atta...

I really like this game. Have not liked a game like this in quite a while. But, I have developed all the technology. In some games I have played in the past, even if you develop all the distinct tech developments, you would still get some sort of perks for continuing to do research. In this game I h...