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Iron weapons gave greater penetration than bronze ones. The phalanx was a tightly packed body of men who formed a mass momentum to impact into or receive impact from opposing formations. By their compactness, their shields also provided a protection from missiles.

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A phalanx was a type of?

A phalanx was a type of Greek squad of soldiers. Each soldier carried a round shield and a spear. The phalanx was a square of soldiers. Phalanxes were extremely vulnerable from attack on the flanks and rear. They were used mostly to break the front of an army. Since each soldier carried roughly fifty extra pounds of weight in armor and weapons, the phalanx moved slowly. They could also not pursue enemy troops if they decided to flee. They walked towards the enemy soldiers and just before impact starting running, giving some momentum to their charge. If a soldier in the front line fell, ones in the back pressed forward and took their place. It was advantageous for a phalanx to attack from high ground, which lent more momentum to a charge.


Explain what the phalanx was and how it operated?

A phalanx was a type of Greek squad of soldiers. Each soldier carried a round shield and a spear. The phalanx was a square of soldiers. Phalanxes were extremely vulnerable from attack on the flanks and rear. They were used mostly to break the front of an army. Since each soldier carried roughly fifty extra pounds of weight in armor and weapons, the phalanx moved slowly. They could also not pursue enemy troops if they decided to flee. They walked towards the enemy soldiers and just before impact starting running, giving some momentum to their charge. If a soldier in the front line fell, ones in the back pressed forward and took their place. It was advantageous for a phalanx to attack from high ground, which lent more momentum to a charge. Soldiers were called Hoplite.


How did a phalanx work?

A phalanx was a type of Greek squad of soldiers. Each soldier carried a round shield and a spear. The phalanx was a square of soldiers. Phalanxes were extremely vulnerable from attack on the flanks and rear. They were used mostly to break the front of an army. Since each soldier carried roughly fifty extra pounds of weight in armor and weapons, the phalanx moved slowly. They could also not pursue enemy troops if they decided to flee. They walked towards the enemy soldiers and just before impact starting running, giving some momentum to their charge. If a soldier in the front line fell, ones in the back pressed forward and took their place. It was advantageous for a phalanx to attack from high ground, which lent more momentum to a charge. Soldiers were called Hoplite.


Why did the Roman army phalanx system change into the legion system?

The phalanx did not morph into the legion - the phalanx was a tactical formation, the legion was a body of around 5000 men who were used in tactical formations which varied over time - early on the phalanx.The Romans switched from the unwieldy phalanx of tightly packed, locked in spearmen to spaced ranks in order to gain flexibility and rely on a more open method of fighting, with differing layers of differently armed troops. This flexibility was supported by adopting the Spanish short sword as basic weapon, and the pilum throwing javelin. The protection of the tight phalanx was replaced by the oblong shield.The open formation which replaced the phalanx gave the individual Roman infantryman room to fight in. It worked. The hitherto unstoppable Greek phalanxes were tactically outmanoeuvred and decisively beaten by the Romans in the first half of the Second Century BCE in Macedonia.This system of different troops having different weapons and the manipular formation it was based on (which the Romans adopted from the Samnites, a people who lived to the south of Rome) was abandoned with the Marian reforms of the army of 107 BC. The legions were reformed again and became organised into cohorts with soldiers who had the same weapons and equipment.


What ancient civilization first used the phalanx over any other type army formation?

It is believed that the Macedonian civilization first used the military formation known as the plalanx. The armies of Alexander the Great used this formation and later on the Greek city states and kingdoms that resulted from the death of Alexander also used the phalanx. Certainly by the early 8th century BC BCE ancient pottery displays the hoplite phalanx. By the 7th century BC BCE it was in use by Greek city states and it was likely spread into the Greek colonies in the southern part of the Italian peninsula. Sometime in 6th century BC BCE it was used by the ancient Roman republic.This often successful formation was also used by Hannibal in the Second Punic War.The early Romans found that the phalanx was slow to move in bad terrain and lacked a certain amount of flexibility. The Roman legion infantry formation made the phalanx obsolete as far as the Romans were concerned.

Related Questions

Why did the use of phalanx affect politics?

Aristocratic leaders risked losing the support of their army if they did not consider the interests of the phalanx. with some many city-states, great political variety characterized the Greek world


What were the formations in the roman army?

A phalanx.


What great ancient military leaders used the army formation called the phalanx?

Several tribes of ancient Israel, Rome, Greece, probably others.


A phalanx was a type of?

A phalanx was a type of Greek squad of soldiers. Each soldier carried a round shield and a spear. The phalanx was a square of soldiers. Phalanxes were extremely vulnerable from attack on the flanks and rear. They were used mostly to break the front of an army. Since each soldier carried roughly fifty extra pounds of weight in armor and weapons, the phalanx moved slowly. They could also not pursue enemy troops if they decided to flee. They walked towards the enemy soldiers and just before impact starting running, giving some momentum to their charge. If a soldier in the front line fell, ones in the back pressed forward and took their place. It was advantageous for a phalanx to attack from high ground, which lent more momentum to a charge.


What are the most used formations used by The Australia Army by The Ancient Roman Army?

A Phalanx Formation.


Explain what the phalanx was and how it operated?

A phalanx was a type of Greek squad of soldiers. Each soldier carried a round shield and a spear. The phalanx was a square of soldiers. Phalanxes were extremely vulnerable from attack on the flanks and rear. They were used mostly to break the front of an army. Since each soldier carried roughly fifty extra pounds of weight in armor and weapons, the phalanx moved slowly. They could also not pursue enemy troops if they decided to flee. They walked towards the enemy soldiers and just before impact starting running, giving some momentum to their charge. If a soldier in the front line fell, ones in the back pressed forward and took their place. It was advantageous for a phalanx to attack from high ground, which lent more momentum to a charge. Soldiers were called Hoplite.


What were two major deficiencies of the early Greek phalanx battle formation?

They lacked depth to hold together in an impact with an enemy, and armament was also deficient - their 6 foot spears was too short. Against the Macedonian phalanx 16 deep, with 18 foot lances, they could not stand up.


How did a phalanx work?

A phalanx was a type of Greek squad of soldiers. Each soldier carried a round shield and a spear. The phalanx was a square of soldiers. Phalanxes were extremely vulnerable from attack on the flanks and rear. They were used mostly to break the front of an army. Since each soldier carried roughly fifty extra pounds of weight in armor and weapons, the phalanx moved slowly. They could also not pursue enemy troops if they decided to flee. They walked towards the enemy soldiers and just before impact starting running, giving some momentum to their charge. If a soldier in the front line fell, ones in the back pressed forward and took their place. It was advantageous for a phalanx to attack from high ground, which lent more momentum to a charge. Soldiers were called Hoplite.


How did the army from Macedonia defeat the Greek city-states?

Superior tactics, superior cavalry, and superior infantry using a pike twice as long as the Grek spears, making their phalanx an overwhelming machine.


What is the name for the military formation the Greeks used to defeat the Persian army?

Phalanx!


Philip II Of Macedon's army based their attacks around the use of?

the phalanx


What were the closely-packed spear men in Alexander the greats army called?

A phalanx