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Legion versus Phalanx
The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
Legion versus Phalanx
The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
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Description
From the time of ancient Sumeria, the heavy infantry Phalanx dominated the battlefield. Armed with spears or pikes, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and with overlapping shields, they presented an impenetrable wall of metal to the enemy until the Roman legion eclipsed the phalanx as the masters of infantry battle.
Covering the period in which the legion and phalanx clashed (280-168 BC), this book looks at each formation in detail - delving into their tactics, arms and equipment, organization and deployment. It then examines six documented battles in which the legion fought the phalanx: Heraclea (280 BC), Asculum (279 BC), Beneventum (275 BC), Cynoscephalae (197 BC), Magnesia (190 BC), and Pydna (168 BC). Drawing on original primary sources, Myke Cole presents a highly detailed but lively history of a defining clash of military formations.
Table of Contents
Chapter I. Who Would Win in a Fight? The Eagle and the Lion
Chapter II. Not your Father's Phalanx: Philip, Alexander and the Legacy of Epaminondas
Chapter III. Mules that Kill: Under the Eagle of Rome
SECTION II: Fight! The Legion versus the Phalanx in Six Battles
Chapter IV. Heraclea (280 B.C.): Rome's First Test
Chapter V. Asculum (279 B.C.): "One more such victory, and we are undone."
Chapter VI. Beneventum (275 B.C.): Pyrrhus' Last Gasp
Chapter VII. Cynoscephalae (197 B.C.): The Legion Triumphant
Chapter VIII. Magnesia (190 B.C.): No Refuge for Hannibal
Chapter IX. Pydna (168 B.C.): The Fall of the Antigonids
Chapter X. Conclusion: Legion Versus Phalanx
Product details
Published | 01 Nov 2018 |
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Format | Hardback |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 288 |
ISBN | 9781472828422 |
Imprint | Osprey Publishing |
Dimensions | 233 x 152 mm |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Reviews
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On the face of it, this could be a turgidly dry chin-stroking look into ancient warfare tactics but, thanks the brio of author Myke Cole, it's anything but. [...] The author points out elements that are largely accepted as fact thanks to detailed reports, and others where supposition comes into play, but he does this with a skill that makes it seem like a discussion between friends, not a lecture.
With an excellent colour plate section full of photos of armour, illustrations, ancient graphics and diagrams of troop dispositions you have a highly entertaining and yet worthy look into how and why the Roman Legion was so effective against the Phalanx that had previously dominated the battlefield.The Armourer, January 2019
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Amazing, detailed, thoroughly researched and genuinely exciting.
Anna Stephens, Author of 'Godblind'