Peasants
Peasants are reluctant warriors, but numbers are useful in all armies. Forcing peasants to fight is one way of getting lots of men in the field quickly and cheaply. They have little tactical sense, and even less willingness to fight - they would rather be defending their own homes than be dragged to a battle they neither care about nor understand. If nothing else, they are useful when there's digging to be done! They are, however, experts at reading the land and hiding whenever there is cover.
Militia Hoplites
Militia hoplites are levies drawn from cities and thrust into battle with a little training. They fight best as spearmen, and are armed with long spears and each carries the large round hoplon shield which gives them their name. As a type of infantry hoplites have been around for centuries and have changed little in tactics or equipment. These men wear no armour, but then they are drawn from the poorer classes and it is traditional for citizens to provide their own war gear when called into the army. The cities of the Greek world have a long tradition of the people defending their own cities from invaders.
They are at their best when used as a solid block of spearmen and can form a phalanx to attack the enemy.
Levy Pikemen
As war approaches, peasants, farmers and down-at-heel townsfolk can find themselves pressed into service as pikemen by their rulers. Due to their lack of armour they are best used as defensive infantry, absorbing enemy attacks, or screening the flanks of the main line.
Equipped with a long pike some 6m in length (the sarissa) many ranks can bring their weapons to bear on an enemy, presenting a bristling array of spearheads to an approaching foe. They also carry swords for use when the enemy breaks through the pike line.
Although training is practically non-existent, as inheritors of the hoplite tradition levy pikemen can manoeuvre in a phalanx formation. But with no armour other than the small shields strapped to their left arms, under pressure these levied troops are liable to suffer heavy casualties.
Phalanx Pikemen
Phalanx pikemen (or phalangites) form the backbone of Macedonian and Seleucid battle lines. In phalanx formation these troops can be used to pin the enemy line in place, while mobile forces wheel around the flanks to deliver a decisive blow.
The phalangites are drawn from families with decent resources, as these men need to provide leather cuirass armour and a metal helmet for protection. Phalanx pikemen carry a small shield strapped to the left arm, leaving both hands free to brandish a lengthy pike (the sarissa). Gripped in both hands above the head up to five ranks’ worth of pikes can be aimed at the enemy. Men in rows further back hold their pikes at a 45 degree angle, creating a shield to ward off enemy arrows. All phalanx pikemen also have short swords.
Royal Pikemen
Often deployed in the position of honour in a pike line (usually at the right hand end) thanks to their superior status, Macedonian royal pikemen (or hypaspists) are disciplined troops drawn from the higher echelons of society. The tough royal pikemen carry the shorter hoplite thrusting spear, and are well protected with their large round ‘argive’-pattern shields as well as leather armour. Other units can draw confidence from the presence of these proud warriors, which makes them a bulwark of many a Macedonian battle line. When close-quarter fighting starts they also carry short swords like other pikemen.
Bookmarks