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Thread: Possible tactic against hoplite formations?

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    Default Re: Possible tactic against hoplite formations?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fragony View Post
    Hoplites would always go for the level ground it is essential for the formation, of course that wasn't always possible. But it is because of that dependency on flat terrain that they got spanked so badly by the legions and hoplite warfare completely vanished.
    Well, firstly there's a difference between Spartan Hoplite warfare and a Macedonian Phalanx. By the time the Legions came around, Sparta was no longer the power it once was and Macedonia had already spread its military traditions around the Mediterranean.. Both Hannibal and Pyrrhus used the Macedonian style Phalanx to defeat the Romans on several occasions. I was more under the impression that the phalanx disappeared because it was used by the weak and disorganized successor states, who were not led by great generals and did not use the combined armies the phalanx requires properly, not because it was inherently inferior.

    Of course, there's that famous battle (featured in RTW, no less) where the city of Sparta crushed Pyrrhus' army. I do not know if the Spartans used their traditional Hoplites in that battle or used the more modern Macedonian style, but I'm sure someone here would.
    Last edited by DisruptorX; 03-08-2009 at 18:31.
    "Sit now there, and look out upon the lands where evil and despair shall come to those whom thou lovest. Thou hast dared to mock me, and to question the power of Melkor, master of the fates of Arda. Therefore with my eyes thou shalt see, and with my ears thou shalt hear; and never shall thou move from this place until all is fulfilled unto its bitter end". -Tolkien

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