Quote Originally Posted by seleucid empire View Post
i think the african pikemen are depicted inaccurately. i read that they were supposed to be hannibals most reliable troops and that during cannae they did a crucial flanking movement before the cavalry charge. i doubt they could have flanked anything if they were armed in a Macedonian fashion
Pike phalanxes can flank, provided the phalanx is not already heavily engaged with the enemy, and that the men are well-trained. The formation can wheel easily and quickly if the pikes are in the raised position - and once the unit is facing the right direction, the pikes are lowered and the phalanx advances into contact with the enemy. Wheeling with the pikes lowered, though, would be more difficult, and very slow - but not impossible.

It took me a while to learn this in EB - to come out of phalanx formation (raise the pikes), redeploy the unit to face in a different direction, then go back into phalanx formation.