Quote Originally Posted by Titus Marcellus Scato View Post
I see... so, the less experienced the soldier, the less likely they are to think straight - and therefore the more likely they are to follow the drill? ;)
For the record: it's all speculation on my part. We really know very little about the "mechanics" of close-combat during this age. (Much has been written about the famous "hoplite push", but the evidence for actual pushing is far slimmer than some of its proponents realize. In any case, it's not relevant for phalangites or legionaries.)