ceckerboard formation

[Sam Adams]

why was it used?

[Dooz]

Well, legend has it, the old legions used to hold giant, human chess matches before a big battle...

[Blitz]

LOL, Wonderland you seem to be someone that like to joke . I like your presescence here making the forum much more lively

[Dooz]

Why thank you, Blitz-san. Your kind words are much appreciated.

[nokhor]

from what i've read, it was supposedly used so that the romans could move units from the reserves to the front lines in a battle and vice versa, without them getting in each other's way.

[Daevyll]

An often used tactic in battle was to drive a wedge of troops between enemy formations. Alexander did this often with his Hetairoi cavalry for example.

If you use a checkerboard pattern for your formations, any enemy trying to drive a wege between your units wil find itself frontally facing another unit, making it vulnerable.

[derF]

Both of those sound pretty authentic and credible.

I find it a great idea, too bad theres no efficient way of making it in RTW.

When i think about it, it would be useful (as someone said above) to move supporting units forward quicker and more neatly. I cant imagine barbarians benefitting from it though. I think its a typical Roman thing.

[Didz]

This site contains some interesting information of Roman Battle Tactics.

http://www.roman-empire.net/army/tactics.html

My own view on the chequer board pattern of deployment is that its is basically a misrepresentation or interpretation of the events. I suspect it is a snapshot of the initial deployment of the army as it would occur during the opening stages of the battle.

At this point the units in both the fighting line and the supporting line would need to keep wide gaps free between the maniples to allow for the free passage of skirmishers and cavalry engaged in the opening phases of the fight.

These gaps may have been acheived either by having alternate maniples refuse their deployment creating a chequer board effect or by having the individual units deploy at double depth thus creating a gap on both flanks.

I suspect that once the first phase of the battle was complete and the main action about to begin these gaps were rapidly closed either by the refused units moving forward to plug the gaps to their front or by the indivudal units reducing their depth and expanding their frontage.

This same approach was used by infantry brigades during the Napoleonic wars for exactly the same reason and I suspect this solution to the problem of conducting a 'passage of lines' was pretty common throughout history.

It is certainly a lot more practical and less risky than the method used by RTW units which actually open their ranks to let the other units pass through its own formation. In battle such a manouvre would be extremely risky as it destroys unit cohesion and invites panic and confusion.

[Epistolary Richard]

I actually use the checkerboard formation in R:TW - especially when the AI is on the offensive. It gives a couple of benefits:
- the AI's initial charge hits the first row, the second row are then in a position to throw pila and counter-charge, getting the charge bonus
- if the AI tries to flank the first row, they'll expose their flank to the second row, if it tries to flank the second row, the second row is unengaged and so can turn to face, plus it goes further distant from the main battle line.

Plus, as already mentioned, it's easier to move skirmishing units back through your lines and it's easier to maneouvre square formations rather than lines.

Now if only there was rank bonus...