Quote Originally Posted by alatar
For cohorts, yes, there is more space between each cohort, but each man is closer together.
Quite possible not. The idea of the Romans standing "shoulder to shoulder" is based on the length of the Gladius, which its irrelevant, the Greeks and Celts used longer swords for close in tight fighting and did fine. It has been suggested, by Peter Connolly and others, that the Roman manipules were in fact orderded the same way internally as externally. In other words the soldiers moved in a checkerboard formation. Polybius tells us there were about 5 feet between each legionary and Tacitus seems to tell us in the Agricola and elsewhere that the Romans moved through each other when advancing or retiring.

If this is true then the secret to Roman success may hve been a sort od perpetual advance with the front two ranks constantly passing each other.

So is goes like this.

Front rank andances, stabs, goes to guard.

Second rank advances through front rank, stabs, goes to guard.

Rather like the fire and movement practiced by musketeers later.