Quote Originally Posted by konny View Post


- Greek: The rear ranks of the phalanx were not aware what was going on on the frontline and kept pushing foreward. That prevented the front ranks from giving way; and when both sides used this tactic it resulted in the named "pushing match" that lasted until the rear ranks of one side started wavering and stopped pushing. There was a lot of fighting along the front line, but because only a fraction of each side was involved into it (and because these soldiers there were the best armoured) casualties were low during this phase.
I have to disagree with one part. Most phalanxes were about 10 men deep, it's not impossible for the rear to see what's going on at the front.