addeth that halfe the armed soldiers haue their faces bent forward and change not the other halfe turned about backward whereas in the Antistomus all the souldiers moue and halfe face to one flanke halfe to the other and none to the front or reare besides he saith that halfe the armed in the files stand backe to backe whereas in the Antistomus halfe the armed in the ranks stand backe to backe not those of the files 2 Now that the Amphistomus receiueth the charge of the enemy in the front and reare Leo also declareth The manner whereof appeareth in Appian who recounteth that Asdruball the Carthaginian sought to entrap Scipio giuing Mago his generall of the horse commandement to charge Scipio his army in front whiles himselfe charged it in the reare But Scipio turning the reare of his battell against Asdruball and opposing the front of it against Mago ouerthrew them both and slew 5000 Carthaginians and tooke 1800 prisoners To make the manner of fight in this forme more plaine I thought fit to insert an hystory or two out of Polybius and Arrian as examples to illustrate that meaning of Aelian In Polybius this is the history The Gaules in great multitudes vnder the conduct of Concolitanus and Aneroestus their Kings transcending the Alpes and passing thorough Lombardy and falling vpon a part of Hetrucia had gathered rich spoiles out of that terretory and being now vpon returne to their countrey they were pursued by one of the Roman Consuls L. Aemelius and his army not with intent to fight with them for hee held it not safe but to obserue fit times and places to distresse them or else to keepe them from further spoile At the same time C. Attilius the other Consull hauing imbarked his legions in Sardinia and setting saile for Italy arriued at Pisa and holding his way toward Rome marched directly in the way in which the enemy was comming The Celts being now about Telamon a promontory of Hetrucia their foragers fell into the hands of the Vantcurrers of Attilius and were taken prisoners They informed the Consul of all that hapned and signified the presence of both armies telling that the Gaules were at hand and that L. Aemilius followed them close in their reare Attilius partly maruailing at the strangenesse of the newes and parly being full of good hope because the Gaules seemed to be surprised and hemmed in betwixt two armies commanded the Tribunes to order his legions in a broad-front and so to lead on leasurely as long as the ground would giue leaue himselfe in good time discouering a hill which hung ouer the way in which the Gaules were to passe tooke with him the horse and sought with all speed to seise vpon the top of it and to begin the medly conceiting thereby to haue the honour and title of the whole seruice ascribed to him the Gaules were at first ignorant of Attilius approaching but coniectured onely that it might be Aemylius had led his horse about in the night to seise vponvseful places they sent therefore their horse and light-armed to beat the Romans from the hill but soone vnderstanding by some captiues that Attilius was there they presently embattailed ordering thir army into two fronts the one before the other behinde for they knew that one army was following and they expected as well by the newes they heard as by that which they saw fall out at that time that the other would meet them vpon their march Aemylius heard that the legions of Attilius were arriued at Pisa but could not imagine they were come so neere but after that by the fight about the hill he perceiued certainly they were at hand he sent out his horse to second those that fought for the hill himselfe ordering his battels after the Roman wonted fashion led on against the eenmy The Celts embattailed those that are called Gesates and dwelt in the Alpes against Aemylius who they imagined would charge the reare and next to them the Insubrians In the front they set the Taurtscans and Boâ—ans inhabiting beyond the riuer Po turning their faces a contary way to the former and opposed to the accesse of Caius Attilius the waines and waggons they placed without both wings and sent their pray gained to a hill thereby appointing a sufficient gard to keepe it So the Amphistomus Phalange which the Celtes cast themselues into was not onely fearefull to the eye but also fitly ordered for fight The Insubrians and Boyans came forth to fight wearing bretches a kind of loose and light coats but the Gesates out of a vaine glory and rashnesse cast them away and stood naked sauing that they had their armes alone in the front of the batell imagining they were by that meanes fitter for action by reason of the bushes of the place which would catch hold of any garment and be a hinderance to the vse of armes The first fight was about the hill in the sight of all by reason that the multitude of so many horse-menout of both armies were mingled together in fight wherein it happened Attilius to be slaine while too venturously he offered himselfe to danger and his head to be presented to the Kings of the Celts but yet the Roman horse-men brauely fighting became masters of the place and of the enemy After this the foot ioining the accident was rare and maruailous not onely to them which were present but also to all those who can by reading represent before their eyes the truth of that which was done For first the fight being attached by 3 armies it must needs be that the very sight and manner of the conflict appeared strange and wihout example secondly who would not doubt either now or then whether the Celts manner of embattailing were more dangerous the enemy charging them in two places at once or the best and aptest for victory as opposing against both the enemies at once and withall securing themselues from encompassing and inuasion of the reare and which is of most importance no hope being left of safety if they should chance to be foyled For that is the property and profit of the Amphistomus battaile it made the Romans more confident to haue the enemy enclosed on all sides and yet the brauery and noyse and tumult of the Celts gaue them cause of astonishment For there was an innumerable multitude of Trumpets and Shalmes to which the whole army together adding the Paean the cry was so great that not onely the trumpets and army but the places round about with their rebounding ecchoes seemed of themselues to speake Furthermore the sight and motion of the naked men that stood in the front being in flower of their age and excelling in talnesse of stature was fearefull Now all the Gaules that had the front were adorned with bracelets and chaines of gold which the Romans eyeing were partly astonied partly being filled with rich hopes were incited much the rather to ioyne battell but when the
his horse into two parts the one he tooke to himselfe and obserued Eumenes the other hee gaue to Python willing him to charge the the Argiraspides and siluer targateers old soldiers of Alexanders depriued of the aide of the horse but they casting themselues into a Plinthium retired safely to the riuer Aelian remembreth nothing concerning the vse of the Plinthium But wee may learne by the examples rehearsed that it was then practised when the enemy was too strong and able to charge euery way and it is one of the foresided battailes that is mentioned in the 36 37 Chap. and vsed principally against horse but sometimes against horse and foot Philip the father of Alexander the Great being to take armes against the Illyrians who vsurped many Cities of his kingdom leuied 10000 foot 600 horse and with them entred the enemies countrey Bardilis the Illirian King met him with as many foot and 500 horse when the armies came together and with shouts ioyned battaile Philip hearing the right wing and the best Macedonian souldiers commanded the horse to fall on and charge the enemy in flanke himselfe giuing vpon the front began a strong fight The Illyrians ordering themselues into a Plinthium valiantly abode the onset and at the first the fight was equall and so continued a good while by reason of the valour shewen on both sides afterward the horse plying hard the reare and flanke and Philip with his choice valiantly laying at the front the multitude of the Illyrians were forced to fly Heere the Plinthium resisted both horse and foot I will ad one example more of repulsing horse the army being cast into a Plinthium Marcus Antonius seeking to subdue Persia and to reuenge the losse which Craesus receiued by the Parthians for in that warre Craesus himselfe was slaine and his army defeated and hauing laid siege to a great City called Phreata and finding not the successe he looked for determined to dis-march and lead his arm out of the Countrey hauing first â—adâ—truce with the King of Persia proceeding on his iourney he was set vpon by the Parthians but being repulsed they retired that day Antonius hereby resolued what to doe and strenthening his reare and flanks with many darters slingers he formed hâ—s army into a Plinthium and willed his horse â—o fall out and repulse the eâ—nmy but not to follow the chase too farre The Parthians the next foure daies began to be more coole and neither charged nor were charged and making winter their pretence were glad to retire â—o their houses By this president wee may see that the Parthians who were mighty in horse were fierce vpon the Romans as long a they held their ordinary kinde of march but after they had ordered themselues into a Plinthium so that the Parthians could not come vp to them without much indangering themselues they thought it best to let them quietly passe and goe whither they would And thus much of the Diphalange Homoiostomus and of the Plinthium Words of direction in the Homoiostomus 1 Wheele your battailes if they stand in euen front to the right or left hand 2 March one battaile after the other To restore to the first Posture 1 Fâ—â—e about to the right or left hand 2 Wheele the battailes to the right or left hand according as the case requireth 3 Face as you were at first Cap. 43. The Diphalange Heterostomus The File-leaders The bringers-vp For the Plinthium If there be 4 battailes standing togethler in an euen Front this I would hold the fittest way to make a Plinthium 1 Let the first battaile stand firme or march on in going forward wheele to the right hand in falling backe vse the Lacedemonian countermarch 2 The 3 countermarch the front with a countermarch then wheel to the left hand then march forward and place it selfe behind the right hand flanke of the first that the Front of it may be in a right line with the said flanke 3 The 4 in going forward countermarch the reare with a Macedon countermarch then wheele your battaile to the right hand face abount then wheele to the left hand then march and apply it selfe to the point of the strst battaile as the third did to the right then face about and stand thus 4 The 2 countermarch to the right or left hand then march on til it be beyond the left point of the 4 battaile then face to the left hand and march vp to lay the right-hand-point eueÌ„ with the right point of the 1 battaile and face to the right hand to make the reare of the Plinthium thus The seuerall bodies being brought into a Plinthium must front euery way as long as they make Alte. When they march in a Plinthium they are all to face toward the head of their march that is the right and left flanke battailes are to face the one to the left the other to the right hand The reare battaile is to face about to which hand it list and so march on The battailes beside haue euery one their place of dignity the first battaile hauing the front the 2 battaile the reare the 3 battaile the right flanke the 4 the left flanke Of the Diphalange Heterostomus CHAP. XLIII 1 A Diphalange Heterostomus is that which proceedeth by deduction hauing the leaders of the former Phalange in a right-handdeduction and of the following Phalange in a left-hand Deduction so that the battailes march counterchangeably one hauing the leaders in one flanke the other in the other NOTES 1 A Diphalange Heterostomus As the Homoiostomus consisted of two Phalanges both proceeded by deduction so must this forme They differ in this onely that the first had all the file-leaders on one side either on the right or left this the file-leaders of one battaile on the right of the other on the left hand For if the leading Phalange haue the file-leaders on the right-hand the following Phalange shall haue them on the left If the first haue them on the left the other shall haue them on the right See the figure The vse of this form is when the enemy sheweth himselfe on both flanks of our march and of it the double sided battaile whereof Aelian spake in the 36 and 37 Chapters may be made by the sleeuing vp the latter to the former and ioyning reare to reare and if the leading battaile haue the file-leaders in the right-flank it is to make alte when the enemy commeth neer and the following battaile to sleeue vp by the reare of it to make an euen front with the leaders of the first Contrariwise if it haue the file-leaders on the left hand Besides this orme hath further vse and you may frame of it a Diphalange Antistomus by sleeuing vp the following battaile on that side where the file-leaders of the leading battaile march for by such sleeuing the file-leaders of both I halanges shall be in the middest Words of direction in the Heterostomus There
their weapons on all sides distresse the Rhombe both in front and flanke which is a dangerous kinde of fight and such a one as seldome may be tolerated or endured 2 Against the square horse battaile in figure or ground he opposeth in this Chapter the wedge of foot which albeit it cannot with the like art wrappe in and encompasse the square yet is it of force sufficient to breake and disseuer it and so to disorder and deface it For the square of horse hauing a large front and going with full speed to charge falleth vpon the narrow front of the wedge which according to Aelian ought to containe no more then three men and they knitting themselues close their pikes pretended and being seconded with the rest of their companions behinde pretending their pikes likewise receiue the charge with a firme stand so that onely the middest of the horse falling vpon the point of their front cannot reach to the flanks of the wings thereof because the wedge from the first narrowing groweth backward into an increasing breadth without breaking of their forme and altering of the front of their square wherein they were ordered which if they doe their repulse cannot but follow because they fight out of order Now that the forme of the wedge in horse is able to endure the shot of the horse that came against them in a square appeareth by the 18. Chapter of this booke where it is said that Philip King of Macedon Alexanders father vsed this forme alone and that Alexander himselfe ordered his horse in the same manner who were both victorious in all their fields That it is as good for foot against horse besides the reasons before rehearsed may be euident by this that the horse are in motion in the charge and by that meanes are soone disordered whereas the foot stand fast and keepe themselues secure to repulse the violence of the horse 3. So Epaminondas the Theban This battaile is excellently described by Xenophon in his seuenth booke of his history of the Grecians His words sound thus After Epaminondas had embattailed his army as he thought fit he led not streight way against the enemy directly but declined westward toward the Tegaean mountaines lying right ouer against the enemy which bred an opinion that he had no will to fight that day For after he came vp to the mountaine and had taken a view of his army he cansed them to lay downe their armes in the vppermost part of all as if he meant to incampe and by this meanes allayed the preparation of fight which most of the enemies had conceiued in minde and likewise their care in maintaining their place and order in battaile After sleeuing vp to the front his companies that marched in a wing hee fashioned his whole army into a strong wedge Then commanding them to take vp their armies he led on and they followed The enemy seeing him aduance contrary to their expectation had no leisure to be still but some ranne to their place in battaile some embattailed themselues some bridled their horse some put on their curaces all were like to men that were like rather receiue then giue a foyle to the enemy Epaminondas led on his army like a gallie with the prowe against the enemy imagining that wheresoeuer he should breake their array he should thereby ouerthrow their whole army For he resolued to bring the best and strongest part of his army to fight casting the weakest behinde in the reare knowing that being defeated they would discourage their owne side and breed new courage in the enemy The enemy ranged his horse like a phalange of armed foot in a great depth without ioyning foot with them But Epaminondas made a strong wedge of his horse also allotting them foot which had no herses conceiuing that cutting asunder the enemies horse he should easily ouerthrow their whole army For you shall hardly find any that will make good their ground after they see them of their owne side take themselues to their feet And to the end to with hold the Athenians from succouring those of the left wing next vnto them he placed both horse and foot right ouer against them vpon the hils to put them in feare of charging their reare if they gaue ayd vnto the enemy so led he on to the charge and was not deceiued of his hopes For hauing the better wheresoeuer he gaue on he put the whole army of his aduersaries to flight So Xenophon Where you may note not onely a square of horse defeated by a wedge of horse but also a square battaile of foot defeated by a wedge of foot And to shew more plainely that the forme of the wedge is forcible against abroad fronted Phalange I will recite two examples more The first is out of T. Liutus who writeth of a battaile fought betwixt the Romans and Celtiberians thus The Celtiberians knowing that the Roman army hauing spoyled their Countrey would retire through a forrest called Manlius his forrest â—id themselues in it of purpose to the end to fall vpon the Romans vpon aduantage and vnlooked for When the Roman army had entred the forrest by day-light the enemy rising out his ambush vpon the sudden inuaded them on both flanks Which Flaccus hee was the Roman Generall seeing stilled the tumult by the Captaines commanding euery man to his place and armies and bringing the baggage and carriage beasts together he constantly and without feare embattailed his army partly by himselfe partly by his Legates and by the Tribunes of the souldiers as the time and place required The enemy came on and the skirmish was attached in the vttermost parts of the Roman Phalange and at last the battailes ioyned The fight was hot in all parts but fortune diuers for the Legeons behaued themselues brauely and the auxiliarie in both wings as well The mercinaries were hardly laid vnto by the enemy who bore the like armes and was a better kind of souldier had much ado to make good their ground The Celtiberians when they saw they could not match the legions in the ordinary manner of fight and Ensigne against Ensigne cast themselues into a wedge and so assayled the Romans in which kind of fight they are so powerfull that they are scarcely to be resisted Then the legions also branced and the battell was almost broken Which danger when Flaccus perceiued he rode to the legionary horsemen And is there no helpe in you said he This army will immediately be lost When they cryed out at all hands they would gladly doe whatsoeuer he commanded Double the troopes said he of both legions and with all your might force your horse against this wedge of the enemy wherewith they presse vs you shall doe it more violently if you giue on drawing off the horses bridles which the Roman horsemen haue of ten done heretofore to their great coÌ„mendation They obeyed and pulling off their horses bridles they passed
baggage was lost endeuoured notwithstanding to renew the fight in hope by gaining the victory not onely to preserue his owne baggage but also to possesse that of the enemy But the Macedonians refused to strike stroake alleadging that their carriage was lost and their children and wiues and many other bodies necessary were in the hands of the enemy And sending priuily Embassadours to Antigonus they seised vpon Eumenes and deliuered him vp into Antigonus possession Thus much for the importance of assuring the carriage 2 Requireth a speciall Commander That the baggage ought to haue a speciall Commander Leo also affirmeth Vigetius addeth a gard to the baggage and Leo a proper Ensigne saying To euery regiment there ought to be allotted a Waggon Master and a proper Ensigne as well to the horse as oxen that they may be discerned to their owners by the colours of the Ensigne 3 Either before the Army The first of the fiue wayes by which the baggage is conueighed in a march is to lead it before the Army which manner is to be put in practise when the enemy pursueth in the reare For if when the enemy followeth the baggage should be behinde he would soone haue meanes to selfe vpon and rifle it then you could haue to wheele about your army to succour it For these fiue manners of conueighing the carriage Leo agreeth with Aelian in these words Your carriage saith he ought to haue a speciall Commander to order and gouerne it and he is to lead it either before the Army if you disonarch out of the enemies Countrey after the Army if you inuade the enemies territory on the one side or other when you feare to be charged on the one or either of your flanks within the phalange when you haue suspition to be charged on all parts So Leo agreeing with Aelian 4 Orbehinde The baggage is to be alwayes disposed of so that the army may be betwixt it and the enemy It ought to be before when the enemy is like to giue on behinde behinde when he seeketh to affront you from before And yet it sometimes falleth out that all the baggage is not to be led behinde the whole army according to this precept of Leo. Cause euery drung or regiment saith he to his Generall to accustome their owne baggage to follow after their regiment with their owne Ensignes and not to mingle with other For it is necessary when the enemy is neither present nor expected in our owne Countrey to maâ—ch either by Regiments or else by Formes and not to gather your whole Army into one place lest thet be easily starned with hunger or the number be quickly â—â—scoue â—â— by the enemies espicials or be seuered in forrage In another place speaking of marching thorow woddy and rough wayes he hath thâ— In case you haue horse or baggage lead your baggage behinde your Army and after it the horse and after them a few light armed targatiers to be as it were bringers vp of the march for feare of vnexpected incursions which oftentimes chance to be made by the enemy In another thus When you enter your enemies Countrey you shall cause your carriage to march in the reare but when the enemy draweth neere you shall bestow it in the middest of the Army And in any case you must haue your carriage and the Captiues if you haue any seperated from the souldiers that are to fight lest if the enemy fall on roundly they be hindered that are to fight For the distance that the carriage ought to hold behinde the Army the same Leo hath thus If you thinke it conuenient for the carriage to follow the Army you are to order it a full bowe-shot from the Army and let euery part follow their owne bodies in good array giuing it such breadth in the march is the Army possesseth lest that lying out beyond the breadth of the Army they become vnsuccourable These are the precepts of Leo concerning the conueighance of the carriage in the reare For the practise of it you haue a precedent of Cyrus the elder which is at large rehearsed by me in my notes vpon the 7 Chapter of this Booke and another of Alexander the Great when hee led against the Persians at the riuer Granicus and an infinite number of other examples are to be found in History euery where 5 Or on the one flanke or the other Aelians precept for disposing of the baggage on the flanks is very good For it ought as much as is possible to be preserued from the touch of the enemy neither can there be any better way to secure it then your opposition the Army betwixt it and the enemy but so notwithstanding that it haue a gard about it at all times to saue it from the sudden inuasion of your enemies horse If therefore the enemy appeare on your left flank your baggage is to be conueied on the right flank If contrariwise the enemy come on to charge your right flanke the baggage is to be remoued to the left And this holdeth onely when the enemy appeareth vpon one flanke and not on both But in case the enemy appeare on both flanks at once then is the safest place for it 6 In the middest There are two manners of leading of the baggage in the middest and that according to the nature and condition of the ground where our army marcheth If therefore the way be straight Leo giueth this precept Those that leads their army through streights hauing with it either baggage or prey ought to diuide it into a diphalange and to march wing-wise in a right induction A right induction that is which is narrow in front and hath the depth stretched out in length And this is to be done especially when there is a prey in the hands of the army And if they consist of foot the passage will be the easier through rough and cumber some places If horse the are to alight and take the baggage and carriage into the middest But in such times and places you are to appoint some chosen men onely for the defence of the prey and to order them vpon the foure sides of the Diphalange is the place will giue leaue to the end to follow â—â— and repulse those of the enemy that offer to charge or distract it And the battaile or diphalange so ordered for the preseruation of the carriage or prey be maintained whâ—le and entire For it is not possible for those of the Diphalangy both to defend the prey 〈…〉 order and to ioyne with the enemy that chargeth which is the cause thee there â—â—ght to be extraordinary men to march without the foure sides of the army but especially you are to appoint the best of them to wait vpon the reare For so may at all times tough and troublesome places be passed through with safety This is Leoâ—s precept for streight narrow passages because in such you cannot forme
seene in the Riuer and of the height and steepenesse of the banks as also for that the enemies horse ordered in a phalange will be ready to charge vs whilest we disorderly and wingwise which is the weakest kinde of fight endeauour to scamble vp the bankes Thus Arrian vsing the words before recited and noting the difference of both the formes Leo hath the like passage instructing his Generall how in the night to surprize an Enemy in his lodging His words are these in effect When you march saith he to the intent that no tumult or confusion of noise be heard nor the stretching out of your battaile into a great length breede error and inequality in marching and hereupon cries and loud commands arise so that the Enemy may easily perceiue the accesse of your Armie It behoueth you to march not in front that is in a large extension of breadth but wingwise that is to say in a deepe forme of Embattailing as if one file should follow in the reare of another obseruing still to maintaine the depth or thicknesse of the battaile His meaning is That in the night an Army ought not to be led in a broad-fronted Phalange because the places are wayes through which you are to march are sometimes large sometimes streight sometimes rough sometimes plaine and so you cannot preserue an euen front but must change the forme and disorder it but in a Herse or deepe Phalange which will fit all passages and in the greatest inequality of way maintaine the forme of the battaile entire And so much of the signification of the words marching in a Wing and marching in a Phalange 5. Euery thing is called Paramekes It is to be obserued that there is a difference betweene Paramekes and Heteromekes I thought good to note it because Aelian in diuers places mentioneth both Paramekes is the figure according to Aelian wherein the length many times exceeds the depth it may be Heteromekes albeit it be but twice as long as deepe I am not ignorant that Euclyde nameth all foure sided figures that haue right angles and vnequall sides Heteromekes But Aelian though hee apply Heteromekes sometimes to the front sometimes to the flanke yet he giues no more then a double proportion either of front to flanke or flanke to front 6. Orthion Albeit the word Orthium properly signifie things rising in a height yet in military discourse it is applied to the dimension of the depth of a battell and not of the length Here a Phalange is termed Orthia and in Leo in the place last by me cited mention is made of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â— deep embattailing and in Xenophon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Company stretched out in depâ—◠〈…〉 Polyen also and Arrian and Appian Polyen hath besides 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for an army that is cast into a great depth and into a narrow 〈…〉 Therefore as Paramekes signifieth the length of the front so Orthion signifies the depth of the flanke of any battell ordered as is aforesaid Thus much of the names of the two battels It remaines to shew the Vse of them and how one may be transformed into the other The Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battell bringeth most hands to fight with conueniency and therefore is accounted the better forme and as neere as opportunity of ground would giue leaue the ancient Generals principally affected and sought to put this forme in vre It hath the commodity to ouerfront the aduerse battell and is safe it selfe from ouerfronting vnlesse the Enemy bring a greater multitude then you haue to ouer-match your Army The Macedonian Phalange was for the most part of this forme as all the fields Alexander fought euidently declare So ordered he his troopes at Granicus so at Issos so at Gangamelos so in other places if the ground would serue This Caution notwithstanding was obserued that the depth held proportion with the length otherwise the length profiteth not so much as the thinnesse of the depth hurts by giuing meanes to the enemy to breake through and put the aduerse battell in a rout I haue noted it before out of Leo. The Herse or deepe Phalange was thought the weakest kinde to fight in Parmenio one of the chiefest Commanders Alexander had distrusted it as I haue shewed a little before Cyrus the elder in the embattailing of the Egyptians derided it yet cannot the forme of the broad-fronted Phalange be so exactly taken vp but that necessity will sometime force the other In straight places it hath beene often vsed So Darius in the battaile of Issos by reason of the straightnesse of ground was forced to this forme So Boâ—ilâ—ar the Carthaginian was faine in a straight place to make a narrow front of his phalange and to extend it in depth And Acilius Glabrio the Roman Consall in the streights of Thermopyle against Antiochus and P. Scipto in Spaine against the Illergets Therefore in large grounds the first forme is to be chosen in narrow and rough places the other The Herse is also fit for Marches because in a March you are assured to meet with variety of ground sometimes with woods sometimes with bushes sometimes with streight wayes with riuers with hils with pits with bridges with ditches and such like impediments so that the front of your broad-fronted phalange must needs be dissolued whereas no difficulty of wayes can hinder the passage of a Herse the front whereof may be narrowed according to the ground you march in as you list Alexander being to lead his Army against the Thracians that had planted themselues in the mount Aemus was â—â—ine to narrow the front of his phalange according to the way that led vp to the Mount The same did Agesilaus passing through the streights of Mantina the History is by me recited before in my notes vpon the 26 Chapter Panimenes likewise leading his Army through Phoâ—is toward â—hebes and finding that the Enemy had taken and possessed a place called Philoâ—aeoton that had two streights leading toward it one of which the Enemy held with a gard casting is troopes into a Herse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 making the bulke of his Army slender and â—it to march shaped himselfe to the right hand as though he ment to hold on to that passage The Enemy therefore leauing the left hand streight which they had in gard ran with all speed to the right hand to stop his passage but hee taking the opportunity speeded hastily to the left and conueyed his Army thorough without danger Many like examples of Herses accommodated to streight wayes where a broad-fronted Phalange cannot march are to be found in Histories The Orthiophalange or Herse was also muchâ—sed in an ascent against a hill which the enemy possessed and in this sence are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 deepe Companies takes in the Greeke writers especially when a
certaine mountaines ouer which the Grecians were to passe made alte some 30 furlongs before hee came to the Enemy lest encountring with the enemy hee should fight with his army being led in a wing or Orthiophalange He commanded therefore the Captaines that followed him with their companies euery one after another to sleeue vp their companies by his to the intent to cast the army into a plagiophalange or broad fronted battaile When thereare Commanders were come vp hee called a counsell to aduise of the best course in proceeding Here is the order of the Grecians march expressed to be in a Herse or Orthiophalange which consisted of many companies one following another and likewise the manner of transfiguring the Herse into a broad fronted phalange viz. the Captaines one after another sleeuing vp their companies by Cherisophus his company on the left hand and making an equall front with him And yet this example containeth no more then the sleeuing vp of the Companies vpon one flanke Cherisophus first made a Stand with his companie hauing the vant the following Captaines sleeued vp their companies on his left hand as the files did one after another in the other example Alexander vsed another kinde of sleeuing a little before he fought the battell of Issos For caufing the vant-gard first to stand he commanded the rest of the foot to march vp to the front of the vant-gard on either flanke The words lye thus in Arrian Alexander hauing by midnight gained the Streights of Cilicia setting out a streight watch vpon the rockes rested and refreshed his army till morning b◠day-breake he descended from the streights in the ordinary way and as long as the passage was narrow he led in a wing afterwards the mountaines opening a greater distance he enlarged his wing into a phalange by little and little still sleeuing vp the armed one body after another to the front on the right hand toward the mountaines on the left hand toward the Sea The Horse all this while marched after the foot but comming to ground of larger capacity they were ordered on the wings This manner of working to make a phalange out of Herse was by drawing the following companies vp on both flanks on the right toward the mountaines on the left toward the sea so that it differeth from the other forme wherein the Companies were sleeued but vpon one hand A third way of making a Plagiophalange of a Herse I finde in Polybius Machanidas the Lacedemonian Tyrant saith he being to fight with Philopaemea the Achaean Generall who had fashioned his army into a broad fronted phalange made semblance at first as though he meant in a Herse to charge the right wing of the Enemies battaile but approaching neerer at a conuenient distance he brake off the hinder part of the Herse and facing it to the right hand marched out and led it out in length and ioyned it in equall front with his right wing thereby equalling the left wing of the Achaeans In this manner of transforming the Herse into broad fronted phalange the companies or bodies follow not one another to sleeue vp to the front but halfe the Plagiophalange is broken off at once the reare halfe and facing to the right or left hand is led vp and ioyned in an euen front with the other halfe not vnlike to our vsagein exercise when we command our middle men with their halfe files to face to the right or left hand and marching out to double the front of our battaile Thus much may suffice for the names vse and reduction of one of these two Phalanges to another The third Phalange mentioned in this Chapter followeth 7 The Phalange Loxe There are two kindes of Loxes or vneuen fronted Phalanges The front of the one is figured in a continued right line stretched out bias-wise thus The other hath as it were two fronts formed out of two seuerall parts of the Phalange the one aduancing against the Enemy to begin the fight the other staying behinde and keeping the first ground being ordered without the flanke of the first that vpon occasion it may likewise aduance and ioyne or else retire from the Enemy and giue backe the figure shewes the shape of it the last hath bin vsed by great Generals as a forme of aduantage in fight The first onely to win a passage as I take it ouer a riuer or such like where the broad-fronted Phalange could not passe and to bring the Armie to a ground where it might be ordered in better forme for fight I will giue one Example for I read not many of the first Alexander hauing conueied his armie ouer Hellespont and entred into Phrygia came as farre as the riuer Granicus Three Lieutenants of Darius with 20000. Horse and well nigh as many foot had embattelled themselues on the other side of the riuer to hinder his passage The riuer was full of depths and slallowes somewhat dangerous to enter and the bankes on the further side high rough and steepie besides the Enemy was ready with horse cast into a long or broad-fronted phalange and with seconds of foot to beat him backe that should offer to clymbe the bankes Alexander being resolued to passe ouer first ordered his troopes in a broad-fronted phalange The right wing he commanded himselfe and gaue the command of the left to Parmenio then putting the Scout-horse with the Paeonians into the riuer and after them a Phalangarchy of foot led by Amyntas the sonne of Arrabius and then Ptolomy the sonne of Phillip who commanded the troope of Socrates which troop had the Vaunt of all the horse that day himselfe with the right wing entred the riuer the Trumpets sounding and the Army giuing a shout extending still his battell bias-wise against the Streame 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the end the Persians might not fall vpon him as he led in a wing but himselfe as much as was possible might come to ioyne with them hauing the front of his phalange extended in length The Persians cast Darts from the high ground against the troopes of Amyntas and of Socrates as they approached to the further banke and some of them where the ground was more euen descended to the brinke of the riuer so there was thrusting and sholdering of Horsemen some to ascend out of the riuer some to hinder the ascent The Persians let flye many a dart the Macedonians fought with speares The first Macedonians that came to hands with the Persians were cut a peeces fighting valiantly saue only those that retired vnto Alexander who was now neere aduanced with the right wing He himself first of all charged the Persians where the principal strength of the whole body of their horse and the Generals of the field stood about him was a strong fight and in the meane time one troope after another passed easily ouer the riuer This passage of the History is long and therefore I forbeare to recite the rest onely
Enemy If the Enemy come sodainely vpon vs he must direct himselfe either against our front or our reare or our flankes If against our front we neede no other motion then that whereby we may strengthen our front which is vsually done by doubling of rankes we march for the most part in a herse in which forme there cannot come many hands to fight and that is the reason why it is accounted the weakest forme to ioyne with the Enemy Doubling of rankes helpeth that defect and bringeth as many hands to fight as the proportion of forces will allow If against the reare and time streight you not and your battell be in open order you haue the vse of countermarch which bringeth the best hands to fight for the File-leaders are esteemed the flower of the Army your battaile being in order or close order you are to wheele it about to your right or left Cap. 32. The action of wheeling Cap. 32. The manner of wheeling The first posture Closing of files Closing of rankes forward The Front Cap 33 Os Cloinges Closing to the middesâ— The front after closing yâ— right action Closing to yâ— left â—and Closing to yâ— right â—and The Front before closing The Front of yâ— battaile before closing hand and so to oppose the front against the Enemy But in both these motions the caution of Aelian is that the Enemy surprize you not whilest you are in the a 〈…〉 ion of countermarch or wheeling lest taking his aduantage hee charge you being in disorder Therefore if he come so neere that you haue no liberty to countermarch or wheele your onely refuge is to face about to the right or left hand for so he shall not be able to giue vpon your backe If the enemy appeare vpon any flanke countermarch of the Front will not auaile much lesse doubling against the flanke of ranks or files but you must either wheele your Front to the flanke or if you haue not time enough so to doe you are to face your battell to that hand The vse of these motions hath been handled in their seuerall Chapters more at large Of the Signes of Direction which are to be giuin to the Army and of their seuerall kindes CHAP. XXXV 1 WE are to acquaint our Forces both Foot and Horse perfectly with the 2 voice and perfectly with 3 visible signes that whatsoeuer is fitting may be executed and done as occasion shall require 4 Some things also are to be denounced by the Trumpet for so all directions will be fully accomplished and sort to a desired effect 5 The signes therefore which are deliuered by voice are most euident and cleere if they haue no impediment 6 But the most certaine and least tumultuous signes are such as are presented to the eye if they be not obscured The voice sometime cannot bee heard by reason of the clashing of â—rmour or trampling or neying of Horses or tumult of carriage or noise and confused sound of the multitude The visible signes also become many waies vncertaine by thicknesse of ayre by dust by raine or snow or sun-shine or else through ground that is vneuen or ful of trees or of turnings And sometimes it will not be easie to find out signes for all vses occasions eftsoones presenting new matter to which a man is not accustomed yet can it not so fall out that either by voice or by signall we should not giue sure and certaine direction NOTES 1 THe ordinary motions in a Phalange are all represented by Aelian Now commeth hee to speake of Signes which direct and are meanes of effecting all these motions and without which the Army is no Army but remains a body vngouernable and may aptly be resembled to a Shippe that hath no rudder For as a Ship in a tempest is driuen by all windes tossed by waues throwne euery way vpon rockes vpon sands vpon dangerous shoares that is not guided by the Master who standeth and moueth at the helme So an Army not directed by signes and forecast of the General is carried away through ignorance and violence of affection sometimes of anger sometimes offeare sometimes of reuenge and other vnbridled desires and breaketh or else falleth into confusion through disorder working little against the enemy may rather giuing him meanes of a certaine victory The shippe is like the Army the Generall like the Master the words of Direction like the Rudder guiding all and euery motion of the Army For the Army being a body of many heads whereof euery one hath a seuerall sense hangeth together not by the naturall coherence and knitting of one member to another but by artificiall ioyning of man to man file to file body to body whereby it is gathered together into one Masse and figured into many members and ioynts and ruled not by the reason and iudgement of it selfe but by the reason and vnderstanding of the Generall So that no man is to demand why this or that is commanded but is to execute it alone for this Cause because it is commanded The Generall then being to Command and direct the actions of the whole Army ought to finde out meanes to speake and discourse with them all at once in such a language as it were that all may vnderstand at once For the occurrence of warre being oftentimes sudden and once slipt by irrecouerable require sudden meanes of speedy direction that nothing fall out so vnlooked for but the Army may haue notice how to preuent and auoid or else to turne it to their most aduantage the rather because in warre safety and life come in question in losse of which no pardon of negligence can be admitted And seeing there are two principall sences of aduertisement the eare the one the other the eye the eare to heare all manner of sounds the eye to discerne all manner of colours and shapes it hath been the witty inuentions so antient Generals to informe their Armies by the one and by the other by the eye when there was no vse of the eare by the eare when the eye could not be informed The true obseruation and vse of these signes auaile much in warre Vegetius saith that nothing profiteth more to victory then to obey the admonition of signes Former experience hath taught that the neglect or error of signes hath brought in great inconueniences and quite ouerthrowne the enterprises in hand Polybius remembreth it in Aratus the elder a Generall of the Achaeans Cratus saith hee the Generall of the Achaeans seeking to get the Cyâ—ethian City by a plot agreed with those of his party within the Citie vpon a certain time to come by night to the riuer that runneth by Cynethe there refreshing and staying his Army a while and that those within taking their time should send about mid-day out of the gate secretly one of their companions to stand in a cloake by a hill appointed which was not farre from the Citie to giue aduertisement to Aratus to
yet remaine the files files as they were before and are not altered into rankes Aelian himselfe giueth testimony hereto affirming that the Phalange proceedeth not by file but by ranke whereas if the files held not their first name after wheeling to the right or left flank the march forward the file-leaders being in the flanke should be by file and not by ranke 4. For the phalange marcheth in a double treble or quadruple side A doublesided 〈…〉 is that which hath the file-leaders on both the flankes the rest backe to backe within when the enemy giueth on For otherwise when they march forward all their faces are set one way that is toward the place whether the march is intended A treble-sided battaile is when three sides of the battaile are to be charged whether the front and both the flankes or both the flanks and the reare or the reare one of the flanks and the front and the file-leaders are ordered on all the three sides A quadruple battaile is when the file-leaders are placed in front in the reare and in both the flankes An example of the quadruple battaile will shew the vse and framing of the rest for as the rest oppose one two or three sides against the enemy so the quadruple fortifieth and strengthneth all the foure sides by placing the file-leaders in them Of ordering the file-leaders vpon one flanke deduction may be be an example vpon both flanks the Antistomus phalange vpon front and reare the Amphistomus on all foure sides the Plesium of all which occasion will be giuen to speake hereafter Now I may signifie that the Plesium is a square hollow battaile the length whereof much exceedeth the depth hauing the armed foot placed on all the foure sides the light-armed throwne into the middest The Graecians that followed Cyrus the yonger into Persia against King Artaxerxes after their Coronels were taken prisoners and put to death by the subtilty and periury of Tissaphernes being but 10000. and to retreat thorow open and plaine grounds in which they were like to be charged by an infinite number of horse and foot by the aduice of Xenophon cast themselues into this forme his words are in effect these Wee shall it may be march in more safety if we order our selues into a Plesium of armed foot and giue the carriage and disarmed multitude a place of security within the hollownesse of the battaile If therefore it be now resolued afore-hand who shall command in the front of the Plesium and take charge of Vaunt who on the flanks and who in the reare we shall not neede to take aduise at the approach of the enemy but put in execution that which is resolued before And a little after And mine opinion is that Cherisophus is the fittest Commander for the Vaunt because he is a Lacedemonian and let two of the â—ldest Coronels take care of the Flankes the yongest namely my selfe and Timasion will looke to the reare This was Xenophons counsell and in this forme they marched and being charged afterward with both Persian Horse and foot they defended themselues against all efforts of the Enemy The quadruple battaile therefore was vsed when the enemy was expected to giue on all sides and he that can frame it can easily cast his troopes into the other two formes yet will not euery receiuing the enemy in flanke proue a Deduction for in case of necessity and sudden approaches of the enemy you shall be driuen to Facing wherein you onely turne the faces of souldiers to the flanke without any deduction See the figure of this battaile expressed in the picture 5. Doe make the length double to the depth I suspect this place to be corrupted in the text of Aelian the rather because before in the description of a Deduction he saith that Deductions proceed in a wing wherein the depth manifoldly exceedeth the length of the battaile as the last fore-going chapter doth shew Besides the example which is giuen in the text is not of double proportion but of treble and more ten comprehending three three times and more Of the Phalange Antistomus CHAP. XXXVIII 1 THe Phalange Amphistomus for it is so called because it hath two fronts and that part of the battaile that is set and aduanced against the enemy is called a front seeing then in this forme the middle-most are ordered backe to backe and those in the front and reare make head against the enemy the one being Commanders in front the other in reare therefore it is called Amphistomus It is of great vse against an enemy strong in Horse and able to giue a hot and dangerous charge and principally practised against Cap. 38 The Phalange Amphistomus those Barbarians that inhabit about the riuer Ister whom they also call Amphippi because they change their Horse in fight The Horse battaile to encounter this forme hath a tetragonall shape being for the purpose diuided into two broad squares they are called broad squares that haue the front twice as much as the depth and those squares are opposed seuerally against the flanks of the foot-battaile NOTES 1 THere are many kinds of battailes which being vsefull for a march are described partly in the former two chapters partly in this and in the chapters following whereof some are for ease of the march as the induction some for fight Those which are for fight are either offensiue or else defensiue Of the offensiue kinde is the Caelembolos before mentioned of the defensiue the Triphalange to be opposed against the Caelembolos and both the deductions which are represented in the two last Chapters and in this chapter is described another of the defensiue formes that is to say the Phalange Autistomus in which although the march be not continued for it is alwayes taken vp in a stand to resist a charge of the enemy yet it is a remedy defensiue against the sudden attempts of the enemy which is about to charge your reare 2. The Phalange Amphistomus The title of this chapter is litigious and there is a controuersie amongst the learned which of two names the chapter should beare Gaza Gesner and Arcierus would haue it inscribed Antitistomus Robortellus Amphistomus I haue in the translation followed the opinion of Robortellus my reason was because of these words in Aelian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they in the beginnings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 charge the enemy which word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I haue not read applied to the flankes and therefore tooke it for front and reare because the one namely the front is as it were the beginning of the battaile the other viz. the reare is the end In which sence if you take the word the description must needs agree with the Amphistomus which the enemy charging both front and reare with the file-leaders and their halfe files as they stand receiue those that charge the front with the brnigers-vp and the other halfe files facing about to the right or left hand those which
charge the reare But since vpon better consideration I thinke there is a fault in the text and where it is written 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it should be corrected and written as I take it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifie the flankes of the battaile Iulius Pollux testifieth in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The forepart of those that fight is called the front the rankes and the face the outward parts on each side 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the flanks the wings the right and the left the middest the nauell the depth the parget or wall The like doth Leo in many places and as farre as I can read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the plurall number is generally taken for the flankes albeit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the singular number I deny not to be vsed for the reare sometimes as in Xenophon who describing a fight betwixt the Corcyreians and Lacedemonians hath thus Mnasippus the Lacedemonian Generall embattailing his army put the enemy that was neere the gates to flight and followed the chaâ—â— They being come neere the wals turned againe and threw and cast darts from the mountaines other running out of the other gates in good numbers fell vpon the reare of the Lacedemonians who being ordered but 8 deep and thinking the reare of the Phalange to be but weake endeauoured to retire and fall off The enemy no sooner saw them giue ground but presently fel on more eagerly imagining they fled neither did they turne their faces any more and they who stood next vnto them soughe with all speed to saue themselues by flight Mnasippus could giue no aid to his destressed souldiers by reason hee was hardly laid to by the Corcireans that came to hands with him and his number by little and litle decreased at last the enemy in great numbers pressed them sore that stood about Mnasippus who were now reduced to a very few And the armed foot of the Citty seeing what was done abroad issued out and after they had slaine Mnasippus they followed the chace all of them together Thus Xenophon And thus you may see 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the singular number taken for the reare of the Phalange howsouer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the plurall signifieth the flanks The Antistomus Phalange therefore differing from the Amphistomus in this only because the last maintaines fight in front and reare the first in both flanks and Aelian in this Chapter describing the battel which maintaines the fight in the flanks it seemeth that the inscription ought to be of the Phalange Antistomus and that the text ought to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It may after a sort appear by Aelian himselfe in the next Chapter where making a difference betwixt these two battailes he saith plainly that the Antistomus fighteth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Read then in the text Those in the flanks make head against the enemy in stead of these words Those in front and reare and all the rest will agree to the Phalange Antistomus 3. It is of great vse The vse of this battaile is principally against horse as Aelian giueth to vnderstand because they are quicke and speedy and can suddenly turne diuide themselues and charge where they list And the flanks of the battell being the weakest part for your best men are placed in the front and reare it is needfull to finde out some meanes to defend them which is to instruct your Souldiers how to receiue the charge by turning their faces to the flankes In front you are alwaies ready because faces and weapons are bent that way Effect the like in the flankes and you shall be able to resist any charge of the enemy For foot the danger is not so great because your men shall be able to face euery way as readily as the enemy giue them only exercise and acqaint them with that manner of fight 4. And principally practised against the Barbarians That it was much vsed amongst the Grecians I find not in there history yet is there no doubt but the vse may be great in it as well as in the Amphistomus But I take the reason why it was seldome put in practice to be because the flankes of pikes in the Grecian battell were for the most part garded with horse and light-armed The front and reare hauing no such defence were commonly attached by the enemy seeking all aduantage to distresse them and in case the horse and light-armed bee absent the flankes are the fairest marke of the enemy which can by no other meanes be secured but by facing that way where he giueth on which may be euidently seene by the fight Cyrus the elder had against Craesus which example you shall see set out in my notes vpon the 46. Chap. page 79. 5. Those are broad squares That which I heere translate a broad square is in the Greeke Heteromekes of which forme I haue spoken in notes vpon the 30. Chapter Cap. 39 The Phalange Antistomus Front Wordes of direction for the Phalange Antistomus for that forme is described in this Chapter 1. Halfe rankes face to the right and left hands 2. Charge your Pikes To restore to the first Posture 1. Aduance your Pikes 2. Face as you were 1 Of the Phalange antistomus CHAP. XXXIX 1 THe Phalange Antistomus is like to the Amphistomus the forme being a little altered so that it accustometh the Soldier to resist the seuerall kindes of incursions of horse All that hath beene spoken of the former Phalange both for foot and horse agreeth with this figure also Heerein they differ that the 2 Amphistomus receiueth the charge in front and reare the Antistomus in flanke but as well in the one as the other they fight with long pikes as doe the Alans and Sauromatans and the one halfe of the souldiers in the files haue their faces bent forward the other halfe backward so that they stand backe to back This forme hath two fronts the one before where the-file leaders the other behinde where the bringers vp stand And being also diuided into a 3 Diphalange it maketh the forefront with one the after-front with the other Phalange NOTES 1 AS the title of the former Chapter was mistaken so is the title of this Chapter The other should haue beene of the Antistomus as I haue before shewed this of the Amphistomus That it should be of the Amphistomus the very wordes following in this Chapter will proue which are these The one halfe saith he of the armed souldiers in the files haue their faces bent forward the other halfe backward so that they stand back to backe and the battell hath two frontes one before where the file-leaders the other behind where the bringers vp stand He describeth the two fronts by the file-leaders and bringers vp whose proper places are the front and reare not the flanks and further
Caelembolos reseruing the third for all accidents so this square diuideth it selfe into two phalanges but hath no third setting the one against the right-hand battaile of the Peristomus the other against the left for by this opposition they inhibit the enemy from attaching their flanks Of this forme I finde not many presidents in the Greeke history I will receite onely one out of Arrian concerning Alexander which if it hit not this forme in euery point yet it hath fully the effect of that which is intended by Aelian Alexander being to deliuer battaile to Porus a King of part of India lying on the other side of the riuer Hydaspes found his enemies army to be thus embattailed He had placed his Elephants in the front 100 foot distant one from another and he placed them there to giue terror to Alexanders Horse for hee imagined that no enemy durst approach the spaces betwixt the Elephants neither with Horse for feare of the Elephants and much lesse with foot because the armed on his side were there to receiue them and the Elephants would tread and trample them vnder their feet Next he ordered the foot not in an equall front with the beasts but in a second front after them so that the files came vp almost to the spaces betwixt the Elephants besides he added foot vpon the wings aboue the Elephans On both the wings of the foot he ordered his Horse and before them his Chariots This was the embattailing of Porus. Alexander as soone as he saw the Indians stand in battaile array caused his Horse to make alte that he might haue his foot come vp who aduanced still forward And when the Phalange was come vnto him running he embattailed it not presently nor forthwith led it against the enemy lâ—st he should deliuer it weary and out of breath into the hands of the Barbarians that were fresh but circling and riding here and there in rounds with his Horse he rested his foot and gaue them time to refresh themselues And after he beheld the Indian manner of Embattailing hee thought it not good to giue vpon the middest of the front where the Elephants stood and the Phalange was close ordered against the spaces of the Elephants fearing the reasons that led Porus to embattaile in that forme But as he was stronger in horse taking to him the most of his Horse he speeded to the left wing of the enemy in purpose to giue on there and sent Coenus with Demetrius his troope and his owne troope against the right wing commanding him that when the Barbarians seeing his troopes should turue their strength of Horse against him Coenus should inuade their backs He gaue the Phalange to Seleucus Antigones and Tauron to lead commanding them not to fall on before they saw the enemies foot and horse put into a bransle by his Horse What the euent of the fight was I haue before shewed in my notes vpon the Phalange Amphistomus where I haue cited the latter end of this history Now may be seene by this example that Alexander began the fight not in the front but in the flankes and the cause why he did it was because the front was exceeding strong by reason of the Elephants And by this meanes defeating first the enemies Horse then his foot he left the Elephants naked and without defence against the darts and other missiue weapons of the Macedonians and gained a worthy victory against a strong enemy Now albeit this example come not home in all points to the Peristomus for Aelian limiteth it to foot against foot this fight was betwixt Horse and Horse yet is the reason of warre alike in both For as the file-leaders of the Peristomus giue on vpon the flanke of the aduerse square which is the weakest part of it so did the Horse of Alexander surmounting the Indians both in number and valor giue on vpon the flanks of Porus his army which was weakest and so began and ended the victory It is called Peristomus as hauing the front bent That is being diuided into halfe the one Phalange marching obliquely commeth vp and chargeth one Cap. 42. The Battaile called Plinthium The front The Diphalange Homoiostomus flanke of the aduerse battaile the other chargeth the other and so hath the fronts against the enemies both waies Words of direction in the Peristomus 1 Wheele your front into the middest of the battaile 2 Face to the front 3 One wing march out obliquely and charge the right flanke of the enemy the other the left flanke Of the Diphalange homoiostomus and of the Plinthium CHAP. XLII A Diphalange 1 Homoiostomus is so named because a 2 whole file that is 16 men mouing by it selfe another file followeth it and it is therefore called Homoiostomus because they that follow follow in a like figure 3 This kind is opposed against the Plinthium 4 Plinthium is a forme of battaile that hath the sides equall both in figure and number In figure because the distances are euery where equall In number because there are as many men in length as in depth 5 In this foure-sided battaile are none in the foure sides but armed without archer or slinger to helpe when therefore two Phalanges march together and both haue their leaders in a right-hand or left-handed deduction it is called a Diphalange Homoiostomus NOTES 1 HOmoiostomus is a Diphalange the battailes whereof haue like fronts To this forme is incident first that it be marching then that it march in deductions lastly that the deductions be vpon one and the selfe and not vpon contrary sides viz. that the file-leaders of the Phalanges be all of them either vpon the right hand or vpon the left hand of their Phalanges And therefore Suidas defineth it to be a Diphalange which hath the leaders of either Phalange ordered in the same side of the march Where he saith that the leaders are ordered on the same side in both Phalanges which words are likewise in Aelian in the end of the Chapter wee must vnderstand noâ— the leaders of the March but the file-leaders who are also called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or leaders For as Aelian saith elsewhere the march in a Deduction proceedeth in wing not by file but by ranke so that the file-leaders are in the flankes not in the front of the march and yet a man may truely tearme it the front of the battaile as long as it standeth and faceth against the enemy 2 Because a whole file I am out of doubt that this place is corrupted any man that marketh the coherence will easily be of mine opinion The inscription is of a Diphalange which consisteth of two phalanges The cause why this forme is called a Diphalange Homoiostomus is in these words assigned to be because a whole file that is 16 men mouing another file followeth it let one file follow another what is that to two Phalanges Euery Phalange hath many files in it as the
seuenth Chapter will teach vs nor will any man say that a file is a phalange nor that the following of one file singly after the other will make a Diphalange the truer cause is alleadged in the words following It is therefore called Homoiostomus because they that follow follow in the like figure which words albeit they be generall yet being explained and particularised in the end of the Chapter they shew that it is called a Diphalange Homoiostomus when two phalanges follow one another either in a right or a left hand deduction And by that part of the text the nature of the Homoiostomus is sufficiently expressed 3 This is opposed against the Plinthium How this forme should be opposed against the Plinthium I must confesse I yet vnderstand not vnlesse it be that being in a march the Plinthium charge one of them on that side where the deduction that is in the front for the flanke is now become the front the file-leader facing to the enemy way and that the other if it be the leading phalange retiring whealing the following file aduancing and whealing giue vpon the flank of the Plinthium so that the Plinthium be charged both in front and in flanke which is no small aduantage in fight for otherwise if the Plinthium meet the Phalanges so following one another and charge the front which leadeth which indeed is not the front but the leading flanke in asmuch as the march proceedeth not by file but by ranke as Aelian hath the deducton not onely loseth the benefit of bringing the file leaders to fight but is also subiect to ouerwinging and by that meanes in worse case then is the induction which hath the file-leaders in front There are other vses of the Homoistomus they are here specified by Aelian For the the Deduction directing the front against the enemy that appeareth or is like to appeare on the flank of the deduction the phalanges may fitly second one another when either of them is charged not vnlike the two btatailons of foot which la Noüe holdeth sufficient to repulse the charge of horse in open field or Champeign And if both the deductions be charged at once they are at no greater inconuenience then if they stood ranged in ordinary manner being either of them 16 deepe and the fronts which are in the deduction ready to receiue the affort of the enemy and the rest of the â—immes disposed as in the ordinary Phalange 4 Plinthium is a form of battaile This definition coÌ„prehendeth not all Plinthiums for there is a kind of euen-sided Plinthium it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which hath the front flanks of one length and it is it which Aelian here defineth There is also a kind of I linthiuÌ„ that is deeper in flank then the front is long which of ancient time was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in greeke in enlishg a tower the name of Plinthium is deriued from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a brick because as the brick is square so is this battaile which is the reason I thinke that it is often confounded Plesium this being also a square battaile and the name deduced from the mould wherein brickes are fashioned which mould is called in greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to forme The difference betwixt them according to Aelian is that the Pliniheum is a perfect square equall both in length and depth the Plesium a square longer in front then flanke 5 In this figure are none but armed in the foreside what then becomes of the light-armed they must be conuaied into the middest and the Plinthium ought to be hollow within as well to receiue them as those of the army that are vnfit for fight Leo hath this precept If the enemy be horse you are to order the army into the square figure of a Plinthium and cast into the hollow middest the cariage beasts and cariage and without them the armed and furthest without the archers that so you may dismarch in safety yet this placing the archers without is contrary to Aelian to many experiences mentioned in the Greeke history Timotheus the Athenian purposing to passe by the City Olynthus and fearing the Olinthian horse-men ordered his army into a broad-fronted Plinthium casting the baggage and horse into the middest and causing the waggons to be driuen thronging and fastned together the armed foot being without on all sides so that the Olynthian horse could not come to distresse them Brsidas the Lacedemonian being in Illyrium forsaken of the Macedonians his allies expecting to be set vpon by Arrhybeus and the Illyrians reduced his armed into a square and taking the light-armed into the middest resolued to retire the youngest hee appointed to fall out if the enemy charged on any side Himselfe with 300 chosen men took vpon him to secure the reare and to resist the enemy that should first come to charge The Barbarians seeing him dismarch followed with great shouts and cries imagining hee fled and hoping to take him and cut his throat but when the light-armed fell out and met them wheresoeuer they gaue on and himselfe with his selected band receiued them and contrary to their opinion stood firme and repulsed the first charge and euer as they forbore to charge held on his way the most part of the Barbarians left the Grecians and appointing a party to follow their reare the rest pursued the Macedonians that fled an killed as many as they lighted vpon The like forme was vsed in Elephants by the captaines of Eumenes and Peucestes against a surprise of Antigonus Diodorus Siculus reporteth the history thus Antigonus being aduertised that all Eumenes his forces were come vnto him but onely his Elephants and that the Elephants were expected out of their garrisons and were farre off alone and without ayde of horse and foot sent against them 2000 spâ—are-men being Medes 300 Tarentines and all his light-armed foot for hee hoped that falling vpon the Elephants alone hee might easily become master of them and depriue his enemy of his greatest strenght Eumenes casting in his minde what might happen dispatched away 1500 of his best horse and 300 light armed foot Antigonus people appearing first the commanders of the Elephants ordering the beasts into a Plinthium marched forward throwing the carriage into the middest hauing 300 horse and no more to make head in the reare the enemy falling on with all their might and hotly charging the horse being ouerlaide with number were put to flight The riders of Elephants at first made good resistance and stood to it albeit they were wounded on all sides and not able to hurt the enemy and being now at the last cast the forces of Eumenes vnexpectedly shewing themselues snatched them out of all danger and distresse Agesilius vsed this forme against the Thebans the Argiraspides against Antigonus the history is this Antigonus hauing the better against the horse of Eumenes diuided
the sound of the instrument they might not in the march breake their order of embattailing which great armies often doe in aduancing to ioyne with the enemy When they were ready to ioyne King Agis bethought himselfe of this strata gem It is the manner of all armies in the onset to stretch out their right wings and with them to circumuent and encompasse the left wings of their aduersaries because euery souldier carefull of his owne sefety seekes to couer his vnarmed side with the target of him that standeth next to his right hand and imagineth that the setting of targets close serues for the best defence against the enemy The cause is this the corner file-leader of the right wing desiring to withdraw as much as hee can his naked side from the weapons of the enemy proceedeth to the right hand and the rest follow him And at that time the Mantineans a great deale ouer-reached the Scirites with their wing The Lacedemonians and Tegeats much more the Athenians by reason they oâ—ermatched theâ— in number Agis therefore fearing the encompassing of his left wing seeing that the front of the Mantineans was very broad and farre extended gaue a signe to the Scirites and Brasideans to stretch out their wing and to equall the front of the Mantineans And for the void space that should remaine vpon their aduancing he commanded two Polemarchs or Coronels Hipponoidas and Aristocles to lead therin two cohorts from the right wing and fill vp the void space conceiuing that he should this notwithstanding leaue himselfe strength enough in the right wing and that the wing opposed against the Mantineans should hereby be better enabled to the encounter But it happened that Hipponoidas Aristocles followed not these directions whether the reason were in the suddenâ—esse of the command or in the preuention of the enemies giuing on for which fault they were afterward banished Sparta as men effeminate cowards When they came to hands the right wing of the Mantineans put the Scirites and Brasideans to flight And they and their allies and the 1000 selected Argiues falling into the empty space that was not filled vp made a great slaughter of the Lacedemonians and encompassing them forced them to turne their backes in hast and flye to their waggons and slue also some of the elder sort of souldiers that were left for guard there Hitherto Thucydides I prosecute not the remanenâ— of the battaile because it is somewhat long That which I haue recited is enough for my purpose namely to shew the manner of ouerwinging Thus then apply it The Mantineans had their right wing farre extended beyond the point of the left wing of the Scirites and brasidaeans who by marching out to the left hand sought to equall the front of their aduersaries but left the ground voyd wherein they were first placed This ground by Agis his commandement should haue been filled by the Cohorts of Hipponoidas and Aristocles It was not filled so that in the charge the enemy had the aduantage to enter it and to circumuent on that side the Scirites and Brasideans and put them to flight which danger will be common to all that shall be so ouerwinged by their enemie The danger then of ouer-fronting and ouer-winging being so great let vs see what remedies and preuentions against either of them haue beene deuised by antiquity Against â—ner-fronting they sought to secure the flanks of their battailes sometimes by ordering their army in such a figure as should be sufficient to sustaine the charge of the enemy wheresoeuer he gaue on Of which kinde is the Plesium or hollow-square spoken of in the last Chapter This was practised by the Grecians at their returne out of Persia and oftentimes by other Grecians as is euery where to be found in their histories And Alexander when he was to fight with Darius at Gaugamela the countrey being Champaigne and Darius abounding in multitudes defended himselfe with an Epicampios opisthia or a reare hollow battaile I haue shewed the manner of it before in my notes vpon the 46 Chapter And sometimes againe by foreseeing the danger and placing reserues in the reare or some other secret place to charge the enemy in their flanke while they busie themselues against your flankes This was practised by Cyrus the elder against Croesns as I haue shewed in my notes vpon the 46 Chapter Of this kinde also it is when you lay an ambush to charge their reare while they charge your flankes The place will likewise helpe much to auoid encompassing For if the battaile be fought in a streight place by nature where the enemy cannot draw out his Phalange in length there is no danger of encompassing So Alexander at Issos in Cilic 〈…〉 was freed from encompassing the place being too narrow for Darius to bring all his forces into an equall front The place may also be helped by art in case it be otherwise to open and fit for the enemy that aboundeth in number to encompasle vs on euery side So Caesar being to fight against multitudes of Gaules drew a deepe trench on both the flanks of his army to assure it from the charge of the enemy The like did Sylla against Archelauâ— the â—enerall of Mithridats in the battaile Cheronea and both oâ— them so securing their armies from circumuention became by that meanes masters of the field and conquerours of their enemies Of later time 10. Huniades the Hungarian King being to fight against a huge army of the Turkes gained a noble victory against them by placing his army on the one side against a fenne and enclosing it on the other side with his waggons And these preuentio 〈…〉 haue beene deuised against Hyperphalangesis or ouer-fronting Against ouer-winning they thought it sufficient to strenthen and make safe the wing that was like to be endangered by the enemy so that all remedies against ouerfronting are good also against ouerwinging but the remedies against ouerwinging are not sufficient to frustrat ouerfronting Ouerwinging therefore hath beene auoided sometimes by drawing out the endangered wing in length to equall the enemies wing that opposeth against it This is done by doubling of rankes as Aelian teacheth in the 29 Chapter and as it was practised by Cleandridas the Lacedemonian against tâ—e Thurians Wherein netwithstanding this caution is to be held that you doubâ—e not your rankes so that you make the depth of your body to thin for in so doing your body will be as subiect to breaking for want of depth as for want or length to ouerwing Beside it is done by facing to the hand where the enemies battaile ouerwingeth and marching out against it paralelly till your wing equall the wing of the enemy but so notwithstanding that the void space from whence you drew your wing be filled vp for feare the enemy giue in to it and distresse you there as may be seene by the president which in this
ARMA PACIS FVLCRA The Art of Embattailing AN ARMY O R THE SECOND PART OF AELIANS TACTICKS Containing the Practice of the best Generals of all Antiquitie concerning the formes of Battailes Wherein all Motions requisite to be vsed in a Battaile both for offence and defence are fully expressed Necessary and vsefull for all Martiall Spirits that desire to haue knowledge in the Art Military Englished and Illustrated with Figures and Obseruations vpon euery CHAPTER By Captaine IOHN BINGHAM LONDON Printed for RALPH MAB 1631. TO THE RIGHT VVORSHIPFVLL SIR HVGH HAMERSLY Knight one of the Aldermen and Coronels of the Honorable City of LONDON and President of the Martiall Company Exercising Armes in the Artillery Garden in LONDON TO CAPTAINE HENRY VVALLER NOW CAPTAINE OF THE SAID COMPANY AND TO ALL THE REST OF THE Worthy Captaines and Gentlemen of the said Company Captaine I. B. wisheth such valour and experience as may make them victorious against all sorts of Enemies Worthy Gentlemen THese my last endeuours vpon Aelian I purposed to haue kept to mine owne priuate vse and not to haue presented them to the view of the world But now being to depart from you and toiourney into a farre Countrey and finding your kindnesse and loue toward me such as I was not with any reason to expect I altered my minde and hauing nothing else to offer vnto you I resolued to make this a monument of my thankefulnesse to you and a testimony of my desire to doe you the best seruice I am able For my paines herein I leaue them to the iudgement of any learned Reader for the profit of the Treatise I say no more but this it containeth the practise of the best Generals of all antiquity concerning the formes of Battailes And whereas many hold opinion that it sorteth not with the vse of our times they must giue me leaue to be of another mind Indeed our actions in Warre are onely now a dayes and sieges oppugnations of Cities Battailes wee heare not of saue onely of a few in France and that of Newport in the Low-Countries But this manner will not last alwayes nor is there any Conquest to be made without Battailes He that is Master of the field may dispose of his affaires as he listeth hee may spoyle the Enemies Countrey at his pleasure he may march where he thinketh best he may lay siege to what Towne he is disposed he may raise any siege that the Enemy hath layed against him or his Neither can any man be Master of the field without Battaile in ordering whereof that Generall that is most skilfull seldome misseth of winning the day experience of former times cleares this I should exceede the compasse of an Epistle if I brought the examples which serue to this purpose Now for the skill of ordering Battailes it is not to be learned out of the practise of our dayes wherein when we come into the field we make shewes and musters rather then obserue any formes of Battailes for vse Battailes must not be alwayes of one figure The wise Generals of ancienter times fashioned their battailes according to the range which they saw the Enemy had before taken vp The place often maketh an alteration in that forme which otherwise would serue to our purpose He that is acquainted but with one forme if he be forced to change that vpon the sudden disordereth his troopes and bringeth all into a confusion The knowledge of the formes of battailes being then so necessary for a Generall this little Pamphlet must needs be welcome to them that desire the mannaging of fields and the command of Armies For here haue you all formes expressed together with their vse so that the Generall that is acquainted with the practise of these precepts shall not be to seeke to make transmutation of his battaile into what forme soeuer necessity shall require that vpon the sudden As for them that hold that great Ordnance will not admit any of these ancient formes in our dayes I hold that for a dreame and not worthy the answering since the inuention of great Ordnance we neuer read of any forme of battaile disordered thereby some slaughter hath beene made by great Ordnance and the Army that suffred by great Ordnance hath beene forced the sooner to ioyne with the Enemy when the Armies are ioyned great Ordnance hath and must sit still and looke about as an idle spectator seruing for no other vse then for a pray to him that gameth the field Now for small shot it succeedeth in the place of the light-armed of antiquity By them a Battaile may be broken if they be not repressed and themselues cut off in time But what is said of them that may not be said of Bowes and Arrowes The greatest fields that we gained against the French were gained onely by our Archery To say nothing of other Nations that had the skill of shooting so that no reason can be alleadged why the formes of Battailes vsed by antiquity for aduantage may not be as well vsed in our dayes Howsoeuer the matter standeth my desire is that the Treatise may with your fauourable acceptance beare your names in the Front thereof Not because I thinke it worthy of your Patronage but for that I would haue it appeare to the world how much I esteeme of your kindnesse as I said and of your loue which you expressed toward me in my taking leaue of the City The Lord of hostes haue you in his keeping Your seruant as heretofore to doe you seruice IOHN BINGHAM Cap. 30. Plagiophalanx or the Brode-Fronted Phalange Orthiophalanx or the Herse Loxe-Phalanx or the vneven fronted Phalange The Front THE TACTICKS OF AELIAN OR THE ART OF EMBATTAILING ARMIES The broad-fronted Phalange the deepe Phalange or Herse and the vneuen-fronted Phalange CHAP. XXX 1 PLagiophalange or the broad-fronted Phalange is that which hath the 2 length manifoldly exceeding the depth 3 Orthiophalange or the deepe Phalange now commonly called the Horse is that which proceedeth by a 4 winge hauing the depth much exceeding the length In generall speech euery thing is called 5 Paramekes which hath the length more then the depth and that which hath the depth more then the length 6 Orthion and so likewise a Phalange The Phalange 7 Loxe or vneuen-fronted that is which putteth forth one of the wings which is thought fittest towards the Enemy and with it begins the fight holding off the other in a conuenient distance till opportunity be to aduance NOTES THis Chapter and the next seeme not to hold their right place for being set before the manner how to wheele and likewise before closings and inserted betwixt the motions of the Phalange to which motions or to one of them the manner of wheeling and closings appertaine they interrupt the method or orderly handling of the said motions which method Aelian curiously obserueth through his whole Booke Besides Aelian himselfe after a manner pointeth out the true place of them in that
whole Company is put into a file and 3 or 4 or more files laid together to make an Orthiophalange in which forme they vsed to mount vp against hils Many examples be in heir Histories of beating off Enemies from hils in this forme Cyrus the elder vsed it against the Chaldaeans Xenophon against the Carducans Cherisophus in passing the riuer Centrites which riuer diuideth the mountaines of the Carducans from Armenia the Graecians against the Mosynecans that inhabited certaine Mountaines which the Graecians were to mount Ptolomey against the Indians that embattelled themselues vpon a mountaine to resist the inuasion of Alexander And a notable example of an Army ascending against a Mountaine is described by Xenophon in the fourth booke of the ascent of Cyrus Herelateth that the Cholcans had taken vp a high Mountaine and there imbattelled their Army to the intent to stop the passage of the Grecians in their returne out of Parsia The Grecians at the first ordered themselues into a Phalange a broad fronted battell meaning in that forme to make their way But afterwards the Chief-taines calling a Court aduised vpon their best course of fighting Xenophons opinion was that laying aside the forme of a Phalange it would be best to order themselues in Companies drawne out in file For a Phalange said he will soone be broken by reason of the inequality of the way which in some parts of the Mountaine will be found easie enough in other hard to ascend And the sohldiers will quickly be discouraged to see the Phalange disordered in which they march Besides marching in a large front the enemies that exceede vs in number will ouer-front vs and vse their multitude to most aduantage In a narrow front it will be no maruaile to see our Phalange cut asunder with missiue weapons and with men ordered in battaile to charge vs whereby the whole Phalange will be distressed Therefore as I said I hold it best to put the Armie into Companies stretched out in depth giuing to each Company such distance one from another that our wings may ouer reach the vttermost points of theenemies battaile and let euery company make choice of their fittest way for ascent As for the spaces betwixt company and company it shall not be easie for the enemy to conuey himselfe into them all the companies on all sides in case he enter wrapping him in betwixt them and if it chance that any company be distressed the next company is to succour and aide it Now say that one company attaine to the top of the hill you may be assured that no enemy will keepe his ground This Counsell was assented to by all When therefore euery man had taken his place and the companies were laid out in their iust depth the armed amounted to about 80 companies in euery of which were reckoned almost 100 men The Targeteers and Archers were diuided into three bodies the first to march without the armed of the left wing the second without the armed of the right the third in the midst euery body consisting of well-nigh 600 men After prayers made to the gods the souldiers aduanced singing the Paean Then Cherisophus and Xenophon leading the point of the Graecian battaile and the Targatiers with them who ouer reached the enemies wings hasted on a pace and the enemy perceiuing it extended their wings to meet them and by that meanes were distracted some to the right some to the left hand leauing an empty space in the middest of their Phalange the Targatiers armed after the Arcadian manner led by Aeschines the Acharnan seeing the enemies battaile disseuered and imagining them to flye ranne forth with all speede and were the first that gained the hill they were seconded by the armed Arcadians commanded by Cleanor the Orchomenian When the Enemy saw them come running on they forsooke their ground and began to shift for them selues one one way another another The Grecians hauing gained the Hill encamped there Hitherto Xenophon out of whose practice the best addresse against an enemy that possesseth a Hill ouer which our Army is to march may be learned In a broad-fronted Phalange it is hard to proceede both because of the inequality of the ground which will easily breake the phalange and disioynt all the parts thereof and also for that the enemies weapons throwne from the higher ground will not lightly misse so great a body and great stones and other masse tumbled downe will beare downe and make ruine of whatsoeuer commeth in the way impossible to misse in such an extension of length and thronging of the Army to lead in one and a continued Herse is no lesse dangerous A few men and those onely in front shall come to fight against a multitude of enemies who will ouer-front and charge them on all sides Xenophons Counsell then is to make diuers bodies and to order them so seuered in front and flanke that they may ouer-front the enemy and not be parted asunder with the vneuennesse of the ascent nor yet proue too faire a marke for the enemies weapons The Bodies are declared to be Companies each of 100 men these so diuided one from another in distance filewise that the vttermost bodies on both sides might be able to ouer-reach the points of the enemies wings and to make choice of the best Ascent toward the height of the hill Further the forme of ordering the bodies is set downe They were stretched out in depth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orthios lochos is here taken for a Company ordered in one file and it fignifies as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Company ordered one man singly after another which phrase is vsed by Xenophon elsewhere and in the same sence Thucydides vseth the phrase of placing ships one in a direct line after another 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which his scoliastes interpreteth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hauing one after another And Polybius likewise of Ships hath the same phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be placed one after another and in the same place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yet this passage out of Xenophon where he mencioneth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hath a diuers signification from the common vsage of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 amongst other Grecians It agreeth in that they led their Companies stretched out in file it differeth in that Zenophons files were placed in distance one from another and had all an equall front in the manner of a Plagio-phalange where in the other examples they were ioyned to the end to make an Orthiophalange and in seuerall bodies to follow one another I deny not that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are otherwise taken in the wars of the Romans described by the Greciatis So Scipio ordering his battell against Hanniball in the fight of Africa is reported by Appian to haue disposed his Army into Maniples distributed into three kinde of bodies the Maniples to stand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
I adde that after a long fight the Persians were forced to flye and the victory remained with Alexander And this that I haue recited may serue to shew the vse of this kinde of Loxe-phalange which was practised by Alexander to no other end then to gaine the passage of the riuer for in this forme hee would neuer haue fought nor is there any president for it out of his battels ranged vpon euen ground where he might haue chosen the forme he liked best but here he was to get ouer a riuer the enemy held the bankes on the other side with 20000. Horse ordered in a broad phalange the riuer was full of shallowes and depths and thereby hardly passable the bankes on the other side steepe and broken and hard to ascend Parmenio disswaded him to lead in a wing or herse and himselfe had no great fancie to aduenture in that forme In a broad-fronted phalange he could not which must needs haue beene broken by the vnequall footing in the bottome of the riuer What did hee then hee thought best to choose a passable foord and through it to put ouer the right wing of his Army slope-wise toward the further banke whither when they came they should proceed against the streame that the front being still extended and the rest comming vp and ioyning he might front toward and charge the Enemy phalange-wise And that this was his meaning is plaine by Polyen who rehearsing the same Stratagem saith that Alexander led his Army in that forme along the further banke to the end to ouer-front the Enemies Horse-battaile So that this kinde of Loxe or vneuen-fronted Phalange is no forme to fight in as I conceiue but hath beene sometimes taken vp as a meanes to attaine to a ground fit for a better forme as Alexander changed it as soone as he came to the banks of the riuer on the other side The other as I said great Generals haue vsed and by it haue gained great victories I will adde an example or two whereby the vse of it may more clearely appeare Epaminondas the Theban in a field against the Lacedemonians gained a famous victory by this forme Diadorus Siculus writeth thus The Baeotians also being ready to fight the battailes on both sides were fashioned in this order Amongst the Lacedemonians the Chiefetaines of the race of Hercules had the wings viz. Cleombrotus the King and Archidamus who was the sonne of Agesilaus the other King On the Baeotian side Epaminondas vsing a peculiar and choice kinde of embattailing obtained a renowned victory by his martiall skill For selecting the best men out of all his troopes he opposed them against one of the Enemies wings himselfe resoluing in his owne person to try the fortune of the day with them Against the other wing he set the weakest commanding them to fight retyring and to giue ground by little and little when the Enemy came on to charge framing therefore an vneuen fronted Phalange he determined to hazard the fight with that wing which consisted of his chosen Soldiers The Trumpets sounded and the Armies gaue a shout and the Lacedemonians figuring a halfe Moone thrust out both their wings of purpose to enuiron the Baeotians who with one of their wings retired with the other ran forth to ioyne with the Enemy after ioyning the Victorie hung a good while doubtfull thorough the valour of both parties notwithstanding Epaminondas by the manhood of his people and the thicknesse of his battaile hauing the better many of the Lacedemonians fell for they were not able to endure the weight of the resolution of those chosen men yet so long as Cleombrotus liued and had many to ioyne Targets for his defence and ready to dye before him the sway of victory was vncertaine But after he had cast himselfe into all kinde of dangers and yet could not force the Enemy to retire fighting heroically he was borne to ground with many wounds and so ended his daies There arose a flocking and concourse about his body and multitudes of dead men were heaped one vpon another That wing being now without a Commander was hardly laid to by Epaminondas and first with plaine force somewhat disordered The Lacedemonians on the other side brauely hazarding for their King recouered his dead body but could not attaine to the victory as also the selected band albeit prouoked by the vertue and exhortation of Epaminondas it vsed extraordinary valour yet with much adoe did it force the battaile of the Lacedemonians who first giuing backe somewhat disordered themselues at last many falling and no man being to command them the whole armie tooke it selfe to flight Epaminondas his soldiers followed the chace slew many made themselues Masters of the field and carried away a notable and famous victory Their honour was the more because they fought with the most valiant men of all the Grecians and ouercame them being many more in number then themselues contrary to all mens expectation but of all other Epaminondas was the man that merited most praise who by his owne valour and martiall skill won a battaile against those Generals of Greece which to that day were held inuincible This Testimony of the Loxephalange is somewhat long but the worthinesse of the circumstances will I hope beare me out to recite it wherein the forme agreeable to Aelian is first to be noted as aduancing one wing against the Enemy and holding off the other albeit it goe a little further then Aelian prescribeth in that the wing kept off stood not still waiting time to come forward but when the Enemy came vp ioyned with him giuing ground of purpose to distract his phalange and on that side to busie him with a slow fight lest happily he might giue vpon the aduerse flanke of Epaminondas and succour his owne partie that already was in fight It sheweth besides the aduantage of Military skill for the Lacedemonians Masters of Armes at that day in Greece hauing fashioned a halfe Moone and imagining in that forme to inclose the small number of the Baeotians and to charge them on euery side Epaminondas with his Loxe Phalange so plyed the front of their wings that the rest of the halfe Moone being neuer able to strike stroake became vnprofitable It shewes further what kinde of battaile is fittest to encounter the halfe moone Lastly it hath the reason and vse of the Loxe phalange that is to charge one of the Enemies wings with the best and strongest part of our forces and at the same instant to annoy him with the other wing thereby to embarre him from giuing aide to his people that were in fight Alexander vsed this forme at Gangamela beginning the fight and victory with his right wing and after with his victorious troopes succouring his left wing that was in danger to be routed by the Persians The like forme with the like successe was vsed by Antigonus against Eumenes it is a battaile worth the
rehearsing but I haue beene long in the Example of Epaminondas and therefore referre the Reader to the quotation Demetrius framed the like battaile against Ptolomy and Seleucus albeit he were frustrated of his hopes in the euent by the foresight of Ptolomy who opposed his choisest troopes against that wing of Demetrius which was first to vndertake the charge Hitherto of these three formes of Phalanges see the figures in which albeit the two first be portraited without interuals yet you must in the broad-fronted Phalange vnderstand the three interuals vsuall in the Macedonian fourefold Phalange and in the herse the spaces betwixt the reare of the bodies that lead and of the front of those that follow Parembole Protaxis Epitaxis Prostaxis Entaxis and Hypotaxis CHAP. XXXI 1 PArembole or insertion is when Souldiers being placed in a body we take some of the hindmost and order them within the distances of the first drawing them vp in an equall front 2 Protaxis or forefronting is when we place the light-armed before the front of the Armed and make them forestanders as the file-leaders are 3 When we order the light armed behind it is called Epitaxis as it were an after-placing 4 Prostaxis or adioyning is when to both flankes of the battell or to one flanke some of the hindmost are added the front of them which are added lying euen with the front of the battell This addition is called Prostaxis 5 Entaxis or insition is when it seemeth good to set the light Armed within the spaces of the Phalange man to man 6 Hypotaxis or double-winging is when a man bestoweth the light armed on the wings of the phalange so that the whole figure resembleth a threefold gate or doore Cap. 31. Hypotaxis or double-winging Entaxis or insertion Protaxis or forefronting NOTES THis Chapter sheweth the inlarging of a Phalange or battell by diuers placings partly of the armed partly of the light-armed It is not hard to be vnderstood the rather because most of the alterations here mentioned are spoken of heretofore either in Aelian or in my notes Sixe formes are here set downe two by changing the place of some of the Armed the other foure by changing the place of the light-armed the armed are altered by Parembole or Prostaxis the light armed by Protaxis Epitaxis Entaxis and Hypotaxis what the signification of each is shall be shewed in the notes following 1. Parembole This must alwayes be of armed which are taken from the reare of the Armed and inserted betwixt the files of the front of this kinde is the doubling of the front by middle men with their halfe files whereof Aelian hath spoken in the 29 Chapter see the figure there 2. Protaxis or fore-fronting I haue shewed before in the notes vpon the seuenth Chapter that the light-armed were diuersly placed in the front in the reare on the wings within the battell when they are placed before it is called Protaxis see the figure here Ptolomie and Seleucus being to fight against Demetrius who had many Elephants placed the light armed before to the intent to wound the Elephants and turne them away from their Phalange so Alexander so Darius at the battaile of Issos placed darters and slingers before the fronts of their phalange they serue greatly to annoy the Enemy being so placed especially being not charged with horse or pikes if they be charged with either they are to retire into the interuals of their owne battaile of pikes See Onosander cited by me in my notes vpon the 7 Chapter of this Booke 3. Epitaxis Ordering of the light-armed behinde was the vsuall manner of the Macedonian Embattelling from whence they drew them at pleasure to any place of seruice see the 7 Chapter 4. Prostaxis it is when armed are taken from behinde and laid to one or both flankes of the battell fronting euen with the front thereof which is a doubling of rankes as is before shewed done when the hinder halfe files diuide themselues march out and front with the fileleaders or else march out entirely without diuision Entaxis Incision is alwayes of the light armed into the spaces of the armed It is all one with pareutaxis another Greeke word vsed in the same sence 6. Hypotaxis Placing of the light armed on the wings was much vsed in ancient time as the manner is also at this day but Aelian would haue them so placed that the eminency of them should make a hollow front in the battaile Patritius taketh Hypotaxis to be the placing of the light armed in the reare which seemeth to be a mistaking both because the placing of them in the reare is in this Chapter called Epitaxis and also because there being foure manners of ordering the light-armed one in the front another in the reare the third within the body of the Phalange man to man the fourth in the wings if this ordering should be vnderstood to be behinde the Phalange there would be two kinds of placing of the light armed in the reare and none of ordering them in the flankes Besides when Aelian saith they are placed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vnder the wings of the battell he sufficiently expresseth himselfe the flankes of the battaile on both sides being the vttermost parts of the wings The Vse and aduantage of these exercises of Armes CHAP. XXXIV THese precepts of turning about of faces of wheeling and double wheeling of the battaile and of reducing it to the first posture are of great vse in 1 sodaine approaches of the Enemy whether he shew himselfe on the right or left hand or in the reare of our march The like may be said of Countermarches of which the Macedonians are held to be the inuenters of the Macedonian the Lacedemonians of the Lacedemonian from whom the Appellations are accordingly drawne The Histories witnesse that Phillip who much enlarged the Macedonian Kingdome and ouer-came the Grecians in a battaile at Cheronea and made himselfe Generall of Grecia and likewise his Sonne Alexander who in short time conquered all Asia made small account of the Macedonian countermarch vnlesse necessity forced it and that by vse of the Lacedemonian they both became victorious ouer their enemies For the Macedonian countermarch the Enemy falling vpon the reare is cause of great disorder in asmuch as the hindermost marching vp to the front and making shew of running away it more incourageth and emboldeneth the Enemy to fall on for feare and pursuit of the Enemy is ordinarily incident to this Countermarch but the Lacedemoâ—ian countermarch is of contrary effect for when the Enemy shewes himselfe in the reare the file-leaders with their followers brauely aduancing and opposing themselues it striketh no small feare and terror into their mindes NOTES ALL the foure motions of a battaile Facing Countermarching Doubling and Wheeling are before handled In this Chapter Aelian briefly rehearseth the vse of them especially in 1. Sodaine approaches of the
bee commanded and done according to necessity the ancient vse of all Nations found out how the whole Army by signes might with speed haue notice of and follow that which the Generall iudged profitable for it To helpe therefore the weakenesse of the voice Instruments of sound were brought in which were of three sorts amongst the Grecians the Trumpet the Flute and the Harpe The Flute was vsed by the Lacedemonians the Harpe by the Cretans euen to the ioyning of battaile all other Grecians vsed the Trumpet And yet in the battaile during the time of fight and in retreats the Lacedemonians also vsed the trumpet I haue noted it before vpon the 9 Chapter where I haue also touched in what occasions and actions the trumpet was the signe Now will I giue some Presidents of the particulars thece remembred And first the Trumpet gaue the signe of remouing the Campe which appeareth by this precpt of Leo When you will remoue your Campe without tumult you are to giuen commandement ouer night And againe the same day in which you remoue you are in the morning by day light to signifie the remoue by sound of the Trumpet three times and then remoue and the Leaders and the armed are to goe out first then the wagons if any bee and then other things which are carried for the vse of the Army Thus Leo for the remoue by day By night the Army of the Grecians that fought with Artaxerxes as Xenophon reporteth remoued after this sort After the death of Cyrus the Grecians that followed Cyrus being in distresse and pinched with want of al things not knowing what course to take and hauing a message from Arieus a chiefe Persian Commander vnder Cyrus while he liued to come and ioyne with him that they might returne together to Ionia from whence they first began to march Clearchus the Principall Commander of Grecians being determined to doe as Arieus counselled and yet loth the enemy should know of his departure gaue these directions to the Army This must de your course saith hee wee must goe euery man to his lodging and sup with such prouision as he hath and when the Horne giueth the signe to rest trusse vp your baggage at the second signe lay it vpon the carriage beasts at the third euery man follow his Leader The Captaines and Coronels hearing this did as they were commanded This practise of Clearchus differeth not much from Leos precept for hee vsed three sounds of the trumpet and so Leo doth command Clearchus yet further sheweth what was bee done at euery signe which Leo pretermitteth perhaps as a thing commonly knowne Besides Clearchus vsed all these signes for another end then for which they were first instituted The Grecians at euening discharged their workemen from their worke by sound of trumpet and that was called the signe of rest then they diuided the night into foure parts which were called foure watches because rheir Sentinels were foure times releeued in a night and at euery reliefe the Trumpet sounded Now the sounds of the Trumpet by night Clearchus conuerted into signes for marching according to Leoes prescription and remoued his Campe the enemy not perceiuing it Hence it appeareth then that the Campe was remoued by the sound of the Trumpet And yet I finde that Alexander brought in an alteration about this signe of remoouing For Curtius remembreth that Alexander at the first vsed it but perceiuing afterwards that this signe could hardly be discerned by the whole Army by reason of the noise and stirring of the multitude thought it better to sticke downe a Pole and vpon the top of it to hang a coloured cloth to giue his Army notice that hee meant to remoue and euer after held himselfe to that signe The Trumpet likewise was the signe of fight And when all the Trumpets of the Army sounded it was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Latine Classium and the whole Army hearing this signe began to aduance and sung the Paean and gaue a shout and presently ioyned with the enemy The Greeke histories euery where giue testimony hereof But wee are to note that this sounding of trumpets all together was before the Army came to ioyne with the enemy and that the end of it was to strike a terror into the enemy and to encourage and stirre vp the mindes of their owne people to fight for in the time of fight they vsed another manner according to this precept of Leo I would not aduise you to sound with many Trumpets during the time of conflict it being a thing both hurtfull and bringing with it tumult and confusion for thereby no Commander can bee heard But if the place bee found plaine and euen the Trumpet of the middle battell will bee sufficient for all the other battels if it be vneuen or the winde as it often happeneth boisterous or the noise of waters hinder the cleernesse of the sound it will not bee inconuenient for a Trumpet to speake in euery battell so that three may be sounded in the whole Army For the more that stilnesse is obserued the lesse shall the youger sort of Souldiers be disturbed or the beasts affrighted and more terrible shall the battell seeme to the enemy and directions be better heard and put in execution The Trumpes were therefore the signes of fight first all sounding together when the Army went to charge and afterward one or three at the most during the time of fight And as the signe of fight was giuen by the Trumpet so was the signe of retreat This also is manifest by the stratagem of Pammenes Polyen relateth that hee deceiued his enemies by vsing a contrary course in sounding the Trumpet then the common manner was commanding his Souldiers when hee sounded the retreat they should goe to charge when he sounded a charge they should retreat in doing whereof he greatly annoyed his enemies The example of Agesilaus cited by mee in my notes vpon the 9 Chapter sheweth that the trumpet was vsed for retreats and the History of Callicratidas reported by Diodor. Scic in his 15 Booke Suidas nameth this kinde of sound giuen by the trumpet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it were a calling backe or a command to retire The Trumpet finally was vsed as a signe for the Army to stand or to goe forward as the businesse required Albeit I must confesse there were other vsuall signes besides the trumpet in this case Leo saith In exercise of Horse when you are to mooue the Body you are to giue signe either with the voice alone or with the Trumpet or else with the bowing downe of a Baneroll and so to moue them And if you would haue them to make alte you are to doe it either with he voice saying stand or with the Trumpet or with the noise of a Targetbeaten vpon with a sword The like he speaketh of the exercise of foot in the same Chap
Nauie from the shoare in a wing and turning them about and addressing their prowes to the land giue a signe for the ships to hasten with all celerity to the land euery one as it could It was a great reward and victory for those that came first to land to water and take all thing they needed as also to dine and a great punishment to the sluggards to want those commodities and besides to put to sea again when the signe was giuen for the first did all things at ease and as they list the last were streightnâ—d with haste and must doe as they could When by chance he dined in the enemies Countrie he set out Sentinels some vpon land as behooued other vpon ships rearing vp the Masts that from them they might take a view of all things for these being placed in a higher station might easily discerne and see further then the other standing vpon euen ground wheresoeuer he supped and slept he suffered no fires to be made in the Campe by night but held light before the Campe that no man might haue accesse to it without discouery Oftentimes in faire weather he no sooner supped but put to sea againe and in case there were a fresh gale sailed forward and the sailers in the meane time gaue themselues to rest when hast was needfull he releeued the saylers by turnes and in the day time vpon signes led sometimes in a wing some times in a phalange That these were mute signes from the Admirall ship besides that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 importeth so much for the most part no man I thinke acquainted with Sea-seruice will make question considering that both voice and trumpet easily giue place to the whistling of windes and roaring of tempests and raging of waues of the Sea To say nothing of the distance of one ship from another nor of the tumult and cry of Mariners or sound of oares for in those times sea-fights were altogether in Gallies driuen with oares which make them vncapable of direction by any other kinde of signe And for these mute signes to be giuen by sea I meane of what kinde they should be and to what end and in what manner deliuered I thinke good to cite the words of the Emperour Leo which sound thus Let there be saith he in your Galley a signe standing in some eminent place either an ensigne or some banerall or some such like wherewith after you haue signified what is to be done your direction may straight be vnderstood and executed whether you would haue your Nauie to goe to charge or retire from the Enemy or to countermarch to encompasse the enemy or to hasten to relieue some of your owne party distressed or slacke or quicken their aduancing or lay or auoid an ambush or such like that they seeing the signes â—rom your ship may receiue direction what is to be done And a little after he declareth the manner and vsage of these signes saying Let the signe be showne either standing vpright or enclining to the right or left hand or lifted aloft or let fall low or be taken cleane away or transported to another place or changing by making the head of it appeare in diuers formes by adding other shapes of colours vnto it as was vsed by the Ancients For their manner was in the day of battaile to reare vp a red coloured signe which they called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it was nothing else but a peece of red cloath exalted vpon a long staffe and such like but it may be more safely deliuered by your owne hand I thought good to cite these passages of Leo the rather to giue light to the place last before recited out of Zenophon For out of this precept of Leo the practise of Iphicrates his motions may more perspicuously appeare Now that these red coloured signes and signes of other colours also were vsed in fights on land Polybius sheweth in the battell betweene Antigonus the Macedonian King and Cleomenes the King of Sparta Antigonus Army consisted of diuers nations Macedonians Agrians Galatians Achaeans Baeotians Epirotes Acarnans Illyrians Cleomenes his enemy had taken and fortified all the streight passages which led into the territory of the Lacedemonians for thither did Antigonus bend his inuasion and so disposed his forces that Antigonus could not passe without fight Hereupon Antigonus resolued to fight and because his fight was to be ordered in and against diuers places and at diuers times as his aduantage fell out he gaue diuers signes to his different people when to giue on The signe to the Illyrians was then to charge vp Cap. 30. The Coelembolos or hollow-fronted wedge The right Induction The front Cap. 36. The Coelembolos The left wing The Phalange set against the left wing of the Coelembolos The front The forbearing Phglange The right wing The Phalange set against the right wing of the Coelembolos Cap 36. The File-leaders A Deduction to the left hand A right induction The Front A Deduction to the right hand The File leaders the hill when they saw a white linnen cloath held vp from the place about Olympas to the Megalopolitans and horse when they saw the King lift vp a purple garment Caesar commanded his Souldiers not to â—ight without his direction saying he would giue a signe with an ensigne when he would haue them begin And albeit the colour of red was vsed for the most part in Signals yet was not the party that gaue the signe precisely tyed to any colour it was enough if the signe might giue notice of the Generals intent to them whom it concerned the first Ptolowie gaue a signe to his Nauie to begin the fight by hoisting vp a guiâ—â— Target in his Admirall galley other with holding vp or shaking their garment or their hand or with wearing some vnusuall marke vpon a horse vpon Armes vpon vestures or such like This is to be noted for a generall rule that when you finde in history a signe was giuen at a great distance and it is not expressed what signe it was you must vnderstand that it was a mute signe presented to the eye because the sence of hearing is feeble and not able to discerne farre off Hitherto of mute signes giuen by day In the night when all was couered with darknesse and the vse of sight taken away the vsuall manner was to giue a signe by flame of fire which manner of signall might be descried in the night being the darknesse neuer so great Scipio Africanus the younger hauing enclosed Numintia round about with a trench and rampier commanded that if the Enemy fell out vpon any part of his fortification a red peece of cloath should be held out by day vpon a long staffe a flaming fire by night that himselfe or his chiefe officers might come to succour The like shall you finde in Casars Commentaries and Q. Curtius and in other Historiographers
both Greeke and Latine These were the signes vsed in the battell and in the Campe without the Campe were set Sentinels both horse and foot to fore-warne and giue aduerrisement to the Generall of the Enemies approach To these oftentimes the Generall gaue a signe amongst themselues and they by signes signified what was done abroad For the manner of placing these Sentinels see Aeneas The signes themselues were such as might be discerned by the eye and of that kinde and forme whereof I haue made mention already Of Marching and of the diuers kind of battels fit for a march And first of the right induction of the Caelembolos and of the Triphalange to be opposed against it CHAP. XXXVI 1 BEing now to speake of marching I will first giue to vnderstand that some kinde of march is a 2 right-induction othersome a 3 deduction on the right or left hand and that in a single or double or treble or quadruplesided battell In a single when one Enemy is feared in a double when two in a treble when three in a quadruple when the Enemy purposeth to giue on all sides Therefore the March is vndertaken sometimes in a single sometimes in a double or in a threefold or in a fourefold phalange 4 A right induction is when one body of the same kinde followeth another as if a Xenagy lead the rest follow Xenage-wise or if a Tetrarchy lead the rest follow according to that forme It is so called when the march stretcheth it selfe forth into a wing hauing the depth many times exceeding the length Against it is opposed the caelembolos or hollow-wedge which is framed when the Antistomus diphalange disioyneth the leading wings closing the reare in forme of the letter V as the figure after doth teach in which the front is disseuered and the reare ioyned and knit together for the right induction pointing at the midst of the Enemies battell the Caelembolos quickly opening before serueth both to frustrate the charge of the front of the induction and to claspe in and circumuent the flanks thereof Furthermore a Triphalange is to be set against the Caelembolos one Phalange fighting against one wing of the Caelembolos the second against the other and the middle or third phalange forbearing and expecting a time fit to charge NOTES THe Marching of an Army is a principall head of warre Aelian toucheth it no further then to shew the order and shapes of battels fit for a March and were it possible that all grounds were alike open and without impediments as namely without trees ditches hedge-rowes ragged waies valleys hils brooks and such like the best forme of your marching should be to proceede with your whole phalange in a square battell which forme is teady for all attempts of the enemy and is the beginning and sourse of other formes and with no great difficulty wil take be changed into any shape you desire Leo sheweth the inconueniency of the Herse or induction in marching thorow Champaine and large plaines first in that the Enemy with a broad-fronted battaile may enfold and encompasse the front and so easily rout it then because if the Enemy charge the flanke it will quickly be broken as being without depth further if he fall vpon the reare it is in the like danger of encompassing as was the front lastly neither can the front giue succour and assistance to the reare in case it be ouerpressed by the Enemy nor yet the reare to the front they being so farre distance one from another And he concludeth that the forme of a square or broad-fronted battaile is fit for a march in all occasions being easily to be ordered and without danger But seeing it is not possible as Polibius saith or else very hard to finde out places of 20 furlong or more where in none of the impediments aboue recited shall be the formes of marching must necessarily be accommodated to the ground and wayes through which your forces are to passe what formes they be the following Chapters will shew 2. Some kinde of March is a right Induction The expectation of the enemies approach is oftentimes a cause of varying thâ— kindes of march if he alwayes appeared in front there should need no other proceeding then with the file-leaders in front because he seekes his aduantage and in the March sometimes attacheth the reare sometimes one flanke sometimes another the Grecians to prouide for all attempts so ordered their March that wheresoeuer they feared the enemies giuing on there they opposed the file-leaders as the best men of the Armie and most able to receiue the affront yet for the most part the March was vndertaken in a right induction that is without inuerting the ordinary kind of file-leading in front which also is our manner of marching at this day But yet sometimes in a 3. Deduction on the right or left hand There is but one kind of right induction viz. a march that hath the file-leaders in the front Of Deductions there are 2 kinds one to the right the other to the left hand And because the file-leaders march on the right or left hand flanke not in front therefore the one is called a right hand deduction the other a left hand deduction So that not the body which continueth or beginneth the march but the place of the file-leaders in the march makes the difference betwixt Induction and Deduction What the Vse of Deduction is we shall see in the next Chapter 4. A right Induction is Aelian describeth the right Induction by the marching of seuerall bodies of one kind one after another as if a Xenagy lead all the rest of the forces are to bee separated into Xenagies and singly one after another to follow the first leading Xenagy so of other bodies lesser or greater Notwithstanding in a right Induction wee must take this caution withall that the file-leaders proceed in the front for otherwise if they bee placed in the flanke it is now no induction but a deduction howsoeuer the seuerall bodies of a kind follow one another This is that manner of marching which is called marching in a wing of which I haue spoken sufficiently in my notes vpon the 30 Chapter There are other kind of inductiue marches set forth in the Greeke History which are not altogether of the forme which Aelian describeth for where Aelian would haue Xenagies to follow one another with the file-leaders in front his meaning is that the whole 16 files of the Xenagie should bee laid together all the file-leaders being layed in an euen front Now you haue examples where whole Companies march in one file so that all the file-leaders haue not the front but rest included in the inward parts of the file and yet many of these files ioyned together make an induction Xenophon reporteth that when Cyrus the elder was mustering and exercising his Army in the field there came vnto him a messenger from Cyaxares the King of the Medes being Cyrus
placed in Front I will adde one example out of Xenophon more to the same purpose When the Grecians that followed Cyrus the yonger into Persia returned toward their Country they came as farâ—e as the riuer Phiscus they found there a bridge and not farre off a great City called Opis at which the base brother of Cyrus and Artaxerxes leading from Susa and Ecbatana a mighty Army with him to giue aid to the King met the Grecians and causing his owne Army to make alte hee tooke vnto of the Grecians as they passed by Clearchus led his Army 2 in Front and in his march oftentimes made alte As long as the Vaunt of the Army staied so long the Reare must likewise stay So that the Grecians were of opinion they had a great Army and the Persian was abashed at the sight of such a multitude Whether this march were Aeliaâ—s right Induction a man would doubt because it is not expressed by Xenophon particularly how the bodies of the Phalange did march onely hee saith that Clearchus led 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in binos saith the Latine translation I interpret it 2 in Front For two in depth it could not be because Xenophon speaketh of a stand made oftentimes by the Vaunt which caused the Reare to stay And had the Army beene but 2 in depth it had bean all Vaunt the 10000 Grecians beeing ordered into two ranks and no more each of them being 5000 men besides that the Persian wondered at the multitude which passed by him in flanke which flank if it had consisted of no more then two his wonder would soon haue ended But Clearchus vsed Art to make his number seeme greater and being but 2 in Front they must needs be 5000 in file to which 5000 giuing 6 foot a peece for their open order the ground wil contain 30000 foot in depth which amouÌ„t to six miles of ours The vsage of the Lacedemonians was to march sometimes with 2 in Front if the way were straight So did Dercyllidas in Asia the lesse when entring into a City his whole Army followed him peaceably 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 two in Front So b Archidamus the sonne of Agesilaus aduancing against the Arcadians by a cart way that led to Cromnum ordered his Army 2 in front as then his march fell out When they approached one to another Archidamus his army being in a wing by reason of the streightnesse of the way the Archadians in a broad-fronted phalange with targets close faced together the Lacedemonians could not endure the charge of the Arcadians and forthwith both Archidamus was wounded through the thigh and they slaine that fought before him Hee saith that Archidamus marched two in front wing-wise by reason of the streightnesse of the way In that he saith wing-wise he sheweth the army was drawne out in depth which is proper to an induction and when he maketh the way the cause he giueth a reason why it so marched But to returne to that I first propounded the inductions hitherto specified in the former examples seeme to differ from Aelians right-induction as neither hauing all the file-leaders in front nor yet single bodies of the same kinde one to follow another the companies being each drawne into one file and then two or three or foure or more of these files laid together according to the largenesse of the way and the rest of the army following in the manner afore expressed 5. Against it is opposed the Caelembolos The Caelembolos is a wedge hollow in front and to be opposed against the right induction saith Aelian I haue noted before that it hath beene the manner of all famous Generals to fit the embattailing of their armies to the forme which the enemy vseth at the time of ioyning and therefore it much concerneth the Commander of an army to be skilfull in all formes which are of true vse and to know the aduantage that one carrieth against another The right induction is and alwayes hath beene the ordinary forme to march in To order your troopes in an aduantagious forme against it the Caelembolos was inuented It is called by the Greekes a hollow wedge because it is not filled vp in the middest but includeth a void space bias-wise in front betwixt the points of both wings and ioyneth it selfe together in the reare So that to one that shall view it behinde it seemes a plaine wedge and yet in propriety of speech it cannot be called a Wedge for a Wedge hath three sides and three points and beareth the true forme of a triangle and with the former point it chargeth the enemy as hath beene showne in the horse-mans wedge This hath but one point and two sides neither doth it charge the enemy with the point but receiuing the front of his battaile into the empty space striketh vpon both the flankes thereof with the wings it hath opened and so seeketh to distresse it the Caelembolos hauing this aduantage that it fighteth with the best men viz. the file-leaders ordered in the inside of the wings thereof not against the file-leader of the right induction but against the weaker sort who are ordinarily placed in the flankes thereof The Latine names are more fit and significant to expresse the forme By some it is called a paire of tongues by othersome a paire of sheeres both appellations seruing to set forth the right forme of the Caelembolos for the one and the other open their foremost parts to a pretty distance and the hinder parts which are pinned and fastened together end in a narrow point as doth the Caelembolos And they were so farre from tearming it a wedge that they held it the best forme to receiue and frustrate the charge of the true wedge as may be seene in Vegetius 6. Which is framed when The fashioning of the Caelembolos springeth out the Diphalange Antistomus What that Diphalange is we shall see in the 40 chapter of this booke Thus much I may before-hand signifie that the file-leaders ought to be placed within the hollow flanks of the Caelembolos as it were a lyning to the insides and the Di-phalange Antistomus being once framed which is to haue the file-leaders in the middest from the one end of the battaile to the other there needeth no further labour then to dispatch the front in the middest leauing the file-leaders on both sides and to fasten and ioyne together the reare to the end that the front of the right induction may enter into the hollownesse but yet be mashed as it were in a net and neither able to passe through the reare of the Caelembolos being close shut nor yet to giue offence to those that fight in the front of the Caelembolos hauing no man whom they may charge in the void space nor yet daring to breake the forme of their battaile after ioyning For it is a good obseruation of Vegetius that in fight the manner of your embattailing is not
darters running out of the Roman army according to their custome threw many and forcible darts at the Celtes the Celtes of the reare found good vse of their coates and breeches but those that fought naked in the front this accident happening contrary to their expectation were troubled out of measure and wonderfully perplexed for the Gaulish target being not of sufficiency to couer a mans body the greater and nakeder their bodies were the more were they subiect to wounds and the lesse the weapons missed the marke At the last being not able to saue themselues from the light-armed who plied them a farre off nor from the multitude of dartes that fell amongst them and being troubled and confused with their present state some of them out of a rage and brutishnesse ranne vainly vpon the enemy and willingly offered themselues to slaughter other retiring leasurely to their friendes and shewing manifest tokens of feare disordered them behinde Thus the Roman light-armed allaid the pride of the Gesates But the multitude of the Insubrians Boyans and Tauriscans after the Romans had receiued their light-armed into their battell and aduanced the cohorts of armed to ioyne hand to hand maintained a stout fight and albeit they receiued many woundes yet fainted they not in minds being onely inferior both generally and particularly in the kinde of armes they bore For both their targets in defence and their swords in offence had a great difference by reason the Gaulois sword is onely fit to strike withall But when the Roman horse from the hill hasted downe in wing and stoutly came to handy stroakes with them the foot-men of the Celtes were cut in pieces in the places where they fought and the horse tooke themselues to flight There dyed therefore of the Celtes 30000 and 10000 were take prisoners amongst whom was Concolitan one of the Kings the other K. Aneroestus flying to a certaine place with a few killed himselfe and his friends that were about him This example hath Polibyus of the Amphistomus Phalange wherein he both sheweth the form and the vse of it namely that it hath a front both waies to receiue the enemies charge before and in the reare Arrian hath another example in the battaile between Alexander the Great and Porus a king of India his words are to this effect Alexander was now come within the reach of missiue weapons when he sent his Archers on horsebacke against the left wing of the Indians to molest the enemy on that side both with multitude of arrows and with incursion of the horse and himselfe also hauing with him the troupes of Companies spurring on against the same wing vsing all celerity to fall vpon them who were yet out of order and in a wing before they could reduce themselues into a Phalange In the meane time the Indians knitting together their whole power of horse made head against Alexander with all speed giuing their horse a full carriere Then Caenus as was commanded shewed himselfe at their backes The Indians seeing this were forced to order their horse in an Amphistomus opposing one part the most and strongest to Alexander the other to Caenus and his troopes which thing troubled the array and mindes of the Indians And Alexander taking hold of the opportunity charged those which were opposed to him in the instant while the other were facing about to Caenus The Indians endured not the charge but fled to the Elephants as to a castle that was friend Hitherto Arrian In these two examples is liuely set forth the nature and fashion of the Amphstomus phalange And albeit both the parties that vsed it were beaten yet the cause rested not in the forme but in the valour of them that fought against it if the Romans in one example of Alexander in the other Alexander himselfe vsing this very forme in the battel of Gaugamela obtained the famous victory against Darius which is described by Arrian in his third book as did also Scipio against Asdrubal in Spaine so then by that which hath beene said the difference betweene the Antistomus and Amphistomus phalange may easily appeare which albeit they either of them fight against the enemy in two places of the Phalange at once and are like ore to another in that respect yet they differ in the places of the fight the one receiuing the charge in both the flanks other in front and reare They are both defensiue statary and if moue with you either of them during the charge of the enemy you presently break the form and lay the backe of the soldiers open to be annoied especially if the enemy ouertop you in number otherwise it will be no inconuenienceto diuide the battell and to fight apart with both For that the Antistomus may be diuided Aelian teacheth in the next Chapter for the Amphistomus hee saith the like in this Chapter in these words 3 And also being diuided into a Diphalange A Diphilange is when a Phalange is diuided into two and being in one body it is called a Phalange in two bodies a Diphilange About the Diphilange Amphistomus there is variance amongst the writers of this Art Aelian would haue it to bee framed of a Phalange Amphistomus disioyned and in the middest diuided into two parts so that the fore-front is made with one of the hinder front with the other Phalange The Treatise of Military Appellations annexed to the end of Suidas saith that that is a Diphilange Amphistomus which hath the file-leaders on the outsides of both the flanks in a deduction and the bringers vp within I take Aelian to be in the right for if the Amphistomus Phalange must haue the front and reare opposed to the enemy what reason is there why the Amphistomus Diphalangy should not be of the same nature considring Cap. 40. A Diphalange Antistomus The Horsmans Wedge Front that the Diphalangy Antistomus hath the leaders in the flankes as the Phalange Antistomus hath which appeareth not only in the next Chapter but also in diuers other places of this Booke neither doe I reade any where that the Antistomus hath to do with the front and reare nor the Amphistomus with the flanks The words of direction in the Amphistomus The hinder 1 Halfe files face about to the right or left hand 2 Charge the Pikes both waies in front and reare To restore to the first Posture The hindermost 1 Aduance your Pikes 2 Halfe files face as you were Of the Diphalange Antistomus CHAP. XXXX A Diphalange Antistomus is that which hath the file-leaders placed not in a deduction outwardly but inwardly face to face one against another and the reare-Commanders without one halfe in right the other halfe in a left deduction This forme is vsed against Horse which giue on and charge wedge-wise for the wedge shooting forth in a point and hauing the Commanders following in the flanks and indeauouring to disseuer and breake the Front of the foot the Leaders of the foot fore-seeing their
the front of the enemy Agis and his troopes stood in the middest Aratus after he had imparted his purpose to the Arcadians fled himselfe and with him that part of the army which he commanded as if he feared the impression of the Lacedemonians in giuing backe hee brought the army into the forme of an halfe moone The Lacedemonians and Agis thinking they had the victory in their hands pursued Aratus and his troopes more egerly The wing followed the King esteeming it no small conquest to haue soyled Aratus In the meane time they perceiued not the Arcadians that were at their backe and the Lacedemonians being encompassed round about lost both many other of their army and Agis also their King the sonne of Endamidas was flaine Leo also in sea fight giueth his Generall counsell how to entrap his enemy with a shew of flight in giuing backe with fashioning an halfe moone These be his words in effect If a Generall be to retire before the enemies Nauy let him retire fashioning his Nauy into a battaile Menoeides anasailyng with his poupes forward and so seeme to shunne the enemy For if he flye not but retire fighting hee shall haue his ships ready to turne vpon the enemy with their prowes bent against him And if need require he may retire with his poupes toward the enemy for the enemy shall not dare to enter into the hollownesse for feare of being encompassed So Leo. The Menoeides therefore may be framed during fight but this caution is to be remembred that in sudden transmutations of battailes you vse not the seruice of raw souldiers but of such as haue experience lest all be brought into confusion and the enemy charge you while you are changing your forme Now as formes of aduantage are to be sought against the enemy so is it needfull to aduise what best opposition is to be made against such battailes in case the enemy vse them The Rombe of horse was of old time accounted a forcible figure against foot the horse therein had the better The Menoeides was inuented to resist and ouerthrow the horse The foot had beene the better what was then best for the horse to abstaine from charging saith Aelian and to ply the foot with missiue weapons to the end to force them to break their strong forme of embattailing So now they stand vpon equall tearmes and the foot can with their shot annoy the horse as well as the horse can annoy the foot Aelian then sheweth a meanes for the horse to auoide the danger of this manner of embattailing for foot vsing this forme against foot hee sheweth no remedy I will set downe what I finde and here I neede not to repeat the remedy that Epaminondas vsed against the Lacedemonian halfe-moone it is related at large in my Notes vpon the 30 Chap. Onosander giueth this aduise Diuide your battaile saith hee into 3 parts with the two outwardest charge the Enemies winges the third that is ordered against the middle and as it were the bosome of the Cressant aduance it not but let it stand firme for either they that are placed in the middest of the Cressant shall standidle or else aduancing in an euen front will throng one another and breake their battaile For the two fronts fighting in the winges and keeping their place it is not possible for the halfe circle to come forward with an euen front when they are therefore confused and haue broken their array let the third battaile that remained in the middest for seconds charge them as they disorderl aduance If they still keepe their place in the bottome of the hollownesse oppose the light-armed and darters against them who will exceedingly distresse them with their missiue weapons likewise you may doe well to frame a Loxe-phalange of your whole Army and with your two Loxes charge the winges preuenting so the circling and encompasing of the Menoeides For the Enemy being a long while hindered from comming to blowes with his whole Army shall bee kept in play with a few none fighting but those onely that are in the winges which first of necessitie must ioyne because of the oblique onset It will not bee a misse also leisurely to retire with the Army sometimes as though you were in feare or else facing about to make your retreat orderly as if you fled and afterward turning sudd onely to meete the Enemie that presseth vpon you For sometimes the Enemie being ouer-ioyed in the imagination of a true flight doth follow vnaduisedly and make a disorderly pursuit euery man pressing to be formost vpon whom you may returne without danger and againe chase them that follow you who will be struckes with a fear in that you dare contrary to their expectation turne again make head against them Onosander giueth here three wayes to resist the Menoeides one by diuiding your battaile into a Triphalange opposing two phalanges against the two wings of the Cressant forbearing and standing firme with the third till opportunity be to moue which is the battaile that Aelian opposeth against the Caelembolos The second by vsing the Loxe-phalange against it as did Epaminondas at the battaile of Leustra against the Lacedemonian halfe moone as I haue shewed elsewhere namely Chap. 30. § 7. The third in making semblance of flying for the halfe moone is a forme which in standing may well be kept whole in mouing will soone be broken and fall into disorder as Cicuta an Italian writer noteth very well If then you faine to flye keeping your men in order the Menoeides following you will breake of it selfe and so you haue good opportunity to returne and in all likelihood to win the day against it especially being in disorder Leo giueth the same aduise to his Generall onely he speaketh of Sea matters Onosander of Land seruice Words of direction for the Rhombe For the forming of the Rhombes see the 19 Chapter and my Notes vpon that Chapter § 6. For the Cressnnt First order your body into a long square Plagiophalanx 1 The 2 file-leaders in the middest of the square stand 2 The next 2 on either hand mooue forward one foot before the other two their files mouing withall and holding their distance 3 So the 4 next file-leaders each before other on either side a foot 4 Then two more on either side aduance before the rest that mooued two foot a peece 5 Then the 2 next on either side 3 foot apeece To restore to the first Posture Face about Moue all at once excepting the 2 middle files and take your first ground Of the Horse-battaile Heteromekes and the Plagiophalange to bee opposed against it CHAP. XLV 1 THE horse-battaile Heteromekes is that which hath the depth double to the length It is profitable in many respects 2 For seeming to bee but a few in so small a breadth it deceiueth the Enemie and easily breaketh his forces with the thicknesse strength of the embattailing and may without perceiuing
vsed except it be in marching The great Commanders of our time rather in fight order their horse into a Plagiophalange which forme they hold more fit for thevse of the weapons of our age But the Plagiophalange of foot remeÌ„bred by Aelian to encounter horse ought to be very shallow in depth For if it should be according to the old fashion 16. in depth which number the file of the Macedonians held or according to our custome â—â— I see not how it is possible for a troope of horse to breake it or to passe through it into the open field the depth of the battaile being sufficient to sustaine the ch 〈…〉 ge of any horse How the Heteromekes and how the Plagiophalange are framed I haue taught before in the thirtieth Chapter Of another kinde of Rhombe for horse-men and of the foot-battaile called Epicampios Emprosthia to encounter it CHAP. XLVI 1 ANother sort of Rhomboeides there is whereof I neede say no more but that it fileth and ranketh not I haue before shewed the vse thereof and that Ileon the Thessalian was the inuenter and that â—asan Medeas husband put it in practise the vse thereof is great it being directed and led in the foure sides by the Captaine the Lieutenant and the two flanke-commanders It is commonly fashioned of Archers on horse-backe as the Armenian and Persian manner is Against it is opposed the foot-battaile called 2 Epicampios Emprosthia Cap. 46. Epicampios Emprosthia The Rhombe The front the hollow fronted battaile because the circumduction of the front is like an embowing The end of this forme is to deceiue and ouer-reach the Archers on horse-backe eâ—ther by wrapping them in the void space of the front as they charge and giue on vpon the spune or else disordering them first with the winges and breaking their fury by ouerthrowing them finally with their rankes about the middle Ensignes This kinde of battaile was deuised to entrappe and beguile For opening the middle hollownesse it maketh shew but of a few that march in the winges hauing notwithstanding thrice as many following and seconding in the reare So that if the wings bee of power sufficient for the incounter there needeth no more if not retiring easily on either side they are to ioyne themselues to the bulke of the battaile NOTES 1 ANother sort of Rhomboeides there is The inscription of this Chapter seemeth not to bee right because the forme of the Rhomboeides here mentioned differeth not but is the same that was last spoken of In the former hee said it was inuented by Ileon the Thessalian and in vse amongst the Thessalians and called I le of his name In this he saith as much adding onely that Iason Medeas husband who was also a Thessalian put it most in practise So that the Rhombes seeme to be all one and the inscription of the Chapter either corrupted or mistaken and that it ought to bee of the Rhombe and the hollow-fronted battaile to encounter it I need say no more of this Rhombe the forme of it the manner of framing and the difference of it from other Rhombes are sufficiently declared in other places before 1 Aduance your right and left wings and let the middest of the battaile stand firme Vnder the name of the wings I vnderstand so many files as shall be thought enough to march out to make the hollow front the bringers vp of wings must ranke with the file-leaders of the middest 2 Face and charge into the hollownesse of the front To restore to the first Posture 1 Wings face about to the right or left hand 2 March and ioyne with the body in an euen front 3 Face as you were first There is added by some translators of Aelian an Epicampios opisthia to the Epicampios emprosthia This battaile they would haue to be signified in their words This kind of battaile was deuised to entrap and beguile But hee that shal weigh the words following shal see that Aelians meaning is to describe the Emprosthia more fully euen in the selfe same place For he speaketh of the few that march in the wings and of thrice as many that follow in the reare Besides he saith that if the wings be not sufficient to repulse the enemy they may retire and ioyne to the bulke of the body The wings are therefore led on first and the maâ—se of the body followeth whereas in the Epicampios opisthia the wings are stretched out behinde and follow the body And albeit there be in Aelian no words of the Opisthia yet I may not deny that there is an Epicampioâ— Opisthia Suidas proueth it plainely He defineth the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thus It is called Epicampios when the battaile aduanceth against the enemy and hath the wings drawne out in length on both sides behind The vse of the Opisthia is as it seemeth to auoid the encircling or encompassing of an enemy that hath a greater quantity of souldiers then we and meanes to charge our reare Alexander the Great being farre inferior to Darius in multitude of men vsed this forme at Arbela Diodorus Siculus saith that after he had ordered his battaile against Darius in a right front hee framed an Epicampios behind each wing to the end that the enemy with his multitude might not encompasse the small number of the Macedonians And this may suffice for both the formes of the Epicampios Words of direction for the Epicampios Opisthia 1 Aduance your body and let the wings stand firme 2 The wings of one flanke face outward to the right the other to the left hand Torustore c. 1 Wings face as you were 2 March vp and front with the middest of the body Of the foot-battaile called Cyrte which is to be set against the Epicampios CHAP. XLVII 1 THE Battaile to be opposed against the Epicampios is called Cyrte of the circumferent forme This also maketh semblance of small forces by reason of the conuexity of the figure For all round things seeme little in compasse and yet stretched out in length and singled they proue twice as much as they appeared to be As is euident in Pillars which are round and therefore in sight shew the one halfe and conceale the other The greatest piece of skill in embattailing is to make shew of few men to the enemy and in deed to bring twice as many to fight Cap. 47. The Cyrte or conuex halss Moone The Epicampios The front NOTES 1 THE forme of this battaile albelt it be a halfe Moone and is called by Polybius Menoeides yet is it in a manner contrary to the Menoeides described in the 44 Chapter of this Booke That turned the concauity or hallownesse backward toward the reare and the two hornes against the enemy and sought to encompasse this turneth the conuexe or outward part foremost not the hornes and endeauoureth to auoid encompassing For the Epicampios if a man should enter into the hollownesse thereof claspeth him in and is able
Phalange Antistomus which hath the file-leaders without And so I am of opinion it ought to be read in the Text. And yet there is no question but another way of figuring the wedge may be practised then to leaue it hollow behind In this Chapter it is called Embolos and Aelian faith it is borrowed of the horse-wedge Now that the horse-wedge is solid Cap. 49. The Peplegmene The Plesium The front 〈…〉 not hollow within is plaine by the 19 and 20 Chapters of this 〈…〉 will conclude this Chapter with the caution of Vegetius which is this that if you shill make a paire of tongs or a hallow wedge you ought to haue reserues in readinesse behinde the battaile wherewith you may frame your tongs or wedge And yet this caution holdeth not alwayes For as a horse-wedge so a foot-wedge may be framed without supernumeraries as the 19 and 20 Chapters shew Of the foot-battaile called Plesium and of the Winding or Sawefronted battaile to encounter it CHAP. XLIX 1 THE battaile Plesium hath the 2 length much exceeding the depth And it is called Plesium when armed foot are placed on all sides the archers and slingers being thrown into the middest Against this kinde of battaile is set the winding-fronted battaile to the end that with the vnequall figure it may traine out those of the Plesium to cope with them and by that meanes dissolue and disorder the thicknesse of the same And the file-leaders of the winding-fronted battaile obserue the file-leaders of the Plesium that if they still maintaine their closenesse and fight secret they also encounter them in the like forme If the Plesium file-leaders seuer themselues and spring out from their maine force then they likewise be ready to meet them man to man NOTES 1 THis Chapter containeth two foot-battailes one to be opposed against the other the first called the Plesium or hollow-square the second the winding-fronted-battaile or Peplegmene Of which the first hath beene vsed by all antiquity especially by the Grecians whensoeuer the enemies ouertopped in number and they feared to be charged on all sides It is called Plesium of the figure which is square but originally and more particularly of the mould wherein bricks are cast Because the battaile hath the likenesse of the mould as being both square and also hollow within as I haue noted before Neither is this name giuen to a battaile alone Plutarch saith that the chariot wherein Alexander rode when he returned from the Indies quaffing and rioting was framed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is in a square hollow forme and the Helepolis an engin which Demetrius inuented to batter the Rhodian City was tetragonall and had 48 cubits in euery side of the Plesium But in a battaile that is Plesium saith Aelian which 2 Hath the length manifoldly exceeding the depth The length of a battaile as I haue shewed heretofore is that which runneth from the point of one wing to the other in front the depth that is measured from the front to the reare In the Plesium then according to Aelian the length or breadth ought to be manifold to the depth But it is not generally so for oftentimes you shall read of Plesiums with equall sides and likewise that the Plesium is sometimes hollow within sometimes solid and filled vp within with men of which last kinde Xenophon saith many of the Barbarians framed their troopes in the battaile betwixt Artaxerxes and Cyrus Of the first Aelian speaketh in this Chapter for he would haue the foure sides to consist of armed and the archers and slingers to be throwne into the hollownesse within He hath before in the 42 Chapter described the Plinthium to be a square battaile in figure and number this he would haue to be a square with the front manifoldly longer then the flanke So that both battailes agree in that they are square both in that they haue armed on all sides both in that they are hollow within they differ onely in the forme of the square which is longer in the Plesium deeper in the Plinthium Their affinity also appeareth in this also that the Plinthium hath the name from a bricke the Plesium from the mould of a bricke yet are their names oftentimes confounded For that which is called in one Author Plesium is in another called Plinthium as namely the battaile of Antony in Persia is by Plutarch named Plesium by Appian Plinthium To shew now the vse of this battatle it is of the kinde of Defensiues and the Grecians whensoeuer they feared to be charged in flanke front and reare at once or to be ouer-laid with number of enemies had recourse vnto this forme There is a notable example of it in Thucydides The Athenians hauing besieged Syracuse in Cicill both by Sea and Land and being ouer-come in two battailes by Sea thought to march by land to someone of their considerate Cities in the Island and fearing to be round beset by the Syracusians in their way Nicias one of the Athenian Generals put his part of the army in a Plesium and so marched before Demosthenes the other Athenian Generall followed with the other part of the army in the same forme The armed tooke into the hollownesse of their battailes the cariage and vnusefull multitude When they came to the foord of theriuer Anapis they found the Syracusians and their allies embattailed there whom hauing beaten from the place they passed oâ—er and continued heir march The Syracusian horse still charged and the light-armed ceased not to ply them with misâ—iue weapons but yet they came not to hand-blowes fearing to hazard against men desperately bent to sell their liues deerely At last wearying them with many dayes skirmish and disordering their army they forced them to yeeld This History is at large set downe by Thucydides I haue abridged it lest it should take vp too much roome and yet haue expressed both the forme in his words and further the meanes that the enemy vsed to breake it and to get the victory This forme was vsed by the Grecians at their returne out of Persia after that Clearchus and the other Coronels were ensnared by Tissaphernes and put to death and againe by Xenophon when he retreated after he had failed of the taking of Asidates prisoner not farre from Pergamus a City of Lydia For the meanes to dissolue this battaile the principall is not to charge at hand those that stand so embattailed but to ply them farre off with missiue weapons which is manifest by the fight of the Syracusians against Nicias and the Athenians and by that of the Persians who so assayled Xenophon in his retreat last mentioned Aelian setteth against it another forme of battaile which he tearmeth Peplegmene the winding fronted battaile which is by some called the sawe what kinde of battaile the sawe is I see controuerted Some would haue it consist of a constant front indented and not changeable or alterable in
Chapter I gaue out of Thucidides of ouerwinging and the example of the Colchans who fearing to be ouerfronted by the Grecians vpon a hill vpon which they stood embattailed led their wings to the right and left hand to match the front of the Grecians leauing the middest of their battaile empty into which the Grecians conueying themselues easily put the Colchans to flight as Xenophon recordeth Ouerwinging is also preuented if you hold reserues secretly in the reare of your battaile to flye out vpon the sudden against those forces of the enemy that seeke to ouerwing you This remedy was vsed by Caesar in the battaile of Pharsaly when Pompey hauing abundance of horsemen sought to circumuent that wing of Caesars battaile which lay to the open field and was not guarded with a fence as the other wing was For to preuent the charge of these horse Caesar bestowed certain cohorts who were to hold themselues close in the reare of his legions not facing as his legions did against the legions of Pompey but facing into the field from whence he suspected the enemies horse would charge so that when the horse charged these cohorts suddenly falling out vpon them and putting them to flight were the beginning of Caesars victory The place also often giueth assurance against ouerwinging whether it be a riuer or the sea or a mountaine or such like to which you may apply the flanke of your wing For a riuer you haue the example of Clearchus in the baitaile betwixt Artaxerxes and Cyrus the yonger in which Clearchus ordered his troupes of Grecians on the right wing close to the riuer Euphrates And when Cyrus would haue had him charge the middest of the Persian Phalange because the King had placed himselfe there yet saith Xenophon Clearchus seeing the King was farre without the left wing of the Grecians for the King so much exceeded in multitude that the middest of his battaile was a great way without the left wing of Cyrus would not withdraw his right wing from the riuer fearing to be encompassed on both sides The like was done by Alexander the Great in the Countrey of the Getes this is the effect of the words of Arrian When they the Getes san Alexander industriously aduance his Phalarge by the riuers side lest the foot might happily be circumuented and encompassedly some ambusâ— of the Getes and his horse in the front the Getes for sooke also their City which was not very well walled setting many of their children and wiues vpon their horses backes as the horses could carry and retired into the wildernesse a great way from the riuer By the Sea you may auoide likewise ouer-winging if you order one of the flanks of your Army close to the Sea side This was put in vre by Alexander when he sought the battaile against Darius at Issos in Cilicia Thus haâ—◠〈…〉 The foot of the left wing were commanded by Craterus but the whole left wing by 〈…〉 o who was enioyned not to forsake the Sea for feare of encompassing by the Barbarians for by reason of their number they might easily encircle the Macedonians on all parts A Mountaine also that is sleepe will giue good security to the 〈…〉 auke of a battaile that may otherwise be encompassed At the battaile of Platea which was fought betwixt the Grecians and Mardonius Xerxes his Generall the Grecian Army consisting of 100000. the Persian of 500 thousand the Grecians at the first encamped at the foot of the Mountaine Cytheron but finding the place fitter for the multitude of the Persians then for themselues they remoued their Campe and chose a more commodious piece of ground to pursue the totall victory For there was on the right hand a high hill on the lâ—â—t ran the riuer Asopus The Campe was pitched in the middle space which was fortisied by the nature and safenesse of the plot of ground Therefore the streightnesse of the place much fauoured the wise counsell of the Grecians toward the obtaining of victory For there was no roome for the Persiâ—â—s to extend their Phalange in any great proportion of length so that many Myriades of the Barbarians came to be of no vse The Grecians therefore in confidence of the place aduanced their forces to fight and ordering themselues according to the present occasion led against the enemy Mardonius being compelled to make a deepe Phalange ordered his battaile in such sort as he thought most conuenient and with cries set forward against the Grecians This example albeit it be a remedy against Hyperphalangesis or ouer-fronting yet because it giueth a safegard by a mountaine to one of the wings I take it to be proper enough to Hyperkerasis or ouer-winging Besides that as I before noted all meanes that are vsed to auoid ouer-fronting are good likewise for the auoiding of ouer-winging 3 Attenuation is This is nothing else but doubling of ranks whereof see the 29 Chapter Of conueighing the carriage of the Army CHAP. XLV THE leading of the carriage if any thing else is of great 1 importance and 2 requireth a speciall Commander It may be conueighed in 5 manners 3 either before the army or 4 behinde or on the 5 one flanke or the other or in the 6 middest Before when you feare to be charged behinde behinde when you lead toward your enemy when you feare to be charged in flanke on the contrary side In the middest when a hollow battaile is needfull NOTES 1 IS of great importance The importange of disposing the carriage in a march is well set downe by Leo You saith hee to his Generall ought to haue a speciall care of your baggage and not to leaue it at randon but to secure it in the place where it shall be nor to lead it vnaduisedly into the battaile For it oftentimes falleth out that seruants fit for the Souldiers vse and the souldiers children and kinsmen are amongst it and if it remaine not in safety the mindes of the souldiers are distracted with doubtfulnesse and care and feare of the spoyle thereof for euery man of vnderstanding endeuoureth to possesse that which is the enemies without losse of his owne This is the aduice of Leo. A pregnant example hereof may be read in Diodorus Siculus his description of the last battaile betwixt Antigonus and Eumenes In which Antigonus hauing foyled Eumenes horse sent his Median horse-men and a sufficient number of Tarentines to inuade the enemies baggage For he hoped which was true not to be descried by reason of the dust and by possessing the baggage to become vanquisher of the enemy without trauaile They that were sent riding about the wing of their aduersaries vnperceiued fell vpon the baggage which was distant from the battaile about fiue furlongs And finding by it a rabble of folke vnfit for fight and but a few left for gard thereof putting them to flight quickly that withstood they made themselues masters of all the rest Eumenes hearing that his
your army into a hollow square wherein the baggage is to be couched and to be desended on all sides For if the ground be open enough to cast your selfe into a square hee holdeth the forme the safest to giue security to your baggage These be his words Place all four carriage seruants and baggage and prouision in the middest of your army And in another place speaking of a retreat to be made after an ouerthrow receiued he writeth thus You shall order your whole power into two Phalanges or battailes or into one square Plinthium in the middest whereof you shall put the carriage beasts and baggage and without them the souldiers in order and without them the archers and so retire and depart in safety Againe he saith In marches the enemy approaching it is necessary to haue your carriage in the middest lest being vnguarded it be spoyled and rifled With Leo doth Xenophon agree His words haue this shew I will not wonder if as fearfull dogges are wont to follow and bite such as passe by if they can and to flye from such as follow them so the enemy hang vpon our reare Therefore we shall perhaps march the safer if making a Plesium of the armed the carriage and vnprofitable multitude be throwne into the middest for more security And if it be now determined who shall command the front of the Plesium and who the two wings and who the reare wee shall not need to consult when the enemy approacheth but execute that which is resolued vpon This is Xenophons counsell for the march in open ground when the enemy aboundeth in number of souldiers which counsell was often put in practice and the Grecians being but 10000 secured themselues against infinite multitudes of Persian horse that charged them on all sides and also preserued and led their carriage sate in dispite of the enemy The like was practised by Xenophon afterward in the last warlike action of the Grecians in their returne out of Persia He setteth downe the history after this manner Now was it time viz. after they had assaulted a fort in vaine the enemy of the country gathering head to thinke vpon a faire retreat and conueâ—ing the oxen and sheep they had taken and likewâ—se the slaues into a Plesium they quickly dismarched not so much esteeming their prey as fearing in case they left it behind their departure might seeme a plaine running away and the enemy gathâ—r heart the Grecian souldiers be discouraged So now they departed fighting as it were about the prey The Souldiers with Xenophon being shrewdl annoyed wiâ—h bowes slings cast themselues into a ring to the end to oppose their targets against the shot of the enemy and with much adoe passed the riuer Caicus the one halfe of them being wounded Agasias also the Stymphalian Captaine was hurt whilest hee maintained fight with the enemy during the whole retreat Yet they all returned safe to the Campe bringing with them about 200 slaues and sheepe enough for Sacrifice Here Xenophons souldiers figured themselues first into a Plesium couching their prey in the middest afterward being ouerlayed with the enemies shot they conuerted their Plesium into a Ring in which forme they tecouered their Came notwithstanding the molestation and often charging of a great multitude of horse and foot that were enemy and followed them Of the forme of Rings I finde not many examples amongst the Grecians the Romans vsed them often when they found themselues encompassed by the enemy as Vegetius hath and may bee seene in Caeâ—ars Commentaries And let thus be said of the foure manners of placing the carriage in a march Of the words of Command and certaine obseruations about them CHAP. LII LAst of all we will briefly repeate the words of direction if we admonish first that they ought to be short then that they ought to be without double signification For the Souldiers that in haste receiue direction had neede to take heede of doubtfull words lest one doe one thing and another the contrary As for the purpose If I say turne your face some it may be that heare me will turne to the right some to the left hand and so no small confusion follow Seeing therefore these words Turne your face import a generall signification and comprehend turning to the right or left hand we ought in stead of saying turne your face to the pike to pronounce it thus To your pike turne your face that is we ought to set the particular before and then inferre the generall for so will all doe alike together Like reason is if you say Turne about your face or countermarch for these are also generall words and therefore wee should doe well to set the particular before As to the pike turne your face about or to the target turne your face about Likewise the Lacedemonian Countermarch not the countermarch Lacedemonian For if you place the word countermarch first some of the Souldiers will happily fall to one kinde other to another kinde of countermarch For which cause words of double sence are to be auoided and the speciall to be set before the generall NOTES IF we admonish first that they ought to be short The ordering and motions of an army ought to be quickly performed the rather because the transmutations of the body and the occasions of them are sudden for the most part And therefore the meanes to worke the transmutations commanded these meanes are the words of direction ought to suite to the nature of the motions themselues and to be applyed to celerity by shortnesse of speach Short speach is better carried away and sooner put in execution then speech that is longer Yet is not such a shortnesse to bee affected as will bring with it obscurity according to the saying of the Poet Breuis esse laboro Obscurus fio I labour to be short and so become obscure And therefore I take the practice of French Commanders when they command Facing in these words A droie a gauche to the right to the left without adding face and likewise of the Netherlanders in imitation of the French Reehes om slinks om and of some English in these words To the right to the left not pronouncing the motion which is to be made to the hand appointed These I say I take to be without the warrant of reason and of all antiquity from which Aelian draweth this rule For the command of right and left alone sheweth that the Commander would haue a motion performed to the named hand but leaueth vncertaine what the motion should be so that albeit some souldiers fall to a countermarch some other to wheeling or to doubling or to facing they are to be reputed blamelesse and to haue performed that which their direction willed them to doe because the command was of mouing to the right or left hand onely not shewing what motion should be made to either hand Shortnesse therefore is required by Aelian but such a Shortnesse as
directions Doe what you are commanded with silence keepe your places euery man follow your colours And in another place he writeth thus When your Army goeth out to ioyne with the enemy there ought to be a deepe silence For that both preserueth the Army from disorder and also maketh the directions of the Commanders to be heard with more attention And againe thus There ought to be as much silence as may be in the Army and if the bringers vp of any file heare but a whispering of their fellowes in the file they are to pricke the parties with the points of their pikes and so to redresse the fault Alexander when he was returning from the Countrey of the Taulantians into which he had made an inrode found his way beset with enemies and being to cast his Army into a forme of battaile to fight he first commanded an absolute silence and then proceeded to other directions And for the effect of silence our owne story hath a memorable example of the Army of Edward the fourth in Barnet field As for the silence here prescribed by Aelian it extendeth not onely to exercise and fight but oftentimes to the marching of an Army and to the Campe as appeareth by the last example and by Leos precept in his eleuenth Chapter And yet this precept of silence is not inuiolably to be kept in an Army at all times for there is a time when the Souldiers ought to giue a generall shout and cry thorow the whole Army to the end to terrifie the aduerse battaile of the enemy and that time hath alwayes beene chosen and by all Nations obserued when the fight is presently to be vndergone I neede not bring instances thereof euery man knoweth it that is although but meanely acquainted with History It is termed in Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Latine clamor in English a shout of the whole Army the which being performed silence is to be restored in as strict manner a before And thus much of silence Now followeth the words of direction in Aelians last Chapter Of the words of direction CHAP. LIIII THus then are we to command 1 To your armes 2 Carriage away from the battaile 3 Be silent and marke your directions 4 Take vp your armes 5 Seperate your selues 6 Aduance your Pikes 7 File your selues 8 Ranke your selues 9 Looke to your leaders 10 Reare-Commander strengthen your file 11 Keepe your first distances 12 Face to the pike Moue a little further Stand so 13 As you were 14 Face to the Target Moue a little further Stand so 15 As you were 16 Face about to the pike 17 As you were 18 Double your depth 19 To your first posture 20 The Lacedemonian Countermarch 21 To your first posture 22 The Macedonian Countermarch 23 To your first posture 24 The Choraean Countermarch 25 To your first posture The precepts of the art Tacticks haue I deliuered vnto you most inuincible Caesar which I make no doubt will bring to the practice safety and victory ouer his enemies NOTES THese words of direction here set downe are rather to shew the manner of Command then to expresse the iust number of directions vsed in exercise yet doth Leo the Emperour transcribe some of them albeit not all out of Aelian and the last in Leo hath a mixture of two motions in one direction being deliuered in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in Latine translated by Sir Iohn Check Laconicum ad hasta 〈…〉 triuolue and may be thus englished wheele thrice the Lacedemonian Countermarch to the right hand wherein there is both wheeling and the Lace emonian Countermarch commanded at once a thing impossible to be performed For as in wheeling the whole battaile remaineth entire and moueth circlewise about the right ot left corner fileleader as about a Center So in a Countermarch Lacedemonian it is broken and beginneth to moue by seuerall ranks and continueth the motion in a direct line from the front to the reare and not in a circle But for the precepts of Aelian I purpose to explaine onely such as are vsed by the Souldiers and Commanders of our time And after taking of armes I hold this to be the first at lest when we begin to moue 6 Aduance your Pikes Pikes in ordering of a battaile must be first aduanced before any motion can be performed in as much as all other postures of the Pike doe hinder or else are vnfit for transmutations and variety of changes and from aduaneing the rest of pike-postures doe spring Ordering of the Pike was deuised to ease the Souldier standing still shouldering to ease him in matching aduancing to giue facility to the other postures and to finish them because they both begin and end in it 7 8. File and ranke your selues It is needlesse to note that no battaile can be without filing and ranking This we must vnderstand that the Captaine is to see whether the Souldiers be filed and ranked but the action it selfe pertaineth to the Souldiers who knowing their files and rankes are euery man to take their place accordingly for so ought it to be in true discipline of Warre 9 Looke to your Leader The file-leader is the life and giuer of forme vnto the file He is the life in that he moueth first and draweth the rest vnto the same motion he giueth the forme vnto it because it being nothing else but a right line his standing being the first point directeth the rest to follow lineally one after another In this precept therefore Looke to your Leader two things are commanded one that the rest of the file should obserue to moue and stand still as he doth the other that they should maintaine a straightnesse and rightnesse in length which is the forme of the file 10 Reare-commander order your file In the Greeke Edition of Aelian is read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is file-leader But in a Manuscript which I haue seene is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the bringer vp or reare-commander and so is it read in Leos Tacticks and I take it to be the true reading this command rather appertaining to the reare-Commander then to the file-leader for the file-leader being the foremost of the file and bearing his face out of the front how can he see whether the file that is behinde him be in right order or not The bringer-vp hath his face toward the whole file as it standeth out before him and therefore may easily discerne if any man be in disorder and reforme them that are the cause of the disorder In which respect it is euident that he is fitter for the command then the file-leader which is the cause that I haue translated the word of direction as before Reare-commander order your file 11 Keepe your first distances That is stand in your open order For in that distance is the exercise first legunne It is a seemely thing to see an euen proportion obserued in the motion of
a battaile and to behold a direct space betwixt files and rankes For that is the grace and beauty as I may terme it of a Phalange ordered for fight This proportion cannot be maintayned without obseruing distance curiously Open order is sixe foot both in ranke and file betwixt man and man euery way If then any souldier in file gather vp to his leader and stand at distance of three foot it is manifest that his ranke is thereby disturbed and made vneuen although the file continue streight Contrariwise if he beare himselfe out of his place three foot toward either of his side-men by this meanes he disordereth his file and maketh it crooked This fault if it were committed by many a generall disorder would follow in the body and therefore Aelian well aduiseth to keepe the first distances especially till you be commanded to the second or third distance which will often fall out in the foure motions Of which Facing is the first and the words of direction in it are these as before in Aelian 12 Face to the Pike That is Face to the tight hand For the pike was alwayes borne in the right hand 14 Face to the Target The Pike-men in the Macedonian army bore targets on their left armes or on the left side so that facing to the target is all one with the word of command Face to the left hand 16 Face about to the pike or target That is face about to the right or left hand But where hee addeth moue a little further he signifieth that the direction is not fully accomplished and he would haue the souldiers continue their motion till their faces were fully come about to the reare and then hee willeth them to stand so because they haue gayned their place These facings here expressed by Aelian are of the whole body Other facings of the parts he hath not set downe which notwithstanding are oftentimes of great vse For say the enemy charge in front and reare your front must continue as it did but the word for the reare is Halfe files face about to the right or left hand If the enemy charge you on both flankes then is the word of command Halfe rankes face to the right halft to the left hand If in front and one flanke the front standeth firme and the word for the flanke that is charged is Halfe rankes of the right or left flanke Face to the hand named If in front and both flankes the front is to stand firme and both the flanks to face to the enemy And this is done in a hollow square or Plesium and the word is Flankes face one to the right the other to the left hand If on all sides or round about it is as before for the flankes but for the reare The reare face about to the right or left hand Now in Countermarch of the reare the ranke of file-leaders is oftentimes commanded to face about to the right or left hand In countermarch of the front the ranke of bringers vp must doe the like as wee shall see in Countermarch Doubling is the second motion vsed in battaile the precept of it in this in Aelian 18 Double your depth The word in our exercise for this motion is Double your files because files measure the depth of the battaile or rankes measure the length This doubling is made many wayes The first is when the euen files that is the 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. file fall into the odde As if the doubling be to the right hand the right hand corner-file standeth firme and is the first after doubling the third is the second file the fifth the third and so the rest of the odde files in order But the manner is that the leaders of the second file fall directly behind the leader of the first file and the second man of the second file behind the second man of the first and so the rest of those two files The same order is for the rest of the euen files when they double the odde files And the word is Double your files to the right or left hand Another manner is when halfe the body of files conueyes it selfe into the spaces oâ— the other halfe of the body be it to the right or left hand according to direction giuen so that the first ranke of the halfe body which is to moue fals into the space next after the first ranke of the halfe body that standeth and so the rest of the rankes of the halfe body that moueth and the word is Halfe the body double your files to the right or left hand Another is when files are doubled by a countermarch As if the second file of the right or left hand as it is appointed countermarch and the leader of that file place himselfe behind the bringer vp of the corner file to that hand to which the doubling is to be made and so the rest of the files of euen number behinde those of odde number as the second behind the first the fourth behind the third the sixt behind the fifth and so the rest The word is Double your files by countermarch to the right or left hand The next word in Aelian is Double your length That is double your rankes or front For as I before noted the rankes make the length of the battaile which likewise is many wayes done The first is when the rankes of euen appellation as the 2. 4. 6. 8. c. fall out into the spaces of the odde namely into the spaces of the 1. 3. 5. 7. c. which stand before them and place themselues euen with them in ranke The word is Double your rankes to the right or left hand Another way is when the bringers-vp their halfe files following them by countermarch aduance vp to the front and place themselues in the spaces betwixt the file-leaders to the hand appointed and the rest of the ranks accordingly namely the ninth ranke in the spaces of the second the eight in the spaces of the third the seuenth in the fourth the sixth in the spaces of the fifth And the word is Bringers vp double your front by countermarch to the right or left hand Another is when the reare-halfe-files one halfe face to the right the other to the left hand and diuiding themselues march out till they bee past the flankes of the standing halfe-files Then facing to the front sleeue vp and front with the standing halfe-files Then the word is Reare halfe-files double your front by diuision to the right and left hand Another way is when the reare-halfe-files vndiuided face to the hand appointed and being beyond the flanke of the rest of the body face to the front and sleeue vp and ioyne in front with the standing halfe-files The word is Reare-halfe-files enter double your front to the right or left hand It is to be obserued that in all these motions of doubling rankes or front the souldiers are to returne after