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
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
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
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
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
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
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-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
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
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
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 over-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 over-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 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
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
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
to be changed nor any number of Souldiers to be transported to other places then they haue For hereof tumult and confusion will streight arise and the enemy will easily take aduantage of such as are not ready or fallout to be disordered I haue said that the Latines and Grecians differ in the name of this battaile howbeit they agree both about the forme which may here appeare by Aelian who resembleth it to the letter V neither can there a better resemblance be made for as the letter V consisteth of two lines which are open in the top close in the bottome so doth this forme of battaile of two sides which in front are void open and disseuered in the reare ioyned and closed fast together If you will therefore frame this battaile you must first make a square the file-leaders being all in front then must you wheele the wings of your battaile into the middest and so your file-leaders shall be in the middest lastly you are to open the front of your battaile leauing halfe the file-leaders in the inside of one flanke and halfe in the inside of the other keeping the reare close knit together and for the opening it ought to be somewhat more then will receiue into the void space the front of the right induction which being once let in the inward two flanks of the wedge where the file-leaders are ought to face to both hands and to charge the outward flanks of the right induction and so circumuent them 7. Furthermore a Triphalange A Triphalange in this place of Aelian is when a square body or phalange is from front to reare diuided into three parts The figure shewes the manner The Triphalange hath as much aduantage against the Caelembolos as the Caelembolos had against the right induction The Caelembolos compelled the right induction to fight with the worst men and auoided the affront of the file-leaders which were the best The Triphalange hauing the file-leaders in front opposeth two seuerall fronts against the two wings of the Caelembolos where there are no file-leaders for they are alwayes disposed for the inside and both auoideth the aduantage the Caelembolos sought and maketh the Caelembolos fight with the worst men in as much as one of the Phalanges chargeth the front of one wing of the Caelembolos the file-leaders whereof are in flanke within the hollownesse the other chargeth the other Now it hath this aduantage besides that it spareth reserues for all occasions by off-holding the third Phalange If the Caelembolos be beaten by the two opposing Phalanges all is lost and no hope left of winning the field no other forces being to second it where notwithstanding the Caelembolos hauing gotten the better may be curbed and the victory arrested by this reserue and by the remnant of the other two Phalanges broken Words of direction in the right induction 1 The right-corner Xenagy march out So is it of all other bodies if they begin the march 2 The rest follow in Xenagies Direction for the Caelembolos 1. Wheele the wings of your battaile into the middest of your body So shall the file-leader be in the middest but we must note that the two midlemost leaders must be centors for the other to wheele about 2. Open your front to the right and left hand keeping your Reare close For the Triphalange 1 The two wings face to the right and left hand the middle remaining as it was 2 Match out to the distance required That is to be able to meet in a right line the two fronts of the wings of the Caelembolos 3 Stand When they come to the place required 4 Face as you were 5 Aduance and charge Of Paragoge or deduction CHAP. XXXVII 1 PArogoge or deduction is when the Phalange proceedeth in 2 a wing not by 3 file but by ranke hauing the commanders or file-leaders either on the right-hand which is called a right hand deduction or on the left hand which is a left-hand deduction For the Phalange marcheth in a 4 double treble or quadruple front according to the place or part it is suspected the enemy will giue on And both the paragogies beginning the fight in flanke doe 5 make the length doubte to the depth This forme of fight was deuised to teach a Souldier to receiue heedfully the charge of the enemy not onely in front but also in flanke NOTES 1 DEduction is when the Phalange Induction is spoken of Deduction followeth which is the second kinde of march For these are no Cap. 37. A foure fronted Phalange against all allemptes of the Enemy The Front of the reare The Front of the right flank The Front of the left flank The Front of the Narch other kinds then Induction and Deduction the one with the file-leaders in front the other with the file-leaders in flanke Neither doth the greatnesse or smalnesse of the body make any difference herein be the body neuer so great as is the Phalange or so small as one Company yet must the file-leaders either lead or else be in flanke of the march The reare in necessity may well be made good by the bringers vp Deduction is the mother of many formes of battailes vsuall in marches from it come the Caelembolos whereof we spake before from it are the Antistomus the Peristomus the Homoiostomus the Heterostomus of which hereafter 2 When the Phalange proceedeth in a wing Suidas hath that Paragoge or deduction is said to be when the phalange marcheth with the file-leaders on the right or left hand if on the left it is said to be a left-hand deduction if on the right a right-hand deduction He maketh no mention of a wing as Aelian doth for it may so fall out that the body may be such as hath the depth and breadth all one as a Xenagy which hath sixteene in breadth and sixteene in depth some bodies also as the Taxies and Tetrarchies haue the depth lesse then the breadth the first holding sixteen in depth no more then eight in breadth the last foure in breadth and sixteene in depth so that they march not in a wing But because marches for the most part are vndertaken in a wing it is the cause why Aelian saith that deductions proceed in a wing the depth whereof manifoldly exceedeth the length and they proceed 3. Not by file but by ranke That is the file-leaders being wheeled to the flanke after they haue setled themselues to march proceed on their iourney as they stand in the flanke onely facing that way the march is intended and returne not to lead in the front of the battaile as they did at first To lead by file is when the file-leaders proceede and haue their files following at their backe To lead by ranke is when that which was the flanke at first becommeth the front and beginneth the march and the rest follow accordingly flanke-wise yet this is to be noted that albeit the front of the battaile be changed in the deduction
vpon their owne people other falling vpon the Macedonians who made large distances those which entered were partly ouerwhelmed with darts partly passed queit thorough some being carried with the violence of their course and working mightily with their sharpe sythes brought with them many and sundry kinds of death for the force of their sythes had such power to destroy taht from many it cut off the armes and targets and all the necks of not a few were carued heads falling to the ground the eyes yet seeing the countenance not altered of some the it tore out the sides and put them to a speedy death Hitherto of the history of Diodorus But where he noteththe harms that came from the sythed chariots I take it they might haue beene auoided if the distances had beene wide enough because I finde in Xenophon in the battaile betwixt Artaxerxes and Cyrus mentioned by me before that many of the chariots of the Persians ranne thorough the Phalange of the Grecians without hurt to any man To returne then to the vse of this forme it hath heeretofore and may at this day bee put in practice against horse and not onely against horse ordered in a wedge but also giuing on in a square if it be so they charge by troopes and the opening be wide enough and sudden to receiue the front of the horse For against a grosse of horse they cannot haue time to open wide enough and if they open too timely they leaue liberty to the horse to charge either of the parts opened as themselues shall please and by diuiding themselues they diminish their owne strength Words of direction for the Diphalange Antistomus 1 Wheele the wings into the middest of the battaile This is done if the middlemost 2 file-leaders stand firme the rest with their files wheele till they meet and then stand thē face to the front and when the Horse charge open the middest suddenly and facing one against another charge your Pikes against the Horse 2 Face to the Front 3 Open your battaile 4 Face to the middest 5 Charge your Pikes Restoring to the first Posture 1 Aduance your Pikes 2 Close your battaile 3 Face to the right and left hand 4 Wheele the middest of the battaile to the wings 5 Face as you were at first and stand Of the Peristomus Diphalange CHAP. XXXXI THE Phalange of the Diphalange Peristomus proceede by deduction in a wing the oblique deduction on the right hand hauing the file-leaders without the left hand oblique deduction hauing the reare-comānders within The figure sheweth the intent of them that fight so ordered For the battaile going to charge hauing beene at first Tetragonall diuideth it selfe into two oblique wings the right and the left of purpose to enclose the aduerse square battaile and they fearing to be enclosed transforme themselues into two marching Phalanges directing one against the right the other against the left wing therefore is it called Peristomus as hauing the front bent against the enemy both wayes NOTES 1 ABout the inscription of this Chapter also there is a controuersie amongst the Interpreters some would haue it of the Peristomus diphalange some of the Amphistomus Diphalange and of the Peristomus Why any man should imagine that the Amphistomus Diphalange is here described I Cap. 41 The square deured in two and sett against y◠Peristomus two winges The Diphalange Peristomus The vneuen front of the Peristomus The right wing of the Peristomus The left wing of the Peristomus conceiue not vnlesse he should seeme to make Aelian contrary to himselfe For the Amphistomus Diphalange hath nothing to doe with the flanks as appeareth by Aelian in the 34 Chapter This Diphalange fighteth altogether in flanke as the description declareth The Phalanges of the Diphalange Peristomus What a wing is and what deduction I haue shewed before The meaning is that the Phalanges Peristomus are both of them led obliquely with the file-leaders in flanke and in two deepe bodies whereof the one hath in purpose to charge the right flanke the other the left flanke of the aduerse square battaile 2 The oblique deduction on the right hand Albeit both these Phalanges are called oblique yet we may not imagine that these Loxe-phalanges are the same that is described in the 30 Chapter For in that one of the Phalange forbeare the fight the other aduanceth to ioyne with the enemy in this both fight at once and haue their aduantage by charging the flanks of the enemy That began the fight in front had there the file-leaders this in both flanks this seeks to encompasse that to auoid encompassing it selfe as I haue shewed in my notes vpon the same Chapter 3 The oblique deduction on the right-hand hauing the file-leaders without I must imagine till further information that here is a fault in the text my reason is this all deductions are made to oppose the file-leaders against the enemy in fight So is the right-hand deduction vsed when it is suspected the enemy will charge the right-hand flanke the left-hand Deduction when it is suspected he will charge the left so in wheelings we turne the front against the enemy so in countermarches Now this forme being inuented to encompasse the enemy and to fight vpon his flankes I would thinke the file-leaders ought to be placed on the inward flanks of the Diphalange as it is in the Caelembolos for were the bringers vp to be within they should sustaine all the weight of the fight the battaile being once diuided and the file-leaders standing without should idlely looke on which is contrary to the military discipline of the Grecians whose care was to vse the file-leaders in fight as much as was possible Neither is it thereupon to be concluded that this Diphalange and the Diphalange Antistomus are all one For although both haue their file-leaders within yet doe they differ both in forme and end In forme because this moueth forward with both Phalanges the other standeth still this is oblique the other in a streight line that hath the front of the two phalanges euen this as it falleth out in the motion sometimes the one more forword sometimes the other In their ends because this goeth to assault and to breake the enemies battaile the other standeth fast and seekes onely to saue it selfe the one being offensiue the other defensiue So that as I said before the Caelembolos and this are both framed out of the Diphalange Antistomus both hauing their file-leaders within the middest of the battaile and yet differ in that the Caelembolos is but one body hollowed within this diuided into two bodies And they fearing to be enclosed The case of this square is almost all one with the square against which the Caelembolos is opposed For both are in danger to be enclosed Now as the other square was faine to cast it selfe into a Triphalange and to oppose two of the phalanges against the two wings of the
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
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
to charge him in front and on both flanks at one time But the conuexe halfe Moone auoiding that danger meeteth the enemy with the bearing out of the halfe circle and giueth the two wings of the Epicampios enough to doe being not to be annoyed with the depth of the hollownesse which remaineth a pretty distance more backward then the points of the wings So that this forme is fit to be opposed against the Epicampios and looseth no aduantage of embattailing and it auoideth the perill of the hollow front by not entring and yet maintaineth the fight against the two wings that are thruâ— out to encompasse being of sufficient strength to encounter the Epicampios either of them not dissoluing their forme or notwithstanding that the wings of the Epicampios retire as Aelian prescribeth when they are ouerpressed or else the body of the hollownesse aduance to make an equall front with the wings and so vnite their force Howbeit I haue not read in the Greeke hiâ—tory examples of this forme set against the Epicampios or vsed otherwise in fight onely I finde in Polybius at the battaile of Canne that Hannibal practised it against the Romans not trusting to the strength of the forme but rather with the shew thereof couering a further drift to beguile and bring them into his snare His words are in effect these Hanniball saith he embattailed his army thus He placed on the left hand the Spanish and Celtish horse right ouer against the Roman horse next to them of foot halfe the Lybian heauy armed then the Spaniards and Celts next them the other halfe of the Lybians On the right wing he ordered the Numidian horse After he had framed an euen front of the whole Army he aduanced the middle Spaniards and Gauls and cast them into a conuexe halfe Moone gathering vp the depth therewith and making it thin meaning to hide the Lybians with it and disposing the Lybians behinde them as seconds And a little after he declareth the manner of fight Then the heauy-armed foot succeeding the light armed encountred together The Spaniards therefore and Gauls a while brauely maintained their order and fight against the Romans but being ouer-pressed they turned their backs and retired dissoluing the forme of their halfe Moone The Roman Cohorts couragiously following easily broke asunder the battaile of the Celts which at first was ordered in a small depth themselues transferring the thicknesse of their battaile from the wings of the middest where the fight was for the middest and the wings fought not at the same time The middest began the fight first because the Celts ranged in a halfe Moone bore much more forward the the wings hauing not the hollownes but the prominent swelling of the half-Moone lying out toward the enemy So the Romans following running together to the middest where the enemy gaue grouÌ„d entered so far into the enemies battaile that they had the heauy-armed Lybians on either of their flanks of whom those of the right wing facing to the Target charged them on the right those of the left wing facing to the pike gaue vpon their left side occasioÌ„ it selfe shewing what was fit to be done so that it chaÌ„ced as Anniball had foreseene that after the defeat of the Celts the Romans pursuing the victory should fall out to be enclosed in the middest of the Lybians So Polibius of the prominent halfe moon or Cyrte which Annibal vsed to which of purpose he gaue to make thinnesse because it should be broken beaten and the enemy drawn into the snares as it were and ambush of the seconds that is of the Lybian heauy armed If it had had the due proportion of depth it might haue stood a longer time against the efforts of the enemy and disputed the victory against the broad-fronted phalange against which if it may be opposed there is no question but it may be set against the Epicampios because the broad-fronted phalange hath all her forces vnited together the Epicampios fighteth onely with her two wings the middest of the battaile being farre from ioyning vnlesse a man be compelled to enter into the hollownesse of the front in which case both the front and the wings may annoy him Words of direction for the Cyrte or conuexe halfe Moone First order the body into a long square or Plagiophalange 1 Then let the two file-leaders in the middest of the square march out with their files 2 The next two on either hand moueright forward one foot short of the first keeping distance in flanke as before 3 So the next foure two oâ— each side the two next one foot short of the last the other two one foot short of them 4 Then the next foure two on each side each two foot short of other 5 Then the foure last two on each side each three foot short of the other Of the Tetragonall Horse-battaile and of the wedge of foot to be opposed against it CHAP. XLVIII 1 THe Tetragonall horse-battaile is square in figure but not in number of men For in squares the number is not alwaies the same and the Generall for his aduantage may double the length to the depth The Persians Sicilians and most of the 〈…〉 s doe affect this forme and take it to be easie in framing and better in vse 2 Against it is opposed the Phalange called Embolos or Wedge of foot all the side consisting of armed men This kind is borrowed of the horse-mans wedge And yet in the wedge of horse one sufficeth to lead in front where the foot-wedge must haue three one being vnable to beare the sway of the encounter 3 So Epaminondas the Theban fighting with the Lacedemonians at Mantinaea ouerthrew a mighty power of theirs by casting his army into a wedge 4 It is fashioned when the Antistomus Diphalangy Cap. 48. The Horsbattaile square in figure not in horse The foote wedge The front in marching ioyneth the front of the wings together holding them behinde like vnto the letter A. NOTES 1 THis Chapter containeth the description of two battails one of horse the other of foot to be opposed in fight one against another namely the square of horse and the wedge of foot Of which the tetragonall horse-battaile square in figure or ground for all is one is described in my notes vpon the 18. Chapter of Aelian as also the wedge of horse from which this wedge of foot as Aelian saith is deriued It will be therefore needlesse to repeat what is there written about the formes and diuersity of them or to make comparison of their vse and aduantage Against the Rhombe of horse if they come to charge foot he hath set downe two formes of foot to receiue them the Cressant and the hollow-fronted battaile called Epicampios emprosthia which vpon this â—eason because they are hollow in front both and the Rhombe shooteth forth and chargeth in a point must of necessity by receiuing that point into their hollownesse and plying it with
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
any part during the charge If that be the saw it cannot agree Cap. 50. The aduerse battail The overwinging battail Cap. 50. The aduerse battaile The ouerfronting battaile with Aelians description who would haue the file-leaders of the Peplegmene to aduance before their battaile and be still in motion of purpose to traine out the file-leaders of the Plesium to meet them thereby to dissolue the forme of their battaile And this is but a stratagem to prâ—uaile against the enemy For as Leo saith a good Generallought as a good wrestler to make shew of one thing and to put another in practice to the end to deceiue the enemy and gaine the victory as is done in this manner of embattailing but that the Sawe is no constant or setled forme of fight as the rest are which are described by Aelian in the Chapters going before appeareth by Fiestus whose words are these Serra praeliari dicitur cum assidue acciditur recediturque neque vllo consistitur tempore The skirmish is said to be made in the forme of a Sawe when they that vse this for me continually giue on and retire and at no time stand still But we must vnderstand that the mouing is not by mamples or by light-armed as Lipsius interpreteth it but by file-leaders of the armed as Aelian teacheth with intent to traine out the file-leaders of the Plesium and so to disorder their battaile the rest of the Peplegmene standing still in their forme Now then to make a Peplegmene or sawe-battaile direction is to be giuen to the file-leaders alone to fall out confusedly against the aduerse Plesium of the enemy and to the rest in the files to stand still Otherwise being not forewarned the whole files will moue and follow their leaders which if they doe this forme cannot be made but the battaile remaineth as a square as it did before the going to charge The forme of framing the battail called the Plesium and the words of command are described in my notes vpon the 42 Chapter Of Hyperphalangesis and Hyperkerasis and of Attenuation CHAP. L. 1 HYperphalangesis or ouerfronting is when both wings of the Phalange ouer-reach the enemies front 2 Hyperkerasis or ouerwinging is when with one of our wings we ouer-reach the front of the enemy So that he that ouerfronteth ouerwingth but he that ouerwingeth ouerfroÌ„teth not For they that match not the enemy in multitude may yet ouerwing him 3 Attenuation is when the depth of the battaile is gathered vp and in stead of 16 a smaller number is set NOTES IN this Chapter being the last that describeth formes of battailes are two kindes of battailes set forth which are if I mistake not of more efficacy I am sure such as haue beene more practised then any of the other that goe before in this booke and they specially giue aduantage to them that haue aduantage in numbers of men and can frame a larger fronted Phalange then the enemy is able And either of them opposeth a large front against the enemy the one stretching it beyoÌ„d the points of both their wings the other beyond the point one of their wings The first kind is called Hyperphalangesis ouer-fronting the other Hyperkerasis ouer-winging Hyperphalangesis or ouer-fronting is faith Aelian 1 When both wings of the Phalange ouer-reach the enemies front To make it then Hyperphalangesis the front must be much broader then the enemies extended beyond both their wings of purpose to ouer reach wrap them in charging not onely the front but also the flankes on both sides at once which is so dangerous a kinde of fight that he that is so assayled can haue no great hope of making resistance against his enemy because the front being the place which is ordained for fight and the pikes being bent and lying out from thence if at the same time the flankes be also charged the sides of the souldiers must needs lye open to wounds no man being able to defend himselfe and turne his weapons two wayes at once The ouer-fronting of Croesus vsed against Cyrus rehearsed by me in my notes vpon the 46 Chapter is an eminent example of Hyperphalangesis whereby Croesus at one instant inuaded the front and both flanks of the enemies battaile The like maybe said of the battaile of Darius at Issos Gaugamela against Alexander and of Scipio against Asdruball Gisgoes sonne in Spaine and of Lauâ—enus against Caesar in Africa The manner of framing this forme is diuers â—or either you shew all your forces at first or else conceale some part and shewing all you march in an euen and whole front and bowing afterward your wings enclose the flankes of the enemy or else in on embowed forme at first such as are the hollow fronted battailes and so encompasse your enemy taking him into the hollownesse as you march forward Of the first kind was the battaile of Labienus against Caesar which I mentioned last and those of Darius against Alexander Of marching in an embowed forme that of Croesus against Cyrus Of concealing your number that of Cleandridas against the Thurian cited by 〈…〉 y notes vpon the 29 Chapter of this booke and of Scipio against Asdruball which is set downe at large in the notes vpon the 28 Chapter 2 Hyperkerosis is when we ouer-reach the enemies front with one of our winges Ouerfronting is of both wings ouerwinging but of one So that albeit your number be smaller then the enemies yet it you wrap in a part of his front and one of his wings you so ouerwing him To shew an example of ouerwinging you may finde in Thucidides that the Argiues with their allies being in the field against the â— acedemonians and their allies the battailes were ordered thus The Lacedemonians gaue the point of the left wing to the Scirites who only of the Lacedemonians haue alwayes that place Next to them they ordered the souldiers that came with Brasidas out of Thâ—ace Next them the new maâ—e Citizens by companies by their siâ—es first the Heroeans then the Menalians Arcadians both In the right wing were the Tegaeans and a few of the Lacedemo iâ—â—s in the point of that wing The â—orse were ranged on both wings Thus were the Lacedemonians embattailed Their enemies thus The Mantinaeans had the right wing because the warre was made in their Territory by them stood the Arcadians their confederates Then 1000 selected Argiues whom the City had long time trained vp in military exercise to whom ioyned the other Argiues and after them were ordered the Cleoneans and the Orneatians their allies The last were the Athenians that had the left wing and their owne horse bâ— them This was the preparation and embattailing of both parties When they went to charge the Argiues and their allies marched forward with speed and great fury the Lacedemonians leysurely according to the sound of the fifes placed within their battaile not for any religion sake but to the end that framing their motion to
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
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
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
their motion to their first posture which is done by facing about to the right or left hand and then by mouing and by recouering their first place The word is As you were Countermarch is the third motion vsed in the change of a battaile The vse and necessity thereof appeareth in Aelian before and that there are two kindes one by file the other by ranke The words of command that hee here setteth downe are onely of countermarch by file which may be reduced to two kindes viz. the Countermarch of the front and the Countermarch of the reare That of the front hath likewise two kindes the Lacedemonian and the Chorean That of the reare onely one and it is called the Macedonian Countermarch Now Aelians direction followeth 20 The Lacedemonian Countermarch This is one of the Countermarches by file and of the front The manner is that the file-leaders beginne the Countermarch and paâ—â—e beyond the reare their files following them In our exercise the word is Countermarch the front to the right or to the left hand It is done after another sort also as when the bringers-vp face about to the right or left hand and then the whole body facing about to the same hand passe thorow the spaces of the bringers vp to the same hand and the ninth ranke beginning the rest of the ranks after one anothers place themselues euery paticular man before his follower in the same file till the file-leaders are first The word is Bringers vp face to the right or to the left hand The rest beginning at the ninth ranke passe thorow to the same hand and place euery man himselfe before his follower As you were In Aelian followeth 22 The Macedonian Countermarch We in our exercise tearme this Countermarch of the reare and it is done in two manners First when the bringers vp begin the Countermarch and their files following passe thorow the spaces of the file-leaders till the file-leaders become the last of the file and then the whole body face about and stand The word is Countermarch the reare to the right or left hand Face about to the contrary hand and stand The other when the file-leaders face about to either hand and the rest of the ranks beginning at the second ranke successiuely passe thorow the spaces of the file leaders to the hand appointed placing themselues euery man behind his next leader and facing about as they did The word is File-leaders face about the rest of the rankes passe thorow and place your selues behinde your next leaders The next in Aelian is 24 The Chorean Countermarch This Countermarch is of the front as I said but it keepeth the ground that the body had before the file-leaders their files following them remoued to the places of the bringers vp and the bringers vp to the places that the file-leaders had The word is File-leaders countermarch to the right or left hand and stand viz. when they come to the bringers vp Other Countermarches thereare which are not here set downeby Aelian but are remembred in his Chapter of Countermarches of which the countermarch by ranks of the whole battaile is one the other is the countermarch by ranks in the parts And as in the Countermarch of the front or reare the rankes first began to moue so in Countermarch of the flanke the files entire beginne to moue and as in the Countermarch of the front or reare the ranks followed one another by file so in Countermarch of the flankes the files follow one another by ranke that is the souldiers of euery ranke follow one another If you would countermarch the right flanke so to change one side of the battaile for the other the word is Countermarch the right flanke to the left hand In countermarching the left flanke the word is Countermarch the left flanke to the right hand To countermarch the wings into the middest both the vttermost corner-files are to moue toward the middest their halfe rankes following them and meeting in the middest to stand there and face to the front and the word is Countermarch your wings into the middest of the battaile Obserue that in Countermarch by ranke the three Countermarches Macedonian Lacedaemonian and Choraean may be practised as well as in Countermarch by file If the flanke neerest to the enemy begin the Countermarch this the Macedonian countermarch because it maketh a shew of shifting away If the flanke furthest from the enemy begin it is the Lacedemonian in that it carrieth a semblance of falling on But when one flanke countermarcheth till it come iust vp to the other and no further it is the Choraean because it keepeth the same ground Wheeling is the fourth and last motion and it is vsed in the whole entire battaile or in the parts thereof Aelian giueth words of direction for the whole battaile onely and they are these Wheele the body to the Pike or to the Target When the battaile is to wheele to the pike or right hand the right hand corner file-leader is onely to turne his body by little and little to the right hand facing euen with the ranke of file-leaders till such time as hee haue gained the right hand aspect and the rest are to moue about him making him the centor as it were of their circled motion If to the left hand the left hand corner file leader is to doe the like The same order is of wheelin the battaile about to the right or left hand Aelian as I â—aiâ— giueth here no other words of command then for the wheeling of the whole body yet are the wheelings of the parts of great vse for either the flankes are wheeled into the front or the front into the flankes The front is wheeled into the flankes when we desire to forme the Antistomus Phalange to resist the enemy giuing on both flankes And then the two middlemost bringers vp are to stand and the middle file-leaders to diuinde themselues and to moue halfe the battaile to the right halfe to the left hand making those two bringers vp the center of the motion In this the word is Wheele the front into flanks by diuision If the flanks be to be wheeled into the front the two middle file-leaders are to stand still and the two halfe bodies to moue about them one to the right hand the other to the left till the two flanks be in the front and the front in the middest This kind is practised when we would frame the Diphalange Antistomus The word is Wheele the flanks into the front It is to be remembred that after euery motion a restitution to the first posture is to be commanded in these words As you were In facing you are to returne to the contrary hand as if the command were to face to the right in returning you come to the left In doubling you must doe the like In countermarch likewise whether you countermarch the whole body or the parcels thereof you are to returne by the contrary hand After
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
repassed through the enemies wedge twice with great slaughter eueryone breaking his staffe The Celtiberians after the breaking and dispersing of their wedge in which all their hope remained began to be afraid and almost quitting the sight sought where they might best to saue themselues Hitherto Liuy In which passage a man may obserue the violence of the wedge which if it be rightly managed is of wonderfull power to breake and dispart any square it shall fall vpon The other example or precedent is out of Agathias where he describeth the battaile betwixt Narses the Emperour Iustinians Lieutenant and Bucelinus Generall of the French-men He hath thus Narses when he came to the place where the fight should be ordered presently his army into a Phalange The horse were ranged in the wings Himselfe stood in the right wing and next him Zandalas Captaine of his followers and with him all his mercinary and houshold seruants that were not vnfit for the warre vpon either side of him was Valerian and Artabanus who were commanded to hide themselues a while in the thicke of the wood that was thereby and when the enemy ioyned to fall out suddenly and vnlooked for vpon them and to put them into an amazement The foot had all the space in the middest and the file-leaders ioyned shoulder to shoulder being armed with curaces and other pieces of armour reaching downe to the foot and with caskes Behind them were other souldiers ordered euen as farre as to the open fields The light armed and such as vsed flying weapons were cast in the reare expecting a signall of employment The middest was reserued for the Heruly and remained empty because they were not yet come vp Bucelinus aduanced his battell and all ran cheerefully against the Romans not leisurely and in good order but rashly and tumultuously as if with the very cry they would haue rent asunder all that stood against them The forme of their battaile was like a wedge For it resembleth the letter Delta And the front which shot out in a point was couered and close by reason it was hemmed in with Targets you would haue said they counterfeited a swines head but both the flanks on each side lying out by files in depth and stretching backward byaswise by little and little were parted and seuered one from another and bearing out still toward the reare ende at last in a great distance so that the ground in the middest betwixt them was empty and the backes of the souldiers that were in the wedge appeared cleane through the files vncouered For their faces were turned contrariwise one from another to the end they might beare them toward the enemy and saue themselues from blowes by casting their Targets before them and secure their backe by placing them opposite to the backes of their fellowes All things fellout according to Narses his wish to whom both a faire opportunity was presented and who had wisely before contriued what was to be done For when the Barbarians running on furiously fell vpon the Romans with a shout and outery giuing vpon the milder they presently broake the front of those that stood in the void space for the Heruli were not yet come vp and the leaders of the point of the wedge cutting asunder all that stood in their way euen to the vttermost depth of the file and yet making no great slaughter were carried beyond the bringers vp of Narses battaile and some of them continued their course further thinking to take in the Roman Campe Then Narses presently turning about and extending out his wings and making as the Tacticks name is an Epicampios emprosthia commanded the archers on horsebacke to send their arrowes by turnes vpon the backes of the enemy which they easily performed For being on horsebacke higher then the Barbarian foot they might at their pleasure strike them as they aduanced forward being in a great bredth and nothing to shadow them Hitherto Agathias It would be long to rehearse the rest of the battaile which he exaggerateth rhetorically I haue recited so much as both sheweth the strength of the wedge and withall the manner which was vsed by Narses to ouerthrow it For I find three kinde of wayes which haue beene practised to resist and defeat it One by charging it with horse before it enter the aduerse battaile as Flaccus did against the Celtiberians The second to frame the aduerse battaile empty in the middest filling it with some souldiers notwithstanding for shew and when hee entreth the space to plye his reare with shot and charge it throughly as Narses did The third to oppose against it a hollow wedge which Vegetius calleth forfex and receiuing and letting in the point of this wedge into the hollownesse of the other to claspe it in and charge it on all sides Against the wedge saith Vegetius is opposed the battaile called forfex a paire of sheeres For it is framed of the best and valiantest souldiers to the similitude of the letter V. and it receiueth in and embraceth the wedge so that it cannot breake through it 4 It is fashioned when the Diphalange Antistomus This manner of framing a wedge is described by Aelian in the 36 Chapter and yet that wedge set downe there openeth in front keepi 〈…〉 the reare shut and is opposed against the right induction and called Caelembolos here the wedge is described that openeth the reare keeping the front close and is opposed against the square But the manner of framing both standeth vpon one reason For the file-leaders being placed within the Caelembolos the front of the battaile is opened and the reare kept close in the other the file-leaders being without the reare is opened the front still maintained shut Now the file leaders place is varied in either of them because of the seuerall effects which they worke The hollow fronted wedge Caelembolos seeketh to hold the enemy together so defeat him The other to dispart and rout him and so to gaine the victory And because the stresse of the Caelembolos is within for the flankes of the hollownesse claspe in the enemy and fight against his flanks therefore are the file leaders the formost that fight within as likewise because the outsides of the wedge of this Chapter beare all the weight of the fight therefore in it are the file-leaders without For as in all other battailes the file-leaders ought first to attach the enemy so is it likewise in these two formes But where Aelian saith that this battell is made out of the Diphalange Antistomus by ioyning the wings in front and opening them behinde I take the Text to be corrupted For the Diphalange Antistomus hath the file-leaders within to resist the horse that charge them as the 40 Chapter teacheth this hath the file-leaders without to breake the enemies battaile and disseuer it The Caelembolos indeed is framed out of the Diphalange Antistomus But the wedge of this Chapter springeth out of the
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