one directly after another How they stood Polybius shewes describing the same battaile He saith that Scipio ordered the Hastati and their ensignes first of all the rest and in front and gaue interuals to their maniples behinde them the Principes not against the interuals of the Hastati as the Roman manner was but behinde them in a right line because of the multitude of the Enemies Elephants and lastly the Triarij On the wing of the left flanke he ranged C. Lelius with the Italian Horse vnder him on the right Massanissa and all the Numidian Horse which he commanded The interuals of the first Ensignes that is of the Hastati he filled with the bodies of light armed commanding them first to vndertake the fight and in case they were not able to withstand the affront of the the enemy or of the Elephants he willed them to retire some that could preuent the rest with speed through the direct interuals of the maniples to thereare of the army other that were in a manner surprised to the flankes neere the Ensignes This ordering of Maniples one directly after another so termed and described by Polybius Appian calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which notwithstanding if truly examined cannot according to the Grecian practise come within the compasse of that name For the Grecians as I said drew their Companies seuerally each into a file and laying foure or fiue or six or more of them together made a body the depth whereof much exceeded the length or breadth the front being of 4. 5. or 6. men in ranke the depth of 100 whereas the Romans as appeareth by Polybius kept their ordinary manner of embattelling sauing that they placed their principes not against the interuals of the Hastati as their custome was but directly behinde the Maniples of the Hastati to the end the Elephants of the Carthaginians might haue an empty and void lane as it were to passe through their whole Army As for the Roman Maniples they consisted of two parts ioyned together which they called Ordines and euery Ordo contained 60 men commanded by a Captaine so that the Maniple had in it 120 men and two Captaines or Centurions These 120 men being digested into files containing 10 men a peece for that was the length of file and the depth of the Maniple make 12 files which stood one by another ranged in front not stretched one after another in depth But because the Maniples of the Hastati principes and the Triarij stood directly one after another therefore Appian called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 either out of the ignorance of the manner of embattelling amongst the Romans or else because the Grecians in their writings reduced the order of the Roman embattelling vnto their owne vsage So they called a Tribune of the Roman Army a Chiliarch albeit a Chiliarch amongst the Grecians and a Tribune amongst the Romans differ very much as I haue noted vpon the ninth Chapter of Aelian the manner of embattailing of the Army of Acilius Glabrio a Roman Consull in the streights of Thermopyle commeth neerer vnto the Greekish forme Appian describeth it thus Antiochus hauing fortified the streights of Thermopyle with a double wall and drawne forth his army ordâ—â—ly for fight to make good the place against Acilius Acilius diuided his troopes into three parts and giuing one part to Cato toâ—laccus â—laccus the one to make his passage on the one side of the Hils the other on the other himselfe led the ordinary way against Antiochus and framing of his owneâ— part 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which manner of embattelling alone saith Appian seruetâ— for streight wayes â—e pushed on and forced his Enemy to retire gained his Campe. The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here mentioned are no other then the Orthie-phalange which Aelian hath set downe in this Chapter namely hauing one Maniple or if the streight permitted not a Maniple of 12 files to march entirely in front one Ordo consisting of six files to aduance the rest following in the same â—inde as the fashion is of the right induction remembred by Aelian hereafter in his 36 Chapter Now albeit that forme come neerer to the Graecian forme yet it is not the same the one filling the way with the Maniple or Ordo as it fell our in the same figure that it stands in the field the other changing the order of the field drawing the Company out into one file and ioyning other Companies with it in front as many as the way would receiue So that the Grecian had too in depth of the body the Roman but 10. We are not to pretermit that albeit Acilius vsed this forme to dislodge 〈…〉 from the Hâ—ll yet he trusted not to it alone but diuiding his 〈…〉 into three parts he caused two of them to march vp the hils on both sides himselfe on the midst to the end that one part might â—aine the height ouer 〈…〉 head and so make him forsake his ground Thus farre of the vse of these two 〈…〉 of Phalanges or battailes it remaineth to shew how one of them may be transsormed into another The next proceeding Chapter teacheth that out of doublings of Rankes the length of the battell ariseth as the depth out of doubling of files I haue shewed the manner of both in my notes vpon the 8 and 29 Chapter And this manner is easie in a single Company or in a small Army In great Bodies it hath no great vse let the Example be of a Phalangarchy which is the fourth part of a fourefold Phalange and containeth 256 files Double the files once you shall 128 files and 32 men in depth and but 3 foot distance in ranke The second doubling bringeth forth 64 files and as many men in depth but the distance betwixt ranke and ranke is but a foot and a halfe Beyond this doubling you cannot proceede for beside the confusion of places of officers which are in number aboue 250 in a Phalangarchy the interuals betwixt man and man will not conueniently allow aboue two doublings your open order betwixt man and man wherein they stand at first giueth but six foot The first doubling takes away three foot from euery internall the second leaueth but a soot and halfe And considering that when the battell is closed for fight the neerest distance betwixt ranke and ranke ought to be no lesse then three foot in regard of handling of weapons as I haue shewed before out of Polybius The second doubling albeit it yeeldeth roome from the bodies of Souldiers to stand in yet it takes away the halfe of this distance but the third doubling allowing but 3 quarters of a foot for each man to stand in giueth not so much ground as his body will possesse So is it likewise of Ranks which will not suffer aboue two doublings fit for vse Aelians file is of â—6 men double your rankes once your file will containe no more then eight men and
euery man shall haue three foot distance from other in ranke double them twice the file hath but foure men and euery mans distance in ranke is no more then a foot and halfe which as it is allowable in close order so admitteth it no third dou 〈…〉 wherein the space betwixt man and man cannot exceed three quarters of a foot As therefore the second doubling of ranks in a Phalangarchy albeit it extend the front of the battell leaueth yet too small a depth to the Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile it containing no more then foure men in depth so the doubling of files twice fitteth not the Orthiophalange or Herse as hauing 64 in depth and as many in length which number neither holdeth proportion of the depth manifold to the length of the Orthiophalange or Herse nor yet by reason of the length hath conueniency to apply it selfe to streight waies a thing that containeth the principall vse of that manner of battaile which was the cause that antiquity vsed another course If the march were to be made out of a Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile they framed a Herse by putting forth out of the right or left wing first one Tetratchy or other body which might march whole according to the largenesse of the ways and after it followed from the same wing the rest of the Army in the same kinde If contrariwise a Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile were to be framed out of an Orthiophalange or a Herse they caused the body which had the vaunt to stand firme and the rest following to sleeue vp by it on the right or left hand till they all came to an euen front Xenophon sheweth the manner in a Company whose words are these in English Then he Cyrus the elder beheld another Captaine leading his Company from the river side to dinner one souldier following another in a single file who when hee thought â—it commanded the second and third and fourth file to sleeue vp and make an euen front with the first the file-leaders being new in front hee commanded the halfe files to double the front so that new the Decadarches or leaders of halfe files stood in front Againe when it seemed good he commanded the quarter files to double the front so the Pempedarches or leaders of the quarter of files led vp and the files marched on being diuided into foure parts When they were come vnto the Tent doore hee commanded the first file to single out againe and to enter in and the second to follow it single in the reare and so the third and fourth till all were within the Tent. To cleare these words of Xenophon It is to be vnderstood that the Company or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here mentioned consisted of 100 men and was diuided into foure files or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 each file containing twenty foure men The file had fiue Officers the file leader the Decadarch two Pempedarchs and the bringer vp At the head of the file stood the file-leader and behinde him directly fiue men next after them stood the first Pempedarch and fiue men that followed him in the middest of the file that is after the Pempedarch and his fiue was placed the Decadarch who â—ed the hinder most halfe file and after him fiue men more Lastly the second Pempedarch and fiue more after him the last of which was the bringer vp Now when Xenophon saith that the whole Company followed by one or file wise he meaneth that the foure files were cast into one file and followed one another in a right line and by that meanes had 100 in depth and but one in front To bring it therefore to conuenient length from this depth the Captaine commanded the first file leader to make Alte or to stand and the second file leader with his file to aduance and to sleeue vp on the left hand and to front with the first file leader and so both files to stand euen fronted in open order The like he commanded the third and fourth file to doe so that the foure files being laid one to another and fronting equally the front or length of the body had foure men the depth 24. Then because he held this depth disproporcionable to the length in so small a body he againe enlarged the front by doubling commanding the halfe files to double their front The Decadarchs hereupon marched vp to the front and ranked with the file leaders and the halfe files following them ranked with the front-halfe files man to man Now was the front eight in length the flanke or depth twelue To enlarge againe the front and to make the length exceede the depth he commanded the quarter-files to double the front hereupon the Pempedarchs aduanced marching vp with their quarter files after them till they fronted with the file leaders and Decadarchs and each man of the quarter files ranked with the rest so that the front came to be of 16 men in length the flanke six men in depth and each man in ranke had a foot and halfe distance in file six foot And thus the Company from one file as it were from an Orthiophalange or Herse was formed into a long body somewhat resembling a Plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile To reduce it againe to an Orthiophalange or Herse the Captaine at the entry into the Tent where the whole Company was lodged together first directed the first file to march out namely by the file leader with his fiue then the first Pempedarch with his fiue after him the Decadarch with his fiue lastly the second Pempedarch with his fiue which drawing out of the Officers one after another in depth with the parts of the file Commanded by them immediately brought the file to the iust depth of 24. This being done the second file followed the first in like order and the third the second last of al came the fourth and this was the manner of changing one forme into another and albeit the example be but of a Company yet is the reason all one in a Phalange or battaile for as a company is compacted of many files so is a phalange of diuers companies and as one file in the example before was led after another filewise so is or may one company or other body be led after another making thereby an Orthiophalange or Herse and as one file aduanced to front with another to the intent to alter the forme of the Orthiophalange so must the bodies or companies sleeue vp one by another to make a plagiophalange or broad-fronted battaile yet want there not Examples in the Greeke History of turning the Orthiophalange or Herse into a plagiophalange or broad fronted battaile and by consequence the plagiophalange into an Orthiophalange Cherisophus in the returne of the 10000 Grecians that followed Cyrus the yonger into Persia had the leading of the Vant-gard all the way He in his march in Armenia perceiuing the Chalybes Taochians and Phasians had taken
his vnkle signifying that an Ambassador was arriued from the Indies in which regard said hee the King would haue you to come to him with all speed and I bring you from Cyaxares one of his richest garments For he desireth in regard the Indians are to see you that your presence may bee adorned with as faire and sumptuous apparell as may bee Cyrus receiuing this message commanded the first Taxiarchi to stand in front hauing his Company ordered behind him in one file and himselfe holding the right corner file of the battell and willed him to deliuer that Command to the second Taxiarch and so the word to passe to the rest They quickly obeyed and put the Command in execution and so it came to passe in short space that the Front had in it 300 for so many the Taxiarches were the depth of the battell 100. After they stood in this order hee commanded them to follow as he led and straightway he led them running but because hee perceiued that the way was too streight to march with so many in Front hee willed the first Chiliarchy to follow in the same order in which it then was and the second in the Reare thereof and so the rest and he sent two Sergeants to the turnings of the way to giue direction to such as were not fully instructed in the businesse When they were come to Cyaxares gate hee willed the first Taxiarch to order his Company 12 deepe and the Dodecadarches to stand in Front all along the pallace and hee willed to signifie so much to the next Taxiarch and so the rest one to another through the whole Army They did as they were commanded and he went in to Cyaxares Here haue you first a Company drawne into file and so standing then 299 Companies fashioned into files and laid flanke-wise to the first and so marching as long as the ground would permit The ground afterward being capable of no more then 10 in front the Chiliarchy of the right hand was drawne forth to leade the march which consisted of 10 Companies the Body being 10 in front and 100 in depth The rest of all the Chiliarchies followed the Reare one of another in the same order comming to a place where Alte was to be made the first Taxiarch drew out his Company by 12 placing the first file leader in front with the first 12 of the file and sleeuing vp the Dodecadarch of the same file to Front with the file leader and the hindermost 12 of them that followed him to ranke with the former halfe file the like was done by the 3 other files so that each Taxis had 8 in Front and 12 in depth and there being 30000 men in that Army the whole Army comprehended 300 Taxis the halfe files of 12 a peece amount to the number of 2400 so many men in number also making the Front of the Army And for the leading of the first Chiliarchy in the straight way and the rest following in the like forme it was an induction which notwithstanding differeth from Aelians induction Aelians Chiliarchy in the induction requireth the file leaders in front this dispersed them in the whole body Aelians Chiliarchy would haue had but 16 in depth this had 100. For marching in like manner with the Captains before and the single files of a Company cast into one file after them I finde another example in Xenophon The elder Cyrus being to inuade Assyria by night directeth his Army thus Let vs leaue with the carriage beasts and waggons such as are fittest for that seruice and let Cobrias be their Leader because hee is both skilfull in the waies and otherwise sufficient for any affaire of Command And let vs set forward with the best and most able horse and foot carrying with vs victuall for three daies for the lighter and with the lesse cumber wee shall appoint out selues with so much the more pleasure the after passing daies shall we dine suppe and sleepe Now let the march bee ordered in this manner First you Chrysanthas lead the armed foote with all their Captaines in Front as long as the way is euen and broad and let euery Company bee ordered in depth souldier after souldier file-wise for the closser wee put our selues together the sooner and safer shall wee end our march The cause why I would haue the Armed goe before is in regard they are the heauiest of the Army and when the heauiest goe before the light must â—â—eds follow aâ— ease But when the lightest leade especially in the night it is no maruaile if the Army bee seuered and distracted the light easily slipping away and hastening in the Vaunt Next vnto these let Artabazus lead the Targetiers and Archers of the Persians and Andramias the Median the Median footemen next then let Embas follow with the Armenian foot and Artuchas after him with the Hircanians and next Thambradas with the Sacan foote then Damatas with the Cadusianâ— and let all these march with the Captains in front and on the right flanke of their Plesium the Targetiers or Peltasts the Archers on their left for so shall they better second one another After these let the whole baggage march the Commanders whereof must bee carefull to haue all things ready before they sleepe and early in the morning to bee at the appointed place with their furniture and decently to march forward After the baggage let Madatas the Persian lead the Persian Horse with their Captaines in front and let the Captaines order their Companies in a file as the foot Captaines did Next after these Rambaces the Median in the same sort the Horse which hee commandeth Then you Tygraues your horse Then the other Horse Captaines euery one the Horse with which they serue mee And as the Cadusians came last to my seruice let them close vp the reare of the Army Thus Xenophon The passage is somewhat long but I thought good to recite it because it containeth the order of night marches vsuall of old time First the armed foote march euery Nation after other as long as the ground would giue leaue in a square battell framed of Company laid to Company euery Company drawne out into a file the Targetiers on the one flanke the Archers on the other then the carriage last of all the Horse The reason is added why the slowest haue the Vaunt namely lest in the night when all things saith the same Xenophon are to bee vnderstood and done by direction to the eare and not to the eye the Horsemen or light armed who are nimble quick the Horsemen by reason of the Horse that carry them the light armed because they are troubled with no weight of Armes leading they might happily with their speede out-goe and leaue the heauy armed beehinde who beeing burdened with the heauinesse of their Armes can march but slowly But my principall end was to shew that the file-leaders in an inductionâ— are not alwaies
placed in Front I will adde one example out of Xenophon more to the same purpose When the Grecians that followed Cyrus the yonger into Persia returned toward their Country they came as farâ—e as the riuer Phiscus they found there a bridge and not farre off a great City called Opis at which the base brother of Cyrus and Artaxerxes leading from Susa and Ecbatana a mighty Army with him to giue aid to the King met the Grecians and causing his owne Army to make alte hee tooke vnto of the Grecians as they passed by Clearchus led his Army 2 in Front and in his march oftentimes made alte As long as the Vaunt of the Army staied so long the Reare must likewise stay So that the Grecians were of opinion they had a great Army and the Persian was abashed at the sight of such a multitude Whether this march were Aeliaâ—s right Induction a man would doubt because it is not expressed by Xenophon particularly how the bodies of the Phalange did march onely hee saith that Clearchus led 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in binos saith the Latine translation I interpret it 2 in Front For two in depth it could not be because Xenophon speaketh of a stand made oftentimes by the Vaunt which caused the Reare to stay And had the Army beene but 2 in depth it had bean all Vaunt the 10000 Grecians beeing ordered into two ranks and no more each of them being 5000 men besides that the Persian wondered at the multitude which passed by him in flanke which flank if it had consisted of no more then two his wonder would soon haue ended But Clearchus vsed Art to make his number seeme greater and being but 2 in Front they must needs be 5000 in file to which 5000 giuing 6 foot a peece for their open order the ground wil contain 30000 foot in depth which amouÌ„t to six miles of ours The vsage of the Lacedemonians was to march sometimes with 2 in Front if the way were straight So did Dercyllidas in Asia the lesse when entring into a City his whole Army followed him peaceably 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 two in Front So b Archidamus the sonne of Agesilaus aduancing against the Arcadians by a cart way that led to Cromnum ordered his Army 2 in front as then his march fell out When they approached one to another Archidamus his army being in a wing by reason of the streightnesse of the way the Archadians in a broad-fronted phalange with targets close faced together the Lacedemonians could not endure the charge of the Arcadians and forthwith both Archidamus was wounded through the thigh and they slaine that fought before him Hee saith that Archidamus marched two in front wing-wise by reason of the streightnesse of the way In that he saith wing-wise he sheweth the army was drawne out in depth which is proper to an induction and when he maketh the way the cause he giueth a reason why it so marched But to returne to that I first propounded the inductions hitherto specified in the former examples seeme to differ from Aelians right-induction as neither hauing all the file-leaders in front nor yet single bodies of the same kinde one to follow another the companies being each drawne into one file and then two or three or foure or more of these files laid together according to the largenesse of the way and the rest of the army following in the manner afore expressed 5. Against it is opposed the Caelembolos The Caelembolos is a wedge hollow in front and to be opposed against the right induction saith Aelian I haue noted before that it hath beene the manner of all famous Generals to fit the embattailing of their armies to the forme which the enemy vseth at the time of ioyning and therefore it much concerneth the Commander of an army to be skilfull in all formes which are of true vse and to know the aduantage that one carrieth against another The right induction is and alwayes hath beene the ordinary forme to march in To order your troopes in an aduantagious forme against it the Caelembolos was inuented It is called by the Greekes a hollow wedge because it is not filled vp in the middest but includeth a void space bias-wise in front betwixt the points of both wings and ioyneth it selfe together in the reare So that to one that shall view it behinde it seemes a plaine wedge and yet in propriety of speech it cannot be called a Wedge for a Wedge hath three sides and three points and beareth the true forme of a triangle and with the former point it chargeth the enemy as hath beene showne in the horse-mans wedge This hath but one point and two sides neither doth it charge the enemy with the point but receiuing the front of his battaile into the empty space striketh vpon both the flankes thereof with the wings it hath opened and so seeketh to distresse it the Caelembolos hauing this aduantage that it fighteth with the best men viz. the file-leaders ordered in the inside of the wings thereof not against the file-leader of the right induction but against the weaker sort who are ordinarily placed in the flankes thereof The Latine names are more fit and significant to expresse the forme By some it is called a paire of tongues by othersome a paire of sheeres both appellations seruing to set forth the right forme of the Caelembolos for the one and the other open their foremost parts to a pretty distance and the hinder parts which are pinned and fastened together end in a narrow point as doth the Caelembolos And they were so farre from tearming it a wedge that they held it the best forme to receiue and frustrate the charge of the true wedge as may be seene in Vegetius 6. Which is framed when The fashioning of the Caelembolos springeth out the Diphalange Antistomus What that Diphalange is we shall see in the 40 chapter of this booke Thus much I may before-hand signifie that the file-leaders ought to be placed within the hollow flanks of the Caelembolos as it were a lyning to the insides and the Di-phalange Antistomus being once framed which is to haue the file-leaders in the middest from the one end of the battaile to the other there needeth no further labour then to dispatch the front in the middest leauing the file-leaders on both sides and to fasten and ioyne together the reare to the end that the front of the right induction may enter into the hollownesse but yet be mashed as it were in a net and neither able to passe through the reare of the Caelembolos being close shut nor yet to giue offence to those that fight in the front of the Caelembolos hauing no man whom they may charge in the void space nor yet daring to breake the forme of their battaile after ioyning For it is a good obseruation of Vegetius that in fight the manner of your embattailing is not
and after in the 9 Ch. he saith you shall command the Souldiers to stand by knowing exactly the souÌ„d of the Trumpet again to moue by the sound of the trumpet So that although other signes were giuen for marching retreat yet the most coÌ„mon signe was by the Trumpet Now we are to vnderstand that all signes giuen by sound to the eare except by the voyce are called signa semiuocalia because albeit their sound be lowder and stronger for the most part then the voyce is yet they are not articulated as is the sound of the voice Hitherto of signes that were giuen to the eare by the sound Now are we to speake briefly of mute signes or those that were set vp as it were a marke for the eye Mute sign swere of two kindes for either they were simple and vsed by themselues as an obiect of the eye alone or else they were mixed and ioyned to signes of sound and so communicated both to the eye and to the eare Of the second for were those whereof I haue spoken a little before and they were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 namely when a mute si ne is added to a vocall as when to the Word in the night is ioyned some speciall gesture of the body as holding downe or nodding of the head lifting vp the hand putting off the hat heauing vp the skirt of the garment c. concerning which see Onosander and Of the first kinde were signes presented to the eye alone which extended very largely and serued where neither voyce not trumpet could be heard by reason of the remorenesse of the place these were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signes properly and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 likewise because it was agreed by the parties who gaue and tooke them that they should haue such and such signification The words be different but the meaning and effect is all one for as no signe can be but there must be a giuer and a taker of the signe so â—â— that respect the signes called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by reason of the communication betwixt the giuer and taker of the signe may aptly also be tearmed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And albeit I noted before that the signe of the battaile and the watchword was called by no other name but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taken often for a mute signe also Many occasions were of giuing these signes and they were sometimes shewen by day sometimes by night and in the day time they were sometime proposed in the battaile sometime in other places where they might be perceiued Arrian historieth of Alexander the Great that at his being in the Country of the Taulantians his enemies Clytus and Glaucias had with manâ— horse darters and slingers and not a few armed men taken the Mountaines and high places by which he was to passe in returning The place was streight and wooddy shut vp on the one side with a riuer on the other side with an exceeding high mountaine the sides whereof were very steepe so that the Armie could not march with more then foure armed in front Alexander marshalled his troopes to 120 in depth and ordering 200 horse on each wing he commanded silence and heede to be taken to his directions And first he willed the armed to aduance their pikes then vpon a signe giuen to let them fall and charge then to turne them close knit to the right hand then to the left and sometime he moued the battell quickly forward and sometime he moued it to the one wing sometime to the other And so fashioning it into diuers shapes in short time and at last casting it into a wedge as it were he led it against the Enemy who stood wondering at the speedinesse and good order of the diuers motions and now perceiuing the Armie to be led against them abode not the charge but left the hill which he held and fled Here are mentioned seuen seuerall motions of the phalange which wee haue in practice at this day 1 Aduancing of Pikes 2 charging of them 3 first to the right hand 4 then to the left hand 5 mouing of the battell forward 6 mouing it to the right wing and then 7 to the left And all these motions were directed by a signe what this signe was may be doubted because it is not expressed whether it was by voice trumpet or a mute signe For my part I would not take it to haue beene by voyce for how could the voice be heard in so great an Army as Alexander had which according to Diodorus Siculus consisted of 30000 foot and 3000 horse and was stretched out in depth and had but foure armed in front nor yet would I imagine it to haue beene giuen by trumpet because though perhaps the trumpet might be heard of all the Army by reason of the Eccho rebounding from the Mountaine and riuer yet could it not fitly and cleerely distinguish the sound that should direct these seuen seuerall motions I haue before declared in what case the trumpet was employed Let me with leaue therefore thinke that it was a mute signe presented to the eye as for the purpose a Coate or other garment fastned to the end of a long staffe the colour whereof being eminent and the staffe being lifted aloft might be perceiued by the whole Army The signe then aduanced to the full height might signifie aduancing of Pikes which was the first motion Being abased and held leuell before the front charging to the front which was the second motion held out leuell to the right flanke charging to the right hand to the left flanke charging to the left hand which were the third and fourth motions of Alexander mouing forward in front it might be a signe for the battell to follow which was the fift Mouing to the right hand for the battell to march to the right which was the sixt to the left for the battell to moue to the left which was the seuenth which motion might more easily be performed in case the ensignes of the particular Companies tooke their direction from the maine signe and so framed themselues to the same motions and the Souldiers to the motions of their Ensignes This I say is my coniecture wherein notwithstanding I preiudice no mans opinion but leaue euery man to his owne conceit and sence Xenophon relateth a notable example of Iphicrates the Athenian who being chosen Admirall by the Citie as soone as he began to take the Sea with his Nauie both at once sailed and also prepared all things necessary for Sea-fight for he left at home the greater sailes as one that sailed forth to fight and seldome vsed the greater masts were the winde neuer so faire but hasting forward with the oare he both made the bodies of his men strong and healthy and the Nauie gained a speedier way and oftentimes where he meant to dine there would he draw his whole
directions Doe what you are commanded with silence keepe your places euery man follow your colours And in another place he writeth thus When your Army goeth out to ioyne with the enemy there ought to be a deepe silence For that both preserueth the Army from disorder and also maketh the directions of the Commanders to be heard with more attention And againe thus There ought to be as much silence as may be in the Army and if the bringers vp of any file heare but a whispering of their fellowes in the file they are to pricke the parties with the points of their pikes and so to redresse the fault Alexander when he was returning from the Countrey of the Taulantians into which he had made an inrode found his way beset with enemies and being to cast his Army into a forme of battaile to fight he first commanded an absolute silence and then proceeded to other directions And for the effect of silence our owne story hath a memorable example of the Army of Edward the fourth in Barnet field As for the silence here prescribed by Aelian it extendeth not onely to exercise and fight but oftentimes to the marching of an Army and to the Campe as appeareth by the last example and by Leos precept in his eleuenth Chapter And yet this precept of silence is not inuiolably to be kept in an Army at all times for there is a time when the Souldiers ought to giue a generall shout and cry thorow the whole Army to the end to terrifie the aduerse battaile of the enemy and that time hath alwayes beene chosen and by all Nations obserued when the fight is presently to be vndergone I neede not bring instances thereof euery man knoweth it that is although but meanely acquainted with History It is termed in Greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Latine clamor in English a shout of the whole Army the which being performed silence is to be restored in as strict manner a before And thus much of silence Now followeth the words of direction in Aelians last Chapter Of the words of direction CHAP. LIIII THus then are we to command 1 To your armes 2 Carriage away from the battaile 3 Be silent and marke your directions 4 Take vp your armes 5 Seperate your selues 6 Aduance your Pikes 7 File your selues 8 Ranke your selues 9 Looke to your leaders 10 Reare-Commander strengthen your file 11 Keepe your first distances 12 Face to the pike Moue a little further Stand so 13 As you were 14 Face to the Target Moue a little further Stand so 15 As you were 16 Face about to the pike 17 As you were 18 Double your depth 19 To your first posture 20 The Lacedemonian Countermarch 21 To your first posture 22 The Macedonian Countermarch 23 To your first posture 24 The Choraean Countermarch 25 To your first posture The precepts of the art Tacticks haue I deliuered vnto you most inuincible Caesar which I make no doubt will bring to the practice safety and victory ouer his enemies NOTES THese words of direction here set downe are rather to shew the manner of Command then to expresse the iust number of directions vsed in exercise yet doth Leo the Emperour transcribe some of them albeit not all out of Aelian and the last in Leo hath a mixture of two motions in one direction being deliuered in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in Latine translated by Sir Iohn Check Laconicum ad hasta 〈…〉 triuolue and may be thus englished wheele thrice the Lacedemonian Countermarch to the right hand wherein there is both wheeling and the Lace emonian Countermarch commanded at once a thing impossible to be performed For as in wheeling the whole battaile remaineth entire and moueth circlewise about the right ot left corner fileleader as about a Center So in a Countermarch Lacedemonian it is broken and beginneth to moue by seuerall ranks and continueth the motion in a direct line from the front to the reare and not in a circle But for the precepts of Aelian I purpose to explaine onely such as are vsed by the Souldiers and Commanders of our time And after taking of armes I hold this to be the first at lest when we begin to moue 6 Aduance your Pikes Pikes in ordering of a battaile must be first aduanced before any motion can be performed in as much as all other postures of the Pike doe hinder or else are vnfit for transmutations and variety of changes and from aduaneing the rest of pike-postures doe spring Ordering of the Pike was deuised to ease the Souldier standing still shouldering to ease him in matching aduancing to giue facility to the other postures and to finish them because they both begin and end in it 7 8. File and ranke your selues It is needlesse to note that no battaile can be without filing and ranking This we must vnderstand that the Captaine is to see whether the Souldiers be filed and ranked but the action it selfe pertaineth to the Souldiers who knowing their files and rankes are euery man to take their place accordingly for so ought it to be in true discipline of Warre 9 Looke to your Leader The file-leader is the life and giuer of forme vnto the file He is the life in that he moueth first and draweth the rest vnto the same motion he giueth the forme vnto it because it being nothing else but a right line his standing being the first point directeth the rest to follow lineally one after another In this precept therefore Looke to your Leader two things are commanded one that the rest of the file should obserue to moue and stand still as he doth the other that they should maintaine a straightnesse and rightnesse in length which is the forme of the file 10 Reare-commander order your file In the Greeke Edition of Aelian is read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is file-leader But in a Manuscript which I haue seene is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the bringer vp or reare-commander and so is it read in Leos Tacticks and I take it to be the true reading this command rather appertaining to the reare-Commander then to the file-leader for the file-leader being the foremost of the file and bearing his face out of the front how can he see whether the file that is behinde him be in right order or not The bringer-vp hath his face toward the whole file as it standeth out before him and therefore may easily discerne if any man be in disorder and reforme them that are the cause of the disorder In which respect it is euident that he is fitter for the command then the file-leader which is the cause that I haue translated the word of direction as before Reare-commander order your file 11 Keepe your first distances That is stand in your open order For in that distance is the exercise first legunne It is a seemely thing to see an euen proportion obserued in the motion of
a battaile and to behold a direct space betwixt files and rankes For that is the grace and beauty as I may terme it of a Phalange ordered for fight This proportion cannot be maintayned without obseruing distance curiously Open order is sixe foot both in ranke and file betwixt man and man euery way If then any souldier in file gather vp to his leader and stand at distance of three foot it is manifest that his ranke is thereby disturbed and made vneuen although the file continue streight Contrariwise if he beare himselfe out of his place three foot toward either of his side-men by this meanes he disordereth his file and maketh it crooked This fault if it were committed by many a generall disorder would follow in the body and therefore Aelian well aduiseth to keepe the first distances especially till you be commanded to the second or third distance which will often fall out in the foure motions Of which Facing is the first and the words of direction in it are these as before in Aelian 12 Face to the Pike That is Face to the tight hand For the pike was alwayes borne in the right hand 14 Face to the Target The Pike-men in the Macedonian army bore targets on their left armes or on the left side so that facing to the target is all one with the word of command Face to the left hand 16 Face about to the pike or target That is face about to the right or left hand But where hee addeth moue a little further he signifieth that the direction is not fully accomplished and he would haue the souldiers continue their motion till their faces were fully come about to the reare and then hee willeth them to stand so because they haue gayned their place These facings here expressed by Aelian are of the whole body Other facings of the parts he hath not set downe which notwithstanding are oftentimes of great vse For say the enemy charge in front and reare your front must continue as it did but the word for the reare is Halfe files face about to the right or left hand If the enemy charge you on both flankes then is the word of command Halfe rankes face to the right halft to the left hand If in front and one flanke the front standeth firme and the word for the flanke that is charged is Halfe rankes of the right or left flanke Face to the hand named If in front and both flankes the front is to stand firme and both the flanks to face to the enemy And this is done in a hollow square or Plesium and the word is Flankes face one to the right the other to the left hand If on all sides or round about it is as before for the flankes but for the reare The reare face about to the right or left hand Now in Countermarch of the reare the ranke of file-leaders is oftentimes commanded to face about to the right or left hand In countermarch of the front the ranke of bringers vp must doe the like as wee shall see in Countermarch Doubling is the second motion vsed in battaile the precept of it in this in Aelian 18 Double your depth The word in our exercise for this motion is Double your files because files measure the depth of the battaile or rankes measure the length This doubling is made many wayes The first is when the euen files that is the 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. file fall into the odde As if the doubling be to the right hand the right hand corner-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