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
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-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
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
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-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
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-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
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
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