Week 7 Lab Group 3 Data: Battle Formations

Today we recreated three different types of battle formation: hoplites, phalanx, and manipole. Our main questions going through this lab were about the learning curve, the ceiling, and what made us feel safe or in danger. 

Hoplite Formation: 

We started out with the hoplite formation which involved interlocking shields and swords. The shields got heavy after a while, and the idea was that the people behind us in our square formation would keep pushing us towards the front lines. The learning curve was being able to follow orders, walking in a line and being able to withstand the heat, and making sure to keep a tight formation. Our group also mentioned that it would be easier to have something to follow, or someone to keep tempo. This would help us have a tangible pattern to follow through long distances. We figured that the ceiling would be to the point where we become like one unit or a well oiled machine. We also figured that a ceiling would also be familiarity and being able to follow non-verbal cues consistently. We all had trouble sprinting, and one of my group members mentioned that it would be interesting to position ourselves in lines from fastest to slowest, and see if that creates smaller gaps when all running together in this formation. 

We felt the safest when we were in the back or the middle, but with the overlapping shield formation, we would have to trust the person next to us deeply. Being on the edge was dangerous because there was the most exposed area around that position.

Phalanx Formation: 

For the phalanx formation (long spears), our whole group agreed that this was the most physically laborious out of all the battle formations we tried today. It was hard to move with the wind flowing in either direction, and the formation was hard to hold on to when walking around. The wooden spear could not be held with a shield and we all felt very exposed during this formation. It was easier for far contact warfare, and I felt comfortable pretending to stab someone from a distance. When opposing sides came close to us, there was nothing we could do to protect ourselves. There was also some room for strategy with this formation, where we could move into a wedge shape to attack one opponent, or have back lines raise their spears to protect from arrows. This was different from the hoplite formation, which was very rigid and structured. We would also not be able to last long in this formation, 30 minutes maximum. 

Manipole Formation: 

The last formation we created was the manipole formation. We had made our own shield the day prior and were excited to use them! We felt protected because our shields covered us quite well and hugged our body. It was easy to learn, and different groups took turns being at the front lines which made things a lot safer. In the previous two formations only one group of people stayed consistently at the front lines making it harder to stay alive during battle. There was more agency and ability to move around, especially with the close contact swords we used. It was the most flexible in trying different strategies, and the one that our group liked the most was called the testudo formation (latin for tortoise). It was a defensive shield wall formation used during sieges to protect legionaries from projectiles. This formation was made using shields held vertically in the front and on the sides, while inner ranks held them horizontally overhead, overlapping them like cascading roof tiles. This was fun and made us all feel VERY protected. We also created a testudo ramp which could launch a soldier over obstacles. This was insane and scary to put into play, but was interesting to see how effective it turned out. This formation had the lowest learning curve.

Creating our Shield:

When we started out our lab on Wednesday, we began constructing our shields out of trash cans, duct tape and popsicle sticks. We used saws and box knives to cut our trashcans in half, and then used duct tape to stick everything together, and clean edges up. We cut our trash-cans vertically and then used duct tape to clean the edges. We also cut the bottom bit of our trashcan off so only the rounded part remained. We imagined this would make it easier for us to hold our shield without it banging into our shins. We mainly focused on reinforcing the handle, using the handle of the trashcan. Then, we wrapped duct tape around the handle like the wrapping of a hockey stick. This was to increase friction, giving us a better control and grip of the shield. We also reinforced the handle with popsicle sticks underneath, but still let the handle maintain a natural curve. The idea was that the more comfortable the handle, the easier it would be for one to carry the shield for longer.  

Comparing our shield to the others: 

All our group members spent the first part of the manipole formation using a shield that was not ours, and then switched to ours. 

Our Shield	Random Other Shield
Bottom bit was not included, made it comfortable to hold	Very uncomfortable to have something jagged and half-circle jutting out to hit shins
Large enough to hold but not thick enough to lose grip	Too small of a handle
Curved handle made it easier to hold onto the sword	Flat handle, lost grip easily
Clean edges from duct tape.	Jagged edges from saw. It hurts!!!