Week 7 Lab Group Data: Tactics

This week we focused on ancient battle tactics. We read many primary accounts of what it was like to be a part of different militaries in the ancient world and discussed these different tactics in class. One of the most important readings that we did was “Polybius on Cynoscephalae” which was about “a battle of 197 BC between the phalanx and maniple.” This reading was incredibly detailed and provided a captivating and informative depiction of two very different military formations. It was an exciting read because we were then able to recreate both kinds of military formation on Thursday.

THE QUESTIONS

Jake provided us with a few important questions to guide us throughout this lab. The lab was mostly experiential, so the following data recording consists of many interviews guided by these questions. After each component of the lab, we took a ten-minute break to reconvene with our lab groups and gather how each of us were feeling. The questions that I asked my group most consistently were as follows:
What is the learning curve? Where did you feel safest? Where did you feel most in danger? What is the ceiling?

PRE-LAB INTERVIEW

I conducted some preliminary interviews before the lab began to gage the different feelings that my classmates had about recreating ancient battle tactics. Losh felt some “anxiety” and was a little bit nervous for the lab to begin because he didn’t know what to expect. Luke confidently said “I’m ready” which directly contrasted Losh’s feelings. Finally, I personally felt excited for the lab to start. It took a moment for me to get in the right mindset for the lab because I was so excited but I quickly got serious once we began.

HOPLITE WARFARE

Hoplite warfare was really fun to learn! We used trash can lids as “shields” which had two straps on the inside to mimic what original shields looked like. We also had seven-foot PVC pipes as our “spears.” For the shields, we learned to hold them with our elbow at a right angle and overlap them with one another to protect not only ourselves, but our neighbor as well. This was one of the most important things about this formation. Professor Morton explained that trust in the person next to you to protect you was the most critical component about executing this formation in the correct way. After we worked on how to move in this formation for about 50 minutes, we took some time to debrief with our lab group. When asked where he felt the most safe, Luke said “towards back and near middle” to which the rest of my lab group agreed. He added that he felt the least safe “when in front and on the end.” Feraidon emphasized that he felt “the least safe in the front because I would die soon.” When asked about the difficulty level of this kind of warfare Linnea said the “shield was protecting but also a lot of work.” Luke added that he would want about three months to work on Hoplite warfare in order “to become closer [and have a] better bond.” Additionally, one of my friends who was not in the lab walked by when we were practicing and said that we looked like a “mean military formation.” Overall, Hoplite warfare was exciting to attempt but it would take a great amount of time to become comfortable moving quickly as a group.

PHALANX FORMATION

The Phalanx formation was very unique and also probably the most difficult formation for everyone to learn. We had fourteen-foot long PVC pipes as our “spears” which were very hard to handle especially since it was somewhat windy out. We were in a block of 5×5, meaning there was a total of 25 of us. When I interviewed my lab group, everyone agreed that they felt the safest in the middle. One of the most significant things that we learned about this formation was that it is very difficult to move, meaning that for soldiers, it was not feasible to drop your spear and run away. It was very intimidating if you were facing the Phalanx because it was hard to reach any of the soldiers because you had to get through their long spears first. It also was very physically demanding. When we were debreifing, Feraidon said “my back hurts.” Which I agreed with. This is one of the reasons that soldiers would attend bootcamp for 3-6 months before fighting because they needed to build up their stamina to last in war in this formation. Linnea enjoyed this formation. She said “I like how the long spears feel. I would pick the long spears over the shield.” Luke had more mixed feelings about this formation. He said “putting the spears down in unison felt fearsome. [But] they were heavy and I am tired.” Finally, when asked about the learning curve, Linnea said that it was “about how you’re able to move the poles with the rest of your army.” Overall, this formation absolutely needs its participants to attend bootcamp and train for war.

ROMAN MANIPLE FORMATION(S)

The last battle tactics that we attempted on Thursday were those of the Roman Maniples. In class last Wednesday, we made our own Roman Maniple shields by cutting a Menards trashcan in half. My group enjoyed this activity and were able to make both of our shields in 25 minutes which was very efficient. The most important thing was to cut a hole in the shield and add a handle to hold onto. My group mate, Linnea and I found that it was tiring to cut the hole just below the middle so we didn’t have to have our arm as high up. We also were able to decorate our shields (depicted below).

Using the shields that we made in class on Wednesday, as well as a three-foot PVC pipe as our “swords” we got into standard Roman Maniple formation. We were three-feet apart from the person to our side. This was a strategy used by the Romans in order to have soldiers in the front be able to consistently rotate to the back rows, so they got less tired. This was a pretty simple formation to learn and most of us found that it was easier to handle the short “swords” than our Phalanx-style “spears.” Linnea said it was “way easier to learn and I liked it so much more.” She added that she also liked “the ease of being able to move your body, individualism.” Luke said that in comparison, it was “harder to lock in with the Phalanx.” Overall, people tended to enjoy this formation a lot because it was easiest to move around which made people feel safer. The Phalanx formation felt more claustrophobic for most of the people in my lab group, which is why this formation was so nice.

The last formation that we attempted was the Roman Maniple “Testudo” formation. “Testudo” meaning “tortoise” is a formation of the Roman Maniple shields to create a “shell” to protect the soldiers. The Testudo was commonly used to help someone climb up onto a wall to attack, as well as to protect those inside from dangerous objects like arrows. This was by far the most popular and most fun formation that we did in our lab. Our class chose to storm Anderson which was a really exciting way to learn how to move as a whole. We also had one of our classmates, Natalie, jump on top like a soldier would do in the ancient world. It took a few attempts but we were able to successfully have her do it! I don’t have any pictures of the Testudo because I was inside of it and did not have by phone, but both our TA Parker and Prof. Morton have many. When asked about the Testudo, Linnea said “I like [it], but [it is] not as easy to move.” This was something that we discovered as we moved through Anderson and it demonstrated the amount of training soldiers would have to put in to make this formation effective. Feraidon agreed and added that “you need a lot of training for it.” I would personally happily practice the Testudo formation again because it is where I felt the most safe.

Amount of Time Needed to Learn Different Military Formations

KIND OF FORMATION	TIME TO LEARN
Hoplite Warfare	52 minutes
Phalanx	59 minutes
Roman Maniple	1 hour 14 minutes

CONCLUSION

Overall, this was a fun lab! It was more difficult than most people expected, which demonstrates the amount of time necessary for soldiers to feel comfortable in these formations. I now understand why bootcamp is so important to being successful. Maybe someday I will be able to perfect being a part of a Testudo!