Legion versus Phalanx

The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World

Legion versus Phalanx

The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World

Myke Cole (Author)

Paperback $20.00 Ebook (Epub) $16.00 Ebook (PDF) $16.00

Quantity

In stock

$20.00

Add to basket

Add to wishlist

Delivery and returns info
Free US delivery on orders $35 or over

Description

Taking a populist approach to a serious subject, Myke Cole combines a novelist's flair for drama with an ancient historian's eye for detail to create a unique book that delves into one of the most popular areas of the Ancient World.

From the time of Ancient Sumeria, the heavy infantry phalanx dominated the battlefield. Armed with spears or pikes, standing shoulder to shoulder with shields interlocking, the men of the phalanx presented an impenetrable wall of wood and metal to the enemy. Until, that is, the Roman legion emerged to challenge them as masters of infantry battle.

Covering the period in which the legion and phalanx clashed (280–168 BC), Myke Cole delves into their tactics, arms and equipment, organization and deployment. Drawing on original primary sources to examine six battles in which the legion fought the phalanx--Heraclea (280 BC), Asculum (279 BC), Beneventum (275 BC), Cynoscephalae (197 BC), Magnesia (190 BC), and Pydna (168 BC)--he shows how and why the Roman legion, with its flexible organization, versatile tactics and iron discipline, came to eclipse the hitherto untouchable Hellenistic phalanx and dominate the ancient battlefield.

Preface
Chronology
Maps
PART I: And in this Corner . . . Examining the Legion and the Phalanx
Chapter I. Who Would Win in a Fight? The Eagle and the Lion
Chapter II. Not your Father's Phalanx: The Legacy of Iphicrates
Chapter III. Mules that Kill: Under the Eagle of Rome
PART II: Fight! The Legion versus the Phalanx in Six Battles
Chapter IV. Heraclea (280 BC): Rome's First Test
Chapter V. Asculum (279 BC): "One more such victory, and we are undone."
Chapter VI. Beneventum (275 BC): Pyrrhus' Last Gasp
Chapter VII. Cynoscephalae (197 BC): The Legion Triumphant
Chapter VIII. Magnesia (190 BC): No Refuge for Hannibal
Chapter IX. Pydna (168 BC): The Fall of the Antigonids
Chapter X. Legions and Phalanxes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published	Jan 21 2020
Format	Paperback
Edition	1st
Extent	288
ISBN	9781472841124
Imprint	Osprey Publishing
Dimensions	9 x 6 inches
Series	General Military
Short code	GNM
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Author

Myke Cole

Following a long career in the military, intellige…

On the face of it, this could be a turgidly dry chin-stroking look into ancient warfare tactics but, thanks the brio of author Myke Cole, it's anything but. [...] The author points out elements that are largely accepted as fact thanks to detailed reports, and others where supposition comes into play, but he does this with a skill that makes it seem like a discussion between friends, not a lecture.
With an excellent colour plate section full of photos of armour, illustrations, ancient graphics and diagrams of troop dispositions you have a highly entertaining and yet worthy look into how and why the Roman Legion was so effective against the Phalanx that had previously dominated the battlefield.

The Armourer, January 2019
Amazing, detailed, thoroughly researched and genuinely exciting.

Anna Stephens, Author of 'Godblind'
Cole's enthusiasm for his subject is manifest throughout; he confesses to 'geeking out' on legions and phalanxes, and encourages readers to do the same.

Michigan War Studies Review