|
It will really your fault if we manage to hijack the thread...
I only saw Gladiator once and I was in and out of the room up until the part where Marcus Aurelius dies. The Roman method of the phalanx took advantage of their heavier armor and superb discipline.
In their ranks the mass of soldiers acted like a huge chopping machine. In the famous battle against the Celtic queen Bodica, the 10,000 Romans were faced some 200,000 angry Celts. The Roman's bases had been destroyed and there was no help on the way. The Roman commander, Paulinus chose to make his stand in a field where the surround in valley formed something of a funnel. He hoped that this would prevent him from being encirled and cause the Celt attack to stack up. The plan worked.
To the warriors on the field most historians add another several hundred thousand who turned out for the show. The Celt rear was clogged with their baggage train and camp followers. Bodica had been unstoppable up until then and an enthusiastic mob anticipated seeing more Roman blood.
Instead of straight lines along the front, Paulinus had his men form a zig zag or saw tooth like line with its points pointing out toward the enemy. As the Romans advanced the crowded Celts were channeled into the "V" shaped Roman lines and the individual warriors were hacked from two or sometimes three sides. The plan was a marvel of ingenuity and its execution was a marvel of discipline.
|
Threaded Mode
