Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World (3000 BC-AD 500). Equipment, Combat Skills and Tactics

257 Pages·2003·111.68 MB·English

by  S. Anglim

FIGHTING TECHNIQUES
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
Be
3000 ~ 500AD
EQUIPMENT, COMBAT SKILLS, AND TACTICS
FIGHTING TECHNIQUES
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
3000 Be - 500 AD
EQUIPMENT, COMBAT SKILLS, AND TACTICS
SIMON ANGLIM PHYLLIS G.JESTICE ROB S.RICE SCOTT M.RuSCH JOHN SERRATI
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS
-==
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS NEW YORK
Fighting Techniques ofthe Ancient World 3000 BC -AD 500:
Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics
Copyright © Amber Books Ltd 2002
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS
An imprint of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in case
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ISBN: 0-312-30932-5
EAN: 978-0-312-30932-9
First U.S. Edition June 2002
Reprinted in 2007
Editorial and design by
Amber Books Ltd
Bradley's Close
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London Nl 9PF
www.amberbooks.co.uk
Project editor: Charles Catton
Editor: Vanessa Unwin
Design: Floyd Sayers/Mark Batley
Picture Research: Lisa Wren
Printed in UAE
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
The Role of Infantry 6
CHAPTER 2
Mounted Warfare 78
CHAPTER 3
Command and Control 134
CHAPTER 4
Siege Warfare 178
CHAPTER 5
Naval Warfare 222
250
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
251
GLOSSARY
254
INDEX

CHAPTER 1
THE ROLE OF
INFANTRY
Footsoldierswere the essentialcomponent
ofmost ancient armies: the best known
were the Hellenic phalanx and Roman
legion, but others were justas important.
I nfantry is the backbone ofany army, being the
one unit that can attack or defend equally
effectively.The majority of battles have turned
on the infantry's ability to close with the enemy
and kill him (orforce him to surrender) orto hold
their position under attack.
The infantryman has two broad means of
pursuing these ends, and from ancient times until
the nineteenth century, most infantry units
specialized in one ofthese - but not both - being
trained, organized and armed accordingly. Method
one is shock action, wherein attackers close
aggressively with the enemy, smashing through
weak spots or driving in flanks through mass,
momentum and aggression. Shock troops tend to
THE MIGHT OFTHE LEGIONS is demonstratedhere as these
legionaries ofTrajan'sarmy throw theirpila toparry
a Dacian attack.The thinpointofa pilum was
designed to stick in an enemyshieldandthen bend.
The legionary'sopponentwouldeitherhave to discard
hisshieldorbehampered by the pilum's weight.
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FIGHTING TECHNIQUES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
use concentrated formations, focusing maximum them to mInImIze damage from missiles, they
force against a narrow front. They will be become vulnerable to shock.
armoured to protectthemfrom defensive fire,and This chapter exam~nes the evolution of both
specialize in hand-to-hand fighting or short-range types of infantry between 3000 BC and AD 500.
firepower;they will often be deeply indoctrinated The mostsuccessfulinfantryarmiesofthisperiod,
- religiously or politically orwith a code ofmanly the Greek and the Roman, centred on shock
conduct - maximizing their aggression and formations, and because this chapter examines
confidence. Method two is to shoot down the infantry, it centres upon these two armies.
enemy with longer-ranged missile weapons; However,they must be analyzed in the context of
missile troops are usually lightly equipped and infantry forces throughout this entire period, and
move in a looser formation than shock troops, even they needed support from skirmish or
using mobility to take up good shooting positions missile troops, whose development must also be
andto avoidcounter-attacksbyshocktroops.They examined to understand fully the infantryman's
are often called 'skirmishers' and may have a role at this time.
secondary role as scouts and raiders.
Most armies contain both types of infantry.A Primitive Infantry
combination of shock and missiles not only A tribe is a society tracing its orIgin back to a
increases a commander's options, but also single ancestor, who may be a real person, a
presents the enemy with a dilemma: if he masses mythical hero or even a god: they usually view
his forces for shock action, he presents a outsi~ersas dangerous and conflict against them
concentrated missile target, but if he disperses as normal. This provides the crudest form of
indoctrination for shock action: in tribes, all men
A SlMERIANWARRIOR are hunters and warriors, often going through
armed u'ith a bronze rituals to mark their passage from boyhood,and a
headedspearandsimple
, man's standing is established by closing with the
u'ooden shield made
enemyand killing him in large numbers.Warfare is
from planks.A bronze
helmetu'as his only often treated as a form of hunting, and the raid
otherprotection. for livestock or women or simply for the sake of
fighting - is the commonesttype oftribal warfare,
although conquering or exterminating enemy
tribes is not unknown. Tribal culture and the
accompanying warrior ethic survived through
Classicaltimestothepresent,playingavitalrolein
societiesofthis period - and not necessarilythose
designated as 'barbarians', as we shall see.
However,from around 9000 BC onwards,with the
coming of settled agricultural states, warfare
metamorphosed, as disciplined, hierarchichal
states raised disciplined, hierarchical armies.
Moreover,the possession ofpermanent territories
to defend or conquer brought the need for large
scale battle in which the losing army would be
destroyed, the better to secure the disputed
territory. The coming of 'civilization' therefore
brought the need for organized bodies of shock
troops.
The phalanx, a body of infantry fighting in
close order with pikes or thrusting spears, is one
8
THE ROLE OF INFANTRY
Corinthian style worn by (-;'reek hoplites 2000
years later.Their shields overlap into a wall, and
with spears couched underarm, they present a
dense thicket of bronze spearpoints, suggesting a
reliance on Inass and forward lnomentuln. The
sound-box of a lyre from Dr, dating from around
the saIne tilne, depicts phalanx troops wearing
helmets similar to those on the Vulture Stele, as
well as what appear to be'ankle-length, leather
cloaks reinforced with bronze studs. They also
carry two-handed pikes, possibly foreshortened
for artistic licence. The other type of infantry
depicted on the Vulture Stele are unarnl0ured,
except for helmets similar to the phalangites',and
carry spears and round-bladed axes.
Most weapons were made of bronze, lnuch of
itofpoorqualitydue tothe rarityofitsconstituent
tin in the Middle East. However, many of the
weaponsdiscovered byarchaeologistsare ofsilver
orgold and buried with kings or nobles as a mark
of status.These are possibly superior versions of
standard battlefield weapons, which consisted of
the spear, the axe and the dagger. Spears were
clearly designed for thrusting at close quarters
rather than throwing; early examples attach head
to shaft with long or hooked tangs to ensure they
BRONZEARMOl Rfr(J1n the lnid-second lnillenniunz Be.
stay in place when thrust into the body of an
FoundatDendra, itabnost certain~}'belongedto a
Mycenean chieftain.The helrnet u'as lnadej1YJ1n enemyoragainst a shield.Axes had rounded edges
boars'tusks. designed to shatter helmets and the skulls inside
them.While elaborate cerelnonial or ornamental
of the oldest formations in warfare.The word is daggers have been found, they were clearly
Greek, meaning 'roller', and the phalanx is intended as back-up weapons of last resort.
associated closely with the armies of Classical Interestingly, in the light of the importance of
Greece and Alexander the Great. However, fortification in Sumerian warfare,missile weapons
phala~xes were used 2000 years before, in the are largely absent from both the archeological
armies ofthe city-states ofsouthern Mesopotamia, record and from contemporary illustration,
established around 3000 BC. although their use was not entirely unknown.
The 'Vulture Stele' - named because it depicts Chariots were used in Sumerian armies, but
bodies ofthe vanquished being eaten by vultures, they do not appear to have been the olain strike
acommon motifofthe time - records a victory of arm. It is likely that they were transport for
King Eannatum of Lagash between 2500 and commandersorforchampionswho dismounted to
2400 BC. It depicts two types ofinfantry, the first fight otherchalnpionsorleadassaults.The ultimate
clearly being a phalanx. We cannot see whether expression ofthe warriorethic,the champion was
the troops in this phalanx are wearing armour animportantpartofmanyarmiesintheearlierpart
because they are hidden behind large, oblong of this period, often being mythologized to
shieldsstretchingfrom shoulderto ankle,but they indoctrinate later generations. However, the
wear bronze helmets covering the head down to phalanx depicted on the Stele and elsewhere Inust
the neck, with noseguards, similar to the have played a key role in Sumerian warfare,
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FIGHTING TECHNIQUES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
perhaps forming the centre ofthe line, with light Egyptians hadused simple bowsofwoodorcane,
troops carrying spears and axes operating on the with a range of around 100m (33ft). The
flanks.The phalanx was used possibly in a similar compositebowwasofAsiaticoriginandconsisted
mannertoitsMacedoniancounterpart,pinningthe of a wooden core strengthened on the inside of
enemy centre while a charge by chariots or light the curve with glued-on strips ofhorn and on the
troops settled matters on one or both flanks. outside with sinew;it would be recurved,or bent
Alternatively,thelight-armedtroopsmayhavebeen backwards, before stringing, resulting in a bow
phalangites re-arrayed in 'light order' for sieges or requiring considerable strength to draw, but
operations in rough country. capable ofdelivering a mighty blowout to 200m
(656ft), particularly with the new bronze
Egyptian Infantry arrowheads, which improved both accuracy and
Old Kingdom Egypt stopping power. Later
(c. 2650-2150 BC) had a models would almost triple
'Whoever wants to see his own
militia armybased on a levy thisrangeandbecapableof
ofadult males,which could people again must remember penetratingmetalarmourat
number several tens of 200m (656ft). Armed with
to be a brave soldier....Whoever
thousands, supplemented the composite bow, armies
by mercenary tribal of the ancient Near East
wants to keep alive must aim
warriors from Nubia, to the relied increasingly on
south.A policy offortifying at victory. It is the winners who massed archery, although
the borders was sufficient shockremained important.
to secure Egypt from her do the killing and the losers The army of the
main threat - raids from New Kingdom (1565
who get killed. '-
tribal peoples of Libya and XENOPHON 1085 BC) combined
Nubia - although punitive Egyptian organization with
expeditions into Nubia Hyksos technology and a
were sometimes launched. The Old Kingdom new doctrine based on aggressive manoeuvre.At
collapsed around 2150 BC, ravaged by natural its core was a professional force motivated by
disasters and civilwars until the rise ofthe Middle promises of booty, slaves and land, which
Kingdom (2050-1640 BC). The Middle Kingdom developed into a distinct 'military caste' as sons
army was based on a levy of one adult male in a followed fathers into the army.In time ofnational
hundred, and was commanded by professional emergency, this was supplemented by a levy, at
seniorofficersselectedbythePharaohhimself.One first of 1 man in 100 (as under the Middle
isrecordedas'thecommanderoftheshocktroops', Kingdom),butexpandingto 1in 10bythe timeof
implying the existence ofa body ofheavy infantry the invasion of the Sea Peoples in 1200 BC.This
for shock action. was not a tribal society,but a semi-urbanized one
From 1720 BC onwards,Egypt was invaded by in which not every man was a warrior.
the Hyksos,aSemiticpeople enteringacrossSinai, Consequently, soldiers underwent basic training
who exploited political divisions within Egypt as before being allowed near the enemy. One
well as their own technological superiority in drawing depicts archers undergoing range
order to subjugate Egypt by around 1674 BC.The practice supervised by what are, apparently,
Hyksos transformed Egyptian military culture by specialistinstructors.
introducing the technology of the Middle East. Unfortunately, the two battle accounts
Firstly, they taught the Egyptians how to build available, of Megiddo (1482 BC) and Kadesh
chariots fast and strong enough for decisive (1300BC),aremoreconcernedtoextolthegenius
mobileaction.Secondly,theyshowedthemhowto of the Pharaohs concerned, Thutmosis III and
manufacture high-qualitybronzeweapons.Thirdly, Rameses II respectively, than with describing the
they brought the composite bow. Previously, the fighting. However, there is much pictorial and
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