The "Myth" of the "Dacian Falx" as a super weapon

[diegis]

Sorry, but I really don't think massed combat was like that at all. They didn't walk calmly towards each other with weapons extended to full reach, and find out which one was longer when the other guys said "ouch". Combat range was shield-to-shield, or in this case shield-to-body. A gladius blade is more than long enough to reach that body without the hilt even extending past the shield. A 2-foot advantage in "reach" is no help when your opponent is still advancing. You can't just keep backing up, because the rest of your army is close behind you, pushing forward. If you can swing at just the right moment when he is at the perfect range for your falx, fine. But if you do not incapacitate him with that first blow (which is highly unlikely), he will take one more step and slam his shield into you, with his whole weight behind it, accompanied by a lightining sword-jab to your guts or face. If you *do* incapacitate him with that first blow, his buddy behind him will slam a pilum into you at point-blank range, then take 2 fast steps and slam his shield into you, with his whole weight behind it, accompanied by a lightining sword-jab to your guts or face. A thrust with a gladius is MUCH faster than a swing with anything, and much faster to recover from. The timing with a falx against a moving target has to be precise, whereas with a gladius it does not. You can curse whomever you like, but Roman soldiers loved their silly little swords.

Well, idea is that a falxmen (which suposedly was well trained and brave warriors, i agree it was not an easy task) can hit with greater chances of succes over and around the shield, or even hook the shield and drag the roman so his comareds near by can hit him much easy. To protect himself the legionar need to rise his scutum so obstructing his view for a bit, moment when he can have his legs cut, or the arm holding the gladius (making a small lateral step and using the length and especialy the shape of the sword it wasnt impossible at all). The shape of the falx allowed to deliver hits over the edge of scutum, so if the roman doesnt keep his shield up, he will receive a hit on his head. Falx doesnt need large circular or lateral moves, as swinging the sword too much around. Form above the head you can hit on the same space as your body. The handle can be keept with one hand to end of it and one close to blade, shortening the lenght, and just when realease the hit on the last portion you leave your hand close to blade to glide toward the end of the handle, hit, then pull. The legionar can't hit with the scutum and with the Gladius in the same time, so is not easy for him either. But is hard to say how things evolved in that mess who was the battle

Um, aren't "skirmishers" and "light troops" pretty much the same thing? As Dan pointed out, Romans had them, too. Also remember that command and control of a tribal army was not a precise science. Without training and discipline, you might not have the option of holding some troops back while others fight. They simply were not organized in that way. And I'm still a little fuzzy as to how and why committing your falxmen should so certainly disrupt the Roman lines.

Contrary what you might think, the Dacian army during Traian wars wasnt a "tribal army", but a quite profesional one. It was trained according with Roman standards, used war machines (as ballistae), and was quite good equiped (if you look at the images and trophies from the Column). In some images apear even standards/flags similar with roman ones, meaning a similar organization of troops. Dacians received lots of desertors from Roman army (probably dacians and thracians from Moesia and Thracia) as well instructors and engineers send by Domitian, and Decebalus keept as well most of the prisoners taked durring those wars, and use them probably for constructing those war machines and training. Traian specificaly asked at the peace from 102 that all war machines to be surrended or destroyied, and Dacians to stop receiveing desertors from Roman army

How "commit"? Do you have your falxmen in separate units, each strictly controlled by highly trained officers linked by a sophisticated signalling system? How do you convince the warriors in the front ranks, who typically have earned the right to be there by being the best, to simply make way for the falxmen to get into action while they are already locked in close combat with the Romans? Even if you do it the obvious way, having falxmen more or less paired up with front-rank shield men, edging into gaps between men and swinging as the shieldmen engage the Romans, the second rank of Romans is doing the exact same thing, possibly with pila raised and ready to thrust or throw. And *they* have practiced for this moment every morning for years on end!

As i said, it is very possible that such things may happen, since dacians inspire quite a lot from romans. First line of dacians equiped with shields and shorter swords/spears etc. engage the first roman line, then when the lines change after few minutes the falxmen enter in battle. Is possible as well that falxmen to be used for surprise attacks from flanks, but as i said, falxes wasnt a widespread weapon, so was used probably just in specific moments of battle, with a specific role

Since the situations you describe do not seem to have happened, it must not have been all that easy. You seem to assume that each swing of a falx results in one dead Roman, and that the rest will simply line up to take their turns while the naked tribesman winds up again. Great video game, but not realistic. But I just don't have more time or energy to argue with someone whose mental image of ancient combat is so stylized and unrealistic.
Vale,
Matthew

Falxmen i assume entered the battle after the first clash of lines, coming from the second line, with the intend to make a break in tight roman lines (probably during the change of lines, for more impact). It didnt make probably a kill with each hit, agree, but any hit reaching the target may lead to incapacitating the enemy. Keeping the initiative and offensive, and forcing the romans to stay in defensive, the falxmen can hack their way to first lines, or create havoc and disorder there. If we look at how long the wars was (about a year each), even if dacian capital was at just some 150 km from roman border, and at what Fronto said about the horrible wounds made by curved dacian swords (thus he reffer probably to Sica too or those kind i posted in previous post) we can assume that falx had a succes in battle after all. Even if probably was less used compared with Sica type or Gladius type swords, and, more then all this weapons itselfs counted the peoples who used.