Infantry Relief System

[Robert Vermaat]

Thanks Robert. Those photos are really insightful. It is much easier to understand how troops would be in an impossible position and unable to defend themselves if hemmed in from all sides.

Indeed! Now imagine Adrianople as their flanks are turned and their retreat cut off... :-(

In terms of "seesawing," my mind conjures memories from my youth of going to punk shows and having the mob of tightly packed patrons continually engaged in a "seasaw" pushing war with the security staff protecting the front of the stage. (prob. a bad comparison).

I think it's a great comparison. You see similar battles between police and porotestors. i think the momentum is what's important.

But your photos also raise another question for me. It seems as though the LRA almost reverted back to hoplite tactics. What you depict is a far cry from the ordered 3 feet of fighting space described in the sources for the late republic/high empire period.

The main similarity is the long lance, but that's only comparable to earlier hoplite fighting. Alexandrian dories were much, much longer, and the fighting must hhave been very different because of that. Also, there are differences, such as the long spatha and the much larger scutum. But sure, it can be compared up to a point. Btw, the 3 feet of fighting space for each man is still possible for LR armies, but this is just one of the possibilities. When the command 'junge' comes, the formation draws in on itself, up to that very dense 1 foot per soldier (synaspismos).