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Phalanx warfare: Closing of the ranks
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I have from "warfare in the classical world" 2001 by John Warry that in order to close the ranks, the rear half of the emotiai would move up in between the files of the front half, like this; http://imgur.com/darrnBB Was this how it was done? 

(As I've understood it - the basic enomotiai was earlier made up of 4 files of 8 men in each, later when the mora became the larger standard unit, the basic enomotiai was made up of 3 files, each with 12 men. So to close the ranks, the initial columns of 8 - or 12 deep, would then become 4 - or 6 deep. Several references claim the standard depth of the phalanx formation usually was 8 men deep though, but not whether this was in closed or open formation - before or at the initial clash of shields. Either way, I can't get the numbers right.)

Also, did the opposing phalanxes at the battlefield marsch towards each other in closed formation, or did they close the ranks just before the  clash?
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Phalanx warfare: Closing of the ranks - by Anatol Wyss - 06-22-2016, 02:24 PM

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