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

[Dan Howard]

First Shock Troops only work against unexperienced opponents or those with bad moral.

Tell that to Alexander the Great. Or General Ludendorf.

You really think that the Persian infantry that Alexander's troops faced were highly trained? Only the so-called "Immortals" were experienced troops.

And allow me to lay out the weakness of the gladius. Take a machete, or large knife. Try to stab a target. Notice that to do so, you must extend your arm to get any appreciable reach and that not much force is transferred unless the target is close. Notice that your opponent can, with a longer weapon, stand out of your range and try to kill you with relative impunity. Curse your commanders for issuing you with this weapon.

When on the defensive the Romans used the long pilum as a thrusting weapon. The gladius would have been drawn when the attackers started to break up on the defensive line or when the Romans charged.

It's not hard. Send for the skirmishers and harass said Romans. If Romans do not lose their discipline and use the pila, then send forth light troops to attack the Romans. Romans use pila on the light troops. When the Roman line is engaged, then commit your falxmen to the melee, disrupting the Roman lines.

The Romans had their own skirmishers to counter this. In fact the vast majority of the Dacian campaign was conducted by auxilliaries. Go through the various battles and skirmishes and see how many actually involved the legions to any significant level.