08-09-2015, 02:23 AM
Quote:Bryan,
I agree 100% about the need for individuals to have enough space to fight, every time I have seen a unit try to engage with a crowd that is prepared to fight while they are as bunched up as the Ukrainians were in that video they have ultimately lost. It is a very common problem in all the Former Soviet Republics. But I disagree about the requirement to have gaps between units. I have seen well trained units work literally side by side on the same street many, many times and not have any issues.
Lets say you broke down the riot control units you are familiar with into smaller sizes. For the sake of the debate, they will be stationed across a 100 meter wide road. Each man holds about 1 meter of ground, slightly wider than his own shield, allowing him free movement. Each unit is 25 shields across, 4 deep, so there is a total of 4 different units. Based on your description, could that unit, without any intervals or gaps, perform complex drill maneuvers, like having one unit remain stationary, while the others move forward or back (refusing a part of the line, oblique movement, etc)?
Because I've done extensive drilling in my military career, and we ALWAYS separated units, which not only gave each commander his own little area to command without worrying about crashing his unit into a friendly one, but also gave them a psychological autonomy, which is necessary if you expect them to take initiative in combat. I can't see forming a line of men and having them do anything more complex than standing still without at least a few feet, a meter, between units.
If you read the descriptions of battles fought by Epaminondas, Alexander, the various successors generals, and the Romans during the mid-late Republic and into the Principate, its pretty obvious that intervals existed between different cavalry and infantry units, that the battleline was not continuous. The question isn't whether they existed, its how big they were and if the gaps were as wide as the units themselves.
