And it's easier to maneuver a single file than a column. Romans didn't do that either. British, they didn't either. There is no proof that the Romans maneuvered forces just before battle from column to line, as if they were Napoleonic French battalions.
Romans didn't often fight in column, there bread and butter was a fighting line, where there width exceeded their depth. They likely had some gaps between units, probably filled with skirmishers or armed calones; though the gaps may have been as wide as a maniple and left in the line during contact. Cannae is a battle where the Romans essentially went into it with maniples in column, and its specifically stated that it was unusual, and a reason they lost.
Romans didn't often fight in column, there bread and butter was a fighting line, where there width exceeded their depth. They likely had some gaps between units, probably filled with skirmishers or armed calones; though the gaps may have been as wide as a maniple and left in the line during contact. Cannae is a battle where the Romans essentially went into it with maniples in column, and its specifically stated that it was unusual, and a reason they lost.
