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Thread: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

  1. #1

    Default Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Does anyone know if anyone has been able to recreate a sarissa phalanx with the proper 5 rows of spears extended towards the enemy? So far, I have not seen a single representation in-game or in real life where the clipping problem in the 3rd-5th ranks has been solved. Is there anyone other than Polybius that mentions that first 5 rows can engage the enemy?

  2. #2

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Reconstructing a sarissa phalanx would require a lot of people. It's hard to get that many nerds with pikes in one place.

  3. #3
    Fernandesz's Avatar Foederatus
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    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Quote Originally Posted by Rad View Post
    Reconstructing a sarissa phalanx would require a lot of people. It's hard to get that many nerds with pikes in one place.
    Lol. But i'de like to see any photo of that
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  4. #4

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    One thing to bear in mind with Polybius is that he wasn't a non-combatant scholar writing centuries after the events he describes, he was a soldier and general before he turned his hand to history. So he's speaking from personal experience of both doing and observing the things he describes.

    This means it's much harder to dismiss what he writes as a poor understanding of some source he's transcribing, but rather we need to find ways to understand what he's said. Recreations as you suggest are one such way of doing that, though I'm not aware of anyone trying to do so (you'd need at least 256 people to build a syntagma, the smallest unit of the phalanx).

  5. #5

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Hey Quintus, I've been checking out the animations listed in descr_skeletons and there's a whole block for "Pike" and another for "EB_Phalanx"(Pike listed as parent, no counterpart in vanilla files). What's with that?

  6. #6

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Quote Originally Posted by Pooploop View Post
    Hey Quintus, I've been checking out the animations listed in descr_skeletons and there's a whole block for "Pike" and another for "EB_Phalanx"(Pike listed as parent, no counterpart in vanilla files). What's with that?
    MTW2_Pike are the vanilla pike animations-set, EB_Phalanx are our custom-made animations, which use vanilla events.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Is there no way to make the first 5 rows all lower their sarissas like in RTW? As it is right now, units charging at the phalanx will have some men continue to run right through to the other end.

  8. #8
    Genava's Avatar Senator
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    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    One thing to bear in mind with Polybius is that he wasn't a non-combatant scholar writing centuries after the events he describes, he was a soldier and general before he turned his hand to history. So he's speaking from personal experience of both doing and observing the things he describes.
    Only for the Hellenistic world. I am very skeptical on his writing about the roman battles against gallic populations.
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  9. #9

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    If I ever get ultra-rich, I'm going to hire enough people to create, support, and drill a syntagma for a few months.

    I want to see for myself the very thing that inspired so much fear and awe in Aemilius Paulus at Pydna. I want to know how mere coordinated but silent drills scared the Illyrians enough for them to start retreating at Pelium.

  10. #10

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    This is the closest thing I've seen btw:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vnerYzDVow

  11. #11
    Jurand of Cracow's Avatar History and gameplay!
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    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Quote Originally Posted by Genava View Post
    Only for the Hellenistic world. I am very skeptical on his writing about the roman battles against gallic populations.
    Me, I'm very skeptical on taking for true any writing of an ancient (or medieval) author on anything, without resorting to an academic book or lecture or a mod historian. Only professional historians can make a proper critique of the sources and tell us what conforms to the other sources, what's likely, what's unlikely, and what's a pure fantasy (for various reasons). Every piece has to be read with learned eyes.
    Sorry, I'm just venting my exasperation after a recalling how long I had to argue that 100.000 inhabitants of Ani (Caucasus) in 11c. is just a pure fantasy of an Armenian monk in the Middle Ages.

  12. #12

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    I never understood why many don't trust on what people that actually lived there describe. And why would "professional historians" know any better than anyone else when they were making a correct description or not and why would generals or philosophers or whatever of the time lie? I mean sure there are things that can be propaganda but things like the description of an army composition or tactics which was important knowledge and especially when made by someone whith obvious knowledge on the matter? Well I rather trust on what Polybious said then on what any "modern historian/scholar" says.
    Last edited by MagusCaligula; April 09, 2018 at 05:18 AM.

  13. #13

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    All we need is a couple hundred more of these guys. Yes, I know that the pikes are a bit short, Quintus.

    https://www.facebook.com/genzdordenn...3373393837069/
    Last edited by Rad; April 09, 2018 at 01:26 PM.

  14. #14

    Default Re: Macedonian Phalanx Reconstruction

    Quote Originally Posted by Rad View Post
    All we need is a couple hundred more of these guys. Yes, I know that the pikes are a bit short, Quintus.

    https://www.facebook.com/genzdordenn...3373393837069/
    Makes you really wonder how similar Medieval and Classical pike formations were.

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