Phalanx Question

[Asiriya]

Ok, i have a question. I know very well that apparently you flank a phalanx, ram them in the sides and all is well. You guys speak of phalanxes being easy, and yet, whenever i come to fight them, the ****ed Thracians in particular, i found my Romans on the retreat. I can understand that fighting two or three would be quite easy; you just keep on retreating and showering them with pila.
But fighting a stack half full of them with the rest Bastarnae it becomes much more difficult, mainly because, whenever i charge the phalanxes from behind they almost immediately react and spin around, jabbing my horses with their long pointed sticks.
As you know, horse and stick = bad combo.
The only way i can effectively stop them from turning is to first engage them from the front, so they are being attacked from both sides, in which case they then draw swords. The annoyance is, when in deep enemy territory with several more stacks ready to engage and fleeing not an option, you really cant afford to take unnecessary casualties in this way.
Is there a better way to engage them that will stop them from simply turning, and if not, is it possible to mod them so that once engaged fro the rear they are forced to draw swords?

[communisto]

did you have calvary?

[Asiriya]

um...yer,...four generals :$
but they were tied up taking out the enemy general and general strikes on any infantry that went their way. I didnt want to charge a phanlanx because they were all clumped together and i guessed from experience that 1. the phalanx i charged would magically revolve and start prodding me and that several others would break off leaving me with a spiny wall to fight against.

[Gaius Baltar]

Fighting phalanxs = timing and multiple units.

1, Make the phalnax walk, this reduces their energy level, from fresh or warmed up to tired or even better exhuasted.
2. engage them from the front with heavy infantry. Its a tough job but someone has to do it, casulties will happpen here but the idea is to occupy them to the front and further degrade thier enegy levels (see#1).
3. Hit them in the rear, cav will do but another heavy infantry will also do the trcik.

ALso, run some archers or slingers around behind them and let them fire into the back of the phalnx unit. Usually causes high casulties.

[NONOPUST]

also with the cav, dont charge them and then leave em to do prolonged combat if the phalanx unit does not route, pull them back and do more charges

this uses their charge bonus to its full affect and doesnt cause too many casaulties