B A T 



pa(ra;7e of tlic Cranicus by Akxantler was lefa faulty. He 

 lormtd two lints ; the firil of cavali7 to affuil and dllorder 

 the Greek' as thoy attempted to gain the bank of the river; 

 aud the Itcoiul, nl fume diftance, of infantry, with the in- 

 teiition, no duubt, of fupporting the firll : but, liowcvcr 

 jiidicious this arrangement mig'.it have been, lie wanted ge- 

 nuis or inclination to profit by it, and tamely fvsfFercd the 

 Macedonians to rcacli the iTiore, dtRat th-: ca%alry ojipofed 

 to them, and form tlieir phalanx mulKlurbed for tht- attack 

 of his heavy-armed foot, without (tirring from his pofitio'i,. 

 or calling a fingle javelin. It is impoirible to read, with- 

 out indignation, the unfoldierhke details of the pompous 

 maich of Darius, and the extreme fully, as well as ij;i:orance, 

 ConfDicuous in tie order of battle he made liis armies obferve 

 at Iflus and Gaiigamela. His awkward evolutions on the 

 former occafion, difordered his forces before the commence- 

 ment of tiie attion. In the latter inllance lie preferved the 

 ruinous arrangement of his infantry by nations, in huge 

 fquare battalions ; he intermixed them with corps of horfe no 

 Jels iinwitkly ; and, not content with having co.mmitted faults 

 fo incxcufable, he furpatfeJ them botli by another. The 

 nature of the ground, not allowing his immenfe army to ex- 

 tend itfelf upon a finglc front, fecmed to point out the nc- 

 ccffity of a fecond line, or at lead a corps de referve. He 

 indeed drew up, behind his centre, fevcral immenfe batta- 

 lions for which he had no room in front ; but fo clofc to the 

 firll line, that when thcfe gave way, the referve, inftead of 

 fiipporting, ferved only to augment thcirdiforder. Againft 

 Inch an enemy, it is by no means furpriiing that Alexander 

 fliould have been, with inferior forces, fo completely fuc- 

 cefsful. Xeiioph. Aiiab. lib. i. Arrian. in vit. Alex. lib. i. 

 & iii. 



We now turn to the Greeks, who, of all people of anti- 

 quity, the Romans excepted, were the bell judges of war- 

 like affairs and military conducl ; but we cannot eafily excufc 

 them for the overfight they almoft conilaiitly cominitted in 

 the drawing up of their whole army on one front, and trulling 

 to a Tingle effort the fuccefs of the day. Their infantry 

 confillcd of two kinds of foldiers. The heavy arm.ed, who 

 carried large bucklers, lances, .".nd fwords, and in whom 

 confided the principal flrength of the army ; and the arch- 

 ers and (lingers who were generally diftributcd along the 

 front of the line, and employed their ilones, darts, and ar- 

 rows, to diforder the ranks of the enemy. Having made 

 their dlfcliarges, they retired round the flanks into the 

 rear of the heavy armed, whence they continued throwing 

 their darts during the reft of the aftiun. As for the heavy 

 armed, or Hophlts, we (liall follow Thucydidcs in defcrib- 

 ing their difpofition, according to the Lacedaemonian fyf- 

 tem, that nation being then reckoned the mod expert among 

 the Greeks in military knowledge. Their battalions confided 

 of four leffcr divifions, eacli confiding of 1 28 men, and fub- 

 divided into four others, each of 32 men. The effective 

 force of every large corps thus confided of 5 12 foldiers, who 

 were ufually drawn up in fmaller ones of four men iij front, 

 and eight in file. We find feven of thefe regiments engaged 

 at the fird battle of Mantinea, during the Pcloponiiefian 

 War. The depth of the files was, however, often altered, 

 when judged neceffary by their commanders. 



The Lacedxmonisiis never made ufe of cavalry before the 

 Meifenian war, on which occafion they were convinced of 

 the impiafticability of carrj-ing on their operations in a flat 

 country without it. Even then they rarely exceeded the 

 number of fix hundred, and thefe were chiefly compofed of 

 the inhabitants of a little diftrift in Laconia called Sciritis, 

 a circumftance from which they derived their appellation of 

 tikirites. They were alwavs drawn up on the left flank of 



6 



B A T 



the army, a pod they ciaimcd by right. So averfe were the 

 Greeks in general to the ufe of cavaliy, that in the ir.oil 

 flouriniing periods of the Athenian republic, they never 

 niudered above 1,200 in their army. 



TheGreck tafticiansof thcmiddleageshaveexhaudcd tluir 

 imaginations in forming fanciful ordirs of buttle, prmcipjlly 

 for the cavalry. Minute geometricians and theoretical fol- 

 diers, they liHve confidcred the art of war in alight cntirrly 

 mechanical, and employing their pencils at random, h ive 

 given us uuon paper Inch plans and difpofitions as o..ly eould 

 exid in their own ideas, and could only originate in their 

 ignorance of the practical part of the fcience. It is hence 

 we derive the rhomb, the wedge, the orbicular, oval, and 

 angular manner of difpofii'g their forces, manccuvres per- 

 haps of ufe in exercifing a iqu?.dron, but not to be adopt- 

 ed in the field without immiiit-nt and inevitable danger. To 

 form a proper edimatioii of ancient taftics, we (liould con- 

 fult the writings of tliofe celebrated chaiaclers, who only 

 recount what they have in pcrfon feen, ai.d themfelvcs per- 

 formed. Such are Xencphon, Polybics, Jidius Ca^far, and 

 Arrian. In reading tlum we trace the military art among 

 the ancient Greeks and Romans to it.i highud pitch of per- 

 fection. The principal offenfive and defoafive operations if 

 a campaign in the open country, or of a fiep-, are developed 

 with order and perfpicuitv, and the images they prefen: to us 

 are diliuftly inipiintcJ on our im32,inati(m. Thucyd. lib. 



iii RjUin, Hid. Anc. liv. x. ch. 2 Potter. Archccol. 



torn. ii. lib. 3. ch. 9. — ^lian. tact. ch. lij Guifeliaidt, 



Meinoires Milit. in dife. prelim. 



Philip and Alexander put the laft hand to improving the 

 order of the Greek infantry in the creation and edabliOiment 

 of tlicir formidable phalanx. For a particuV^ir account of its 

 fonr.atioji and evolutions, we mull refer the reader to the 

 article Phalanx. For feveial ages, this was the order of 

 battle wlsich mod prevailed among the nations of the theu - 

 known world. The Carthaginians, the Syrians, the Ptrvpti- 

 ans, adojjteJ its ufe. ^Ve lind the generals of Milhri dates 

 employed it agaiiill Sylla, and the barbarous Helvetii and. 

 Germans in their contells with Juiii s Ca;far. But the dif- 

 ficulty of preferving the neceffary unifen and order in fo large 

 and numerous a body ; and the want of a fecond line to fup- 

 port it when obliged to give way, were glaring defeiSs in its 

 difpofition, and it was therefore eventually fcirced to give 

 place to the more convenient and feientific arrangement of 

 the Roman legion. 



A Roman legion arranged in order of battle, confided of 

 thirty manipuli, of various drength according to the clhib- 

 lifliment of the legion. Suppofing it of 5CC0 men, each 

 m.inipulus ( ftlie Hadati and Principes was compofed of 140 

 foldiers ; — thofe of the Triarii only of 60 : the renin int of 

 the troops were Velites, or light armed. J-.ivy, in dtferihing 

 the war with the Latins, gives the following accoui t of the 

 ordonnance of ttie legion. The Hadati, drawn up in fepa- 

 rate manipiili, (ormed the firll line. The Principes, chit fly 

 old experienced foldiers, were placed behind the former, but 

 with intervals between their companies fufficiently wide to 

 receive the Hadati in cafe they diouid be obliged to retreat. 

 The Triarii, all veterans, who befides the diort fword com- 

 mon to all the legionaries, were armed with long pikes, 

 compofed the thi;d line ; their intervals being fo extended 

 as to enable them to receive both the Principes and Hadati 

 within them without any diforder, and dill facing the enemy. 

 If therefore the Hadati found themfelves unable to fudain tlie 

 charge, they retired gently within the Principes, and joining 

 with them, renewed the combat. If thefe proved too weak - 

 for refiftance, both retired amidd the Triarii, where rallying, 

 they formed a new line, and charged with more vigour thaa 



ever. 



