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The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

author:Chronicles of ancient wars

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Back to the point.

In this issue, we will tell the story of one of the most shocking and influential wars in ancient Greek history.

This war ended the original history of ancient Greece and laid the foundation for the creation of the famous Macedonian kingdom in history, the Alexander Empire, a superpower spanning Asia, Europe and Africa.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

Alexander the Great

It was the Great Armageddon of Macedonia to unite the Greek states, the Battle of Caronia.

First of all, we will introduce the number of the two armies, the generals and formations, and then discuss the historical background before and after the battle.

Battle of Caronia

Date: August 338 BC (Warring States Period on the Mainland)

Both sides of the war:

Macedonia:

Generals: Philip II (King), Alexander (Grand Prince)

The number of troops: 30,000 heavy infantry, 2,000 heavy cavalry

Hellenic Coalition:

Generals: Caris, Lysicles, Steugos (Athenian troops), Teageni (Thebes troops)

The number of troops: 30,000 heavy infantry, 3,800 light cavalry

The positions of the two sides are as follows:

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Allied Greek Army

The Greek coalition is now defending the area. Their right wing was on the river, their left wing was on the hill, and the battle line stretched four kilometers horizontally to block the place. The heavy infantry legions of Athens were arranged on the left, while the heavy infantry regiments of Thebes were on the right.

The ace troops of Thebes, the holy army of more than three hundred people, were assembled separately on the far right. Placing the most elite infantry on the far right is the consistent tactic of ancient Greece.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

Infantry of the Holy Order of Thebes

The cavalry of the Greek coalition did not appear, because under this narrow terrain that could not be circumvented, the Athenian light cavalry had no real combat significance. So the Greek coalition left it in the rear.

So why is this war fought? This has to be said from the history of ancient Greece.

At that time, the ancient Greek city-states were everywhere, and more than thirty small countries were scattered on the continent, fighting each other endlessly.

But just like our Spring and Autumn Warring States, after one conquest after another, several superpowers finally appeared on the Greek land, just as our Warring States Seven Heroes stood out in the late Spring and Autumn Period.

There were two city-states that first came to prominence, Sparta and Athens, the former with a strong army and the latter with an invincible navy. These two cities can be called the greek twins.

The two city-states, while fighting each other, also joined forces to prevent the next-door superpower, Persia, from conquering ancient Greece.

The city-state that then stood up was called Thebes, and Thebes relied on new tactics to defeat the land overlord Sparta and become the new Greek lord.

Now, the northern city-state of Macedonia has become the most powerful force in Greece with policies such as military reorganization, military innovation, and national law change. His king Philip II led a large army to begin the cause of Greek unification from north to south.

In the process, Macedonia easily defeated and annexed many of the smaller states around it, such as Thrace, Illyria, and Fosses, which are now Macedonian territories. But in the south, the two old overlords, Athens and Thebes, could not sit idly by.

So in 338 BC, Thebes formed an alliance with Athens, and the army marched north to fight the Macedonian expeditionary force. The war between the old hegemons and the emerging powers is on the verge of breaking out.

But this huge combined army has several deadly death pits.

1, the old military system:

Athens and Thebes were still using the citizen soldier system that had been circulating in ancient Greece for hundreds of years.

The so-called citizen soldiers are all free soldiers in the country. Why say free people, because ancient Greece was a slave system, slaves are not free people.

And these free men need to buy their own equipment and practice martial arts to be loyal to the country.

But because the amount of people's property is not the same, the weapons that nature buys for themselves are also different.

The richest citizen could afford a war horse, and that was the cavalry.

The barely able to afford armor and shield spears is heavy infantry

The poorer ones, who can't afford armor, who can only afford small shield javelins and short swords, are light infantry.

Those proletarians who are bankrupt become oarsmen or sappers.

The unity of soldiers and civilians, equipment and supplies, this is the characteristic of the ancient Greek military system, similar to the concept of the whole people (freemin) military household.

And young men in ancient Greece would begin military training at the age of 18, and this training would continue until the age of 60.

But even so, the civilian soldiers who went out in wartime and were disarmed and returned to the field in peacetime could not compete with the real professional troops in terms of combat experience or combat literacy. When the Greek countries used the citizen soldier system, these soldiers could still be used as elite combat strength, but in the era of professional standing army, the combat quality of citizen soldiers was not enough.

Unfortunately, the Macedonian army is a professional standing army.

2, poor communication between Athens and Thebes

Because it was a coalition army, the armies of two countries appeared in this army at the same time.

It can be imagined that it is difficult for the armies of the two countries to cooperate accurately, after all, there are differences in each other's war habits, military orders, and command systems. And although the ancient Greek language was spoken, the dialects of Athens and Thebes were completely different, so it was difficult to understand even shouting at each other.

This was fatal for frontal warfare with an extreme emphasis on synergy, and it proved to be true in later practice.

The current formation of Macedonia's army is:

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

Macedonian phalanx

The Macedonian phalanx opposite the Greek coalition was more bizarre, and King Philip II did not choose a one-word serpent phalanx parallel to greece, but rather a curved, leftmost wing, guarded by a heavy cavalry force led by Prince Alexander, at this point furthest from the enemy. The infantry regiment, on the other hand, was tilted all the way in the direction of the Hellenic Coalition, with the infantry on the far right flank closest to the Hellenic Army.

Whether Philip II set up this formation to increase the charging distance of the cavalry to enhance the impact, or simply hoped that the prince could observe the battlefield but could maintain a safe distance without risking himself, this is now unknown.

But there is no doubt that the Macedonian army at this time was stronger and more sophisticated than the Greek coalition.

Speaking of which, it is necessary to mention the peculiarities of the city-state of Macedonia itself.

Macedonia was a city-state in northern Greece, best known for its inexhaustible timber resources. Before the Macedonian military was so strong, he was already a local timber supplier to Greece. During the days when Athens fought against Sparta, most of the wood used in both Athenian warships and Spartan spears came from Macedonia.

Thanks to the deep financial resources accumulated from the sale of timber, Macedonia was able to promote military reforms.

The reforms in Macedonia were thorough and efficient.

1. Philip II abolished the citizen army system and replaced it with a professional standing army system. Now the Macedonian army is a real army, devotional to training. Thus the combat effectiveness and ability of the Macedonian infantry to accept orders had far surpassed those of the Athenian Thebes, which was almost equivalent to the militia.

2, Macedonia had a large number of heavy cavalry, which was an absolutely non-existent class of the Greek coalition army. The reason for this is the previous citizen soldier system. Because the horses were self-contained, the heavy cavalry needed tall horses and a full set of armor weapons. The financial burden of preparing such a line is very large, and if the citizens only buy it, the entire city-state will be able to equip itself with heavy cavalry equipment. Since the small numbers were not armies, naturally the other Greek city-states did not have so-called heavy cavalry.

But the Macedonian army was already a professional army, and the economic expenses of the heavy cavalry were naturally borne by the government. In this case, Macedonia was able to form a "new" army, the Heavy Cavalry Regiment. These cavalry could engage heavily with heavy infantry and fight bloodily, so they could maneuver even in narrow phalanx battles. So the Macedonian heavy cavalry also fought on the left flank.

3, Macedonian wood quality is excellent, especially rich in tall and hard cherry wood. In this case, the Macedonians could mass-produce super-long guns that were longer than those of other city-states. The spears used by the Greek city-states were basically about 2.5 meters to 3 meters, but the Macedonian infantry was equipped with a large number of super long guns up to 6 meters long, which gave the Macedonians a huge advantage in the military line warfare.

All in all, the Greek coalition at this time was actually fighting an army that was one level higher than them in terms of technology, command system and military and political model. The Macedonians already had the rudiments of the Macedonian phalanx that would later sweep the world, and the Greek coalition army was a ragtag group that seemed doomed to defeat from the outset.

In 338 BC, both opposing armies began to advance with the snare drum, and the great war that determined the future fate of ancient Greece began.

Because the Greek coalition was on the defensive side, Macedonia attacked first!

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

Macedonia began to act

The first wave of Macedonian attacks used a way of advancing that was unheard of in Greece at the time.

The Alexander cavalry on the far left of its army did not move, while the infantry on the right swung like whips to the left flank of the Hellenic coalition.

This way of moving forward may seem simple, but it is actually very impressive.

It must be known that this is an infantry team of thirty thousand people, and it is unimaginable to let thirty thousand people accurately make such a swinging army formation, training, and the accuracy of the order.

The armies of the rest of Greece at the same time could only make a rigid formation pattern of square army forward and backward and left and right.

Thus, as the army flanked, the Macedonian right flank and the left wing of the Combined Hellenic army, the Athenian army, began to engage.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Macedonian right began to move towards the left wing of the Greek coalition

When the Athenian army on the left flank of the Greek coalition saw this, the phalanx immediately began to advance in pursuit of a close-quarters battle with the Macedonian army

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Athenian army began to advance into engagement

Soon, the two sides evolved into a grand meat grinding war, the Macedonian right wing phalanx and the Athenian left wing phalanx fought together, although the Macedonian army was more sophisticated and excellent, but the Athenian heavy infantry, which was also a powerful country, could not simply defeat the opponent, and for a time the corpses in the field were full of blood.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The phalanx began to fight

But it was also something that King Philip II of Macedon had long anticipated. He was not naïve enough to think that he could easily defeat the athenian heavy infantry corps, so he had already devised a plan. The plan was largely designed around the lack of information between Athens and Thebes.

Fighting, the Macedonian right-wing phalanx suddenly began a collective mass retreat.

This kind of behavior, in the eyes of future generations of military experts, was a very basic trick to deceive and lure the enemy, but it was unheard of in the ancient Greek wars at that time.

The core reason for this was that the citizen soldiers at that time could not perform the complex tactic of deception, and if the disintegrated soldiers began to retreat, it would not be long before the army would really begin to scatter and flee. Therefore, the retreat of the army = defeat is already the most basic logic.

The Athenians, of course, did not miss this good opportunity, and their entire army pursued them out to try to completely annihilate the Macedonian right flank.

But!

The Macedonians fled in an arc, which means that the Macedonian army did not show a gap from beginning to end. The Athenians, on the other hand, advanced in a typical phalanx, and because of poor communication, the Athenian army on the left flank and the Theban army on the right flank were directly broken into two armies. Thebes chose not to hold fast because it did not know the specific tactics of Macedonia

At this time, the formation of the battlefield became like this:

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

There was a huge gap in the Greek coalition.compelling ranks

At this time, there was a huge gap in the formation of the Greek coalition.

Now is the time! The Macedonian heavy cavalry led by Alexander was on the move!

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

Alexander's cavalry sped towards the gap in the Greek army

The young Prince Alexander led two thousand elite Macedonian heavy cavalry to a rapid dash into the enemy's gap.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Macedonian left-wing infantry began to move

At the same time, the Macedonian left-wing infantry also began to advance to encircle the right flank of athenian positions.

Alexander's heavy cavalry was on this trip to completely cut off the connection between Thebes and Athens, and to block the possibility of Thebes advancing to aid Athens. After Thebes was pinned down, the adventurous Athenians would be completely eaten by the Macedonian phalanx because of the emptiness of the right wing.

Finally, this situation emerged on the battlefield.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Athenian army was besieged by the Macedonian army

The adventuring Athenians, deprived of right-wing support, were caught on the right by Macedonian bags. And the enemy who had "fled in a hurry" before also immediately reorganized the formation to block the front. The Athenian forces were now in a dead end.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Thebans were being watched

The right wing of Thebes's army had been targeted by Alexander's heavy cavalry that had gone around the rear, and if they dared to go over to help Athens break the siege, Alexander's heavy cavalry would mercilessly charge behind them to destroy the Thebans.

At this point, the defeat of the Greek coalition army has been decided.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Macedonian army began to attack

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

Soon, the Macedonians were killed back, and their phalanx of super long guns easily broke through the Athenian army on the flanks, and the Athenians were defeated and the blood stained the Simon River red.

After losing more than three thousand infantry in Athens, the army could not be maintained at all, and the soldiers fled in all directions.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Athenian army collapsed and the left flank of the Greek coalition collapsed

At this time, the Theban army was also in crisis.

Because the Theban defenders lacked a basic understanding of heavy cavalry, they were treated only as the light horses used by the Greek city-states, and the lord general thought that it was impossible to sit idly by the Athenian army, Thebes ignored Alexander's cavalry and rushed directly to the front to try to help Athens, only to be surrounded by Alexander's surprise attack in the rear.

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Thebans were surrounded

The Macedonian infantry, which had defeated the Athenians, also came in droves

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

Macedonian infantry came to the aid of Grand Prince Alexander

Compared with the Athenian army, which completely collapsed after losing one-fifth of its men, the Theban army had a more tragic end, and they were all surrounded and killed by the river

The myth of the undefeated Macedonian phalanx began and ended at the Battle of Caronia

The Thebans were surrounded and annihilated by the river

Philip II of Macedonia, after seeing this, only said coldly:

"The Athenians would never fight"

The war was a disaster for the entire non-Macedonian Greek power. The Athenian general Lucicules was sent to the death table directly by Athens after the war, and everyone angrily accused him of escaping back to Athens alive with his face.

The Athenian prosecutor called the general a disgrace to the nation.

But those who are cowering behind may never have thought that Lucicles was not incompetent, he was just facing an opponent he could never win.

It is impossible for anyone to defeat the professional phalanx of Macedonia with the help of the old-fashioned citizen soldiers of Greece. Times have changed.

For Macedonia, the battle was a decisive victory. Most of the post-war Greek city-states voluntarily joined the Corinthian Confederacy. But the so-called Corinthian Union is actually a word for Macedonia, and joining means becoming a vassal state or even a province of Macedonia.

After this war, the Kingdom of Macedonia ruled the Greek lands for more than one hundred and fifty years.

There is another far-reaching effect of this battle.

A unified Greece brought to the Kingdom of Macedonia a great deal of wealth and mobilization far beyond the small city-states of the past.

Philip II was assassinated two years after the End of the Battle of Caronia, and these resources went to his son Alexander.

It was by relying on the unification of ancient Greece that Alexander built huge warships and built an army of tens of thousands of people.

These strong soldiers were distinguished in Alexander's military career for the next ten years, destroying Persia, destroying Syria, expeditioning to Egypt, and finally establishing a super empire spanning the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, Alexander's Empire.

The establishment of this empire completely changed the course of Westerners' history. It can be said that without the Battle of Caronia, there would be no world pattern today.

Moreover, in this battle, Alexander's classic Macedonian phalanx also began to take shape, and for the first time, heavy horses and spears worked closely together to tear apart the enemy formation. After that, Alexander swept the world with an upgraded version of the spear + heavy horse combination and became the famous king of conquest.

The most classic tactic in human history, the hammer anvil tactics of later generations of cold weapons warfare, have begun to take shape in this battle.

It is no exaggeration to say that this battle changed the world.

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