Legion versus Phalanx :The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
Legion versus Phalanx :The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
paperback
Published:
23 January, 2020
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Description
Taking a populist approach to a serious subject, Myke Cole combines a novelist's flair for drama with an ancient historian's eye for detail to create a unique book that delves into one of the most popular areas of the Ancient World.
From the time of Ancient Sumeria, the heavy infantry phalanx dominated the battlefield. Armed with spears or pikes, standing shoulder to shoulder with shields interlocking, the men of the phalanx presented an impenetrable wall of wood and metal to the enemy. Until, that is, the Roman legion emerged to challenge them as masters of infantry battle.
Covering the period in which the legion and phalanx clashed (280–168 BC), Myke Cole delves into their tactics, arms and equipment, organization and deployment. He draws on original primary sources to examine six battles in which the legion fought the phalanx – Heraclea (280 BC), Asculum (279 BC), Beneventum (275 BC), Cynoscephalae (197 BC), Magnesia (190 BC), and Pydna (168 BC).
Cole shows how and why the Roman legion, with its flexible organization, versatile tactics and iron discipline, came to eclipse the hitherto untouchable Hellenistic phalanx and dominate the ancient battlefield.
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781472841124 |
| ISBN10 | 1472841123 |
| Number Of Pages | 288 |
| Item Weight | 407 g |
| Product Dimensions | 154 x 230 x 30 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
On the face of it, this could be a turgidly dry chin-stroking look into ancient warfare tactics but, thanks the brio of author Myke Cole, it's anything but. [...] The author points out elements that are largely accepted as fact thanks to detailed reports, and others where supposition comes into play, but he does this with a skill that makes it seem like a discussion between friends, not a lecture.
With an excellent colour plate section full of photos of armour, illustrations, ancient graphics and diagrams of troop dispositions you have a highly entertaining and yet worthy look into how and why the Roman Legion was so effective against the Phalanx that had previously dominated the battlefield.
Amazing, detailed, thoroughly researched and genuinely exciting. * Anna Stephens, Author of 'Godblind' *
Author's Bio
Myke Cole has had a colorful and varied career, with a long career in combat and crisis response, beginning as a mercenary on contract to the CIA, and transitioning into a federal intelligence position first with DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), and finally with the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). He currently works for the NYPD in cyber threat intelligence and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
He has published extensively in military history and security, including pieces in the journals of the American Association of Museums and the American Historical Association, and is also a popular fantasy novelist with Ace/Roc, the fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House.