Combined Arms Warfare In Ancient Greece: From Homer To Alexander The Great And His Successors (routledge Monographs In Classical Studies)

Combined Arms Warfare in Ancient Greece examines the timelines of military developments that led from the hoplite-based armies of the ancient Greeks to the hugely successful and multi-faceted armies of Philip II, Alexander the Great, and his Successors. It concentrates on the introduction and development of individual units and their tactical coordination and use in battle in what is termed "combined arms": the effective integration of different unit types into one cohesive battle plan and army allowing each unit to focus on its strengths without having to worry about its weaknesses. This volume traces the development, and argues for the vital importance, of the use of combined arms in Greek warfare from the Archaic period onwards, especially concerning the Macedonian hegemony, through to its developmental completion in the form of fully "integrated warfare" at the battle of Ipsus in 301 BCE. It argues crucially that warfare should never be viewed in isolation in individual states, regions, conflicts or periods but taken as a collective whole tracing the mutual influence of other cultures and the successful innovations that always result. Wrightson analyses Greek and Macedonian warfare through the lens of modern military theoretical terminology, making this study accessible to those with a general interest in military history as well as those studying this specific period. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 List of figures 13 Acknowledgements 14 Introduction part 1: the purpose and methodology of the study 16 Putting Greek warfare in context 17 The theory of combined arms 19 Methodology and terminology – a conceptual methodological framework 19 Combined arms in the ancient world: a developmental continuum 22 “Integrated warfare” 23 The process of moving from a basic use of combined arms to integrated warfare 23 A methodology for examining this process 24 The focus of this study 24 Introduction part 2: the theory of combined arms 28 Combined arms vs. integrated warfare 28 The effect of terrain on warfare and units 29 Unit categorisation and subdivisions 29 Infantry – the hands, arms, and chest of the army 30 Regular heavy infantry – the chest and breastplate of the army 30 Elite heavy infantry – the hands of the army 32 Light infantry – the arms of the army 32 Missile troops 33 Archers 33 Javelin men 34 Slingers 34 Peltasts 34 Elite light infantry – the elbows of the army 35 Cavalry – the feet of the army according to Iphicrates 35 Heavy cavalry – the feet of the army 36 Chariots – earlier feet of the army 37 Elephants – the joints of the army 38 Light cavalry – the legs of the army 39 Non-missile light cavalry 40 Horse archers 40 Field artillery 41 Conclusions: the benefit of combined arms and integrated warfare 41 Section 1 The hoplite revolution in Greece 46 1 Homeric warfare and the introduction of the hoplite 48 Primary sources for Greek warfare 48 Homeric warfare 49 Sources 49 Heavy infantry 50 Missile infantry 52 Infantry combined arms 53 Chariots 54 Cavalry 54 Combined arms conclusions 55 2 Archaic Greece – the dominance of the heavy infantry phalanx 60 Sources 60 Infantry 61 Hoplites and the phalanx 61 Hoplites as individual soldiers 62 The crucial importance of maintaining balance in hoplite combat 65 Early hoplites 68 Tactical separation of light and heavy infantry 74 Chariots 77 Cavalry 77 Combined arms 78 3 Persia vs. Greece – the advantages of the heavy infantryman 84 The Persian Empire and its (mis)use of a combined arms army 84 Sources 84 Infantry 85 Cavalry 88 Combined arms 89 The Persian Wars: the mirage of the hoplite’s superiority 91 Sources 91 Persian armies exposed without using combined arms properly – Marathon 91 Combined arms conclusions 98 The beginnings of successful combined arms in Greek armies – Plataea 98 Xerxes’ army 99 The Greek army 101 Infantry 101 Cavalry 103 The battle 104 Combined arms 106 Combined arms conclusions 107 Section 2 The implementation of combined arms in Greek warfare 116 4 The Peloponnesian War – combined arms innovation on the battlefield 118 Sources 118 Infantry 119 Cavalry 119 Combined arms 122 Sicily and the Athenian siege of Syracuse – large-scale combined arms in practice 129 Sources 129 Early warfare in Sicily 129 The Athenian campaign 131 Combined arms 136 Combined arms conclusions 139 5 The Corinthian War and Iphicrates: light infantry integration 147 Sources 147 Infantry 148 Cavalry 157 Combined arms 158 Combined arms conclusions 161 6 The Theban hegemony – the inclusion of heavy cavalry 165 Sources 165 Infantry 165 Cavalry 167 Combined arms 169 Combined arms conclusions 171 Section 3 Macedon and integrated warfare 174 7 Philip II – the sarissa phalanx and heavy cavalry 176 Sources 176 Infantry 176 Cavalry 182 Field artillery 183 Combined arms 184 Chaeronea – Macedonian combined arms vs. Greek diverse units 186 Sources 187 The battle 187 Combined arms 188 Combined arms conclusions 189 8 Alexander the Great – linking the heavy cavalry and the phalanx 193 Sources 193 Infantry 193 Cavalry 199 Artillery 200 Combined arms 201 Combined arms conclusions 205 Issus and Gaugamela: integrated warfare in action 206 Sources 206 Issus 206 Combined arms 208 Gaugamela 208 Combined arms 210 Combined arms conclusions 211 9 The Successors – war elephants and integrated warfare 217 Sources 217 Combined arms 218 Paraetacene 220 Combined arms 221 Gabiene 222 Combined arms 223 Ipsus 225 Combined arms 226 Combined arms conclusions 227 Conclusion – Greece, Persia, and Macedon: the success of combined arms and integrated warfare 231 Bibliography 237 Index 255 Index of battles 262