Combined Arms Warfare in Ancient Greece 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. Graham Wrightson is Assistant Professor of History at South Dakota State University, USA. His research focuses primarily on Macedonian military history with a special focus on military manuals and the sarissa phalanx. He also examines comparative warfare between cultures and eras and their influence on each other. He has published multiple articles and papers on Macedonian warfare, has jointly edited three books, and has produced a textbook for the standard US university first-year survey course Western Civilization 1. Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies Titles include: Juvenal’s Global Awareness Circulation, Connectivity, and Empire Osman Umurhan The Greek and Roman Trophy From Battlefield Marker to Icon of Power Lauren Kinnee Rethinking ‘Authority’ in Late Antiquity Authorship, Law, and Transmission in Jewish and Christian Tradition Edited by A. J. Berkovitz and Mark Letteney Thinking the Greeks A Volume in Honour of James M. Redfield Edited by Bruce M. King and Lillian Doherty Pushing the Boundaries of Historia Edited by Mary C. English and Lee M. Fratantuono Greek Myth and the Bible Bruce Louden Combined Arms Warfare in Ancient Greece From Homer to Alexander the Great and his Successors Graham Wrightson Power Couples in Antiquity Transversal Perspectives Edited by Anne Bielman Sánchez For more information on this series, visit: www.routledge.com/classicalstudies/ series/RMCS Combined Arms Warfare in Ancient Greece From Homer to Alexander the Great and his Successors Graham Wrightson First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Graham Wrightson The right of Graham Wrightson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-1-138-57459-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-27364-0 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Dorie and my parents Contents List of figures xii Acknowledgements xiii Introduction part 1: the purpose and methodology of the study 1 Putting Greek warfare in context 2 The theory of combined arms 4 Methodology and terminology – a conceptual methodological framework 4 Combined arms in the ancient world: a developmental continuum 7 “Integrated warfare” 8 The process of moving from a basic use of combined arms to integrated warfare 8 A methodology for examining this process 9 The focus of this study 9 Introduction part 2: the theory of combined arms 13 Combined arms vs. integrated warfare 13 The effect of terrain on warfare and units 14 Unit categorisation and subdivisions 14 Infantry – the hands, arms, and chest of the army 15 Regular heavy infantry – the chest and breastplate of the army 15 Elite heavy infantry – the hands of the army 17 Light infantry – the arms of the army 17 Missile troops 18 Archers 18 Javelin men 19 Slingers 19 viii Contents Peltasts 19 Elite light infantry – the elbows of the army 20 Cavalry – the feet of the army according to Iphicrates 20 Heavy cavalry – the feet of the army 21 Chariots – earlier feet of the army 22 Elephants – the joints of the army 23 Light cavalry – the legs of the army 24 Non-missile light cavalry 25 Horse archers 25 Field artillery 26 Conclusions: the benefit of combined arms and integrated warfare 26 SECTION 1 The hoplite revolution in Greece 31 1 Homeric warfare and the introduction of the hoplite 33 Primary sources for Greek warfare 33 Homeric warfare 34 Sources 34 Heavy infantry 35 Missile infantry 37 Infantry combined arms 38 Chariots 39 Cavalry 39 Combined arms conclusions 40 2 Archaic Greece – the dominance of the heavy infantry phalanx 45 Sources 45 Infantry 46 Hoplites and the phalanx 46 Hoplites as individual soldiers 47 The crucial importance of maintaining balance in hoplite combat 50 Early hoplites 53 Tactical separation of light and heavy infantry 59 Chariots 62 Cavalry 62 Combined arms 63 Contents ix 3 Persia vs. Greece – the advantages of the heavy infantryman 69 The Persian Empire and its (mis)use of a combined arms army 69 Sources 69 Infantry 70 Cavalry 73 Combined arms 74 The Persian Wars: the mirage of the hoplite’s superiority 76 Sources 76 Persian armies exposed without using combined arms properly – Marathon 76 Combined arms conclusions 83 The beginnings of successful combined arms in Greek armies – Plataea 83 Xerxes’ army 84 The Greek army 86 Infantry 86 Cavalry 88 The battle 89 Combined arms 91 Combined arms conclusions 92 SECTION 2 The implementation of combined arms in Greek warfare 101 4 The Peloponnesian War – combined arms innovation on the battlefield 103 Sources 103 Infantry 104 Cavalry 104 Combined arms 107 Sicily and the Athenian siege of Syracuse – large-scale combined arms in practice 114 Sources 114 Early warfare in Sicily 114 The Athenian campaign 116 Combined arms 121 Combined arms conclusions 124