Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

XII.PHILIP AND HIS ARMY. B. C. 359-336.Alexander found ready to hand the standing army, unequaled in excellence,which his father had created.Philip had seen what he had to encounterand had armed his hoplites with the sarissa, a pike twenty-one feet long, sothat the Grecian phalangite could not reach his line. The Macedonian phalanxwas the ideal of shock tactics. Its unit was a lochos or file of sixteen menwith its sergeants at the head and rear. Sixteen files made a syntagma or battalionof two hundred and fifty-six men mider a xenagos or major. This wastlie fighting unit. Four of these were a taxis under a strategos or colonel.Sixteen taxes made a simple phalanx of four thousand and ninety-six men.The grand phalanx contained four of the latter, and was carefully officered, muchin the style of a modern army-corps. The hoplites were pezetaeri, the sarissaarmed,and hypaspists, a more select body, armed with one-handed pike, swordand shield.Slaves accompanied the phalanx, and carried arms and rations forthe heavy troops. Half as many peltasts or light infantry were attached toeach phalanx, a quarter as much liorse and a quarter as much irregular foot, —psiloi. These numbers varied. A grand phalanx all told had some thirtythousand men. In parade order a man occupied six feet square ; in battle orderthree feet ; in close order one and a half feet. The phalanx drilled much as wedo to-day. Discipline was rigid. The heavy cavalry was Macedonian, Thessalianand Greek ;there was abundance of light cavalry drawn from barbarianallies. The cavalry unit was an ile of sixteen files of four men each. Eight ilesmade a hipparchy, under a hipparch, the equal of a strategos. The drill anddiscipline of the cavalry was perfect. One choice ile of cavalry and one choicetaxis of hypaspists were each called the agema, or body-guard of the king.The Macedonian heavy horse (cavalry Companions) was a splendid body, and onit Alexander relied for his stanchest work. The Thessalians stood all but ashigh. In line of battle the phalanx held the centre ; tlie cavalry was on thewings ; the light troops in front of the line, or in rear or on the wings as dictatedby circumstances The right was the post of honor. Here Alexandertook his station with the Companions.The army was capable of making enormousmarches, and stood unheard-of hardships.Philip and Alexander organizedand used batteries of ballistas and catapults, which were, within their limits,as effective as modem artillery, and more easily moved.There is evidence that