Legion versus Phalanx: The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
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. Drawing 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)—he 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.

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Legion versus Phalanx: The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
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. Drawing 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)—he 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.

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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

by Myke Cole
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

by Myke Cole

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

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. Drawing 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)—he 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.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781472841124
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publication date: 01/21/2020
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 288
Sales rank: 815,506
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Myke Cole has had a colorful and varied career, with service in combat and crisis response. He began as a security contractor to the CIA, and transitioned into a federal intelligence position first with DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), and then with the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). He commanded the reserve at US Coast Guard Station New York, where he was responsible for maritime law enforcement and search-and-rescue operations around the island of Manhattan. He went on to work for the NYPD in cyber threat intelligence, and currently works as a security and intelligence consultant in the private sector. He 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 and science fiction novelist with several major imprints, including Ace/Roc, Tor and Angry Robot. Myke also appeared on CBS' hit TV show Hunted, where he joined a team of elite investigators pursuing fugitives across the southeastern United States.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chronology
Maps
PART I: And in this Corner . . . Examining the Legion and the Phalanx
Chapter I. Who Would Win in a Fight? The Eagle and the Lion
Chapter II. Not your Father's Phalanx: The Legacy of Iphicrates
Chapter III. Mules that Kill: Under the Eagle of Rome
PART II: Fight! The Legion versus the Phalanx in Six Battles
Chapter IV. Heraclea (280 BC): Rome's First Test
Chapter V. Asculum (279 BC): "One more such victory, and we are undone."
Chapter VI. Beneventum (275 BC): Pyrrhus' Last Gasp
Chapter VII. Cynoscephalae (197 BC): The Legion Triumphant
Chapter VIII. Magnesia (190 BC): No Refuge for Hannibal
Chapter IX. Pydna (168 BC): The Fall of the Antigonids
Chapter X. Legions and Phalanxes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

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