Introduction A close order formation is a military tactical formation in which soldiers are close together and regularly arranged for the tactical concentration of force. It was used by heavy infantry in ancient warfare, as the basis for shield wall and phalanx tactics, to multiply their effective weight of arms by their weight of numbers.… Read More
Introduction The Mixed Order (French: Ordre Mixte) was a tactical formation originally used by demi-brigades of the French Revolutionary Army and then later by Napoleon’s Grande Armée to great effect. Outline First proposed by the French theorist Comte de Guibert, the Mixed Order could be adapted to be used by companies or battalions and involved… Read More
Introduction A Herringbone is one type of tactical formation (named after the Herringbone pattern). Outline When in a Herringbone formation, the person at the front of the squad faces forward, while the rest of the squad lines up behind them, facing alternatively left and right. The final member of the squad in the herringbone formation… Read More
Introduction The oblique order (also known as the ‘declined flank’) is a military tactic whereby an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy flank. The force commander concentrates the majority of their strength on one flank and uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. This allows a commander with weaker or… Read More
Introduction An echelon formation is a (usually military) formation in which its units are arranged diagonally. Each unit is stationed behind and to the right (a “right echelon”), or behind and to the left (“left echelon”), of the unit ahead. The name of the formation comes from the French word échelon, meaning a rung of… Read More
Introduction A point d’appui (French for fulcrum), in military theory, is a location where troops are assembled prior to a battle. Outline Often a monument is erected to commemorate the point d’appui for notable battles. In some battles there may be more than a single point d’appui. An example is the Catto Long Barrow in… Read More
Introduction The phalanx (pl.: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used to describe the use of this formation in ancient Greek warfare, although the ancient Greek writers used it to also… Read More
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