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XIX - "Macedonian-phalanx" system |
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Phillip II was satisfied with "his" phalanx, the potent war machine that helped him win every battle. How did this idea come about? How do we transform a group of vulnerable soldiers into a compact testudo? It was a stroke of genius! He formed large divisions of hoplites that marched in closed formation, like a single soldier, armed with long pikes the sarisse held horizontally by five soldiers, one behind the other. The problem was to maintain the phalanx during combat even when the hoplites carrying the sarisse were hit; and this happened often, despite the formidable shields that were held erect for protection. Phillip had a second winning idea: it was enough to set a simple rule: each soldier had to take up position next to another and hold it; the first rows were occupied by the hoplites carrying the sarisses; behind them was a formation of soldiers protected by shields; when a soldier was hit, the one behind him had to move up and cover the open position; at the rear of the phalanx was a large number of reserve soldiers who had to take over when a gap opened up in the tail of the phalanx when the soldiers up front were charging. The phalanx was thus invulnerable and unstoppable: every loss was immediately replaced by a reserve soldier; the phalanx could thus present itself as a single combatant. As a combinatory system of order the phalanx can be observed under two aspects: the direction of march and the maintenance of the structure. Regarding the former, the direction of march of the phalanx can be interpreted as the effect of a combinatory system of order entirely similar to that described in the preceding sections: the movement of the phalanx is caused by that of the soldiers forming it, but this is conditioned by the position and direction of the phalanx itself; the direction of the phalanx depends on both the instructions received as well as on where the enemy is coming from; "chance" can direct the phalanx in a given direction, but "by necessity" this conditions the direction of the soldiers it is composed of. We are not interested in the direction of march as much as the preservation logic of the phalanx, which can be interpreted in terms of combinatory systems with the following heuristic model (figure XIX ):
MICRO RULE = NECESSITATING FACTOR - soldiers in the first row: follow the commander or the officers that give the direction of march of the phalanx; soldiers further back in the formation: follow the soldier in front of you; if he is hit and the position is freed up, move forward to occupy it; if the phalanx does not reform then run the risk of being killed by the enemy; if you flee you will be hit by your own soldiers behind you; each soldier acts under limited information, since he knows the position of the companions near him and the one that precedes him in the phalanx;
MACRO RULE = RECOMBINING FACTOR - by filling the gap the phalanx remains compact and strong, and it can march toward the enemy according to the commander's tactical instructions; if the phalanx is compact the invulnerability of its members is guaranteed;
MICRO-MACRO FEEDBACK. CHANCE AND NECESSITY - the consistency of the phalanx is the effect of the micro behaviour that substitutes the fallen comrades, but this is conditioned by the consistency of the phalanx itself. This consistency depends on both the instructions received as well as the strength of the enemy; "chance" can cause the phalanx to be attacked by a given number of enemies that inflict losses, but "by necessity" the maintenance of this consistency conditions the behaviour of the component soldiers; if the number of fallen soldiers exceeds the number of reserve soldiers the phalanx is diminished or breaks up;
STRENGTHENINGS, WEAKENINGS AND CONTROL - the maintenance of the phalanx's consistency is strengthened by rewards for soldiers who gain a position, or by the strength of the enemy that imposes the maintenance of the order to avoid defeat. A clearly superior enemy would instead represent a weakening factor, since it would cause withdrawal leading to the break-up of the order.
Fig. XIX - Graphic model of the "Macedonian-phalanx" system
The model of the Macedonian phalanx system can be considered a prototype of all biological systems that derive from the aggregation of monocellular individuals into multicellular ones that can also differentiate their functions, as occurs, for example, in the cycle of the amoeba, of corals, and of sponges (1). Even the system that explains the formation of schools of fish is completely analogous to the one just illustrated.
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