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The testudo was a common formation in the Middle Ages, being used by Muhammad's forces during the Siege of Ta'if in 630, [4] also by the Carolingian Frankish soldiers of Louis the Pious to advance on the walls of Barcelona during the siege of 800–801, by Vikings during the siege of Paris in 885–886, by East Frankish soldiers under king ...
Sumerian phalanx-like formation c. 2400 BC, from detail of the victory stele of King Eannatum of Lagash over Umma, called the Stele of the Vultures. The phalanx (pl.: phalanxes or phalanges) [1] was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together.
Roman military tactics evolved from the type of a small tribal host-seeking local hegemony to massive operations encompassing a world empire. This advance was affected by changing trends in Roman political, social, and economic life, and that of the larger Mediterranean world, but it was also under-girded by a distinctive "Roman way" of war.
Descriptions of both shield walls used in attack and as an anti-cavalry formation with spears fixed into the ground exist throughout Roman history, though non-military writers tended to use classical vocabulary in describing such formations as a testudo, its Greek translation chelone (χελώνη), or a phalanx. [15]
Foulkon, similar to the Roman testudo or Scandinavian shield wall, used to defend against heavy enemy missile fire; Parentaxis, classical Greek phalanx with 4 ranks of armoured infantry in close order in the front, 4 ranks of armoured infantry in close order at the back and 4 ranks of archers in between. [10]
Roman re-enactors demonstrate a variant of the Roman testudo formation. In the military of ancient Rome, heavy infantry made up most of the Roman army. The heavy infantry of the pre-Marian Roman Republic included the hastati, principes, and triarii (although depending how the hastati were armed and armored, they could also be considered light ...
The phalanx was a compact, rectangular mass military formation. The soldiers lined up in very tight ranks in a formation that was eight lines deep. The phalanx advanced in unison, which encouraged cohesion among the troops. It formed a shield wall and a mass of spears pointing towards the enemy. Its compactness provided a thrusting force that ...
The shield-wall was commonly used in many parts of Northern Europe such as in England and Scandinavia.. A mention of "ſcild ƿeall" (shield-wall) in Beowulf. In the battles between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes in England, most of the Saxon army would have consisted of the inexperienced fyrd, a militia composed of free peasants.