Warfare, State And Society In The Byzantine World 560-1204 (Warfare and History) by Haldon John

Author:Haldon, John [Haldon, John]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781135364328
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2002-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

Battlefield formations and field tactics

The hallmark of Roman and Byzantine field tactics was the ordered line of battle—again and again both the military treatises and the narrative histories stress the impact of Roman order on the enemy host.50 The basic formation for Byzantine armies from the later sixth century onwards was, according to the military handbooks, a tripartite line—left, centre and right—with flank-guards and outflanking units on the left and right wings respectively, and with a second line and a third, reserve line, behind the front line. The general himself should have a small reserve attached to his person, which could be despatched as appropriate to strengthen the attack or the defence. Units could also be concealed behind the flank of the first or second line, both to cover these from an outflanking move or an ambush, as well as to sweep around the enemy’s line to take them in the rear. In the later sixth century, the relative strength of the different categories of unit was reflected in the depth of their line: thus the elite cavalry units of the Optimates had a depth of 5–7, those of the vexillationes and Illyrikianoi 7–8, whereas the regular cavalry were to be 10 deep. The distances between the lines, and at which the army should draw up to face the enemy, were multiples of the standard rule-of-thumb measure on the battlefield, the bowshot (up to about 120 m in respect of aimed penetrative range, up to 330 m for maximum carry).51

The extent to which these precise tactical distinctions were maintained after the middle of the seventh century is impossible to say. The merits of having more than one battle line continued to be recognized, and they were not just tactical: the fear that the front line might turn and run was ever present, and Byzantine treatises clearly took this into account when describing the various formations a commander might employ. But it is equally apparent from Leo’s Tactica, as well as from later writers, that the Byzantine battle order for cavalry, consisting of two clearly separated lines which could strike the enemy’s front in succession, was regarded as an essential element in the Roman potential for victory, and clearly differentiated the imperial forces from their opponents. Given that many units, relocated in their new bases in Asia Minor from the later 630s, retained their unit identity well into the tenth and even eleventh century, it seems entirely possible that the older tactical traditions also survived, since the unit organization of the sixth century reflected precisely this type of battle order. An obvious advantage of the clearly separated double battle line was that if the army had to fall back the van could face about to keep the enemy at bay or counter-attack, while the rear could face about to ward off outflanking attacks by an enemy force. This is exactly what seems to have been intended by Romanos IV as he ordered the withdrawal of his double battle line at Mantzikert

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