Symmerian phalanx

The Symmerian Phalanx was an infantry formation used by the Ancient Symmerian army and its successors, the Symmerian Khanate and the Rioni Union, from roughly the 4th Century BCE to the 18th Century CE. It was derived from the hoplite phalanx of the Kydonian League during the age of Classical Syara, and diverged in the 3rd Century, most notably with the adoption of the six-meter long Sarissa pike and its subsequent usage by Orestes II to form the Symmerian Empire. The Sarissa remained in use until the 4th and 5th Centuries CE, when it was gradually replaced by a variety of polearms following the Symmerian Recession. The final iteration of the phalanx as a pike formation emerged following the conquest of Symmeria by the Adamdar Empire, and it continued to see usage up until the mass adoption of firearms and the combination of the musket and bayonet by the Army of the Rioni Union in the 17th Century. Throughout its' heyday the phalanx was a symbol of Symmerian military might and was employed against a wide array of opponents. The phalanx encapsulated the organized and corporate form of warfare emblematic of Hellenic Syara and was predicated on usage by highly trained professional soldiers, a sharp contrast to the vast levy and conscript armies typically fielded by the Symmerian army. The soldiers of the phalanx, known as phalangites, were often the only ethnically Symmerian soldiers in ancient Symmerian armies. The term phalanx remains in use in modern Syara as a term for a strong-bonded or resolute force or group.

Origin

Formations of infantry armed with spears and large shields had been a staple of many armies across Bronze Age Siduri, most notably with the Naharin and to a lesser extent the Erani. The combination of spear and shield provided benefits both physically and psychologically; large, circular shields could be overlapped into a close-ranked shield wall to absorb charges and melee attacks, while the distance of engagement afforded by the spear and the knowledge one was fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with comrades helped reinforce morale amid the chaos and rancor of battle. The introduction of this brand of warfare was likely inserted into Archaic Syara via relations with the Erani and was adopted into the tribes that would eventually form the Kydonian League. This form of warfare largely superseded the traditional war fighting traditions of the Aleitians, which had emphasized sword-wielding light infantry.

The term phalanx first originated to describe any formation of soldiers fighting as a unit, to distinguish it from the singular combat often highlighted in Kydonian epic and traditional story telling. The term hoplite also entered into common usage shortly afterwards, derived from the term hoplon, which originally referred to the entire body of armor utilized by the soldiers of the phalanx. It was only after several centuries of use and amid changes to armor that hoplon came to refer to the actual shield itself. The dominance of hoplite warfare in the Kydonian League was driven mostly by terrain; small bands of heavy infantry in a close-ranked formation were ideal for safeguarding and protecting vital valleys, canyons, ridges and hilltops amid rugged terrain versus cavalry. In its earliest iteration the Kydonian phalanx was not a singular formation of hoplites standing shoulder-to-shoulder, but instead a mixed array of missile troops and hoplites, who would close and open ranks in order to allow for missile fire from within the phalanx.

Over time the missile troops receded from the phalanx and became their own formations. Why and how remains disputed, but the common consensus among historians is that external threats and finances played a major role. As the Kydonian League grew wealthier, the citizen-soldiers who formed the phalanx could afford more and superior armor; bronze breastplates, reinforced shields, greaves, and gauntlets. The biggest threat to the Kydonians remained the Bastarnae; although often depicted with an emphasis on their variety of curved blades and weapons, archeological evidence and the written record indicate the Bastarnae were missile troops first and foremost. Bastarne tactics typically involved extensive missile fire of arrows, slings, javelins, even axes and blades, followed by a frightful charge accompanied by extensive whistling, chanting, and screaming meant to scare the enemy into fleeing before the assault. The increased Kydonian emphasis on heavy armor was likely driven as a response to this, as better armored troops would be more likely to survive the missile exchange and brace for the ensuing melee.

The Symmerians themselves were something of an enigma to the Kydonians. They were, on paper, a Hellenic people, but of notably different customs and attitudes. Although partially nestled into the northern Syaran highlands much of Symmerian laid among the flatter coastal plains, allowing for the raising of horses and cavalry in far greater numbers than the Kydonians. At the same time, more limited access to bronze and iron prevented the Symmerians from outfitting their soldiers and handsomely as those of Kydonia.