Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

Although after the death of Alexander the Great, his successors fought with the Romans, but they all lost in the end.

Perhaps people who don't understand military affairs in this era will have the impression that the Macedonian phalanx is not as good as the Roman phalanx because they just lost, but in fact, every time they lost, it was not because of the phalanx soldiers.

The advantage of the Roman phalanx is that it has no obvious shortcomings and is flexible and mobile. Every hundred people is a complete combat unit, and it is almost completely independent of terrain, which makes the Roman army very resilient.

For example, in the battles fought in Palphi, the troops collapsed and retreated, but they were able to reorganize on the battlefield to fight a counterattack. This is due to their flexible and easy-to-recover organizational model. This is not an isolated case. The well-trained Roman army often has such examples of reorganization and recovery on the battlefield. This is unimaginable with the slightly cumbersome organizational model of the Macedonian phalanx. Once they collapse, they really collapse. It is impossible to restore the formation on the battlefield. The super-long spearmen did not hold together to face the well-trained sword and shield infantry and were slaughtered.

But correspondingly, the principle of "one inch longer, one inch stronger" also applies in the Mediterranean. No matter how powerful the short sword is, it can't reach the people behind the super-long spear. The Romans didn't want to charge the phalanx head-on from the beginning. Every time they won, they either took advantage of the terrain to prevent the super-long spear phalanx, which was very dependent on the environment, from being able to deploy normally, or they attacked the weak positions on the flanks and rear, and finally let the isolated infantry phalanx collapse without a fight.

If they really charged this artificial hedgehog head-on, the result can be imagined, and no one is an idiot.

For nearly two thousand years after Alexander, the super-long spear phalanx did not withdraw from the stage of history, proving that this tactic is still very valuable.

The fact that the Macedonian phalanx did not beat the Roman phalanx does not mean that this tactic is weak, but because this tactic requires higher command art of the general and more demanding terrain, not all generals can handle it. In comparison, the Roman military system is not so dependent on the ability of the general, and more requires the military literacy of the soldiers.

In Orville's opinion, those "successors" of Alexander were either too ambitious or too incompetent to replicate the original. Most of them only replicated the simplest part of the Macedonian army, that is, the phalanx infantry with super-long spears. As for the complex coordination between the remaining light infantry, heavy sword and shield infantry, cavalry and spear and shield soldiers, few of the successors mastered the essence, and they were all poor imitators.

Alexander did use cavalry and multiple arms to a superb level, which was something his successors had never been able to do.

The premise of using the phalanx with long spears is to ensure the safety of the flanks and the rear. Orville believes that the current Roman army can do this, which is not a big problem, and their future combat positions are indeed suitable for phalanxes.

The south of France has now been basically assimilated by the Romans. The main location of the rebellion is the plains in northern France, where the terrain is very flat, unlike the mountainous and hilly situation in the southeast.

Moreover, the development level of this world is much higher than that of the original world, which means that there are fewer forests and fewer terrain obstacles. The phalanx of spears is actually popular here, especially when the Gauls lack advanced bows and crossbows, it is relatively difficult for them to break the phalanx.

After confirming the training mode and equipment, Orville began to let his men train intensively. Five hundred sets of mail armor and supporting weapons and equipment cannot be gathered in a short time, but it does not prevent the soldiers from practicing, just follow the steps.

The Romans are very good at learning from their enemies, and they are proud of it. Their research on Macedonian tactics and equipment is not inferior to most Greeks, so it is not difficult to find an instructor with this ability.

After inspecting the status of the soldiers, Orville came every one or two days to ensure that the soldiers and instructors are not slacking off, which is indeed the case so far.

After leaving the villa, Orville asked Belisarius who had been following him: "Do you have anything to do this afternoon?"

"As usual, my mission is to protect your safety, so I won't have anything to do."

Belisarius simply answered. He is a very reassuring and honest man, sometimes a little too honest.

Orville hesitated and said: "Then you have to go with me again this afternoon. Princess Domitia wants me to go to the theater with her. If you don't want to go, you don't have to go. It's okay to give you another holiday. Rome is a safe place."

Belisarius did not refuse, but silently led two horses. The meaning was self-evident that he was not going to ask for private time for himself.

Orville sighed when he saw this, and got on the horse and went to the Flavi Mansion.

In order to ensure order and avoid congestion, no one is allowed to ride horses in the city without permission during the day, even the royal family and the emperor are no exception. Orville is a daily commute, so he also needs to dismount and walk. It took some time for the two to rush from the outskirts of the city to the mansion in the city center.

——

After arriving at the mansion, Orville first met with Tia, and the two explained some things to each other. Orville was pulled in to take the blame. The original plan was for Tia and Domitia to go to the theater together to participate in the event, but now Tia has something urgent to do, so Orville can only replace her.

Tia looked at Orville with an apologetic face: "I'm sorry that this happened today, but the Senate is going to discuss the expansion of the army today. The threat from the Gauls is now increasing, and it will soon reach a level that the locals cannot control. We must prepare the suppression troops as soon as possible.

In addition, the German Legion is also a problem. They suffered heavy losses in the civil war and need to replenish their troops. My father also plans to arrange for them to exchange defense with the Danube Legion."

Tia talked about various serious political and military issues and explained her behavior. Orville stopped her.

"I understand your situation. It's a turbulent time now, but is Domitia okay? I think she still wants to get together with her family, especially you. She hasn't seen you for three years."

Tia sighed heavily: "I have tried to explain these things to her, but you know, the effect is not good."

In fact, she also felt a little guilty and knew that she owed something to her sister, but the situation was like this. Those who are capable will be very busy. She is basically unable to get away every day and can't find a complete time to accompany her family.

"I know, I will handle this matter and try to make her happy."

Orville was silent for a while, then agreed to Tia's request and stayed with Domitia for a while in the future.