news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

throughout the ages, armies have often faced greater dangers in retreat than in attack.because in this case, our own soldiers are under tremendous pressure and will inevitably face the fierce pursuit of their opponents. if you are not careful, order will break down, and even a tragic accident will occur where the crowd tramples on each other.

therefore, few armies can retreat calmly in a frontal battle.the romans at their peak were undoubtedly an alternative.

risky failures

infantrymen who were pursued during the civil war in the late empire

in fact, the importance of ancient armies did not come directly from head-to-head confrontations, but more from being hunted down after being broken up.usually one of the parties is limited by physical strength, equipment and morale and cannot continue to withstand the pressure of combat, or is simply frightened by the death of its comrades. naturally, the outcome is that there is no order at all, and the other party can do whatever they want.

in 200 bc, the byzantine greeks faced off against their old enemy macedonia. the former still uses the ancient heavy infantry phalanx, while the latter insists on using the spear phalanx as its backbone. obviously, the macedonians who had a greater killing distance had the upper hand, but the byzantines, who were at a disadvantage, were able to hold on.until they could no longer withstand the frontal pressure, they retreated involuntarily and were massacred by the pursuers.

most of the greek casualties were not caused by direct confrontation.

similar cases have also appeared in china.in 90 bc, general li guangli of the second division attacked the huns for the third time, but was forced to go on the defensive due to fire in the rear. after some troubles, he led his army to retreat to hangai mountain, and was constantly harassed by the huns along the way. although the han army had high morale in previous attacks, it could only be completely surrounded now. when the opponent secretly digs trenches and launches a general attack from the side and rear, they no longer have the will to persist.

in addition, the army's active retreat during non-combatant periods may also cause burnout. for example, the battle of feishui in 383 ad originated from the cleverness of the qin army commander fu jian. because the eastern jin army was attacking with a smaller number of people, he felt that he could take advantage of the situation and attack halfway.as a result, the enemy attacked before the retreat was completed. so much so that there is total disorder, one after another, and the dead hide the wild saichuan!

the qin army died in blind retreat in the battle of feishui

in 1619 ad, in order to suppress the newly rising hou jin dynasty, the ming dynasty sent troops from four directions to start the battle of sarhu. as three of the troops were wiped out one after another, li rubai's troops on the southern route, the only remaining group, could only retreat along the same route. however, he was discovered by jurchen scouts and was threatened by an attack signal from the whistling snail on the sentry mountain.after judging that the main force of jin arrived, the ming army fled in panic, and more than 1,000 people were killed and injured in the trampling on each other.

these examples span a wide range of years, and the causes and consequences are not entirely similar. but they all tell the world a cruel truth:a random retreat on the battlefield is tantamount to seeking death!

battle of salhu

successful cases of opening low and moving high

existgreek hoplites who won marathon

of course, there are many successful retreaters in the vast sea of ​​history. hemost of them have strict training and are fully mentally prepared for possible disadvantages. therefore, it can withstand greater pressure and can even be used as a strategy to defeat the enemy.

in 490 bc, the newly rising persian empire launched an expedition to mainland greece. they were blocked by the athenian army in the plains of marathon and had to seek a breakthrough by force. although the latter's numbers were relatively small and they were once completely suppressed during the confrontation in the middle, they never collapsed out of order.when the companions on both wings won, they easily surrounded and annihilated the persians.

the athenian army maintained good order during the retreat during the battle of marathon

in 216 bc, the famous general hannibal’s deployment in the battle of cannae can be regarded as an upgraded version of the marathon case.he deployed motley troops from all over the front in different areas of the front, with only north african infantry who had undergone strict phalanx training in the middle. and they were deliberately arranged in a wedge formation to make the romans on the opposite side mistakenly think that they were about to make a sudden advance. in fact, it conceals the numerical disadvantage and makes room for the planned fake retreat.

sure enough, the romans, who had an obvious advantage, first fought against the north african heavy infantry and successfully pushed them back. the other barbarian infantry left by hannibal on both wings joined the fight later and stabilized their position with the help of cavalry. when the romans put all their energy into the middle, the situation on both sides began to gradually go against them.in the end, 80,000 roman troops turned into mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

the african infantry in the battle of cannae had been steadily retreating under heavy pressure

although they fell victim to the enemy at cannae, the roman army was better at handling all types of retreat than the greeks and carthaginians.in 168 bc, they had a narrow encounter with the macedonian phalanx in the battle of pydna, and were once very passive in front of the dense spear phalanx. some people were even unable to move because their shields were firmly pressed against the spears, and they almost had to face stabs from several directions at the same time. even if there was no loss of order, they were still gradually moving towards the mountains behind.

as the terrain gradually fragmented, it was difficult for the advancing macedonian phalanx to remain tight, and many small gaps were naturally created. the romans took the opportunity to reorganize their forces and temporarily constructed multiple small tactical units. then break them into pieces and attack from these gaps.because the retreat quickly turned into an attack, the huge macedonian phalanx had no time to react. later, he was completely defeated in a more brutal close combat, completely ruining the fate of the entire army and even the entire country.

the quick response of the romans in their retreat allowed the macedonians to take their time

why were the romans not afraid to retreat?

the three-line deployment of the roman legions

so, with the same good training and not much worry about retreating, why can the romans be better in technique and tactics?this starts with the organizational structure of the legion.

generally speaking, each roman centurion consisted of 60-80 soldiers, with a centurion as commander. this kind of hundred-man team will also be organized into squadrons or even higher-level brigades, and will be assigned special officer control. they can also be temporarily handed over to the financial officer and corps commander for dispatch according to the situation. if an unexpected situation occurs, the centurion at the forefront can temporarily expand his authority and call on other units to advance and retreat with him.this kind of hierarchical and not very centralized configuration allows the legion to respond very quickly on the battlefield.

the romans attached great importance to the command and control of troops at all levels

in 57 bc, caesar led his troops just after a long day's march, but was attacked by the narvi while camping.these barbarians laid ambush in advance and successfully took advantage of the romans' lax vigilance, so they moved very quickly. however, the roman grassroots soldiers responded more swiftly. they did not wait for the battle flag to be raised before they organized themselves to resist. therefore, the battle was mostly over before caesar issued specific orders.

in addition, the romans also tried their best to strengthen soldiers' resilience training.for example, in order to avoid chaos and disorder, flags will be arranged in each centurion for identification, and centurions are even required not to wear face armor to facilitate identification by their soldiers. and each squadron has a flag officer, who can organize the soldiers more quickly through the flag in their hands.

the roman army remained calm after being attacked by barbarians

however, tactical formation requires strong execution, and the romans were famous for their rigorous training.soldiers have almost no leisure at any time. they need to use physical labor to maintain exercise and use overweight teaching aids to hone their fighting skills. due to its extreme intensity, it was once reported by contemporary observers as"a bloodless war."

finally, a sense of honor is also a small trick that can improve combat effectiveness, so the romans regarded it as a great shame and humiliation for the flag of their unit to change hands.in 86 bc, sulla led his troops and met archelaus, the pontic general, at the battle of ochomenas. since the pontic army numbered as many as 90,000 and could also use cavalry on the open plains, the roman legions with only 25,000 people suffered repeated setbacks. sulla could only throw an eagle flag at the enemy, which caused the retreating soldiers to feel ashamed and turned around to return to the battle.

the eagle's status in the roman army exceeded the lives of many people

it was this combination of tactical concepts, rigorous training, and soldier honor that made the romans not afraid of retreating in battle. even if there is no plan in advance, it will not affect the on-the-spot performance of grassroots units.when these excellent qualities gradually disappear, their era will quickly disappear...