EDITORIAL - Then and now
Big battles, with hoplites, phalangites or legionaries many ranks deep and hundreds of files wide, that’s what we think of when imagining an ancient battlefield. If you’re so inclined, you might favor a siege too, preferably with spectacular war machines. If you play a computer game such as Total War, or perhaps a tabletop wargame, that’s what they often look like too.
That is hardly a surprise. Whoever first turns to warfare in the ancient world is probably confronted first with the Big Decisive Battles (include favorite list here, specific examples very debatable, of course). This is probably the result of those Prussian military giants who dominated ancient military history into the twentieth century, ably assisted by our ancient sources who focus on the hoplite in the phalanx and the legionary on the battlefield. Or do they? If you read a little more, examples of trickery, ambushes and small unit actions abound. Look a bit further yet, and you find examples of chosen troops, selected or trained for their skills, hitting the enemy where it hurts most. Does that qualify them for the epithet of Operators? Possibly not, but it’s certainly inter. esting to read about their exploits.
Editor, Ancient Warfare
