From a historical perspective, were javelins just as much a bane as pilum? If so, then the theory of pikes knocking them down as they sailed in to the rear ranks would be reasonable. Also, were the Romans really the first to employ the "pilum"? I ask these in earnest.
From an engineering perspective, the pilum had an additional effect above the nominally thrown pointy-stick. Besides actually piercing a body for a debilitating wound (or better), its heavy construction and bendable "tip" would wiegh a shield down if it embedded into it.
So, if the hoplon was made of wood, the hoplites (in singular and as a whole) might have a problem. However, a potential response/solution to this add'l threat would be to create a shield that was resistant to pilum-piercings. Perhaps this was the driver to cover the entire front with a thin facing of bronze? I saw this on http://larp.com/hoplite/hoplon.html, but I'm not a historian and have no basis to judge it.
I'd hate to see add'l rules trying to fold in de-shielding opponents, bronze-vs-wooden shields, S4 throwers, etc. Anybody remmeber playing Warrior (shudder...)?
Any insights? As always, snarky comments more than welcome.
Allen
--- In WABlist@yahoogroups.com, "Jonas, Jeff" <jjonas@...> wrote:
>
>
> "Against phalanxes, there are some weird things like almost certain pila
> disruption... something that never really occurred at Pydna or the
> classic battles... but is part of the Connelly diagram myth"
>
> Ok, I'll ask. What's the Connelly diagram myth?
>
>
> ------> In one of the Connelly books there is section that shows how a
> phalangite is disrupted by Roman missiles-- aka pila. This diagram has
> led to a bazillion rules sets and interpretations that somehow pila was
> the bane of phalanxes. Sources often promote that the opposite is true,
> that the missile effect on the front of a Macedonian phalanx was
> negligible, such as Livy's account of the siege or Atrax, where he says
> a phalanx that held a breach was unaffected by missiles, and the Romans
> were unable to penetrate it in hand to hand at all. One of the reasons
> why the pilum may have had less effect was the back ranks waving the
> pikes to knock them down, and the fact that the phalanx did not often
> charge at the run, but advanced steadily planting their pikes in the
> shields of the Romans and pushing. I think there is one reference in
> Appian that a phalanx is disordered by pila.... I cannot think of the
> direct reference, and may be part of battle where the phalanx is also
> being flanked and shot at in the rear by ballistas, and the troops may
> not have been very experience.
>
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