The legion's strict formation was one aspect of its novelty; the other was
                     the inventive arming of the Roman soldiers, called legionnaires.

                     A legionnaire carried a heavy, short-range javelin called a pilum, which
                     was thrown or thrust and which could penetrate all enemy armor of the
                     time. He also employed a broad, heavy 20-inch sword known as a
                     gladius and was protected by a shield, helmet and body armor.

                     In battle, the use of these arms was closely related to the unit's
                     formation: the first of a maniple's three rows would attack the enemy by
                     hurling javelins; then both the first and second rows would charge with
                     their swords.

                   At the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), Greek troops defending their homeland defeated a Persian army
                   of vastly superior numbers. When Persian soldiers advanced towards his own lines, a Greek general
                   named Militiades of Athens ordered the wings of his infantry to hold their ground--while instructing the
                   hard-pressed center to yield. Having created a semicircle around the Persian infantry, Militiades
                   ordered his wings to converge on the flanks and rear of the Persian forces--who were demoralized and
                   expelled from the Greek homeland.
 

Illustration of the Battle of Marathon (490 BC). The Greek lines formed a semicircle around the advancing Persian forces.
Then, the heavily reinforced Greek flanks sandwiched the Persian lines between them.
 
 

               In an ancient battle between two Greek city-states, a tactician named Epaminondas developed a new mode
               of attack--known as the "oblique," or slanted line. By employing his superior cavalry and by heavily
               reinforcing the left wing of his infantry, he punctured his enemy's right flank, which recoiled in disorder and
               deteriorated into a confused mob.
 

               Illustration of the Oblique. The heavily reinforced left wing of Epaminondas penetrated the enemy's right
               flank, which fell back in confusion.

     The oblique order was further developed by two barbarian princes: Phillip II and Alexander the Great.

     PHILIP II incorporated well-trained light cavalry as "hinges" for his infantry; this advance cured two major handicaps of
     the phalanx: the vulnerability of its flanks and its inability to maneuver on rough ground.

     ALEXANDER, Philip's son, defeated a force five times the size of his own by rapidly advancing the heavy cavalry and
     infantry of his right wing and penetrating the phalanx of his Persian enemy.
 
 

Tightly-organized and well-trained, the Roman legion had a simplicity that only concealed its innovation and true power.

                                   A legion was made up of ten 360-man units called "cohorts," which in turn were
                                   made up of three 120-man units called "maniples." Each maniple was broken into
                                   three lines, which were staggered in a checkerboard arrangement to maximize
                                   mobility and flexibility. Heavy infantry comprised the first two lines; the third was
                                   composed of alternating cavalry, light infantry and reserves of heavy troops.
 
 
 

Illustration of the Roman Legion's Formation. The basic battle formation of the Roman legion was made up of three lines.
The first two were heavy infantry; the third a mixture of cavalry and light and heavy infantry.

Roman generals conducted massive frontal assaults that relied on the power, training and numbers of their legions. In Hannibal,
they faced a general who capitalized on his cavalry--wiping out inferior Roman horsemen and encircling the enemy legions from
behind.