The Greek Phalanx Formation

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The Greek Phalanx Formation

In A Nutshell

The Greek Phalanx Formation historically spelled the destruction of all their enemies. Greek warriors with large shields and holding tightly packed ranks would employ long lances and short swords in battle. An ancient form of the unstoppable Tank principle, the Phalanx Formation was perfected by the Macedonians, and used to conquer the Athenians and Spartans, uniting the Greek city states into one cohesive force. This Macedonian power base saw Philip the Great take the Phalanx Formation and, combined with advanced siege weapons, conquer most of the known world. Only Alexander the Great improved the effectiveness of this formation, but he used much the same tactics as his father Philip to expand the mighty Greek empire all around the Mediterranean, through Arabia and all the way to India. In AOE the principle is exactly the same, only the formation is not such a perfect square. In Age of Empires 2, we will be able to build the perfect geometric formations that exist on the real battlefields.

Greece comes of age in the later stages of the game. They have all the siege weapons and their upgrades. With a full Navy plus all upgrades and the speed bonus, properly using Greek ships from early in the game can ensure survival until the enemy can be conquered by the Greeks. They only lack for Archery units, but the missing Barracks units are easily replaced with the Academy units. Greece has a speed bonus that renders Academy units much more valuable in battle. They can be used as shock troops that are each armored little hell raisers. Properly supported by Cavalry units, a squad of Academy units can raze an enemy town to the ground. With Siege weapons defended by the advancing Academy units, and Cavalry to support the flank and defend both slower groups, an advancing Greek army can destroy everything in it's path.

The Greek Phalanx Formation In Detail

Playing the Greek Race requires knowledge that allows them to survive The Early Game and to come of age. Rookie players will dislike this Race until the basic strategies are used. Greece must survive until it is in it's prime, the drive is to get to the Bronze Age quickly, and build some of the more valuable military units available at that time. Pushing on to Iron Age is only the second goal, successfully surviving the Bronze Age needs to come first.

The Greeks have all their technologies available. Full warships, siege weapons, priests, stables, and academy units, and all with their full range of upgrades. Don't waste wood on Barracks or Archery Ranges, unless you must defend against an early rush. The units that can be built at these two buildings can be the only way to turn back an early rush, but the squads produced at these two training halls will be vastly inferior to what you can build in the Bronze and Iron ages. Create these units only if absolutely necessary, and if the opponent allows you the time to race through the Ages, you must take full advantage of it. Greece is at it's weakest and most vulnerable during the Stone and Tool Ages. The wood is always better spent on Greek ships and upgrades, which can harass the enemy, explore the map, and defend crossings and vulnerable points of your town and your army.

Group the military according to unit types. Siege weapons in groups of 3-5, Academy units in groups of 4-8, and the Cavalry in groups of 4-8. You will need as many Academy unit groups as Cavalry and Siege groups combined, and they should always advance together. The Greek Phalanx Formation can hold the front line for a wave of advancing siege weapons. Cavalry units should hold the undefended flank of the advancing army.

Kepp an eye on the positioning of your army groups because the Academy units could outpace the advancing Siege Weapons, leaving a vulnerable gap between both groups. If possible, skirt the edge of the map or the shore line to provide a naturally defended flank that will allow the Cavalry groups to focus on the far side. Use your navy to either support the land attack with off-shore firepower placed to defend one flank of your army, or send them ahead to distract and divert the enemy to the wrong side of their town. Then attack from the other direction with the Phalanx Formation. When traversing open land with both flanks vulnerable to attack, hold some Cavalry groups on both sides of the Academy front line and rear Siege formation, moving forward en masse. This is a Gold dependent Race, using Priests to heal and Villagers to repair ships will cut the cost of your campaigns.

Since static formations can not be designed in Age of Empires 1 the way to hold the Phalanx Formation is to target each group number quickly and order them to advance to positions all in a row. That means you select each group number quickly, right clicking on the map to order them forward. Right click a little further to one side for each succeeding group, ordering the groups to stand beside each other and hold a rough line at that forward position. Forming an actual square to more closely emulate the historical Phalanx would be more vulnerable to attack from enemy siege weapons, so simply hold the line in front of your forces. The siege weapons roll forward and target everything in site, while the phalanx hold ground, then move forward to hold ground again, defending the siege weapons from attack, with both groups supported by the Cavalry counter-attack ready to take out any threat.

When entering an enemy town, micro manage the engagement with care. Facing the opposition, hold the front line phalanx formation and let the catapults thin the enemy ranks. The Cavalry can assist at softening up the enemy defenses, but care must be taken to keep out from under friendly fire of your siege weapons. Advancing your forces gradually you roll right over the enemy opposition, smashing it with siege weapons, and letting the Academy units destroy everything that comes up against your front lines. The phalanx groups can be assigned to destroy buildings if there are no enemy units around, but special care must be taken regarding the siege weapons. Catapults with nothing else to target will hammer the buildings surrounded by your Academy units, causing terrible collateral damage to your forces. Assign the more distant targets for your Siege Weapons, or order them to hold ground while the phalanxes take out the town. Of course you could hold the Greek Phalanx Formation and just wipe out the town one step at a time, letting the siege weapons clear the ground in front, and leaving the other groups in only supporting roles. Drop some Offensive Towers to disrupt the enemies chances of recovery, and maybe put a couple of docks in the water nearby to the enemy to keep up the pressure from off-shore warships.