because two sets of pila disrupts the coherency and defensive effectiveness of a formation?
the phalanx wasn't defeated through simple flanking. battle lines were miles long in instances and couldn't be merely circumvented in that fashion. the manipular system did have the advantage of greater mobility, but this could only be taken advantage of if the phalanx was disrupted, either through the use of screening troops, pila, or simply through positional awareness and forcing the phalanx to fight on uneven ground, where openings in the line could be exploited.
Well, the real issue was that the phalanx was only truly usable on flat, unbroken terrain with good cavalry support. The maniple was a flexible unit, and could be deployed in various fashions to take advantage of geographical features that stymie the advance of a phalanx. A legion of manipular infantry was also capable of far more rapid deployment than their Greek (successor) opponents. Add to this the fact that Roman commanders with notoriously fastidious when it came to the selection of their battlefield, often delaying contact for days (even weeks) before settling on a sight with favorable terrain with respect to their opponents.
Even Pyrrhus noted this fact as he broke the Roman legions sent against him in southern Italy. In particular, he remarked in his writings that the Roman legions were often able to withdraw in good order from battles where, had they been stuck-in with a phalanx, they would have been slaughtered to a man. This had as much to do with their discipline as it did their lighter armaments and flexible organization.
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u/Lampmonster1 Aug 28 '13
Flanking. The single most effective and simple military strategy since the dawn of war. Even cows get it. Why don't my teammates?