Shield wall

The formation of shield wall, or Skjaldborg in Old Norse, is a military tactic that was common in many cultures in the Pre-Early Modern warfare age. There were many slight variations of this tactic among these cultures, being called by many different names, but in general, a shield wall was a "wall of shields" formed by soldiers standing in formation shoulder to shoulder, holding their shields so that they abut or overlap. Each man benefits from the protection of his neighbor's shield, as well as his own.

History

Ancient times

This tactic was used by many ancient armies including the Roman legions and the Greek hoplite phalanx formation.The shield wall came into use in ancient Greece during the late eighth or early seventh century B.C. The soldiers in these shield wall formations were called “hoplites”, so named for their shield, a hoplon. These were three foot diameter shields made from wood and covered in metal. Instead of fighting individual battles in large skirmishes, hoplites fought as cohesive units in this tight formation with the left half of their shield covering the unprotected right side of the hoplite next to them. The worst, or newest, fighters would be placed in the middle front of the formation to provide both physical and psychological security.Hanson, Victor Davis. "The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece",p.27-28.]

Use in Britain

During the battles between Alfred the Great and the Danes, only a small percentage of the Saxon army would have been the properly equipped Housecarls.Fact|date=May 2008 These troops were the household troops of the Saxon nobility, who maintained them with gifts of food, arms and armour, and by freeing these men from the need to labour allowed them to train in warfare. These professional warriors formed the front few ranks, so if the shield wall was breached, the entire line, in all likelihood, would quickly be split in two as unarmoured peasants, known as the Fyrd tried to use modified farm tools to combat professional warriors equipped with proper weapons and armor with.

The powerful weapons of the time, like big swords and axes, were too big to swing, so the more effective weapons were short swords maybe a foot long which could be stabbed under the opponent's shield into his groin or leg. This led a lot of professional warriors in Alfred the Great's army to carry two swords.Fact|date=May 2008 Two-handed weapons were out of the question in a shield wall, due to the need to hold a shield in one hand. The shield wall was commonly used by Anglo-Saxons from kingdoms such as Mercia, Wessex, and Northumbria; it was also used during the early medieval period in England to refer to the main method of Anglo-Saxon warfare, and it was clearly visible throughout the Bayeux Tapestry.

Decline

The 'shield wall' as a tactic has declined and has been resurrected a number of times. For example in the Greek and Macedonian phalanxes, as the hoplite spear gave way to sarissa, it became impossible to carry a large shield and the shield was abandoned.

In the Medieval period, shields, and the 'shield wall' began to fall out of use due to improvements in armor; as plate armor, for those who could afford it, became more readily available, the utility of large infantry shields declined. Improvements in missile weapons, such as the crossbow and longbow, also decreased the effectiveness of shields. Fact|date=May 2008.

In the revival of military thinking and tactics that was a part of the Renaissance, military theorists such as Niccolò Machiavelli in his Art of War advocated a revival of the Roman legion and Sword and shieldmen. However as in the phalanxes before, well drilled pikemen again displaced the shieldmen. By the time of the English Civil War, open pike formations had replaced the closed shield wall. The ranks of pikes providing protection from cavalry charges.Fact|date=May 2008

Use in modern times

Although largely obsolete as a military tactic due to firearms, a wall of riot shields remains a common formation for riot police worldwide.Fact|date=May 2008

References

See also

*Roman infantry tactics, strategy and battle formations