War Formations

War Formations

For my project i am having various war scenes so i will have to research the formations of a medieval battle. Where the designated ranks would stand, where the generals would be and how the army/group would move.

The Wall

The wall is the more obvious and more widely used throughout the medieval era. This formation is basically a long wall of men with there shields raised and there shields overlapped to make the formation tight. This formation is not the most complex but it didn't have to be since this would be used to fight a groups of charging enemies.

The Circle

The circle is a less used formation since its only used by small groups of men about 6-8 and not by an entire army. This formation is used in times of confusion to defend mainly against cavalry the formation is the men standing back to back in a circle to improve battle field awareness.

Deep Columns

This is also a less used used formation this is where an army would have columns of men. This would be more effective than the normal wall formation as it would be able to withstand more attacks from the front but this formation would be easier to flank as it would be thin. 

These are the main formations for medieval armies. This is mainly because armies in the medieval times were not the most disciplined so the key to victory for most armies was to hold the line. It was often considered a disadvantage to attack first as the charging army would be running into a wall of swords and spears. In my trailer i will most likely have an army charging and one defending as it would be more historically accurate.