Understanding Ancient Battle: Combat in the Classical World from the Unit Commander's Perspective

by Hugh Elton

Traditional military history of battles focussed on the strategies of great leaders, though in modern times many scholars have discussed the ‘face of battle’, describing the personal experience of the ordinary soldier. But in between, there still lies a major gap in our understanding of ancient the officer’s battle. This focuses on how units actually fought and manoeuvred in battle. Hugh Elton seeks to redress this through analysis of the interaction of equipment, morale, leadership, and terrain.

After discussing source material and the general model of warfare the author follows, this book outlines by major periods what we know of equipment, organization and tactics, then shows how battle worked in a series of case studies including include Marathon, Issus, Cannae, Cynoscephalae, Mons Graupius, and Adrianople. A total of twenty-four battles are analyzed between the fifth-century BCE and the sixth century CE, covering the wars described by the great historians between Herodotus and Procopius, including accounts written by the soldiers Xenophon, Julius Caesar, and Ammianus Marcellinus.

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2025

Reviews

[Paul A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very often, military history focuses either on the general's battle or the soldier's battle (a la "Face of Battle"), but Prof. Elton seeks to cover a middle ground between these approaches, by focusing on the unit commander's experience. To this end, Elton analyzes the interactions between a unit's morale, cohesion, terrain, and equipment. However, there doesn't seem to be enough evidence for the author to make any concrete determinations about what a unit commander's experience would have looked like over the time period covered.