Douglas asked Myke Cole:

So shortly after reading Legion v. Phlanx (thank you, BTW) I read Delivered to the Ground by Mark Murphy Harms. I'm a sucker for "displaced in time" books and was able to enjoy Mr. Harms book. However, a key point in the book is heavy calvalry defeating a Greek phlanx and I felt the depiction was lacking. The (pre-Alexander) Greeks lose nerve and break and I wanted to know your thoughts on such a matter?

Myke Cole There are examples of heavy cavalry defeating Greek phalanxes. A good one to remember is the breaking of the Theban Sacred Band at Chaeronea in 338 BC (Yes, I know many scholars believe Alexander was commanding an infantry phalanx, but this doesn’t jive with what we know of how he fought). I align with the traditional view that the Macedonian phalanx pinned the Sacred Band in place, allowing the Companion cavalry to deliver a knockout blow from a flank.

But even if I’m wrong in my reconstruction of Chaeronea, this principle holds true: The phalanx was intensely vulnerable from the flank and rear. It only fought in one direction - straight ahead. Any cavalry attack that could turn a flank on a phalanx was bound to be devastating. We certainly see this in the final stage of the Battle of Pydna, which I covered in the book.

Thanks for reading and engaging with the work!

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