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469:. However, the vast majority of combatants in such battles were equipped only with shields and spears, which they used against the unprotected legs or faces of their opponents. Often, soldiers would use their weapons to support one another by stabbing and slashing to the left or the right, rather than just ahead. Short weapons, such as the ubiquitous
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shields were 3 ft (0.91 m) in diameter, sometimes covered in bronze. Instead of fighting individual battles in large skirmishes, hoplites fought as cohesive units in this tight formation with their shields pushing forward against the man in front (to use weight of numbers). The left half of
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In a phalanx, the man at the right hand of each warrior had an important role; he covered the right side of the warrior next to him with his shield. This made it so that all the shields overlap each other and thus formed a solid battle line. The second row's purpose was to kill the soldiers of the
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behind on their ships and were only wearing their helmets. After a bloody battle between two shield walls, the
Vikings fled in panic. Each side had lost five to six thousand men, but the English numerical superiority won the battle.
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the shield was designed to cover 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.
358:) in the close-quarters combat that inevitably resulted when their shield-walls contacted the enemy. As auxiliaries were often less well-armed, a shield-wall with spearmen was commonly used to provide a better defence.
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that covered front, sides and above. In this formation, the outside ranks formed a dense vertical shield wall and inside ranks held shields over their heads, thus forming a tortoise-like defense, well-protected from
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442:. The shield-wall tactic suited such soldiers, as it did not require particular skill since it was essentially a shoving and fencing match with shields and spears.
321:. Although highly effective against missiles, the formation was slow and was vulnerable to being isolated and surrounded by swarms of enemy soldiers. Caesar, in
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was a large shield designed to fit with others to form a shield wall but not overlap. Roman legions used an extreme type of shield wall called a
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infantrymen used solid shield walls while advancing against their enemies, and used their two-pronged short spears and battle-axes from behind.
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of the less-trained fyrdmen was sustained by being shoulder to shoulder with their comrades, but panic might well set in among them once their
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The shield-wall as a tactic has declined and has been resurrected a number of times. For example, in the Greek phalanges (the plural form of
196:. There were many slight variations of this formation, but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder and holding their
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The drawback of the shield-wall tactic was that once a shield wall was breached, the whole formation tended to fall apart quickly. The
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By the seventh century BC, shield walls in ancient Greece are well-documented. The soldiers in the shield wall formations were called
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so that they would abut or overlap. Each soldier thus benefited from the protection of the shields of his neighbors and his own.
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portended the end of the shield wall tactic, massed shield walls would continue to be employed right up to the end of the
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C. E. Bosworth, “ARMY ii. Islamic, to the Mongol period,” Encyclopædia
Iranica, II/5, pp. 499-503, available online at
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and thrown missile weapons occurred in opening stages of shield-wall battles but were rarely decisive to the outcome.
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was disrupted. Once breached, it could prove difficult or impossible to re-establish a defensive line, leading to a
575:, it became impossible to carry a large shield and so it was abandoned in favor of much smaller shields were used.
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remains a common formation for police worldwide for protection against large groups using
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This article is about the military or police formation. For the defensive structure of a
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The first three ranks of the wall would have been made up of select warriors, such as
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Although obsolete as a military tactic because of firearms and explosives, a wall of
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mounted cavalry and the impetuousness and fatigue of the Anglo-Saxon warriors.
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unaware. The
Vikings were not wearing as much armour since they had left their
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carried with both hands (and often partial plate armor), giving rise to
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Likewise, in the Late Middle Ages, the shield was abandoned in favor of
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The formation was known to be used by many ancient armies including the
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soldiers in a shield wall formation during the third millennium BC.
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although the battle was ultimately won through a combination of
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Although little is recorded about their military tactics, the
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first line of an enemy shield wall, and thus break the line.
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in Greek), and were first described in the late 6th-century
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The
Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece
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in which the relatively well-armed Saxon army hit the
392:The shield-wall was commonly used in many parts of
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715:Military units and formations of the Middle Ages
245:Roman legionaries in formation, Stele found at
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685:http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/army-ii
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411:A mention of "ſcild ƿeall" (shield-wall) in
543:are depicted as using the formation in the
652:Mesopotamian military strategy and tactics
495:Although the importance of cavalry in the
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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453:, who carried heavier weapons such as
292:, so named for their equipment (ὅπλα,
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251:Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon-Fourvière
58:adding citations to reliable sources
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529:King Harald Sigurdsson of Norway
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687:(accessed on 30 December 2012).
221:infantry shield wall, from the
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225:honoring the victory of king
16:Defensive infantry formation
519:The tactic was used at the
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521:Battle of Stamford Bridge
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279:Stele of the Vultures
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223:Stele of the Vultures
217:Ancient depiction of
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25:Shield wall (castle)
720:Tactical formations
600:testudo shield wall
590:Use in modern times
188:that was common in
184:in Old Norse) is a
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584:pike square
402:Scandinavia
396:such as in
375:Svinfylking
351:Strategikon
176:Old English
165:scieldweall
160:shield wall
137:Anglo-Saxon
709:Categories
674:, p.27-28.
658:References
567:), as the
505:Swiss Alps
373:See also:
344:(φοῦλκον,
332:late Roman
308:The Roman
270:, and the
181:skjaldborg
80:newspapers
642:Schiltron
586:tactics.
467:ealdormen
463:retainers
455:Dane axes
363:Daylamite
261:Sparabara
171:bordweall
621:See also
580:polearms
533:hauberks
527:army of
515:Examples
509:Scotland
486:cohesion
447:huscarls
424:and the
346:phoulkon
290:hoplites
283:Sumerian
281:depicts
219:Sumerian
725:Shields
573:sarissa
565:phalanx
559:Decline
475:archery
430:England
414:Beowulf
398:England
388:Tactics
356:gladius
330:In the
268:phalanx
258:Persian
237:2500 BC
204:History
198:shields
190:ancient
146:at the
144:cavalry
94:scholar
553:Norman
525:Viking
482:morale
459:armour
451:thegns
381:, and
341:fulcum
310:scutum
247:Glanum
141:Norman
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23:, see
21:castle
426:Danes
298:Aspis
294:hópla
265:Greek
229:over
101:JSTOR
87:books
569:dory
507:and
490:rout
471:seax
449:and
435:fyrd
400:and
361:The
334:and
231:Umma
192:and
73:news
551:by
465:of
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