Bret Devereaux

So you have that triplex acies w/ potentially thirty separately maneuvering blocks of men per legion, doing substantially more complex maneuvers than the sarissa-phalanx was typically capable of. The number of guys you need who can 'drive' a unit around the field is much higher.

But are those individual pieces doing that much? Attack. Withdraw. Fall back. Each officer is not maneuvering based on the entirety of the battle, but rather their immediate circumstances. Each syntagma probably weighed similar concerns.

I mean, both Cynoscephalae and Pydna are fatal to this argument though - in both cases, the Romans are effectively able to maneuver maniples independently and win as a result, and the Antigonids can't, and lose.

You might argue that the Antigonids just suck, but its the explicit testimony of Polybius - hardly a friend to the Antigonids - that they had the best man-for-man quality phalanx around. Which seems supported by how far above their weight they punch vs. Seleucids and Lagids.

At some point, the theory of how flexible an army *could* be has to be tested against how flexible it actually is and the Romans win all of those tests. Which might suggest that getting a legion to work required more command authority delegated and thus more experienced NCOs.

But those tests aren’t exactly scientific because they involve a lot of variables. And only 6 data points? It’s…….a shaky foundation to conclusively say one system trumps another in a vacuum.

But that's the thing, this isn't a war game. The only question at issue is 'who wins in actual battles?' And we know the answer to that question. One victory is a fluke, two is a trend, three is a pattern. Sure, you can caveat each instance...but the Romans still won.

It’s not about caveats, it’s about understanding the complexity of battle and what determines victory. How the battle is determined; the specific dynamics involved are key to whether or not we can draw broad conclusions.