Research paper MLA format, title, works cited page, 1200+ words Here is my research paper outline: I am planning to do the final research project about phalanx military formation. I will research and...

8
RESEARCH PAPER
 
PHALANX MILITARY FORMATION
Introduction
Phalanx is a Greek word which means an array or group of soldiers (Anglim et al, p.22).  It is used to describe the formation of mass infantry in ancient Greek Warfare. According to Greek literature, Phalanx was a close rank compact deployment of troops armed with long spears and interconnecting shields. Phalanx did not have standard battle energy. It included the infantry formation standing close together and surrounded by armors. Hence, phalanx could be any populous mass of people or a group united for a common purpose (Jerszynski).
Advantages of the phalanx military formation
The phalanx troops were disciplined, well trained, tough and equipped. The troops were compact and dense, armed with spears and shields (Mark). It was hard to break the formation. Due to the wall of spears, horses and chariots could not pass through the formation. It was perfect to stop the chariots and horses. The horses could not enter the spiked wall of spears.The soldiers would move forward in the slow walk towards the rival army pushing the target objects coming in the way with their shields and holding the troop strongly to invade and break the ranks of opposing army formations. Once the two troops got engaged with each other, the battle used to keep on until anyone opponent side was broken with ranks and was defeated.
The phalanx was mainly employed to have a pushing match between the front liner soldiers of both the teams, propelling each other with the shields and the whole troop pushing them at the back (Goldsworthy). The thickness and solidity of shields was a decisive factor which made the Roman army quite successful than the others. The purpose of phalanx formation was not for killing the enemy collectively, but to dissipate the moral of opposing army and to increase pressure on the enemy to leave the battle field. Although a lot of killing could be done by this type of troops, but not always. Unity was the basis of phalanx formation. If a member of the front row happened to fall, the next person in the row would replace him immediately (Jerszynski).
Disadvantages of the phalanx military formation
The mobility of these troops was very slow and controlled. The phalanx army lacked prompt or rapid movement. They were not capable of fighting the battles extensively but were generally used for protection from frontal attacks. The formation disintegrated when attacked from the back or the sides. It was really impossible to turn the 16 feet Sarissa to any of these sides (Goldsworthy). The Romans were very rapid in action, understanding this weakness, they always attacked the phalanx from the sides. In medieval periods, the condition of phalanx even worsened. The number of chariots decreased, the archers became light in weight which often proved dangerous for a slow-moving phalanx. The sides of the phalanx were at the highest risk of being attacked in this period also. Moreover,...