Shield wall
The Schildwall or Schildburg is an infantry formation . The shield castle is a more compact version of the shield wall.
In principle, the phalanx , as it is in the eastern Mediterranean z. B. was practiced by the Greeks, also classify under this term. The term “shield wall” is used more for loose formations from the Germanic and Celtic areas, which were formed as a pure defensive formation ad hoc in the event of an attack. These formations cannot be compared with the maneuvers of the armies of the Mediterranean states: these were based on more intensive tactical training, which enabled the phalanx to be used not only as a formation in the event of a defense, but also as a basic formation of the armies, and thus also for attack could.
In the first variant of the shield wall, the first row of soldiers kneels while the second stands, so that the overlapping shields form a closed wall. The shield wall was mainly used by the Vikings (Skjaldborg), but also by the Anglo-Saxons, for example in the Battle of Hastings . Gaius Iulius Caesar mentioned that the Gauls also made use of the shield wall.
A second variant of the shield wall , mainly practiced by fishing rods, looked like this: while the first row stood and connected their broad shields to form a thick wall, a second row of warriors knelt behind them. These in turn were equipped with long spears or spears and stabbed the opponents' legs as soon as the shield wall was attacked.
As a third shield wall variant, the right side of each shield covered the left side of the shield of the right neighbor in the front row. Thus the opponent, mostly right-handed, encountered a doubled layer of shield. The men in the second row carried (throwing) spears, which they pushed into the opposing ranks when two shield walls met, creating gaps in the other wall. As soon as a shield wall broke apart, the opponents were ruthlessly pursued and attacked with javelins. This variant of the shield wall was mostly used by the Saxons , Bretons and Normans in the fifth to eleventh centuries.
The actual battle line of the shield wall was, if possible, supported from behind by javelins and bows. This combination with ranged weapons, due to a lack of number and quality, served more to distract the enemy and less for actual combat use.
The Saxons used a weaker, but also more flexible variant in the early Middle Ages : in the event of an attack, the warriors formed a circle with their shields and took their chiefs or any ranged fighters in the middle. A great advantage of this formation was that you couldn't stab the warriors in the back as they were protected in every direction. Since the shields were not connected to each other, the formation did not offer much protection against attacks, but could be disbanded quickly if necessary, so that the warriors could quickly counterattack. The protection against cavalry was not very good, and if soldiers of the enemy could penetrate the shield wall, defeat was very likely. Therefore, this tactic was not used for long.
Today this defense formation is used by police officers in street fights , which form a shield wall when they are pelted with objects during operations.
Schildburg is an old name of the shield-to-shield formation for the defense or attack of grouped soldiers.
See also
Web links
literature
- HW Koch: Illustrated history of military campaigns in the Middle Ages (1998), Bechtermünz Verlag, ISBN 3-8289-0321-5 , pp. 60–61.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Philipp Roskoschinski: Of shield, sword, spear and ax: fighting style and use of weapons in the Germanic Barbaricum and northern European early means. (PDF) In: Experimental Archeology in Europe . Balance 2011. EXAR - European Association for the Promotion of Experimental Archeology eV, 2011, p. 9 , accessed on March 27, 2019 .
- ↑ schildburg. In: woerterbuchnetz.de. Competence center for electronic cataloging and publication processes in the humanities (University of Trier), accessed on January 15, 2014 .