military formations
Organized battle arrays
Military formations are the structured arrangements of troops for combat, movement, or ceremony.
A column moves soldiers single-file or in narrow lines; a line spreads them wide for maximum firepower; a square once defended against cavalry.
The term extends to permanent organizational units—divisions, brigades, battalions: Three formations were deployed to the region.
Formation flying arranges aircraft in precise patterns.
- reserve forceSupplementary military personnel
- rank and fileOrdinary members collectively
- legionGreat number, or soldiers
- manipleLiturgical forearm garment
- skirmish lineExtended infantry formation
firing line · front line · brigade · phalanx · task force · shield wall · flying wedge · corps · division · wedge · defensive perimeter · flanking maneuver · echelon · battle group · battalion · airborne division · column · regiment
- ancient weaponssword, swords, shield, shields, bow
- Greek TacticsXenophon, Polybius, Thucydides
- drill commandsshoulder arms, fall in, port arms, order arms, forward
military formationsdisarray
Lack of order
disorder · rout · dispersal · disorganization · chaos
military formationsguerrilla tactics
Asymmetric combat by mobile fighters
every man for himself · skirmishers · irregular warfare · skirmishing · lone wolves
military, formation, formations, formed, forming, forms, formative, formal, formally