The construction of the "turtle" is a battle order that existed among the Roman infantry. It was intended to protect against arrows, spears and projectiles during the battle. The construction of the "turtle", the features of this defensive technique and its varieties will be discussed in the article.
general description
The construction of the "turtle" was carried out by Roman soldiers during the hostilities of a defensive nature. On command, the soldiers lined up in the shape of a rectangle, while there was a minimum distance between each warrior. The front line of soldiers, holding shields in front of them, closed them, and the lines of soldiers located behind the first raised them above their heads and the heads of the soldiers standing in front. The edges of the shields were located in such a way that they overlapped each other (overlap).
As necessary, the soldiers who were on the sides of the "turtle", deployed their shields in the event that the enemy tried to attack them from the flanks. The soldiers in the last lines acted in a similar way to protect themselves from attacking from the rear.
Thus, a single, continuous wall was formed from the shields. The ancient Roman historian and consul Dion Cassius wrote in one of his works that the Roman construction of the “tortoise” was so strong and strong that it was possible to ride horses on a shield with a wagon.
Use in open battles
"Turtle" was used to defend almost all types of throwing weapons. The only exceptions were shells launched by heavy throwing machines.
The ancient Greek philosopher and writer Plutarch uses the construction of the “tortoise” by the Romans in the battle of the Parthian campaign of Emperor Mark Anthony in 36 as follows: the Romans, descending from a steep height, were attacked by the Parthians, who began to send thousands of arrows in their direction, and at that time Roman shield-bearers advanced the front flank and began their construction.
They knelt down and then put forward their shields. The next row of soldiers raised their shields, closing the first line, and the subsequent ranks of soldiers also did. This structure, similar to a tiled roof, served as a very reliable protection against arrows and spears that slid off shields without causing any harm to the defenders.
The Parthians, seeing that the Roman soldiers knelt, took it as a sign of exhaustion and fatigue, and began to advance. Approaching close, the Parthians only managed to hear the Roman battle cry, as the rows of shields opened, and the soldiers attacked the Parthians. Using spears and swords, they destroyed the enemies at the forefront, while the rest fled.
disadvantages
The type of construction of the “turtle” legion, in addition to its advantages, also had disadvantages. One of its main inconveniences was the fact that the high density of construction made it extremely difficult to conduct close combat, fettering the movements of Roman soldiers. Also disadvantages include the loss in speed of movement, since it was necessary to observe the density of the system and the closeness of the shields.
Also, a weak spot was manifested in the event that you had to confront the heavy cavalry or horse archers. The cavalry, attacking the construction of the “turtle,” rapidly dispersed the ranks of the Roman warriors, making them vulnerable to archers and spearmen. After the cavalry broke the ranks of the Romans, archers, spearmen and other light infantry destroyed a certain number of soldiers, which was enough to ensure that the system was no longer restored.
After the "turtle" was completely dispersed, Roman warriors became easy prey for the enemy. They had to flee or perish on the spot.
Varieties of "tortoise"
The Byzantine Empire soldiers had exactly the same type of battle formation for defense. The difference is that it was called “fulkon”. The Byzantines also used it in battle with varying success.
In the early Middle Ages in Europe, in German tribes, there was a similar military defense structure of soldiers. However, there was a significant difference in the fact that the soldiers, covering themselves with shields, also put their spears towards the enemy.
Thus, the soldiers were protected by shields, and also did not give the opportunity to attack themselves with the enemy cavalry, since the horses either stopped in front of the protruding spears, or died with the rider. However, this type of construction also had a weak point - this is the distance between the soldiers. Due to the exposed copies, it increased, which made them vulnerable to archers.
An interesting fact is that the construction of the "turtle" has survived to this day. It is used by police when trying to disperse a large number of protesters or raging football fans. Rectangular shields are also used to protect law enforcement officers from stones.