redpill me about the wedge formation
>>892054
It's more aerodynamic than square formation.
[spoiler]:^)[/spoiler]
>>892054
This makes no sense, it makes for the first h rows to be in a disadvantage and probably, easily killed. Once you get to the real force at the end of the formation, most of your men are already killed.
>>892078
Maybe, it was meant to rout broken infantry or they didn't actually charge frontally? I'm guessing for fun, I don't know shit.
>>892078
then why was it used
>>892078
tell me this genius
do you split a piece of wood with the flat end of an axe or the sharp end
>>892121
Are soldiers peices of wood now?
Did Napoleon know about this?
>>892054
It's symbolic.
>>892054
Formation breaking
>>892078
>>892093
Wedge formations throughout history and in many cultures was an assault formation aimed at the weakest part of an enemy's line (i.e. Faltering, thin lines, etc.). It's goal is to break through that line and pour guys in to shank them on the behinds.
Also a wedge formation isn't alone. A huge bunch of reserves follow the wedge as it passes through the enemy. Which is the whole point of the execrsise.
Shit is still used in Riot Control and works like a charm versus edgelord mobs.
>>892151
That's pretty cool.
>>892054
Two major reasons.
One, despite what pop history may tell you, you very rarely had an unbroken line of battle on either side, especially in pre-modern warfare where armies of 100,000+ are extremely rare. You just don't have enough men to present a solid mass towards the enemy, and your "line" almost always had breaks in it as terrain and different recruitment and organization dictated.
If you want to slip between cracks in the enemy, the narrower wedge can do this more easily than a spread out line or double line.
Secondly, it gives advantages in direction. Remember, if we're talking ancient or even medieval warfare, communication on the battlefield is mostly a hope and a dream, not a reality. It's hard to communicate beyond the level of waving a flag or "Shout really loudly", and your troops might not see the former, especially if they're fighting, or hear the latter over the din.
So while you the commander might want to try to break through an enemy line at point X, actually showing all of the dozens/hundreds/thousands of men who are actually going to do the fighting where to hit can be difficult. "Follow inward at the guy at the point of the wedge" is an instruction you can give before the charge, before it becomes nearly impossible to communicate further. Tell them to charge in a line, and you'll have to rely on your men's initiative to concentrate towards a weakness, and they might or might not be up to the tacsk.
>>892054
It was used to break through defensive lines. The head of the wedge concentrates on a narrow section of the enemy line, which is more effective than attacking them in a wider formation. After they break through, the following parts of the wedge widens the gap, opening them for another attack.
>>892078
It's meant to allow a large number of your cavalry (the back rows) to exploit a small physical area (created by the sacrifice of the men of the first row)
Imagine if you had a rectangular formation only two lines deep. You'd charge into a defensive line that can handle at maximum, a two line charge.You would lose all of your men because they're spread out and exhausted across the defensive line, which would survive.
If you charge in wedge formation, you hit a small target. Your first two lines will be done for but the defensive line will be weak enough at that point for the rest of your men to pour through. From there, you can attack the enemy from behind and sandwich them with the rest of your units.
>>892139
yes actually.
You could yourself some good if you ever thought about the physics of crowds and organized units of single bodies.
