Mercenary Phalangites
Mercenary. Hired from a regional pool, not recruited from a building.
Class: spearmen · Category: infantry · Men per unit: 60
Description
Even though the training to fight in a Macedonian phalanx took a long time, we often find mercenary phalangites in Hellenistic armies. At the Battle of Raphia in 217 BC, for instance, the Ptolemies fielded 8000 Hoplite and Phalangite mercenaries (Polyb. V, 65, 4), while the Seleucids had 5000 men at their disposal (Polyb. V, 79, 9). Even the Achaian League, reputedly built on civic values and the honour of the citizen soldiers and being traditional Hoplite country, passed a decree under Aratos of Sikyon at the same time that "they were to keep up a mercenary force of eight thousand foot and five hundred horse" (Polyb. V, 91, 6). Increasing numbers of these mercenaries will have been phalangites, and they encompassed both men who might have fought as (mercenary) Hoplites in the past, and those who served in the regiments of defeated kings and warriors, such as Lysimachos, Pyrrhos or Ptolemaios Keraunos. Suddenly without a job, they offered their services to whoever would pay them best. Some of them might even have been part of foreign armies and were "rented" for a certain campaign or war, a practice known for some Achaians and Aitolians.
Stats
| Rank in roster | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men per unit | 60 | █████████· 87% |
| Attack | 20 | ██████████ 98% |
| Charge bonus | 2 | █········· 11% |
| Defence | 27 | ███······· 34% |
| · armour | 10 | █████····· 54% |
| · defence skill | 14 | ██········ 17% |
| · shield | 3 | ████······ 37% |
| Morale | 11 | ████······ 39% |
| Discipline | Normal | |
| Training | Highly trained | |
| Recruitment cost | 3,021 dn | ████████·· 84% |
| Upkeep per turn | 737 dn | ███████··· 71% |
| Turns to recruit | 3 |
Weapons
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | 20 | 5 | Charge bonus | 2 | 2 | Type | melee · blade | melee · simple | Damage | piercing | piercing |
| Properties | Long spear (bonus against cavalry, penalty against infantry) · +8 attack against cavalry · very long pike (phalanx) | — |
Defence
| Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 27 | — | Armour | 10 | — | Defence skill | 14 | — | Shield | 3 | — |
Condition and terrain
| Hit points | 1 | Ground: scrub / sand / forest / snow | -5 / -1 / -8 / -1 | Charge distance | 0 | Formations | Square · Phalanx |
Technical stats
| Time between blows (primary / secondary) | 2.5 s / 2.5 s | Extra fatigue in hot climates | 1 | Collision mass per man (1.0 is normal) | 1.09 | Spacing between men: close / loose | 1 × 1 m / 2 × 2.4 m |
| Default ranks | 5 |
In battle: Can sap · Very good stamina
Where to hire it
No mercenary pool on the campaign map offers this unit, so it cannot be hired.