Greetings Dakkites,
I am doing some work on the early successor period (Diadochi) and had some questions about the Lamian War. This was a revolt by the Greeks after the death of Alexander. This revolt was fought and land and at sea. After initial victories for the Greeks, Antipater, Craterus, and Leonnatus were able to defeat them at the Battle of Crannon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamian_War
https://www.britannica.com/event/Lamian-War
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_lamian.html
Here is the sources:
Diodorus Siculus 18.16.4-18.17.5 (Loeb trans)
"About the same time Craterus also departed from Cilicia and arrived in Macedonia to reinforce Antipater and to make good the defeats that the Macedonians had suffered. He brought with him six thousand foot soldiers from those who had crossed into Asia with Alexander and four thousand from those who had been enlisted on the march, one thousand Persian bowmen and slingers, and fifteen hundred horsemen. Entering Thessaly and freely yielding the chief command to Antipater, he shared a camp with him beside the Peneius River. Including those who had been under Leonnatus, there were gathered together in all more than forty thousand heavy armed infantry, three thousand bowmen and slingers, and five thousand cavalry.
The Greeks who were encamped against them at this time were far inferior in numbers; for many of them, despising the enemy because of their former good fortune, had gone away to their own cities to p61look after their private affairs. Since many soldiers were absent from duty for this reason, there remained in camp only twenty-five thousand foot soldiers and thirty-five hundred cavalry. They placed their chief hope of victory in the latter, because the men were brave and the ground was level.
At last Antipater began to draw up his forces each day and challenge the Greeks to battle. For a while these waited for their men to return from their cities, but since time was pressing, they were forced to come out and stake all. They drew up their lines, placing the cavalry in front of the phalanx of infantry, since they were eager to decide the battle by means of this arm. When the cavalry had met in battle and the Thessalian horsemen were getting the advantage because of their valour, Antipater led out his own phalanx and, rushing upon the infantry of the enemy, began to make great slaughter. The Greeks, since they were not able to withstand the weight and number of the enemy, immediately withdrew to the rough ground, carefully keeping their ranks. Thus they occupied the higher ground and easily repulsed the Macedonians thanks to their possession of the superior position. Although the Greek cavalry had gained the advantage, as soon as the horsemen learned of the withdrawal of the infantry, they at once retired toward them. Then, after such a combat as I have described, the battle was broken off, as the scales of victory swung in favour of the Macedonians. More than five hundred of the Greeks were killed in the battle, and one hundred and thirty of the Macedonians."
I am assuming Antipater and Craterus troops were using the standard Macedonian set-up that Phillip/Alexander's army used in the previous few decades. The same Macedonian Sarissa Phalanx blocks, Hypaspists, archers/slingers, and light cavalry. I have a feeling Companion cavalry was not in use, due to the challenge they faced with the Thessalian forces.
However, I am less certain about the Greek forces. Since the term Phalanx is used by both armies, was the Greek army composed of Hoplites, peltasts, and psiloi of the older Greek city-states? Did the infantry fight using the same methods found in the Theban hegemony that Phillip had defeated 4 decades earlier? Or is it more likely that the Greek city-states had adopted the new Macedonian style of fighting using Sarissa armed pike blocks? The sources are a bit frustrating on this point.
Can anyone point me to some additional sources on this subject? From what I can find, it looks like the Greeks in the Lamian War are assumed to fight in the standard Classical Greek Hoplite fashion, since standard Hoplites still seemed to be part of Alexander's Army as well. Therefore, the Hoplite style of fighting had not completely gone out of style. On the other hand, they had been defeated decisively and integrated into Phillip/Alexander's empire so it seems likely that they could have adopted the Macedonian style as well.
Your thoughts?