I’m not talking about tactics, or maneuvering troops on a macro level. What I mean is do we have any idea how individual soldiers in something like a Greek phalanx would be told what to do? And how was that order filtered down and handed out to individual groups on a hectic battlefield?
For instance, if in a battle a phalanx has to change its dimensions, like go from 10 men long to 30 men long, how would something like that have been ordered and carried out in the heat of battle? And that goes for tactics in organized ancient armies throughout the world.
I hope my question makes sense, I’ll be happy to add clarification if needed.
Hi! You may be interested in my earlier answer to this question. The main point is that Greek phalanxes, contrary to popular belief, were not capable of carrying out manoeuvres like this, in part because their methods of conveying orders were not up to the task. Decisions to increase the depth of the line could only be made at the local level, and only by troops that had received some training (i.e. Spartans and Spartan-led mercenaries).
There were standard procedures for orders like these only in the professional pike phalanxes of the Hellenistic period, which had more elaborate officer hierarchies and formation drill and were trained to recognise a range of trumpet signals.