Pre gunpowder, where infantry charges actually a thing? Did foot soldiers ever run at each other?

by Orange_comfort

Finding no good sources about this and naturally having zero trust in any media telling me about it in a believable way, I wonder if infantry of any kind ever did any kind of charges?
You often see in media how two battle lines run at each other from quite far away and I find that hard to believe to have occurred in such a way as it breaks formations and perhaps unduly exhausts the fighters.

So, when two lines of infantry met one another on the battlefield, how did it actually transpire? Perhaps I should narrow the historical scope as different cultures probably had different tactics, but I’m a bit ignorant on the matter.

You're right to be suspicious of media depictions, since they're almost universally crap at depicting combat (ask me about the Hollywood Combat Moshpit), but there is fairly enough truth in infantry lines charging other infantry lines. Where it differs is what happens during.

u/Iphikrates and u/Rittermeister note how infantry combat went for the Greeks and the Medievals;
Iphikrates also goes further into the 'pulse theory' of combat;
so does u/Hergrim (with a bit more Iphikrates) in this post asking about rioters versus police.
and more Hergrim on the dimensions of combat.

As always, more can be said from anyone with the knowledge, so if you'd like to contribute further about a particular area, don't let this post stop you!