New army tactic?

When I was studying some big battle scenes Miura has drawn, I noticed some phalanx formations outside of Vritannis (episode 244). Have we seen these formations before in Berserk, or is this a new tactic the army uses to repel the Kushans massive elephant and horse armies? Or can it be one of midlands foreign allies?

What do you think?

docster said:

Have we seen these formations before in Berserk, or is this a new tactic the army uses to repel the Kushans massive elephant and horse armies? Or can it be one of midlands foreign allies?

Click to expand...

I don't remember seeing that exact formation before from memory, but that doesn't mean it wasn't already used or anything (off screen ). Other than that, I'm pretty sure it's not one of Midland's armies, Serpico doesn't mention even them (and most have been destroyed anyway). Remember that the coalition in Vritannis isn't led by Midland.

In Volume 28 EPISODE 244 Serpico showed us his heraldry talents and outlined the nations of the HOLY SEE order. There are some similarities between the situations of those HOLY SEE nations and the developing nation states of late medieval Europe.

Randal is a nation of rough character that won its from Balden and wants to showcase their toughness to the other countries. Switzerland won its independence from the Holy Roman Empire and was known for its redoubtable mercenary troops. The Swiss used the hedgehog formation shown in the scan you posted which was designed to counter heavy cavalry. As for its similarities to the Macedonian phalanx, its mostly a case of convergent evolution. The pike square was the main striking arm for the Swiss while the phalanx was the anvil to the cavalry's hammer.

Balden also resembles the HRE as it has to deal with interal strife and can't commit many troops. The eastern most nations of Morgal and Waratoria have tangled with the Kushans before so they will probably have a military that sports both eastern and western features. Poland and Hungary were under threat from the Ottomans and various Turkic tribes and had to adapt to those styles of warfare. The Hundred years war Midland/Tudor similarities have been brought up before and the Vanelia/Italian City states are uncannily a like.