Equipment and Tactics: KEY WORDS

Section 2- Equipment and Tactics

infantry

soldiers who fight on foot

cavalry

soldiers who fight on horsebackk

hoplite

a Greek infantry soldier

hoplite panoply

the full set of hoplite armour

lightly armoured soldier

a Greek infantry soldier who didn’t have the full hoplite panoply, may have had some parts of it, but made do with whatever weapons and armour he could buy

cuirass

breastplate armour protecting the chest

tunic

fabric garment worn underneath armour to prevent hard armour rubbing against the skin

greaves

armour protecting the shins

thong/thonging

leather strap

hoplon

hoplites circular shield

Corinthian

type of helmet used by Greek hoplites with protection for the whole head, including the face thanks to pointed cheek plates

pilos

type of helmet used by Greek hoplites, it was a metal cap that protected the top of the head but left the face undefended

cassis

Roman legionary helmet

pilum

Roman legionary’s spear

gladius

Roman legionary’s sword

plate armour

armour made of more than one plate, connected by moving joints so the soldier can move more freely

scutum

Roman legionary’s shield; shaped like curved rectangle/semicylinder

sporran

apron of leather strips hanging from the belt giving additional protection to the groin

close quarters

when you’re up close with your enemy, fighting using short-range weapons like swords

medium—range

when you’re not too close, not too far from your enemy, fighting using short-range weapons like swords

long-range

when you’re far away from your enemy, fighting using projectiles such as javelins, bow and arrow or stones

phalanx formation

infantry formation popular in Greece, comprising of rows and columns of fighters, armed with spear and shield

testudo

formation used by Roman infantry soldiers, involving locking shields together in front and above to make a shell

good at blocking projectiles and allowed the soldiers to advance to close quarters

loose formation

when soldiers fighting nearby to one another in sort of group, but fighting individually and not in a strict formation like the phalanx or testudo

outflank/outflanked

when the enemy gets around to be able to attack you from the side or back

scouting

going ahead of the main army on campaign to gather information about enemy’s position or the lay of the land

siege

tactic employed against forts or walled towns; army would surround the defensive structure and wait for the enemy to run out of suplies, which would force them to surrender

artillery

large-scale devices for firing projectiles

ballista/catapulta

like a crossbow, fired blots with high accuracy

onager

had a single swinging arm, used for flinging rocks at the enemy

bullet

a stone or metal lump that would be fired using a slingshot

battering ram

device used for knocking through doors or weak walls

siege tower

structure used for scaling enemy defences; offered some protection for soldiers as they got close to and climbed the walls