Editing Flying wedge (section)

==== Greeks and Romans ====
[[File:Wedge-Formation-advantage.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Tactical principles of the Flying Wedge]]
The wedge (ἔμβολον, ''embolon'' in [[Greek language|Greek]]; ''cuneus'' in [[Latin]], colloquially also ''caput porcinum'', "[[boar]]'s head"), was used by both infantry and cavalry. The men deployed in a triangular or trapezoid formation with the tip leading the way. According to [[Arrian]] and [[Asclepiodotus (philosopher)|Asclepiodotus]], the wedge was first used by the [[Scythians]], and then the [[Thracians]]. [[Philip II of Macedon]] adopted it from them as the main formation of his [[Companion cavalry]] and Alexander the Great faced Persian cavalry arrayed thus, as Arrian attests.  The advantage of the wedge was that it offered a narrow point for piercing enemy formations and concentrated the leaders at the front. It was easier to turn than a square formation because everyone followed the leader at the apex, "like a flight of cranes".<ref>Lendon, J.E. (2006) ''Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity,'' Yale University Press, p. 98.</ref>

As an infantry formation it is attested by [[Frontinus]] to have been used by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] in [[Pydna]] against the [[Macedon]]ian line of [[Perseus of Macedon|Perseus]].<ref>Frontinus, Stratagems, II.iii.20</ref> It was also used to great effect by the [[Roman legion]]s, with the wedge proving effective in campaigns in Britain, such as during [[Boudicca's Revolt]], where a greatly outnumbered Roman army used it to defeat the [[Iceni]].