Editing Flying wedge (section)

==== Scandinavian and Germanic ====
{{main|Svinfylking}}
''Keilerkopf'' or ''Keil'' (wild boar's head, wedge, Latin: ''cuneus'', meaning throng<ref name="Germanic warriordom">[http://www.zeno.org/Geschichte/M/Delbrück,+Hans/Geschichte+der+Kriegskunst/2.+Teil.+Die+Germanen/1.+Buch.+Der+Kampf+der+Römer+und+Germanen/2.+Kapitel.+Das+germanische+Kriegertum The Germanic warriordom (German)] [[Hans Delbrück]], 1920, History of warfare in the framework of political history, Part 2 The Teutons, Book 1 The struggle of the Romans and Teutons, Chapter 2 The Germanic warriordom&nbsp;{{ISBN|0-8371-8163-1}}</ref>) is a German phrase to describe the attack formation ("Tactical body") of the prehistoric infantry of the [[Celts]] and [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]]. It is generally believed that the Germanic tribes were more successful with this tactic than the Celts. It was used to force the Roman forces to split and was later applied specifically to the weakest units.

Due to the high discipline this formation required and the relatively high probability of failure, it is assumed that the front lines were filled with the best and most heavily armoured warriors of the Germanic [[sibb]]s who had to break the Roman front line.

Here the individual warrior tried to gain [[Celebrity|fame]] and glory in the battle. The most distinguished princes and their acolytes stood at the head of the ''Keil''. However, this was also the most dangerous point, whence the need to be heavily armoured. But an army leader who survived a lost battle often forfeited his life (usually suicide). Warriors who had fled were hanged or slain.

According to the Roman historian [[Tacitus]], the ''Keil'' was a tightly packed crowd, strong on all sides, not only in front and back, but also on the flanks.<ref>Tacitus, [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 4#20|Hist. IV, 20]]</ref> The formation was not like a wedge but more like a [[rectangle]] with forty warriors in the first line and 1,600 men strong. In this formation, the wingmen are at most risk. It was therefore well possible that the wing marched with some caution and held back a bit, so that the center stormed further and looked like a wedge. The outer ranks of the rear on the other hand swelled slightly. The goal was to hit hard at the same time and to drive a 40 yard wide hole into the enemy line, according to the German historian [[Hans Delbrück]].<ref name="Germanic warriordom" />

According to [[Richard Francis Burton|Richard Burton]], the central body consisted of heavily armed, [[warrior]]s protecting less-armored [[archery|archer]]s to the sides. The triangular formation was used to overwhelm an enemy with a frontal assault. Family groups and tribes were placed side-by-side in units to maintain its cohesion in battle.<ref name=tacitus98/><ref name=burton1987>{{cite book|author=Richard F. Burton|title=Book of the sword|publisher=Dover Publications; Revised ed. edition|year=1987|chapter=CHAPTER XIII. THE SWORD AMONGST THE BARBARIANS (EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE)|isbn=0486254348|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofsword00burt|url-access=registration}}</ref> The tactic was a formidable assault strategy against defenders in line or column, however, attackers faced annihilation in the event of retreat because the wedge became an ill-defined mob if its forward momentum collapsed.<ref name=burton1987/><ref name=tacitus98>"Quodque præcipuum fortitudinis incitamentum est, non casus, nec fortuita conglobatio turmam aut cuneum facit, sed familiæ et propinquitates" - ''Tacit. Germ. 7.'' Refer [[Germania (book)]]</ref>

When the Germanic ''Keil'' was advancing against the enemy, they sang the ''baritus'' or ''barditus'', the battle song ([[battle cry]]); it begins with a muffled grumbling and swells with the heat of the battle up to the roar of the waves beating against the rocks. According to Germanic legend and Tacitus, [[Hercules]] once visited German soil and they sang of him first of all heroes.<ref>Tacitus, [[s:Germania#III|Germania III]], [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 2#22|Hist. II, 22]], [[s:The Histories (Tacitus)/Book 4#18|Hist. IV, 18]].</ref>