They are skilled at hiding and attacking from ambush, but should be drawn back as soon as an actual battle commences.Ĭalled into service and briefly trained, the Levy Pikemen was a basic unit for defense, not much more. They are also armed with swords and shields, but their lack of armour makes them as weak at close quarters as most other ranged units.
The Greek equivalent of skirmishers, peltasts carry a bunch of javelins into battle. They wear no other armour, and rely on speed as the best form of protection, and this isn't much protection should they be caught by cavalry. Peltasts are equipped with a clutch of javelins, a sword and a light shield, the pelte, which gives them their name as 'pelte-bearers'. They are also adept at staging tactical ambushes. They are skirmishers and it is their task to harass and disrupt enemy units before the main battle lines clash. Macedonian peltasts advance at speed to pepper an enemy with javelins, and then withdraw in good order before a counter-attack can be organised. They are, however, experts at reading the land and hiding when there is cover. They have little tactical sense, and even less willingness to fight - they would rather be defending their own homes than be dragged to a battle they neither care about nor understand.
Numbers are useful in all armies, and forcing peasants to fight is one way of getting lots of men in the field quickly and cheaply. Peasants are reluctant warriors, but barbarian peasants are better fighters than most: hard lives produce hard men.
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