reated the manoeuvre known as the ‘Oblique Advance’. In this formation, the right side of the battalion would attack the opposition, until it has been weakened. Once this has occurred, the left and middle of the battalion would attack. The army could contain many hundreds of these individual battalions. Another component of the National Army was the Companion Cavalry. The members of this were recruited from the Macedonian aristocracy. They were organized into smaller, divisional squadrons whose loyalty was directed specifically towards Philip. This group included an elite corps referred to as the ‘royal guard’, which consisted of over one hundred men. The third component of the National Army were the Ancillary units which consisted of light cavalry, peltasts, slingers, engineers and sappers. The Macedonians also seemed to have a greater understanding of siege warfare. They effectively used catapults, battering rams, mobile towers and mounds of earth. All of the components of the army were extensively trained in many manoeuvres, which Philip had either developed or learned, and the army was drilled in these regularly. Philip built roads and fortified posts which lessened the difficulties associated with the armies’ frequent campaigns and also assisted in creating a sense of security within the Macedonian population. Equipped with his newly formed army Philip could begin to assert himself as a major power in the Greek world. Firstly, however, he had to unify and protect Macedon. He used his army to guard his borders in case of attack from northern rivals, and also to enforce the law amongst the unruly populace. Philip, when he came to power, was at a great disadvantage. One of the only attributes that Macedon could boast was its manpower. Macedon, as backward and uncivilized as many Greeks liked to think, was a well-populated place, and Philip utilized this abundance of people to build a strong, well-organi...
