BATTLE. In a military sense, a battle implies the encounter of two hostile armies, accompanied by mutual slaughter, and contending for some important object. The bad passions of men have ever been the cause of animosities and quarrels, which, among the individuals of civilized society, are generally decided according to certain laws established for the welfare of the community. But when differences arise among nations, there is no tribunal to appeal to, and the matter in dispute is often determined by force of arms. They collect a number of men together, whom they equip with the instruments'of destruction, and hence form what are called 'armies. When these armies are brought in contact, and each endeavours to destroy the other, their efforts for that purpose, constitute what is denominated a battle.
In early times, a battle was a fierce tumultuary contest, the issue of which depended upon the physi. cal strength of the combatants, because armies were then an assemblage of men, without order or disci pline. But when arts and civilization had made some progress among mankind, the military system was improved, and battles were conducted with regularity, and subjected to certain rules, that taught melt to de stroy their species in a more dexterous manner than formerly, or, in other words, armies were trained to the art of war, which gave them a decided superiority over an undisciplined multitude. The formation, or mode of drawing up in army in the field of battle, is an important branch of military science, as a victory or/a defeat may ensue from the proper or improper disposition of the troopi. It is, therefore, the busi ness of the commander to arrange the squadrons and battalions of his army in such a manner, as.to join battle with the greatest-possible advantage..
The first battle, circumstantially recorded, is that of Thyrobrai between the Persians and Lydians, with their respective allies, commanded by Cyrus and Crce. sus. The artily of the former consisted of 196,000 horse and foot, armed with cuirasses, bucklers, pikes, swords; bows, and •slings, besides chariots with scythes, and moveable towers containing archers. Cyrus drew up his arniy in five lines, with the ca valry on the flanks. The'heivy armed infantry were placed .in the first line, 'twelve deep ; in the second, the spearmen, light armed ;' in the third, the archers; in the fourth, troops similarly armed as the first line, intended to support the preceding lines, and as a corps de•-reserve ; and in the fifth; the moveable towers.
The armed chariots were divided into three small bodies, one of which was placed in front, and the other two were stationed on the flanks of the lines. Crcesus' army was twice as numerous as the Persian, and was drawn up in -one line, 30 men in depth, with the exception') of the Egyptian forces, which were stationed in the centre, and adhered to their accus tomed order, of battle.. They were formed in square battalions, consisting of 10,000 men, with proper in tervals between each battalion. The cavalry were btationed, on the flanks of the. line. When Crcesus observed that, his front extended so far beyond that of the army of Cyrus, he halted the centre and ad vanced the flanks, that they might inclose the Per sians. But Cyrus' cavalry and chariots briskly at tacking them, they were dispersed. The Egyptian battalions, however, pressed forward, and drove the Persian lines tip to their machines, but their flanks and rear being unprotected, they were exposed to the attacks of the victorious wings of the Persian army, and finally compelled to surrender, which ter minated the battle.
The account of this battle is no where to be found, but in Xenophon's Curoperdia, which is a philosophi cal romance. But it probably bears the same rela tion to truth, that the incidents narrated in a modern work of that class bear to the real occurrences in 'life; and it may contain a faithful description of the Persian method of forming an army for battle in the age of Cyrus, with which Xenophon must have been' well acquainted. We therefore discover, that by the Persian order of battle, the cavalry were placed on the flanks, and the up in lines, accord ing to the nature of the weapons with which they were armed, and the efficacy that was to be expected from them in action. The first line consisting of heavy armed troops, using the short pike and scymi tar ; the second, light armed, with javelins, which they could project over the first line ; the third, ar chers, where strong bows could throw the arrow over the two preceding lines ; the fourth, heavy armed, intended as a corps-de-reserve ; and, lastly, their machines and moveable towers, which answered nearly the same purpose as modern batteries.