Why the Echelon? Part # of a on going series of stuff Raz doesn't get

[Razgovory]

Okay, I know what Echelon formation is but I don't understand exactly why it's successful or why it's used.  Especially in ancient warfare.  I'm sure some people here understand it and I would be grateful of they explained to me.

[Viking]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echelon_formation

use google.

[The Nickname Who Was Thursday]

use google.

Using youtube gives less useful results.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEXAsgUqrCc

[Razgovory]

Ya see.  I used wikipedia but I still don't really understand.  That's why I asked here.

[Viking]

Ya see.  I used wikipedia but I still don't really understand.  That's why I asked here.

"An echelon formation is a military formation in which members are arranged diagonally"

[Razgovory]

Refer back to original post.  If you don't know, don't post anything here.

[Viking]

See how each of the hoplite squares to the right is is slightly behind. This is an example of an echelon.

[Josquius]

He's asking why/how its useful, not what it is.

[Razgovory]

Man I thought I was dumb.

[Warspite]

The use of the formation may assist in the avoidanace of being flanked, I guess.

[szmik]

try it in RTW

Btw, what answers do you expect? It all depended on tactical situation, battlefield characteristics, personnel employed, etc.
I guess there were many battles when it wasn't scuccessful at all.

[PDH]

The echelon can be used to move the center of mass, as at Leuctra, so that one part of the battle line will engage (with greater force) while refusing the rest of the line.  When met with a conventially aligned force, this allows the attacker to bring superior numbers to the point of contact.

It can also be used to perform a series of attacks either in a small area or along the line, with the initial attacks forcing (hopefully) the defender to commit reserves, and the latter attacks meeting less resistance.  Apparantly, Lee's plan of attack on the 2nd day of Gettyburgh was an echelon from Right to Left.

[KRonn]

To elaborate on the wiki info, one use for it was to heavily weight one flank to crush an enemy flank, while other formations were in echelon behind the main push, to refuse battle but keep enemy units occupied along the line. The wiki gave the example  of that Thebes vs Sparta battle posted here. I was wondering why it would be used too, but that gives what I'd think is a good reason for the formation.

In modern warfare one use is for units providing covering fields of fire to each other,  perhaps easier by being in echelon rather than in a straight line, in order to cover other unit's flanks and rear. That's what I understood from the wiki, and it makes sense.

[grumbler]

Raz, the echelon was used to overwhelm a portion of the enemy' line with the strongest part of your army, while leaving the weakest part of your army to engage last, thus limiting the time your weakers troops had to hold off the enemy.  Ideally, the stong portion of your army overwhelms the enemy at one end of the line, and strarts to roll the enemy up with flank attacks, before the weaker part of your army is itself overwhelmed and the enemy does the same to you.

Because you have troops facing all of the enemy's troops, the enemy cannot weaken his line to reinforce where your strong usits are (your troops would attack any gaps) and so you get to emphasize your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses.

This tactic was only useful in linear warfare (ancients, musteman era, and the like) because if the enemy's troops are maneuverable, reserves will be posted and they can reinforce the line where you are attacking in strength.

[Berkut]

In the time of linear battles, there was a tendency for the center to draw in flanking forces - basically, think of the center as having some "gravity" that tends, as the engagement progresses, to draw units in as it compacts.

An echelon formation is an effort to both

A) Counter the tendency for your own formation to contract towards the center, and
B) Take advantage of the contraction towards the center of the enemies units, by creating a temporal spacing of your own engagement.

Ideally, as your left (for example) engages the enemy right, the enemies left will tend to fall to the right, and as they contract, your own left slams into the line against a now compromised formation.

Basically, it is an effort to maintain your own cohesion through time by controlling the commitment of your own forces. Battles in this time are often largely uncontrolled once units engage - therefore, a plan that can be executed without continued input from commanders is desirable. The echelon attack is implementable, since it does not rely on any particular instruction once the engagement starts, yet still tries to maintain some cohesion a bit longer through measured commitment.