What is a formation?

Ancient Chinese battles paid great attention to formations, that is, combat formations, which are called "formation formations."

If the formation is arranged correctly, the combat effectiveness of the army can be fully utilized and the enemy can be defeated.

There are three famous combat formations in ancient Chinese military history: 1. Eighth Formation This was created by Sun Bin, a great military strategist during the Warring States Period. It is said to have been inspired by the Bagua diagram in the "Book of Changes", so it is also called the Bagua Formation.

The specific formation is that the general is in the center, with a team of regular soldiers on each side, and four teams of mobile combat troops are sent between the regular soldiers to form eight formations.

The eight formations are scattered into eight, and then become one again. The division and combination change can form sixty-four formations.

At that time, Zhuge Liang also used stones to set up eight formations in Fengjie, Sichuan, which were used as coaches for soldiers to practice formations. They were called "eight formations." 2. The Star Spreading Formation was the formation used by the famous Southern Song Dynasty general Yue Fei to defeat the "Guaizi Horse" of the Jin soldiers.

Law.

The formation of the Star Spreading Formation is arranged like stars. When a row of "kidnapping horses" rush towards them, the soldiers scatter and do not gather together, causing the enemy to fly into the air.

The soldiers who dispersed when the enemy retreated gathered together, pounced on the enemy violently, and chopped the horse's legs with their swords to break the "kidnapping horse".

3. The Yuanyang Formation is a formation created by Qi Jiguang, a general in the Ming Dynasty, to fight against Japanese pirates.

He divided the soldiers into three teams. When the enemy advanced to a hundred steps, the first team of soldiers fired firearms; when the enemy advanced to sixty steps, the second team of soldiers fired crossbows; when the enemy advanced to ten steps, the third team of soldiers fired at them with swords and spears.

The enemy rushes to kill.

These changes reflect the evolution of China's combat formations from traditional phalanx formations to multi-arm group formations.

Introduction to ancient formations Simply put, "formation" is the field formation of the ancient army. It is the product of the development of human warfare to a certain historical stage. It prevailed in the cold weapon age and died in the hot weapon age.

In the clan society, human wars were manifested in tribal conflicts. There was no army at that time, and there was no command. Most of the battles were swarmed, like group fights, so naturally there was no such thing as "formation."

With the development of history, slave countries emerged. In order to consolidate their rule and plunder slaves (war captives were the main source of slaves), slave owners began to form organized armies and adopt certain formations. This is the original "formation"

.

"Array" emerged in the process of the creation of the army due to the need to organize the army and command battles. It integrates the results of ancient military system and tactics.

Eastern war formations originated in China.

The earliest formation in China is said to have begun with the Yellow Emperor. In order to defeat Chi You, the Yellow Emperor learned the formation (Tianyi Dunjia) from the god (Jiutian Xuannv). However, this is just a legend, and the evidence can be tested in the late Shang Dynasty.

In the 12th century BC, Shang King Wu Yi went to Wu Ding to formulate the "three divisions" of left, center and right. Judging from the naming of the "three divisions", a fixed formation was adopted.

In 1066 BC, King Wu defeated Zhou, and "three hundred and fifty troops of the Zhou army were sent to Muye", and "Chen" passed the "formation".

The early formations were relatively simple. According to the organization of the "Three Divisions", they were arranged in a line or a square. The formation warfare method was extremely popular in the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. It was a common situation at that time: two armies were scheduled to fight at a certain place.

The formations are in order and they attack each other...

Chinese formations developed and matured during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Representatives of this achievement include "Six Tao", "Wu Zi" and "Sun Bin's Art of War".

"Six Tao", also known as "Tai Gong's Art of War", is said to have been written by Jiang Shang of the Western Zhou Dynasty. According to research, it is a forgery of later generations. It was written in the pre-Qin or early Han Dynasty, but there is no conclusion yet; "Wu Zi" is the art of war of the famous Warring States general Wu Qi, which is slightly

Believable.

The above two art of war mainly introduce the vehicle formation.

After the Warring States Period, infantry and cavalry replaced chariots as the main component of the army, and formations changed and developed. In 1972, "Sun Bin's Art of War" was unearthed, which described ten formations (square formation, circular formation, conical formation).

array, etc.), and how to use them.

The "Wei Liao Zi" of the same period originally had a "Formation Chapter", but it has been lost now.

After the Qin and Han dynasties, the military strategists of the past dynasties of our country also developed the battle method: Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of the Three Kingdoms, wrote the "New Book of Meng De" (has been lost, only a few quotations remain), which has a special chapter describing the method of marching and formation; the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty (Shu)

Zhuge Liang "deduced the art of war and made eight formations." The "Eight Formations of Marquis Wu" was passed down to later generations and had a wide influence.

"Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and Li Weigong's Question and Answer" deeply studies the formation method.

Yue Fei of the Southern Song Dynasty left a fragment of the Art of War to teach formations.

In the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang wrote "New Book of Jixiao" and "Records of Military Training" to explain formations in detail. Qi Jiguang also created his own "Yuanyang Formation" and "Sancai Formation", which showed their power in the anti-Japanese war.

The armies of all dynasties in our country practice formations.

Japanese formations originated in China.

On November 10, the fourth year of Tenpyei Hoji's reign (760), Kasukabe Sanseki, the master of swordsmanship, and Nishikanzei, the master of Chuweishe family, and six other people, together with Dazaifu's great general Yoshibimabei and other generals, practiced "martial arts" in the army.

Houba Formation" and Sun Tzu's "Nine Places" were widely used in actual combat since the Yuanping War.

After the baptism of previous wars and combined with the actual situation of Japan, the "Eight Formations of Wuhou" developed into fish scales, sharp arrows, crane wings, Yanyue, fangyuan, wild goose, long snake, and balanced yoke. The person who organized these eight formations was Takeda, a famous Japanese general in the Warring States Period.

Shingen is therefore also known as the "Takeda Eight Formations".

Here is a brief introduction: Fish Scale Formation: The general is located in the back of the formation, and the main troops are assembled in the center. They are divided into a number of small fish scale-shaped square formations. They are arranged in echelons and have a slightly convex front end. It is an offensive formation.

Tactical Thought: "Central Breakthrough".

Concentrate your forces to launch a fierce attack on the center of the enemy's formation. Use it when your own side has the advantage. The weakness of the formation lies on the rear side.