[hnbad]

What we do know about pre-modern warfare though is that people generally didn't want to die, didn't want to kill each other and many times battles ended with one of the two armies losing morale and fleeing or surrendering. Individual battles could also last for days with very little time actually being spent physically clashing.

Two phalanxes meeting face-to-face with neither side drastically outnumbering the other was likely the worst case scenario because it meant a war of attrition rather than a quick and decisive victory.