LEUCTRA 371 BC

◗ Murray Dahm ◗ Osprey (2021) ◗ £15.99 ◗ 96 pages (softback) ◗ ISBN:9781472843517 ◗ ospreypublishing.com

Ancient battles are always a difficult subject for a book: the battle site is rarely known, and sources are few and often biased. Unusually, there are quite a number of sources for this campaign between Sparta and Thebes and the various allies on both sides – helpful in building up a picture of likely events (including the prior battle of Tegyra in 375 BC), but inevitably with conflicting accounts.

The author has produced a meticulously researched analysis replete with references to each source, so this is probably about as close as we’ll get to those events around 2,400 years ago. The battle, and similar later battles, are often used as an example of tactical skills: destruction of the opposing command structure; overwhelming an enemy flank whilst refusing your own weaker flank; pre-battle morale-building; and the use of elite troops to best effect. Hoplite warfare probably isn’t the most exciting of wargames, but this battle offers unusual tactical psychology where the Theban-led 7,000 beat a feared Spartanled 10,000 – an almost unimaginable outcome in its day.