a general engagement between two armies in a country sufficiently open for them to encounter in front and at the same time (see WAR). The word is also written battel, battell, and battail. It is formed from the French battaille, of the Latin verb batuere, to fence or exercise with arms: whence batu- alia and batalia, which properly denoted the action or exercise of those who learned to fence, and who were hence also denominated batuatores.

The ancients never joined battle without much ceremony and preparation; as taking auguries, offering sacrifice, haranguing the soldiers, giving the word or a teferra, &c. The signals of battle were, founding the claeccum or general charge, and displaying a peculiar flag, called by Plutarch a purple robe. To which may be added, singing paeans, raising military shouts, and the like. A Roman legion, ranged in order of battle, consisted of hastati, placed in the front; of principes, who were all old experienced soldiers, placed behind the former; and of triarii, heavy armed with large bucklers, behind the principes. The hastati were ranked close; the ranks of the principes were much opener so that they could receive the hastati; and those of the triarii opener still, insomuch that they could receive both the principes and the hastati within them, without any disorder, and still facing the enemy. When therefore the hastati found themselves unable to stand the enemy's charge, they retired gently within the principes, where joining with them they renewed the combat. If these found themselves too weak to sustain the enemy, both retired among the triarii, where rallying, they formed a new corps, and charged with more vigour than ever. If these failed, the battle was lost: the Romans had no farther resource. The moderns are unacquainted with this method of inserting or embattling one company into another; without which the former cannot be well succoured or defended, and their places taken by others; which was a thing the Romans practised with great exactness. For the velites, and in latter times the archers and flingers, were not drawn up in this regular manner, but either disposed of before the front of the hastati, or scattered up and down among the void spaces of the hastati, or sometimes placed in two bodies in the wings. These always began the combat, skirmishing in flying parties with the foremost troops of the enemy. If they were repelled, which was usually the case, they fell back to the flanks of the army, or retired again in the rear. When they retired, the hastati advanced to the charge. As to the cavalry, it was posted at the two corners of the army, like the wings on a body; and fought sometimes on foot, sometimes on horseback. The auxiliary forces composed the two points of the battle, and covered the whole body of the Romans.—Other less usual forms of battle among the Romans were the cuneus, or wedge; globus, or round form; forfex, or pair of sheers; turris, or an oblong square figure; ferra, or saw. The Greeks were inferior to the Romans in marshalling their armies for battle, as they drew up their whole army in a front, and trusted the success of the day to a single force. They had three forms of battle for the horse, viz. the square, the wedge, and the rhombus or diamond form. The first held best for the defensive; the latter for the offensive; the wedge being preferred as bringing most hands to fight.

The Greeks notified the places of their battles and victories by adding the word Νίκη; whence Nicomedia Nicopolis, Theffalonica, &c. The ancient Britons did the like, by adding the word maes; whence Maesfeveth, Malmaisbury, &c. The English by the word field.—The Romans had their particular days, called praetiales dies, in which alone it was lawful to join battle, and others wherein it was unlawful, called dies atri. The Athenians, by the ancient laws of their country, were not to draw out their forces for battle till after the seventh day of the month: And Lucian relates of the Lacedaemonians, that by the laws of Lycurgus, they were not to fight before full moon. Among the Germans, it was reputed an impiety to fight in the wane of the moon; and Caesar tells us, that Ariovistus was beaten by him, because, contrary to the laws of his country, he had fought when the moon was in her wane. The German soldiers were intimidated with the apprehension, and afforded Caesar an easy victory; acie commissa, impeditos religione hostes vicit. It is well known that Jerusalem was taken by Pompey in an attack on the Sabbath-day, when by the Jewish superstitious notions, they were not allowed to fight, or even to defend themselves. The Romans did not carry their superstition so far: their atri dies were only observed in respect of attacking; no day was too holy for them to defend themselves in. Among the ancients, we find frequent instances of battles in the night; it was by the moonlight that Pompey beat Mithridates, and Scipio Asdrubal and Syphax.

The first pitched battle, of which we have any distinct account is, that between Croesus and Cyrus, described by Xenophon, concerning which we have a dissertation expressly by M. Frecet, wherein several points of the ancient tactics are well explained. In the modern war, we find few pitched or set battles: the chief view of the great commanders of late days is rather to harass or starve the enemy by frequent alarms, cutting off his provisions, carrying off his baggage, seizing his posts, &c. than to join issue with him, and put the whole on the event of one day; a battle generally generally deciding the fate of a campaign, sometimes of a whole war. Hence it is a rule, never to venture a general battle, unless either you fight to advantage, or be forced to it. Joining or giving battle should always be by design: a general should never suffer himself to be forced to fight. All the measures, movements, encampments, he makes, are to lead to the execution of his great design, which is to fight to advantage, till by some mistake of the enemy, he at length find the favourable opportunity. It is in this that a superior genius will at length prevail over an inferior: in the course of a campaign, he will take a number of advantages over him, which together are equivalent to a battle, the event of which is ever doubtful.

BATTLE-Axe, an ancient military weapon. Axes were a principal part of the offensive armour of the Celts. At the siege of the Roman Capitol by the Gauls under Brennus, we find one of the most distinguished of their warriors armed with a battle-axe. And Ammianus Marcellinus, many centuries afterwards, describing a body of Gauls, furnishes them all with battle-axes and swords. Some of these weapons have been found in the sepulchres of the Britons, on the downs of Wiltshire, and in the north of Scotland. Within these four or five centuries the Irish went constantly armed with an axe. At the battle of Bannockburn, King Robert Bruce clave an English champion down to the chine, at one blow, with a battle-axe. The axe of Lochaber hath remained a formidable implement of destruction in the hands of our Highlanders, even nearly to the present period; and it is still used by the city-guard of Edinburgh in quelling mobs, &c.