Sure, let’s take a quick tour from hoplite phalanx to the roar of a machine gun. The Greeks marched in that tight, shield‑topped rectangle, a living wall of bronze and resolve. The Romans tweaked that idea, breaking it into smaller legionary cohorts that could bend and stretch, yet still kept a disciplined line. By the Middle Ages you’re looking at feudal knights in their own charge, then a sudden shift when firearms entered the scene. Musketeers spread out into long lines to keep a steady rate of fire, because a single volley mattered more than a tight shield wall. That long line gave way to the volley‑fire tactic, then to the "enfilade" where you try to shoot from the side, forcing tighter, more compact formations. And then, at the turn of the 20th century, the machine gun exploded onto the battlefield, rendering traditional ranks deadly. Trenches, foxholes, and dispersed squads became the answer to a weapon that could fire dozens of rounds per minute. In short, the evolution was a pendulum swinging from dense, close‑quarters phalanxes to spread, disjointed units designed to survive an onslaught of automatic fire.