Chaeronea Once the battle had started, the battalions of hoplites -or, as they were now called, pezhetairoi, "foot companions"- forced the enemy to stay at the same place ("to hold 'em by the nose"), while the cavalry attempted to break though the lines of the enemy and tried to reach their rear ("kick 'em in their balls"). Battle had by now become a very flexible affair. At Chaeronea (338), the main cavalry units were on the left wing and the phalanx advanced obliquely; at Issus (333), the phalanx was a straight line and the main cavalry unit, commanded by Philip's son Alexander the Great, was on the right wing.