ELi5: In ancient wars, how did the commanders know if they are winning a war while they were in the chaos of the war?
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Most battles never really devolved into chaos. A lot of battles would start with a long period of skirmishing (fighing with lighter missile troops) where army’s would have time adjust and organize. Once the real fighting starts, most successful armies held very tight formations like a phalanx (a spear formation). This made it easier control men in groups and kept them in line. Typically when one side lost organization, a rout would start and the battle would be over.
Most generals could trust the comanders in each unit to maintain order while they dealt with larger scale tactics. Many armies would have static formations that were maintained by commanders, and then more mobile pieces the general could use to expose enemy weaknesses or protect his own. This might mean leading the cav on a flank or directly commanding infantry, depending on the general.
For information the general could ride around the battlefield himself or rely on updates from his scouts and commanders. I imagine a great general could fully understand how a battle is going based on the basic status of each unit and know how to adjust just from that. Almost like blindfolded chess
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