Obviously you can’t just have hundreds to thousands of people from both sides swinging at each other aimlessly, the massacre would be ridiculous and plus that just seems dumb. Movies always show it as massive groups running across a field and falling on each other’s swords. The front line is guaranteed to die and the back can’t do anything, and I’m sure trampling your own men would be an issue. How did armies actually engage each other?
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It was mass formations stabbing at each other.
For a very long time the primary infantry weapon was a spear/javelin/pike. Infantry would form in large, rectangular formations, and each infantryman would have a shield in one hand and their spear in the other. They would stand as close as possible to each other in order to effectively create a shield wall, from behind which they could stab their spears at the enemy. The lines of troops behind the front line would back up the front line troops and relieve them when needed. The force that was better able to maintain their formation would usually win. Things like charioteers, cavalry, and archers were used to disrupt these main infantry formations.
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