PHALANX

[noun] [C + singular or plural verb] [plural] phalanxes or phalanges [formal] - a large group of people standing close to each other, forming a solid mass, usually for the purposes of defence or attackBodyguards had formed a solid phalanx around the singer so that photographers couldn't get to her.(figurative) The government took refuge behind a phalanx of obscure rules and regulations.The Greek phalanx dominated battlefields in the ancient world.