The phrase used in the text, «they moved in a pig formation,» refers to the supposed battle formation of medieval armies, traditionally associated with an attacking wedge. In Russian historiography this term spread thanks to chronicle descriptions and the work of historians like N.M. Karamzin and S.M. Solovyov.
The term «pig» first appears in the Novgorod Chronicle, describing the actions of Teutonic cavalry during the Battle on the Ice in 1242 and the Battle of Rakvere in 1268: «and they broke through the regiment like a pig.» This description has been read as a battle formation moving in a blunt wedge — a formation meant to punch through the enemy's lines.
However, this reading has faced serious criticism. Sources contemporary to the 13th century itself, such as the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle or the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, contain no mention whatsoever of such a formation. Modern scholars (M.V. Gorelik, A.A. Svechin, D.E. Kharitonovich, and others) consider the term «pig» more a descriptive metaphor than evidence of an actual military tactic.
The main objection to the «pig» as a wedge-shaped formation is its complete impracticality: a narrow front inevitably exposes the flanks to attack, slows the cavalry down to the pace of marching infantry, and prevents the unit from bringing its full combat potential to bear. Such a formation not only limits the involvement of the rear ranks, but also turns the knights — the costly, elite portion of the army — into a target for enemy fire.
General A.A. Svechin, drawing on real combat experience, stated plainly: a wedge-shaped column could only be used as a marching formation, and would inevitably deploy into a line before an attack. «A knight shouldn't serve as a shield for another knight,» he wrote, stressing that the actual strike in battle was delivered along a unified front, not as a dense mass.
So the popular image, fixed in mass culture and school textbooks, of the «pig» as a wedge-shaped attack formation is more romantic myth than historical reality. Nevertheless, the term became fixed in language and literature as an image of sharp, orderly movement — hence its ironic use in the novel, describing the characters' "tactical" movement behind the authoritative Timofeich.