For example, the highly coveted "corona civica" was given to legionaries who saved a comrade in battle. However, death was the punishment for a variety of different offenses. Those who committed cowardice and dereliction of duty were stoned to death by their comrades. On very rare occasions when a whole unit displayed cowardice, the unit might be decimated, in which one out of every ten soldiers were executed. Less extreme punishments included demotions, changing the wheat rations to barley, and the removal of some identifying military gear. Large armies would generally not begin battle immediately upon meeting. Rather, days or even weeks of redeployment and negotiation would take place before battle. Several days of maneuvering occurred before the Battle of Pharsalus began. Before battle, measures were taken to ensure legionaries were as effective as possible. These include giving legionaries their meals and resting them before the battle. Their commanders and general would also give speeches during this time. These speeches would heavily emphasize the amount of plunder and riches that winning the battle would give the legionaries, as this was a primary incentive for the legionaries to do battle. Light skirmishing would then take place, with cavalry and auxiliaries probing enemy lines before a pitched battle commenced. The Roman legionary's three principal weapons were the "pilum" (javelin), "scutum" (shield), and "gladius" (short sword). Ideally, the legionaries would throw their "pila" first as they approach the enemy army. These pila could often penetrate enemy shields and hit the soldiers behind them. Even if the pila fail to pierce the shields, the neck of the javelin would bend, making the shield useless. This then makes the enemy vulnerable to missile fire and legionary attack. The disruption and damage wrought by pila would then be followed by the charge of Roman legionaries. Though Roman "scutum" have various different designs, they all share a large metal boss in the center of the shield. This allows the legionary to not only use the "scutum" as defensive equipment but also as an offensive weapon. Legionaries would have used this iron boss to punch and shove the enemy combatants. Accompanying this is the "gladius", a primarily stabbing weapon though it can also be used to cut. These fairly simple tools combined with impressive discipline made the Roman legionary an extremely effective soldier in the ancient world. Though there were many different formations that legionaries fought in, they tended toward close ordered formations with gaps between units.