'lEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 58

THE LANDSKNECHTSllmmMIUTARY

fI

ill•< DOLGI .. \S \lILLER G.\ E\lBLETO:\"

EDITOR: MARTIN WINDROW

MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 58

THE LANDSKNECHTSrillm1HIUTARY

Text byDOUGLAS MILLER

Colour plates byGAEMBLETON

First publisht::d in Cn'at Britain in 1976 hyOsprt::}', an imprint of Rt'ro Consumt'r Books Ltd.;\Iichdin Hou:.e. 81 Fulham Road,London SW3 6Rlland .\uckland, ~Idboumt::, Sin~port' and Toronto

e Copyrighll9;6 Rttd Internalional Books ud.Rt'print«l. 1980. 1981. IgB2. 198.J, IgB5. 1986, IgB7. 1988,1990· 1991. 1992, 1993· 1995, 1996

All righb rescn ed.•\pan from any r.'lir ckalin~ for tht'purpost: of pri\<llt' tudy. ~arch. criticism or miC\\. aspcrmiued under tht' CoPyriW11 Dt-si~ and P:uems Act,1988. no p:m of this publK:"ation may Ix reproduced,51.orcd in a re:triC\"<l.I sy lem. or transmitll:d in any form. orby any means. electronic, d('(1ricaJ, chemical. rntthanK:"a1,optical. photocopying, re:rordil1~ or olhef\\ise:. \dthoUi theprior pcnnb.'iion of the coPytii;ht O\\1lt::r. Enquirin should'Ix ilddresscd to th<" Publbhers.

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Illfrorlllrtioll

The word 'Londsknteht' first appeared in theGerman language around 1470. 11 is said to havebeen coined by Peler von Hagcnbach, who recordsha\'ing commissioned such troops for the service ofCharles the Bold of Burgundy. Landsknechtliterally means 'servant of the country' yel as earlyas 1500 me word had already transfonnt"d intoLan;:;kn«ht as the pike became the trademark or thefootsOldicr. No\\ ada)'s, howeYer, the term Lands~

knecht is usually associated wilh the type ofGem131l merccnal) originating from what is ((:>dayAlsace, Baden Wiirtlcmberg and the AustrianT)roJ and who served during the reigns of .\Iax­imilian I (1493 1;19) and his grandson Charles VISI!rS6).

When these troops were first employed, warfarewas in a state of transition. The Burgundian Wars(1476-7) had shown that cavalry was virtuallyhelpless against well drilled pike formations and thenew handgun. The fifteen Burgundian 'Com­pagnies d'Ordonnanccs' had outlived their useful­ness and wcre considered as nothing morc than anarmy of redundant knights. Moreover the cost ofraising such a force of mounted lroops hadincreased considerably due to lhe rise in theeconomic and political status of the Europeannobility. Those who stood to gain therefore werethose 'gentlemen of war' or Kriegsherren, as lheywere called in Germany, who could supply largebodies ofmobile infantry, usually pikemen, able tofollow in the tradition ofthc now famous and fearedSwiss.

It was against this background that Maximilian,hcir to the Holy Roman Empire, had to raise a forcecapable of upholding his claim to the Burgundianlegacy of the Netherlands and of controlling hisfuture tcrritories in the cast. To this lattcr end the

Swabian alliance was fanned in 1487---a, which setup an arm) to keep the po\\ erful princes ofBohemia and Bavaria at bay. This initial forcc of12,000 foot and 1,200 horse is described by many asthe first anny of Landsknechts to be recruited onCennan soil. In 1+87, in the same year thaI the lastnational joust look place in Cennan) al Worms,the first units ofCennan Landsknechts wcre beingtrained in the strccts of Bruges b) Maximilian'scommander Craf Eitclfritz \"on Hohenzollem.However, the campaigns in the ;\1"ctherJands and

Mn;milj*n I (1459'"'5'9) know.. as th.. 't.S( of dl.. kJUghls',lIuc:ceeded 10 lh.. thro..., in '4'nand b), virt"..ofth., marriage- ofhin,,~"'f,hi...n, and his , .....d..n, pioed Ih., N.,thu....d".adSpain, HW>pry and Bob.,mia, lh... c:reating. v..1Unp~ forhis ...ec.'...r Charl.,s V and f ..rtb.,rmembe oftheHabtibol~

dr-"Iy, Hi" mareb UIlO CoIOSft., in ISOS> ed with. balbc:o;dallb., bead ofa c:ol" of~d.l<.oec:bl.b.,raIded • ....w.,......Gennany, Apart fro th., erealio.. of Lb., ~ds"n.,du. 10., i.aI.. c:red.iled with th.,d.,,,,elop....,..1of110., finl.dV&llc:ed "yst.,mof ord. .,... Both wer., 10 prov., vital ... lois ..m.,whalnlloro l)' c:ond :led fortip policy,(P."mtotryD.m. A t.\u........ ,11..-. r,......!

1H .......ter pa.rade (Mu§t"ru.acl was adopl~Croon lh.e S....'4.and was u_tia1 U.d~e~ tile dlicieacyoCt.ia.......1to tM:~ The prK'OOdilio.. for .ec::qxaa~ Lato tile I'Jlks wasthai ...Idien sloovJd po5Hl1. thei.. 0_ weapo.... It was thetat;k oCtile p-ytnaliler. wbo DOrm.al.Iy stood al ~ f_t arm..arch, 10 _s1lre that thOH recruiu f*s.i.al!: throo&f;:h we.... of....UDd mind and body. It oft .... ocaa.rred thai the paym.uter."Oped 10 _tinS tile recru.iIJi 'double-eowued' for tloe .....eoffiaancial' i.e. 10 .windle the Kriq;_hltrT., 11"wt/M.,jlUl.l_ft_'Dn 'tII/"''' LuJJ!;.u,f. ~,Fr"""i:lI81...G6t11t.: /8821

lalCT in Bohemia, although successful. were top,'o\'e that the nucleus of the 'German' annyconsisted of nothing Illore than bands of ill­organi.sed mercenaries.

It was not until after the storming of the fonn.'SSof Stllhlweisscnbcrg in Bohemia in 1490, where­upon Ma.ximilian ordered his men to swear anoath of allegiance, thal the 'father of the Lands­kncchls' succeeded in instilling his troops with asense of discipline and csprit dr corps. Onl) byemulating the Swiss, howcver, by adopung theircustoms and tactics, would the Cennan Lands·kneeht be abk' to hold his (Mn and to this end~laximilian modelled his whoit' milital) system onthe amlics of the S\\ iss Confederation.

The Muster

According to S\\'iss tradition, if a lord required anarm) to scHlc a dispute he nOlmall} contracted agentleman ofwar b} means of the BtslaJlungsbriLforletter of appointment. This contained a recruitingcommission and the letler ofartidcs, .lrtiI.Asbriife.

whieh set out th(' legal conditions under which theLandsknechts werc to sel"\'e, Having accepted theappointment and secured the means of finance, thecolonel, or Obrist as he \\'as called, then beganappointing in tum his sceond·in·colllmand and thecaptains in charge of thc Fa/mtein or companieswhich were to make lip the regiment. This done,drummers would be scnt out to beat for recruits,The muster \\as seldom a difficult task; colonelswith great reputations such as Frulldsberg and "011

Sid:ingen \\ere capable of raising annics of 20,000

foot in a mat tel' of \\ ecks. The problem in fact oftenlay in rejccting those who ,\ere either incapable ortOO ill-equipped to be accepled into the ranks. Inspite of lhe selection process, \\ hich depended onwhcther the recruit brought his 0\\11 \\eapons ornot, the regiment must havc been a motle} crew ofjoume) men, (X'asalllS and students all inspired b)lhe chance of adHnture and. of course. pay andloot. and the sons of wealth) patricians, there forthe sake off."lmil} honour.

Ha\"ingsigned up, the recruits \\ere instructed tomeet at a certain time and place for the muster·parade. Here the} \\ ere ordered inlo two columnsfacing each other and al the end of the gap betweenthem an arch consisting of twO halberds and a pikewas erected. Jtwas throul;"h this that each man hadto pass befon" being acceptcd into the ranks. I twasthe task of the recruiling officer losland at the archand check lhat those mcn who passed through wereofsound mind and body, At this stage the regimentwas divided up into FiiJmfein of 400 men, eachFiihllltin having 100 experienced soldiers, or DQppet·soldner as they wen' called. since lhey recei\'eddouble the pay of the ordinal)' fOOlsoldicr.

As soon as the Landskncchts had been paid onemonth's wage the) assembled in a circle surround­ing the Ghrist whose duty it then was to read themtheir rights, duties and restrictions in the form orthe'Lctter of Articles'. The artides consisted or a \'el)'dctailed code of conduct laying out all thepunishable oflcnecs such as mutiny, unwarrantedplunder, drunkennc"S on dllty, ha"in~ more thanone woman follo\\ ing in the baggage train, and soforth. This \\ as followed b} an oath.taking cen"·mall) in which e\"Cl') Landsknecht swore hisallegiance to his cause, his Emperor and his officers,and promisl-d to abide b) the la\\s set Ollt in the'Letter of Articlcs'.

..,

For the enforcement and administration of theselaws the Obrist appoinled a Prot-osl and a &hulthtissrespectively. During this ceremony the standardswere handed over to the ensigns who were obligedto swear an oath never to allow the standards to

leavc their hands in battlc. The ensigns in tumjoined their F{jhnl~in \\ here thc captain would beintroducing the appointed adjutant, chaplain,doctor and quartermaster to his men. The remain­ing formality was the formation of the Rollen orplatoons, each being rcsponsible for electing ilSownRottmtista.

(9/;r{flllisotiollEach Regiment normally consisted of len Fiilmleillor companics-Fahnlein is the German word for asmall flag or standard carried within thc unit. TheFahnlein, as already stated, was divided up inloRottm or platOons. Each Rottt had ten commonLandsknechts or six Doppe/siildlltr. A regimentthercrorc, usually numbcring about 4,000 mcn, wasdivided into ten units of400, each unit having fortyplatoons often men. It must be noted here that this4,000 was by no means a standard number-thecomplement often depending on the number ofmen who presented themselves at the muster

The mUSl" p-rwde was followm by llte..-diAs of!.h., leu" ofanid... (Verles_S). Hertupon the Laad.......ech~ we.... or-­dend 10 tonn a riDS uwI the colonel (Obrilft) Wonned !.hem oftheir rip'" and 1"8&1 r...trairtt.lf. ne lett.... of amd... whichalways accompanied the letter of conun.i..io.. waS read everys;" months and was invoked immediately hO"'tilitiu bega.n.(It'llIIodtwl bJ' JDII A_..... )

parade. Commanding the rcgimelll was of coursethe Ftldobrist or colonel. Sometimes the Obrisl wasin command of several regimclHs at a time, inwhich case he received the rank of ObtrsterFeldlwllplmmJ1l. The task of leading the Feldobrist'sregiment in this case would fall to thelAcoltntnl- lieutenaOl-coloncl the second incommand who onl) held the rank ofcaptain whilethe Obrist was present.

The colonel, as laid down in the Imperial Diet at\VOllns in 1507, was enutled to a staff or S/(1o/ oftwellly-two officials. This included a chaplain. ascribe, a doctor, a scout, a quartcnnastcr, anensign, drummer and fifer, and a bocIyguard ofeight trustworth) men. ,Sec Tablt A.

Each Fahn/eill had in turn its own complement ofofficials. The captain had the privilege of his ownpersonal cook and servant and a bodyguard OflWODopptlsOidna. There \\ erc also an interpreter, achaplain, a scout, a fourier, and the usual colourparty with musicians. The sergeant majors, Ftld­ll·tibel, wcre given the responsibility of carryingout drill and formation. There was normallya regimental sergeant major the Ob~rs/rr­

Ftldwtb~/-who \\ as responsible for battle for­malion. General discipline and liaison betweenofficers and men was largely the task of the It'tibtl(sergeants) and the Gtmtinwtibtl, the latter beingelected on a monthly basis as spokesmcn for theLandsknechts. (Sec Table n.)

In addition to lhe above there was an inde­pendent group ofofficials who were responsible forma.intaining discipline and ensllring that theLandsknechts conformed with the Articles. Themost feared 9fTiciat of all was the Provost whoremained unimpeachable during his period ofoffice. His retinue consisted ofajailer, a bailiff andan executioner called the Frtimann, recognisablc byhis blood-red cloak. The red feather in his berct andthe 100is of his trade, name!) the e.xecutioner'ssword and the hangman's rope which hung from hisbelt, acted as suitable deterrents for the Lands­knt-chts, who gcncrall) regarded him as anuntrustworthy character.

Each Regiment had a full complement ofmililal) police and judges, including Ihe Schul­theiss, the Profoss PrO\·ost) and the Gmltillll·~ib~/.

The total pay for these oflicials came to 236 guildersper month.

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Table A

RankRegiments Staat (ColoneLJs Staff)FeLdobristLorotirlLntKaplanScnreibnWadltmeistnQuartinmeislerPrOl:iantmmlnF,ldKhn­Feldar~1

TrommelschlagnPfeiferDolmet$cherKochTrabant (8)HurenweibelFuhrknuhl

Table B

RankEad/ Foot Fannlein1 Hauptmann1 LLutnanl1 Fiihndrich1 ChaplainI FeLdwehelI FilkrnI Fourin2 JVebeL2 TromfrlLlschliign2 Pftifu2 TrabantmI DolmelsCntrI HauptmlJnllJ JungeI Fiihndriclu Junge

HauptmanllS KochReisiger Knecht

ColonelLieutenant-ColonelChaplain .Adjutant ..Officer of the Watch.QuartcrmasterStorekeeperDoctor ..Field DoctorDrummer.FiferInterpreter.CookBodrguard.Sgt of the TrainSeout

Captain.SubalternEnsignChaplajnSgt Major.ScoutFourier ..Sergeants .Drummers.FifersBodyguardsInterprcter.Captain's boyEnsign's boyCaptain's cookHorseman

Pay

400 Guilders'00 ..

02"

24 ..4° ..4° ..4° ..4° "4° ..

8 ..8 ..8 ..8 ..4 .. each

02 ..4 ..

Pay

40 Guildm20 ..20 ..8 ..

12 ..4 "4 "4 "

each

4 " cach4 .. each4 .. each4 ..4 ..4 ..4 ..4 ..

(From: Kriegsbildn dn drolschLn Landsknechle by \'on Zwiedeneck.Siidcnhorst.)

The pay for the whole force of foot-soldiersnumbering 4,000 (10 x 400) amountcd (0 32,000guilders pcr month, DopptlsQldner receiving 8guilders per month as opposed to 4 guilders for theordinary Landsknechl. Thus the total cost of a

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regiment for a month was 34,624 guilders. EachLa.ndsknccht was normally contractcd to serve for aminimum period of six momhs.

At the Imperial Diet at Worms in 1521 thereforms of the military brought about are·

organisation of the war finance system, to assistCharles in his Italian campaigns. TIle Imperialarmy was set initially at 20,000 foot-soldiers and4,000 mounted, each Reichstand being obliged tooffer a contingent. This force cost 128,000 guildersper month and although a new tax unit wasinvented-the Simplum, equalling the aboveamount-the problem of financing a lengthycampaign could never be resolved.

In 1526, Frundsberg, for example, was obliged topawn his estate and treasures (MindcJheim) for30,000 guilders in order 10 finance a campaign inItaly for Charles V. This sum, however, onlycovered haifa month's pay and his troops mutiniedon him. Similarly, the Spanish general Leyva hadto melt down the chalices from the church in Paviaand even the gold chain from around his neck toprevent his garrison ofCcrman Landsknechts fromdefecting to the French.

CJjf{tics {file!qorlll{ftiollIn the Burgundian Wan the Swiss had shown the

TIoe oado-takiDs ctremOOlY(v~s) (oU_cd tbe reuii..qo( doe articles -....d __ ....tt~pc 10 ....til dUeiplUoe -....daUepa..ce into ... otberwUie wakDowa baad o(.....m... inlnotOQ mooey ...d .dvnoRlre. The «remo..y, which _. held bythe Scloultheiu •• the official rflpoQ.ible (or .dmil1i.terUtljunice, boWHI doe Lau<t.uechl 10 doe articl... by forci>o.S hi..m10 swear ... _doof~«to doe Ea1peror, or _ ....ord asthe e:a- Dli&hl be. AI doe _e time the __ip-...,re .wardcdtIoeit staada.rd.s, _ whida tItey 100 had 10 pve .. oath.(JfJIA_J

tactical superiority that could be achie\'ed by a welllTained lxxIy ofpikemen. This superiority was soonto be challenged by the arquebus (although in lhefirst quarter of the sixteenth century it was still usedwith some restraint). Despite the 'miracle ofCreazzo' where Frundsberg's arquebusiers, with­drawing from earthwork to earthwork, wreakedhavacon theoncoming Venetian fOOl, skirmishers inopen order were considered to be tOO vulnerable.The upshot of this was that different generalstended to adopt various sets of taChes at these timeslargely depending on the composition of theirforces and the type of terrain. The Swiss, forinstance, anxious to shorten their campaigns asmuch as possible and being largely dependent onthe strength of their pikemen and halberdiers,preferred a short swift encounter and were there­fore inclined towards a pike charge in echelonformation of Vornut (van), Gewallhul (centre), andNMhhut (rear). This of course was in lum de­termined by the lay of the land. The Germans andSpanish, later relying heavily on the strength oftheir arquebusiers, tended towards a more de­fensive position, if possible on uneven ground toupset the impetus of a pike charge. As a result ofthese diverse tactics the general of the day wasalways at pains to outmanoeuvre his enemy so thatwhen il finally came to a confrontation his forceswould have the advantage of terrain.

The German Landsknechts who often adopteddefensive positions required a new formation whichwould ensure maximum tactical efficiency fromboth pike and arquebus. This formation adoptedfrom the Swiss system was called thegmerle Ordnungand is the forerunner of the infantry square. In thisformation the pikemen and the halberdiers formeda solid square in the centre with the two-handedswordsmen in the front and rear ranks. Behind thefirst two ranks of Dop/Nlso!dur stood the ensigns inthe centre of the first three FiiJmlein. Then came avirtual fon:sl of pikes, in the middle of which wereto be found the ensigns of the four centre compan­ies. At the rear came the final three ensigns amongstthe most experienced troops in the regiment. Thesewere positioned at the back to add impetus to theanack and also to discourage the faint hearted fromdeserting the ranks in front. Around this blockstood a wall of arquebusien affording protectionfrom the pikemen and occupying the most effective

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:,: '

___ ~' \1,',·r~~--· ..... ,'". . --­- .-

The obe...te.. Fe&dhaupUDaaD (...prelDl! coan...Ddcor) wasdirutly I"6poDlI'ible 10 the EmpeO"O.. or pri.n« who loadco.......i..ioned hi.... Despite t.hU be load • free baad thecompMitioo or~ anny and the IHlectiOD "fJU. office TheObri•• who c:onunanded the rqimedl waa On , ...... re1Ipo ibleto the obe...IU FeJdhauptnlanD. Thed~ of rflpon5ibilitywas rewarded accordingly with ooe bWldredfold the pay of.common Landllkn~Jn.The pay WlUl a.eeI in muh.iplea of"guilde... per month at the In>perial Di..t al CoruU.ance in 1507­The Obnll thu. rec~""N 400 pild..... per month phi. anadd.ilional600 Su.ildr.rs for the upkeep of hi. 'Staat',(11'.,00"1 b) JI~1U THrlllg, 'K"'IJbud' ~Grqf NmmiI.Td qf $olmJ /545',B~IK~SllJIJub,blllillvk, MUllullj

poSitiOn in attack. Towards the middle of thesixteenth century the arquebus became moreimportant and it was customary for a regiment insquared fonnation to have four wings of arquc·busiers \\ ho were trained to advance and fire andthen drop back to mc rear to reload, SO mat memomCllIum of the ad,-ance could be maintained.To complete the defensi,'c position the artillerypieces werc drawn up in front of the square wherethey commanded a good sweep of the baulefield.

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Because of this it was necessary to positionexperienced troops in the from ranks of the squareto protect the artillery.

If the order was gi"cn to advance, a line of footwas normally strung out in front of the square.Kno,,'n as the tIO/OurU HaJift (forlom hope it wascomposed of either volunteers, prisoners hoping toredeem themselves or mose unfortunates who hadbeen picked by lot. It was their task to advance infront of the square wim their pikes and two-handedswords to stave off the oncoming enemy and hackhis pike to pieces so that their comrades would beable to penetrate the gaps they had made. Toremind these mJants pndlu of the perilous life anddeath situation they were in, the plain red 'bloodflag' was always carried lnlhis somewhallhin rank.The verlore11t Nmife, olien distinguished by the whilefeathers which the Landskncchts wore in theirberets, was sometimes used as a dccoy to lure theenemy into thinking Ihal they were being charged,whereupon Iheir countercharge would be met wiLha hail of bullets from the arquebusicrs placedbehind them.

In defensive situations the order " as given for theregiment to form an 19t1 or 'hedgehog'. This wascarried out in either square or circle. In this ploythe arquebusiers moved to the third rank while thepikemen moved to the front, levelling theirweapons at an angle to take the oncoming cavalry.The DopptlsOidner wilh halberds and lwo·handersplugged the gaps in the front and second ranks althe same time, allowing space for Ihe arquebusiersto fire.

Before the batlle commenced the commandingofficer, who usually stood in lhe front rank, wouldcall for his Landskncchts to kneel down and givegrace to God. This cuslom was complelely miscon­strued by the Italian historian Paul Jovius whoclaims that il was Ollt of fear of Ihe cannonbaJlswhich were flying around during the early Slages ofIhe baltic lhal the Landsknechts 'took to Iheground', \\'hale\'er the case a virtue was made ofnecessity.

Sir Charles Oman refers 10 battles in lherenaissance era as 'games of chess in whichcheckmate \\'as accepted with little acrimony andstill less bloodshed', It came therefore as a shock tothe Italians when the French, Swiss and Cermanscrossed lhe AJps wilh the intention of laking towns

r

and slaughtering prisoners. In fact gcmlemanlyconduct soon began to disappear from thebattlefield as devious tactics wcre introduced.Fronsbergcr in his masterly work of 15561isLS fifteenploys which the Ohrist of the day considered whendrawing up his anny for battle:

l. The strength of the enemy. his number ofhorse, and his ty{>(= of annour should bedetermined in advance and the lay of theland, the weather, the time of day. all lakeninto consideration before deciding on the typeof battle formation to be adopted.

'2. Prisoners should be taken before lhe battleand subjected to torture to extract the desiredinformation.

3· A suitable body of men ~hOllld be picked toform thc 'forlorn hope'. This should advancein column at the side oflhe square. \'eerin~offand firin~ before droppin~ back to reload.

4· The regiment should always be organised insuch a way that the heavily armed men aredrawn up on the plain while those nOI so wellequipped should be placed at the rear ordrawn up on the slopes ofa hill. The \\eakcsttroops should be facing the left flank of theenemy.

5· The infalHI) should keep together and avoidextending imo a thin line.

6. Advantage should be taken of both the sunand the wind and the Landsknecht should bereminded of the more sllbtle ways ofrl·ndcr·

l'~{~~ ",

- -- ,--,,- -

II was 1I---n)' the quartum.asler'. task 10 .d.......~ ahead Dr1Jo... anQ)' and tak.. can of the .«0............00.. ror dI.. troopLn... woodC1&t, apia byDO~depictll. quartenna.ter iD full• nn-.. whic.ll by thU tm>"-l~WUrtoll)' articulaled, wilJo.doe 'tobll'ter' laS...... a.ad .....1.. pi.,.,... n .............., .im.ilar tolilat _ ... by FnaadJlbnJ;, show•• diniacc Roonaa iDfI......~_lIGUT: SiDce it -.. c:u.llornary ror 1Jo... Uadllkaecbt to tak.. 1IUwir.. -.ad chiJd...... widl IWn On aunpaip 1Jo...n: oft....

.........11 a U'aiD of~b1.. size uod clUarTa)'. It w.sth ro eceuary to !lave _ .. Co...... of pollee to kiEep tioe<w..o ', •• dI.." were called, iD d>eck- n .. .-.~I of tMt (above) was 1.... iD lJo.is Non_"'t dern hus: .......by doe Ru..mo te.r, wh_ duty it -.. to ...,. t .. qooarTt!l-la, '00'0 b)' m of a tnuocheoo 1Jo... <v......teidter' ( tlw).(II'..../s.., DflmI~. 'A-,.",hcll, &.Jmst1w~,JlljJ IN~ ," ....11)

9

ing the enemy pike ineffecti\'e by using sandor dust to blind them. (At Bicocca, forinstance, the Swiss used Stones to disable theGennan pikemen at a distance.)

7. The light horse should be used to create a dustscreen thus enabling a well ordered troop toget behind the enemy lines. Ahernauvelyother Falm/Lin can be employed to draw theenemy out ofhis position by faking a roul. Asthe enemy breaks his ranks in charging afterthis Fiilm/tin the opening gaps can be penet­rated by a well-timed cavalry charge.

8. A further ploy should be the drawing up ofseveral squads of horse, foot and members ofthe train at some concealed. spot at the rear ofthe army. These are to hide until a crucialstage in the battle whereupon they arc to

It wal Kfl.elltUll for the eaplain (above) 10 wear annOur al h.enorm.al.ly foughl in the fronl rank .longlide the DoppelllOldnerand was often cluI.UeDged to .. duel by h..i. eowUerparl. in theeDeDlY rlUI.k.JI. II il inleretlting 10 Qote th.at the dagger walfuler>ed 10 the right teg by Dleana of a thiD Mlh_almost in'PJUllia.g:er' fadoion. The _poD he is ea""""'g il a boar-

~~ t)' H.-J o..lJII}

10

appear seemingly as reinforcements.g. In close combat situations shorter weapons

were to be used at all times, i.e. halberds,Ka1zha/gtr, two-handed swords and axes.

10. The use ofnets to trap the fieeing enemy wasalso effecuvc on occasion.

II. Disguising oncself as the encmy (which wasnever a difficult task) was a practice whichalso was to be exploited. By sending impostorsinlo the cnemy camp rumouT'Scould bequicklyspread that the Ohrisl had been murdered byhis subordinate officers.

12. The rear of the geritrtL Ordnung was always tobe composed ofsturdy experienced fighlcrs 10

'discourage' those cowards wishing 10 retreat,and to give impetus to the attack.

13. Rotten were always to be placed at the disposalof thc commander to replace thc wounded.

14. Above all it should be the duty of the Ohrisl tomaintain moraJe. Those contemplating de­sertion from the field of battle. for instance,were to be warned that to do so would betantamount to killing their comrades stand·ing next to them. It was, howcver, thepunishment of immediate death which de·terred such cowards.

15. Before the order was given for a pike chargethe Obrisl was to call up a squad oflancers to

advance in front ofthe pikemen and charge atthe right momcnt with the aim of 'jousting'the pikes out of the enemy's hands.

Towards the middle of the sixtcenth century, asthe arqucbusier and mounted pistoleer grew inimportance, somc ofthe morcdanng ploys began todisappear as movemenl became restricted byfirepower.

"WeapollsThe major weapon of the Landsknecht was ofcourse initially the pike. The ash stave was one anda half inclIes thick and usually between 14 feCIand 18 feet in lc:nglh. The steel head was iO

inches long and the tip had the shape of a 'frog'smouth'. Adopting the customs of the mOlllHedknighl, the Landsknecht would sometimes tie afox's brush or animal's tail to the tOp of the pike,

II

Fo..a .."..;.... (~ne OrdaI&Dfl) of ...- "'-' c.1540- If ~esquared fonnatioa _. auaeked by cavalry. the fonnaUOD____ily adaptable 10 a d ..fensiye ploy. The pikanea faciasin the respectiye dlrectio... with the erwI. of!JIeir pikK du«inlo !JIe .,..-th would _till fOnD tlae ......... wall while tlaearquebu.ie... !IUl'TOundinS the... would advaac:e oul in liae toface the onoo....u.g bo....e. Afler their 6 ....1 yoUey. they would..elura 10 the front raak. of pike to reload.(F,rwrr. ..." <'lCltlh~r1-&b"JwUI)

~.­.,­- .._.. :..:x.:.::,-­._-_._-..-

,

,

,

•··· • , , , , , , , , •·· I i· •

,

There were two main types ofsword designed fordifferent types of combat. In the case of theDopp~iJijldn~r both were carried. The smaller'Roman' styled thruSting sword, known as theK(lt~b(llgaor 'mangler' had a short metal hilt whichjoined a broad double-edged blade about 28 incheslong and had a guard of two S-curved quillonsforming rings, It was carried in a leather or metalscabbard, and the weapon was usually wornhorizontaJly over the stomach at the belt. TheZwti­!Iandtr, the enormous battle sword about 66 incheslong, also had a double-edged blade, sometimesundulating in design with a long grip co,'ered inleather or cloth. The hilt was reinforced with twocurved quilJons and two nng-guards on each side.The lugs at the heel oCthe blade served as a secondguard, to parry blows as well as to enable the user tograsp the weapon at a lower point, as prescribed inthe drill movements. This was facilitated by aleather ricasso between the ring guards and thelugs. On the march it was sometimes slung over theback crosswise by means of a strap,

The other weapon brandished by the Dop­p~lsij[dntr was of course the arquebus. This was ahand gun fined with the matchlock, which con­sisted of a lighted fuse or match attached to an S­shaped hook trigger which swung over to ignite thetouch powder when the trigger was pulled. This

because of an aJlcgcd magic healing property andthe power of protection.

The haJberd, which was relegated to a 'secon­dary' position, was carried by the NCO'S andDop~uiildnerand used to dress the ranks. It too hada shaft one and a halfinchcs thick but was only sixto seven and a half feel in length. There were ofcourse variations of the halberd, notably theVoulge, the Glaivc, the Partisan, the Spctum, anda type of Fouchard which was used by Charles V'sboc.l}'guards and borc the emblem oCtile two pillarsof Hercules and the Burgundian cross on the blade.

R~vift& twiee tloe pooy of~ CO_OIl "1~. tloe Dop­ptl.oklaol:r ao.-...al.ly "",Id the (roat aM rear posiliocu iD the'sevtu1e Onbl-l'.11 was !heir taP. to ad........ee iD (nJQl otlhecornlJlll'y swi..pc tIttir rwo-iaaadftlliWO...u. 10 ","I doWlllO tilepike uafb: oftlte -iDA: <!:ann,! tad establish aloclf;ftDnllby pn>dratiDJ chit CrocIl ra.ab of tloe ~n>y'. lio.. of battlewhile doe ........-.iaiaS ~~u: roUoWfll them up, co....solidatiDS thm posilioa i.a the pp. Tbrir prisb~• .­became. boue of COIlleuUcn> with the nobility, who dema.ndedtloe iDtroduetioD. or....uorm so WI ....... would be dUtiAsuiu­lObi... M_ximiJi.n, bowevor.r. overruled their dem....d. 00 theJrounds that the f..aQddtaecht d~.....ed at Ie••• ollelwrury inhi, miserable lif... Thul frefliom of d,..,.. _s S..... ted al theImperial Diet at AuS~but'JUa 1503.

had a range of up to 400 yards but was inaccurateand often rendered useless by a shower of rain.Although lhese guns must have had a considerableweighl lhere is lillie evidence from contemporaryprints that the arquebusiers used a rest to supporttheir weapons. The arrival of lhe longer·barrelledmusket around 1520 necessitated the useofa rest. Itwas not umil the middle of the sixteemh celllurythat the first major development was made in firingmechanisms. The wheel·lock pistol made its firstappearance at the Battle of Muhlbcrg in '547.Invented by the gunsmiths of Nuremberg, this gunworked like a cigarcuc lighter. When the triggerwas pulled, a milled wheel driven by a spring SlTUcka spark from a piece ofpyrites or flint which in tumlit the touch powder. Although used mainly by thefamous &hU!or{,t Rnkr these pistols also found theirway imo the belts ofofficers and DopptlsiJfdntr.

The crossbow, which had originally been theforerunner of the hand gun, gradually becameobsolete as the arquebus bcc....me accepted as thestandard weapon. Yet at Marignano there werestill 200 mounted crossbowmen in Francis' royalguard, and Gascon foot brandishing crossbows.The later crossbows were fitted with a cranequin,which consisted of a small iron drum filled withhooks \."hich were actuated by a crank handle thusdrawing the bowstring back and selting it in

Huaprian Ordinanc.... In '53~, wb..... Chart.... V ....rc::bed.sain5t th... Turlo5, who wue be51"'llnS Vi_,.t th" bead 0(.buge armoy ftumbering 90,000 (oot and 300000 ho......., h ... d ...viud• ft~ ba,ll" (onnatiaft wbic::b would re.i51 any TurlWi.buuult.Jovius d....cribes this (onn.doft.s haviBS. (remt ',000paces to""S. It co_isted o( three uaiu o( pik~..... _c:b 'J,f,ooofDnl strollS (a, b, &r. c). The... were • .utably spaced apan toaUow twO muses o(cavalry, Ncb c:ontaiaiftg 'n,GOO borH (A'"B), to take up potIitio... Surrow:u1inS tbU nw>n:nous (onnatiOIlwall a five ...... deep 'I:oed,e' o( arqueb.... ie... spaced :JO yanh(rom the pike aDd the bo There were IWO Pi'll in Ibis'I:oed(..... 10 allow th... ho to ch,....lIe th.rou&b at the edeIDY·Outside this bloc Ibe artillery was spaced at • .utable u.lervabaDd the whole (ormati_ was a......ed by IWO wiDJs o(H_priaa bo.......-(D .. C).. Kftowa a. Ibe Huapriaa 0rdiD­-oe. this sq..-re _s (ar (rom c:u.mbenorne aDd ...... Turkswere tuaI.ly repulsed by drec:tiv... c:ha'll" o(th" Imperiallao aDd (oot.(F,.. R....IaI!. '(;,~Jnhif..umr 18141

12

posilion. The quarrel or bolt usually had a woodennight which o'eated a rotary action in flightthereby increasing its penetrating effect. Thecrossbowmen normally carried a shield which indefensive situations was propped up with a stake orsword so that a wall could be formed.

The Fiihnftin were normally subdivided accord·ing to the type of weapon. Since the main weaponwas the pike, the core of the unit was formed frompikemen. This nucleus numbered 300, the remain­ing 100 comprising Dop/Nlsofdntr, 50 ofwhom werearmed with arquebuses and a further 50 with two·handed swords and/or halberds. Later records showthat the number of pikemcn began to diminish asthe firearm became more popular. Thus, accordingto Wilhdm Fronsbcrger, by 1596 only 200-220pikemen were required.

u1i1i//ery (/lideqllipJllentIn Emperor Maximilian's biograph~, Wtiss Kunig,menlion is made of the talented young prince whowas capable of handling artillery pieces withgreater precision than any of the more experiencedmaster gunners of the day. Weiss Kunig alsorecords how the young Emperor achieved a newtechnical superiority in one of the first·everorganised systems of ordnance.

Thc new pieces which Maximilian ordered to bemade at thc factOries of Beck at Augsberg, and ofSattler at Nuremberg incorporatcd several newdevelopments. Firstly they were lighter, being castin bronze, their calibres being bored out. For thefirsl time the barrels were carried on carriageswhereas earlier they had been carried on separatewagons. Trunnions and elevating mechanismsbegan to appear and there were also developmentsin the type ofshot, which incidentally was now ironinstead of stone. Freysleben, the keeper of theImperial arsenal, records the major types ofcannonwhich the Emperor had constructed:

I. The Hauptbiithstn or heavy siegc·guns werenothing morc than huge gun barrels mountedat an angle 011 wooden supports with numerousrows of shoring behind the barrel to take theshock from the recoil. Often such cannon wereso cumbersome that the) took days to set up

first uHd as • tactical ploy u. the HUliliite W do",~....fon' oaIy prov~reaUydea.in lfthe anDy ccompaai~

by • -...,idet-abl", artillny uaia. To add ..u..tIlp aad lirepower to dae O1Ir-rd 'w1llJ.,', La.rJe ana....ba.... W~ o(tna

and hours to load. As a result a protectiveshield pivoted on a frame would be placed inrrOllt of the cannon and only raised on firing.The greatest example of such a monster was'Mad Meg ofChent'. Her barrel was eighteenfeet long, had a 33 inch bore and a weight offirtecll lOns and required a span or 30 horses topull it.

'2. Thc hcavy arullery, comprising the Schaif­mtl<.t. Nachligalf, the long and short KOTtaunt(cannon royale) and the ROlhbiichst, werelonger pieces and had a smaller calibre thanthe Hauptbuchsm. As a rule the barrels had alength 6"e to eight and a half times theircalibre, and a reinforcement abo\-e the firingchamber.

3. The morc mobile medium artillcl) was com­posed largely of &hlallgtn eukerins-bothlong: and short, and Basilisks. The length of tile

kNld.ed _to _11:_ with~doo.... necoUUDaDder.. lnatwas u._riably fOOUld iQ the C'e'Dl", of dae _p and ado..taadard ..toed al the iwa.d. of",ny ,roup or l....ttI or datil"'"bdoasialllO dae fihaln.o.. (..t-. c.'UrJ ~,.. 8nllJl.\I_

barrel was usually twenty to fort}' times itswidth.4. ~laximilian also ordered the construction of

siege Illortars, organ gUlls and grape guns, thedetails orwhich are for the most part unknownbecause artillery makers or the day werepledged to secrecy in case the ellemy shouldequip himse1fwith similar weapons.

Concerning the colour schemes of the artillery.the carriage was invariably painted black and themetal fittings rcd. The wheels wcrc Icft in naturalcolours. A wooden box was oftcn placed over thefirillgchambcr to k~p it dl)'durillg transport and asmall flag or pennant denoling thc colours of thcregiment was attached to the traillcK, usuaJl~ onthe left hand side. Because of the e.xtraordinal) sizcof somc cannon, notably the siegc pieces. aconsiderabl) largc train was required. Fronsbcrger(1566' estimates that a train of 130 artillery pie<:es

13

including 100 field guns needed the followingcomplement:

2,675 Horses891 Carters5 Geshimneister (Officers in charge of Ihe trans­port of the pieces).124 Master gunners (Biichsmmtister).63 Ammunition carriers.4 Fiihnlein sappers (often taken from the train, i.e.women and children).200 Schneller (loaders), usually artisans.

gun barrels. The SChan{Pltister or engineers whoheld the equivalent rank of a captain were incommand of the sappers or SchanzbautT, whose taskit was to strip the houses of wood foJ' futureearthworks. The remaining important officesbelonged to the Gescltirrmrisler responsible fortransporting the artillery, and the Zeugwart whocommanded the train and the arsenal.

The artillerymen, being regarded as a specialbreed ofLandsknechlS, were paid accordingly. Thefully skilled master gunner usually received be­tween eight and sixteen guildcrs; his services werc,however, only demanded when a battle wasimminent. Even the Schneller-the loaders-werepaid six guilders per month (two more than thenonnal Landsknechts). Fronsbergcl' writes that theartillerymen were rewarded with both extra payand privileges because they had to keep theirpositions during the battle and consequently werenot allowed to lake part in the ensuing plunder.Such privileges included immunity from theProwsi, the cannon as a place ofasylum for fugitivesfrom justice, and the freedom of gunners' wives toform their own train. Due to their immobility onthe baulefic1d artillerymen were normally clad in

A 1lCl"D." taken from MIlXimi1illn'. bi"graphy 'd".. WeiSIl Kunilt'depictiDg th" battle "f Utr«ht. n" main battl" lItandanf.displayOld are th" 'Haing"rna.hJ', incorporatiDg th" CI"Ou "fStADdrew, and the l:I"nnal battle Rag bearing. whit" CI'OSS on •..Old backgl"Ow>d.(C<iUtltJ.J ~flht Stili#! M_wn)

10 fl2 fl

1,080 fl

NACHnCALL

60 hundredweight of metal includingwage for the casterThe cradle inclusive of wood, metalattachmellls and wage for the constructionThe carriageThe limberThe limber spikeChainsTwo sets ofwhecls for lhe limberand the carriageLadle, sponge, matchlock, etc

Because of the enormous running costs theartillery always had first preference when it came toplundering besieged cities. The Oberster Zeugmeisltr(Master General of the Ordnance), who had thesame rank as a field marshal, had the sole right to allthe artillery and ammunition that was still intactand was also allowed to appropriate any remainingarms and armour. He was, however, obliged tohand over one third of the booty to the Kriegsherr.The master gunners were emitled to all the powderand shot. It was customary to seize the church bellssince they provided a valuable source of metal for

Apart from this a further 100 wagons wererequired for ammunition and equipment, with anadditional 400 horses and 150 men. I f one couldkeep running costs down to a quarter of a guilderper man and horse one still had to scrape togethersome 42,839 guilders a month !O prevent a mutiny!

Added to this came the costs for the actualconstruction of the cannon. Fronsbergcr gives anexample of such a bill:

14

greens and browns, otherwise they would havebeen obvious targels for enemy sharpshootcrs, Theartillerymen were subject to their own Articles and

normally came under thejurisdictian afthe mastergeneral of the ordnancc,

Table of Ordnance under Maximilian

7jpe Weight Slwt JVagollJ Horses Artill"Jmm(tons) (kg.)

Srknrfmtlze 5 50 3' 163 48Basiliew 3i 35 17 119 30,N(Uhtigall 3 '5 13 88 ,6Singtrin , <0 7 41 I'

Large KartauM I, 8 6 '7 8Small Karlaum 1* 5 , 16 5RothschLange " 21

Dmli RotJuchLange 3'5 , 13Sau (Bautt, Delise) I 10 , 17Falkaum 1* 2-5 5FaJl.end i I 3&harffdinnle I,

*

Hauptbiichsm, &karfmetz.en, Basilisks, Singtrinnm and Kartaunen were the larger siege pieces,the remaining types made up the field artillery. There seems to have been a rationalisation oflheartillery under Charles V:

Table of Ordnance under Charles V

Type Weight/Shot Weight/Baml Calibre Length oj BamL(kg.) (kg.) (mi.) (metres)

Cannon Royale 18'7 ',goo 18 3'5Mcdium Piece 11'2 2,300 15 3"4Culverin 5"6 1,380 I' 3"9Demi Culvcrin ,·8 1,230 9'1 3'5Saker 3'0 1,235 10 2'9Falconct 1'4 795 7 ,·8Mortar 46'7 ',600 35'5 1'5

CjJie {!tll/poigllsUpon the death ofCharles the Bold ofBurgundy onthe batt.lefield of Nancy, the French King, LouisXI, laid claim to the Burgundian legacy, whichincluded the Netherlands. Maximilian, by vinueof

his marriage in the same ycar to Mary, thedaughtcr of the Duke of Burgundy, regarded Iheseterritories as his rightful inheritance. AI the ensuingBattle of Guingate in 1479 ~Iaximilian's footregislered thcir first success in defeating Louis, In'493 when Maximilian became Hoi} RomanEmperor, this somewhal personal conflict betweenthe French court and himself o\'er Burgundy was

IS

ne army on the D1.II.rdo DOrrnally adopted a Connauon wbidowould be ea.ily adaptable libould it liuddenly corne underauad.. nu. the onu",I<eteerl were placed on the flank. Corproteclio... a1oDJI:.ide the hor~ and the artillery at the front

now raised to an international level, thus destroy­ing the hundred-ycars' peace iliat had existedbetween Gennan) and France.

Although he had secured the Nethcrl:lnds andAustria, Maximilian soon found himselflhreatencdin the southern reaches of his Empire. In [494­Charles VIII, the successor to Louis XI, crossed theAlps and invaded haly with the intention ofconquering the Kingdom of Naples to whichFrance had a centuT)'-old claim. Facing noresistancc whatsoevcr, Charles VI JI enteredNaples in May 1495 with ~Iaximilian standinghelplessly in the wings. Yet this bold move by theFrench set loose a countcrreaetion throughoutEurope. When Charles finall) reached Naples hefound thai a great coalition had been formedbehind his back. TIlC League of Venice, concludedin March '495, had brough! Spain, the Pope,

16

and rea.r. ne a..m.onuoition and provilion. were protected by a.e.-.eD oCpi.ke in the centre. h i. interntin! to Ii" the methodof tl'1l.Dliport employed for the huse arqueb....eli in theimmediate foresround. (A_p. Co.tltJ.J oj IN BnfUA .If_I

i\lilan, "enice, and the Hal) Roman Emperortogether in a military alliance against France.

~laximiliaJ1 immediately despatched a force ofseveral thousand Landsknechts to hah lhe retreat ofthe French over the Alps, but they could nOI

prevent thc withdrawal at FornUQvo. TheEmperor's plan was for the League to launch aconcentric altack on France with the aim ofsplitting the French terri tOT)' into pieces. The plan\\as never rcalised. The League, which had beenconcluded on a 25 year basis, began to crumblc assignatory after signatory abandoned the agrecmentwhen France withdrew from their territory. Therewere, howcvcr, twO important developments in thewake ofthis. First!). £\la.ximilian struck an c\-erlast­ing alliance with Spain through the marriagesofhisdaughter ~Iargarete to Don Juan, the heir to theSpanish throne, and his son, the Archduke I>hilip,

....

+

10 Donna Juana, thc daughtcr of Fcrdinand andIsabella. Secondl)', he summoned the princes ofGerman) to the Imperial Diel at Worms in April1495 in which he laid out plans for (among~a otherthings) a general war levy. The scheme remainedon paper, !t.laximilian having to rely on the richVenctian and !t.lilancsc families for financing hiscampaigns.

In 1499 hostilities ,\cre rcsumed when a Frencharmy crossed the Alps again in a second attcmpt 10take ~Iilan. The new King of Francc, Louis XI I,succeeded in holding the cil) until the spring of1500, the Duke of ~lilan, Lodovico Sforza, havingbeen bctra) ed by his own Swiss mercenaries. Thenext prize was :\aples and an alliance with Spainsoon made its capture a fonnality. However theallies then began to quarrel and at the battle ofGarigliano October 1503 the Spanish sword·and·buckler troops won a resounding "ictory o"er theFrench, who were forced to withdraw from theKingdom of Naples.

!t.laximilian now called for a new Imperial Dictwhich met in Augsburg. The invasion of~'lilan wasthe pretexlthe Emperor had needed to com'ince hisprinces of the imminence of the French threat. Yethe was still unable to stir his nobility into providinghim with the financial support necessary to mount acampaign against France. !t.laximilian was sodesperale that he allowed the formation of aR,ichsrtgimtfll a council oftile leading princes whowere prepared to buy their share in the running ofthe Empire.

In the following years Maximilian transfonncdhis stratcgy and adopted a marc peaceful policytowards France, hoping to presclve his prize so thathe might inherit her a\ a later date. In 1504 and1505 rcspeclively, tbe Treaties of Blois and Hag­cnau werc signed, in which thc daughter of theFrench king was bctrothed to thc ArchdukeCharles. Thc accord lasted only a year. In 1506Louis proclaimcd that his daughter Claudia wouldmarry thc crown prince, Francis of Angouleme.This was fclt as a great }X>litical blow against~Iax.imilian. Howcver, due to domestic conflict hewas obliged to post}X>ne any plans for re,·enge.

After the dealh of the Duke ofLandshut, George'the Rich', in 1504, the Wittclsbach family began toquarrel ovcr Ihe legacy. Thc Palatinate Ruprechtallied with Vladislav, King of Bohemia, whiJe

Albrecht IV of Bavaria·~lunich (urned to hisbrother.in.law ~Iaximiliall and thc SwabianAlliance for assistance. Th(' Swabian Alliance was apolitical and milital) organi<;ation which had beenfOlmed in 1488 betwcen the Emperor and theleading princes, among them Dukc Sigmund ofTirol and Eberhard, Dukc of Wurltembcrg withthe main aim of preserving peace in Ba\aria.

The opposing forccs met at the village ofWenZCllsbach ncar Regcnsburg. This was the firstmajor test for Georg von Frundsbcrg later to benicknamed the ·father of the Landsknechts· incommand ofa regimcllI from ~Iemmingen. ~lax­

imilian commanded the anny of his brother·in­law, Albrccht, which outnumbered the encm~

quite considerably. Ruprechl's men had taken up adefensive position on a hillock behind a wall ofshields. Thc battle was decided, however, b) thedevious tactics of ~taximilian's Landsknechts \\ hoadvanced to meet Ruprechl's horse. The latter

Early WoodCUI& &UUKI thai the arqu"bus wa& ..-ed wilhoutthe aid of& relit. ney w"re raLber primiliweaad ~berso_"afFai"> c:c: I1" _d wiLb & 1"Il-IlJ" of appro..-ately 400yard&. ne dew"lopme," towards Lbe .,......t:! look placeLa the "s- wlM:a the rul wa& Ualroduced, .. baadpasbec:a.m" er .... Ilad • wid" calibre.(F,..; ·<nlJ MIII.Il-./i-. r. ~"d.j..u."Iwt/ld.lJtatid,

17

charged the Imperial 'forlorn hope' only to be lured.into a thick \\'all of pike behind them. Some 1,600men were slaughtered. The victory at Regensburgand subsequent succ(..'SSful siege of the fortress ofKufstcin did much to enhance the military re·pUlation of the Emperor and al the Impel"ial Diet atConstance which was held in 1505 all his demands,particularly for his militaI) budget, were met. Itwas at this Diet that an organised system ofpayment was establi~hed for the LandskncchtS.

In 1508 ~Iaximilian dre\\ up plans to rene\\imperial control in Italy. At thc Imperial Dict atConstance he had demanded financial support forhis Rome campaign, promising knighthoods forthose princes who would follow. His desired ann)of 20,000 LandsknechtS was never realised. Of the12,000 men that were placed at his disposal only afraction e\'entualJ) took the field. It was obviousthat r>.laximilian was intent on war \\ith Veniceand not the French. The Venetian Republic barredthe way to Rome. This barrier proved to bc tOOstrong, for in February that year the Emperor'sanny ground to a hah at Trient. Without adequatemilitaf) suppon ~laximjJian was obliged to sign a

three year truce with the Venetian Republic.The Pope, who had meanwhile become fearful of

the growing po\\'er of Venice, now sought aprotectivc alliance with :-'Iaximilian. The resultingLeague ofCambrai formed in IS08 included Spainand France. In Ihe following year lvlaximiliancommissioned Frundsberg 10 march down theRiver ElSCh via Trient and recruit a regiment forthe Alliance ",hich was now preparing to atlack theVenetian positions. Realising that their strengthlay in their diplomatic ralher than their militaI)cunning the Venetians tried to manoeuvre eachmember of the League into a position wherebyquarrel and ultimale dissolution would becomeinevitable. Thus Pope Julius II and me SpanishKing Ferdinand the Calholic were persuaded thattheir interestS did not lie in the Habsburg camp.The League was dissol\·ed, Germany finding itSelfon the same from as I-ranee. Fnllldsbcrg, who hadmeanwhile held the fortress city of Verona, wasrelieved an~ joined the french force commandedby AlessuJ1Cl.ro Trivulzio. In May 1511 theysucceeded in defeating the Papal·Venetian forcesbetween Imola and Bologna and then pushed

StaB" w",poa. or ~ 6f'1~Lh. aDd ....teeaLh. can..tie.: .)Military rork;".) Ahlforsdo ; 3) RaJuo,o..r or RunkaHI) Co.-que;

18

S It 6) h.ll.... la.are. de boeu.f; "'2) Partisans; I:J-IslConeqlO"116) RWIb; '1) h.liaa Bill; ") Glaive.

II

Th~ basic difl"~rencebelWftft Swi5lll and German pikedrill ....slhal the German Landljkn~Ju. b~ld the pike al ",houlderIoel&bt wbenali the Swi",. prefft'Tftl to bold their wcapo... at ana.a.s1e or.bove the bead. TbiIi phoforapb mo_ the nllietItial

north-east, thus forcing the \enetians to \\ ithdra\\from their foru'csses in the Friuli dislricl. It is saidthat with only I,Boo men Frundsberg succeeded indefeating 9,000 Venetians and laking the fortressesof Scala, Covelo and the 'impregnable' Cadore inthe Dolomites. The strategic importance of thisviclory was that il secured the main crossing pointsin north-eastern Italy for fUlure Imperial armies.This was to be me only gain from Frundsbcrg'sviclory, for ne\\ political developments had upselthe international scene once again.

In 15" the Pope fanned a Hal) League withSpain and Venice and Henry VIII of Englandagainst France. Maximilian, secing this as a greatopportunity to seal the fatc of France and al thesame time secure haly once and for all, joined theLeague.

poliihonli of the drill, ......y of which we.... adoplM by theGermanli. The armour shown I. Iypical Maximilian lityle,cbaracreriRd by the llw:nel'O'" HUM!li On the brea"t plat.. aDdthe cuili..... (c..tU!J~tiIII&....... \~ ,11_. ;:'_ndj

It was at this stage mal a ne\\ power began 10

make itself felt-Switzerland. The cnmil) betweenthe Swiss Confederation and Germany had arisenlargely due 10 the desire on the parl of i\laximilian10 bring the Swiss under his political wing. Then.'Suh had been a succession ofborder clashes me'Swabian Wars' in 1499 in which a three prongedImperial assault froOl Alsace, Constance and lht'Tyrol had failed miserably at the Baltle ofDomachon 22 July. From lhat day onwards the SwmConfcderation bccame an independent politicalcmity. This break ",ilh Gemlany had strengmenedSwiss sympathy for the French. Vel surprisingh thefinest troops in Europe had now entered the scr\ict'of Pope Julius II, thus helping to s'J·en.~then theHoly League which was no\\ intent on dri\ingFrance out of Italy.

19

Medium artillery p;«e5, probably Kartaune... In general therate "ffiring WIIS ..low. Thi. was ..... part due 10 the D«essity 10cool IlDd dean the bon: each time to p...,venl prem.aturee"'plOt;io.... wben reloading; vinegar __ ....ed to cool thebarrels.

Creazzo and Novara

In the summer of 1513 a new army 7,000 strongcommanded by Frundsberg and Ulrich von Hlitlencrossed the Alps and was joined by the veterans ofRavenna. Uncertain of the political situation,which was in a SlalC ofpcrpclllal fllIX, the Imperialarmy marched on Padua whcre a large Venelianarmy was reported 10 be assembling. Reinforcedwith Spanish and Italian contingentS, Frundsberg,after severa] minor skirmis.hes with local units,turned nonh·wcst towards Creazzo wherc thecommander of[Jle Venetian forces, d'Alviano, hadconfidcntly invitcd thc gentry of Padua to observethe resounding victory which he was about to

commandcr his life. Ravenna was one of thebloodiest ballies of thai era. Over 10,000 bodies laystrewn on the bauleficld with double losses for theLeague. According 10 Machiavelli the Frenchvictory was gained solely due to the stubbornresistance and fierce c1ose·quaner fighting or theGerman Landsknechts.

Several days after Ravenna Maximilian orderedall the German Landsknechts in the pay of theFrench to return home. All except 800 obeyed theirEmperor; and these Soo wcre to form the nucleus ofthe infamous 'Black Legion'. In the following yearthe Holy League broke up on the death orthe PopeJulius II. The Venetian Republic, seeing that itsreal enemies were lhe Germans and the Spanish,struck an alliance with France; and the Pope, aMedici, had other interests.

o:::;::::::.~="...------.._-­..__...-­_ ...._M__The Battle of Ravenna

f\t Ravenna in '5[2 tbe opportunity arose for thenew allies to show their strength. The Papal.Spanish army under the command of RaimundCardona made a stand three miles from the city,which the Frcnch commander Gaston de Foi" haddeliberately besieged in an effort to draw the armyof the League into a confrontation with his ownforce, which numbered 22,000 and included acontingent of 5,000 German LandsknechtS. Draw·ing up his forces barely 30 yards away from thebanks of the River Ronco, Cardona orderedearthworks to be erected across his front. With hishorse on both flanks and his infantry arranged inechelon formation similar lO the Swiss tactic, theSpanish commander ordered wagons to be drawnup in front of the forward infantry square. On thesewagons were placed large arquebuses, while lheheavy artillery was positioned in front of the leftwing of cavalry.

As the French advanced towards Cardona'sfront a heavy cannonade bcgan. De Foix, noticingthat the enemy had placed mOSI of his strength onthe left flank, ordcred his artillery to be drawn upand for twO hours bombarded Cardona's weakright (lank. The effort proved succcssful, for hebrought the enemy out of a strong defensiveposition on to the field. Colonna, the commander ofthe Italian horse, threw his troops against theFrench right wing. Outnumbered twO to one theFrench were forced back, bllt the advance of theLeaguc was soon checked by a counter-chargc fromthe French lancers in the rearguard and, thrownilllo confusion, the League was put to roul.

In the centre the Spanish and Italian infantl)'began their advance towards the German Lands·kncchtS who stood in typical squared formation.At this poilll the lauer, breaking into a greatcharge, swooped into the ranks of the Spanish andprecipitated biller hand·to-hand figlaing. Seeingthat the Spanish were gaining the upper handCaslon ordered his horsc to attack the Spanish foot,causing the latter to take up a defensive instead ofan offensive formation. Surrounded on all sides, tbeSpaniards tried to keep together and reach thebanks of the Ronco where lhey could make aretreat between the earthworks and the river.Furious ,hat the Spaniards were retreating, Castonordered a final charge which cost the French

20

f

!,f

1

j

"

cj

c,

Th.. cul"..ria was on.... charact..riHd by th.. shan~I .....the Joooe: U"Ili1 pi~. Th.. l-rn:1 _ elevated by meaas of.

register against the Imperial forces. Yet Frunds·berg and his Locolcllt!1l1 Jakob VOll Landau, sellingtheir men up in squared formation, converted whatseemed a certain victol1' for the Venctians into ahumiliating defeat. Some 8,000 mercenaries of theRepublic met their death against only minor lossesfor Frundsbcrg's men.

~Ieanwhile the French had been forced towithdraw from Italian soil after suffering defeat atthe hands of the Swiss at the BatLie of~ovara,June1513. The French amly, encamped some 28 mileswest of Milan were taken by surprise by a '3,000­strong Swiss force. In Ihe deadly battle whichensued, the German LandsknechlS of the BlackLegion and the French Gascon foot were thrownback and hacked to pieces by the Swiss halberdiers.Out of 10,000 men thc French suffered 50 per ccntlosses. Those Landsknechts in the pay of the Frenchwho surrendered were e.xecuted wilhout mercy bythe Swiss. Novara was the highwatcrmark of Swissmilitary achicvcment.

By the end of '514 most of north·eastcm Italywascomrolled by Imperial troops until in 1515 theCurtain began to rise on a new act in the Italiantragedy.

Marignano

~Iaximilian, who had juggled about with Franceand the Venctian Republic in an attempt to secure

----.i.mpl.....ed:uuUsm al the ~.r ofl.h.. lraiI pi~.The 1"'D!th ofthe~I _aonnaUy 110 to 40 limo... its width. (Dnu)

his imperial claim on Italy, was faced with a newproblem. The young and impetuous successor tothe French duone, Francis I, was intent onrccovering the lost Dukedom of Milan. In August1515 a French army, 30,000 strong with a train of72 guns crossed the Alps and surprised theirencmies in the rear, pitching camp at Marignanoten miles south·east of ~tilan.

Francis had takcll the trouble to recruit 9,000German Landsknechts under the command of theDuke ofGucldres, having lillic rcgard for his ownGascon infantry. II is said that man} of theLandsknechts belonged to lhe infamous BlackBands, so-called because of the black uniform andarmour which lhey wore. The Swiss, 25,000 Slrong,had withdrawn to Milan where they received aconsiderable bribe from Francis to turn againsttheir hosts. Howe\'er, careful persuasion b}' theirleaders made them realise that the French meant todestroy them.

The opposing forces met at Marignano onSeptcmber 13. Whilc the Swiss hesitatcd over thebribe from Fmncis, lhe French king took up adefensi\'e position. making dfcCli\'c U5C of theditches which broke up the terrain in frolll of hisranks. Having ordcred some of these to be built upilllo eanhworks Francis placed his artillery, ar·quebusicrs and Gascon crossbowm('n in the frontline. Behind this came the Gemlan Landskncchb in

21

H~ w .. flll'tbu esampl.. of _ aiI~ wiu aD onoat..twisted barrtt IUld wa...,..,J .truu 10 add ...bill.,. l& U .. wIoolecarriat..d~ U"Ul$pan.(lkw; 'n.,~.. s.u.udwj')

squared formation, Ranked by the French ho~.

Somewhat confused but anxious to get at theirtreacherous enemy, the Swiss had meanwhile leftMilan and drawn themselves up in typical echelonfonnation with a forlorn hope well ahead of themain Cru.'a/tltut. Pressing forward, the 'forlorn hope'reached a small fannhouse where, under coverfrom enemy fire, the Swiss were able to SCt up thefourculverins which !.hey had taken from the Milanarsenal. Francis immediately ordered a troop ofhorse to approach the farmhouse with the illlentionof setting it on fire. This they succeeded in doing,rendering the cannon useless.

Pressing on, the 'forlorn hope' crossed theditches, wading through waleI' in some places, andtraversed the walls built by the French engineers.Complctely overpowering the Gascon archers andarquebusiers the Swiss van, now closely followed bythe main body of foot, reached the last ditchprotecting the Frcnch position and crashed illlo theGerman Landskncchts. In thc ensuing melee theSwiss captured several guns and for a while the twoforces were locked together 'at push of pike'.Fortunately the Germans rallied and at theirsecond assault the Swiss were checked by a Rankingcharge from the French horse and salvoes from theFrench artillery, which ripped holes in their ranks.By midnight the battle had reached stalemate. It issaid that both Swiss and Germans slcpttogether onthe battlefield until fighting was resumed thefolJowing morning. Finally, after 28 hours of

22

fighting, the Swiss withdrew from the field withonly 3,000 men left. The French were thus able 10

recover Milan, while Maximilian could only offertoken opposition.

When in 1516 the Emperor organised a cam­paign from the Tyrol against Venice and ~liJan, hismilitary bankruptcy was exposed. One half of histroops were Swiss mercenaries in the pay of theEnglish, man} of whose comrades "'ere still in thepay of the French (lhe Confederation had beendivided). l\loreovcr l\1a.ximilian was not e\·cncommander of the whole arnly. In spite of this hisanny had managed to reach the gates ofMilan, yetwhen he hesitated over the assault of the city infavour of a more stratcgic manoeuvre, his troopsgrew impatient and demanded their Sturmsold.When this moncy was nOI forthcoming theymutinied, some defecting, some returning home,leaving the Emperorwi!.h no choice but to abandonhis campaign and make a hasty retreat to the T)TOI.

This marked the end of Maximilian's militaryengagements. Forced to adopt a more peacefulpolicy towards France, he concluded the Peace ofBrussels with France in December '516, by whichhe delivered up his last prize of the Venetian

Th.. So or Sow _. _l4bt fidd piece wiu_ 8TftIteT traj«corythaa u .. mvuiD•. The equlpm....t req~ to rna.inu.in Lb..anillery ... load onieT ova. quit.. COG.id..~bJ.. , -.idtl" and.cyth" for deariDl th.. uad"rvowtll, -.boyd. IUld KoOpS forth.. ean.bworks, boo.1a.a_ aDd wti.pt. for m ....urinJ out u ..doarJ" or papawd , I er buekeu for carT')'iD« U ..powder Cram~ d p to u tadletl for cha.rJin&: uem,ad.. lP'ftH for ue wb_1s, plIO. barrel. of......ns, _po c:aadI....Ia.ot~and thO! .ecunr')' tool..

., ,'\~ .0-

J, HO;:r1'-;I,,'iN MiirtC'I'1U1

If. Land»knecht had committed. crime ....d lJu«ftCIed ...e....di.ng the ProvOill by reaching one oCthe pna in the artillerypar'" he autom.atiCll.1ly had the ris"bt of .....<:mary for~dar-. As lcml .. the Cgptiv" remaUo.ed wit.hia • nuii... of 2f

Wars-the CityofVerona to Francis. In the sameyear Charles, Duke of Burgundy, the grandson ofMaximilian, inherited the Kingdom ofSpain fromFerdinand. This suddenly posed a military threatnOt only for France but for the Pope too, for thewhole of soulhem Italy belonged to Spain. Thuswhen Maximilian died in 1519 Pope Leo X alliedwith Francis I, seeing this as the only move capableof countering a possible pincer movement whichany future Gennan emperor could mounl.

The eJection ofCharles as Hoi) Roman Emperorwas no clear cut malleI'. Francis I, w;th consider­able financial resources at his disposal, set aboutwooing the German princes who were responsiblefor the election. His challenge was shortlived.Charles succeeded in securing the necessaryfinancial supporl from the rich Fuggcr and Welserfamilies of Augsburg, thus enabling him toinfluence several of the more importam princes. Atthe same time Maximilian's grandson arranged foran army to be despatched to Frankfurt the venuefor the election). This showofforce commanded byFrundsberg and Franz von Sickingen was 3.

sufficient deterrent for Francis and his prospectivevoters amongst the German Electors. This con­frontation meant a revival of the Habsburg-Valoisstruggle which was to be intensified by Charles's

•

..pIlC:" fro... the p.n the ProVOll( _llld IlOt .........1 .b.i.m.. If I.bUlaw wa. broke. thea the Ulalltft'1lftle,,1 of the orda.a.nc:e hadthe ritl:btto withdraw hi. artillery train from the ..nny.( Dtis,: 'DIU dnl/MItI SMJ4Ino&w" )

pronounced aim ofa 'A!onorchia L'nivtrsaliJ' whichposed a great threat to France.

Ancr several minor engagements in northernSpain (Villalar, 1521) and thc Netherlands(Bouchain) hostilities resumed in northern Italy.Francis had renewed his alliance with the VenetianRepublic and Genoa and had recruited an anny of16,000 Swiss mcrccnal;es under the command ofAlbrecht von Stein and his uco/rnent Arnold vonWinkelried. The French forces under the supremecommand of Lautrec had occupied most of thekingdom of Lombardy.

Frundsberg, commander of the Imperial forces,was approached by several Italian princes to raisean army and hah the French advance, With thehelp of hundreds of peasants he cleared a way forhis Landsknechts through the snowed-up Bergam·askian Alps and joined the Imperial-Papal forcesunder the command of Prospero Colonna at Milanin February 1522. The French Army, which hadmeanwhile been forced back cast of~lilan, decidedto make a stand at La Bicocca in April 1522. Thiswas a decisive baule not for any strategic reasonsbut because for the first time Swiss and Germanmercenaries faced each othel" in considerablenumbers.

23

Q 10 SOfl-~'TI---'~--'--r, '-'-I miles020 80km

SWISS

CONFEDERATION

Salzburg.

AUSTRIA100

elnnsbruck

T Y R 0 L

Pieve de Cadore

• Castel Roncolo

~s~,

~o

• Florence

Trient. vo

<:)

Genoa

La Bicocca•Milane

Novara

Map oftbe North Italian and Tyrol~ theuret of war duringtbe fint quarter of Ihe .Ui:1e..ntb century.

24

I hnperial Herald, 15'15:I Georg von Frund1bers:J GOI:! von Berlichingen (1481 15&:z)

J-. . .

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A

B

The Em.peror Manmilian I

"•

• c.ptaio:l, '520'lI Schu1tl>~••• c"52i!3 Standard Be-ftl'. '500S

L:::::;;;:_"'~ ~~------,,~_---= ./c

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Arqu~bu,per, lsao2 ~m~i.n ..·~bel, Wi.llibald Pird<.b~;m~r Rq;u...nu. ':>293 Pikeman, "·'5'10

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I DoppelHklau ohhe Black~ 'po~ SutJererl.3 Pr0v051

,~~~.-------~

5

,

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,

H

•. Rrichntunnfi.h.ae (hnperial MltI" Raldi ~ Suuodanl of friedrida ofBavaria. 15:P; 3- Standard oCOuo..les Viol_ Sta.Qdard o(M••i_ili...i.ncorporatinJ the B~d.ia.ncron of 51. Andrew; So SULadard ofGeo"lVO" fna.ndsb..'l;1 6. ero.. oCSI. Andrew; 7- Standard orthe fuge" £an>i1Yi8. Standard of 1\.1"...mi"8""1 9. Slandard of the Geor."cbild Rin"rgell"lIl'<'hafl(Ln8"'e of Swabian Knigbl.); 10. Reichsrennfahn...

Bicocca and Pavia

Colonna, the Italian commander in chargc of theSpanish cOlllingent, had realised that the huntinglodge at La Bicocca presellled a considerabledefensive position. A sunken lane ran between thebottom of a garden and the fields which separatedIhe two armies. He ordered the bank to be built upon the garden side illlo a rampan, and positionedhjs arquebusierson it in ranks four deep, aJong withseveral heavy cannon. The German pikemen tookup the rear of the rampart. As the Swiss advancedacross the fields (with roeks and sand in their handsready to throw at their enemy) their ranks weredecimated by the murderous fire from the Spanisharquebusiers and artilleT). Those who succeeded inreaching the lane found themselves in a deathtrapand were slaughtercd by the arquebusiers, whowere so high that the Swiss pikemen could not evenlouch them. Frundsberg, adopting the Spanish'tercio' method, had deployed his pike in chequer­board formation behind the arquebusiers. Thisproved to be unnecessary, as his pike rushed downinto the lane (0 finish olfthe Swiss. In the ensuingmelee Albrecht von Stein and Arnold von Winkel­ried were killed at the hands of Frundsbcrg. Some5,000 Swiss, including 2'2 of their officers, werekilled in theonslaughl. La Bicocca was a disaster forthe Swiss. Lautrec ,,·as forced to withdraw fromLombard)- and in the following months Genoasurrendered. La Bicocca proved once and for all thesupcriority of the Spanish and German arquc­busiers and the Landsknecht pikemen.

~lean"hile a new domestic conflict had brokenout between the German princes and the knights.The latter, led by Ulrich von Hutten and Franz vonSickingen, felt themselves threatened by theincreasing influence of the nobility which had beenmanifest in the formation ofa RtiduTtgimtnl. Franzvon Sickingen had planned to align the knightswith the eities in an allempt to seize the politicalpower from the princes. In August 15'2'2 he beganhis campaign at Trier, bcseiging the ArchbishopPrince, Richard von Greiffenblau. Immediatel)·the princes united against him and a large forceunder the Prince Louis of the Palatinate and DukePhilip of Hcssen engaged him throughout the yearuntil finally in the spring of 15'23 their flags wereflying on the Landstuhl-Sickingen's castle.

.......~..~~ w."-.......s."iItlI. , • ..,d:oSlm.................-r..

&eo... von Fl"WId.sbe..., Ifn-1sa'. Lord of MiJodoeUoeioa, isreprcled by m_y.a Lbe true 'C.Lbn- ofthe LaacbJutecbu'. Hebec:arne Iiupreme corornauder of the Imperial forc:eli IlJlIdn­Charleli V portly afler the latter Ii"cc~ed Lbe throoe.Fn&Ddabe"l! fougbl hili finl _g.g",,_1 .pinal !he Swi•• in1499 aDd in the same year wu amo,,& the Imperial 11'00I"'de.paldoed 10 ..sis, the Du.l<e of Milaa, Ladovico Sfora,.pia•• Lbe rreocl>.. FnuMI.be......i.ted Mnimm•• iBo........ia&: the Laads.kDechl. and in lsog, 1513 -...d 15'f~.tu-edowne...... '''Cc:elises .pil"l the V_etiamI aad theFrellcl>.. Throush hi. victory.l Bicocc:a in 15'1:1 be bro"plwgrealer pari oCLombardy ....der!.he iDftuftlce oCCharl" V,.I!.he _e time d"U'oyiDg Lbe ~"tatl.oo oC the Swiss as Lbebesl Cool_ldie"' .... Europe. He also played. onajor role in thed~""I ofthe F .......cl>..I PII.viso in '5"" He died in Aups. ,p:8.1MiDd~uloa...ud £nuo loi.ezt....h·e_paicIu: iBltaly.(PM/wI "...t........tn .u""'W"" ,...".II~__._\f~

The internal weakness of the Empire had in factbeen o\'ershado\\ed by polilical ructions on theinternational scene. In haly the Habsburg ally,Duke Francesco Sforza, had taken conlrol ofMilan, long regarded as the rightful inheritanc(' ofFrance. Henry VIII of England had landed inNorthern France, as had been planned \\ ithCharles V. Yet Francis was to suffer an ('\cn greatersetback. Charles, Duke of Bourbon and Constableof France, had quarrelled with his king and takenservice wi III the Emperor, who had promised himboth the hand of his sister Eleonora, the wido" ofthe KingofPortugal, and a kingdom in the south of

25

'fhilI pamlinS by Titi.lul. depict. Charles V a' the B.nle ofMiihlbers. 1547, we-riDS a .Wl of b.lf...-mo.........de by hQpenon.al ~olU"er DHideri... HehDKbmied.. It .. of bhoe.IHI deco.....ted .no~wi'" baacb: ....t. c:urved dericR etdaedia Sold. He .. we-riDS the red or pink conlln• ...:ler'. sash whichw" the field .ip for the ea"'olia at MiiJdbe"!:.(PrDde ••\fadnJ/)

France. ntis was a gl"eat diplomatic move, fOI" bycl"cating an ally in southem France, a front fromItaly to Spain could be established against Francis.There was only one drnwback and that was thesuccessful invasion of Provence. Joining the 1m·perial army in Northem Ilaly, the Duke ofBourbonsetoffon his campai~n in the South ofFrnnce. Aftersix \\cells of inconclusive campaigning he wasfOl"ced to make a hasty withdrawal. Francis, insteadof pursuing Bourbon, had crossed the Alps in themeantime with an ann) of 40,000 men. Suddenl)the tables had tumed. B) October '524- Francis wasat Ihe gates ofMilan with only a handful offortifiedcities I"emaining under Imperial conlrol. Onhearing the news that Milan had fallen, the anny ofGel"man Landsknechts undel" the command ofKaspar \'on Frundsberg, the son of the famouscommander, and GrnfEiteifritz von Hohenzollcm,which had been marching on ~liIan, was forced torctum to Pavia where Ihey joined the old Spanishgeneral Don Antonio de Leyn. On the same da)that Ihe French entered J\lilan the firsl assaultbegan on the southcm walls of the city of Pavia.

26

The situation was becoming quite serious forCharles. Pope Clement VII had tumed his back onthe Empin: and entered into an alliance withFrance and the Venetian Republic, allowing aFrench anny under the command of the Duke ofAJban) through the Papal Stale to attack Naples.Charles, in response 10 the call for help from Leyva,hadlo throw new troops into the Italian arena.

Bourbon, afler a disastrous retreat from Pro­vence, entered Gennany and began recruiting anew anny inJanuary 1525. Together with Lannoyhe approached the ailing Georg von Frundsberg,\\ ho obliged and promptly raised eleven Fiilmltin.At Lodi, north·east of Pa\;a, he joined MarxSinich von Ems, who had brought a furthereighteen eompanies with him. Along with theSpanish troops of Pescara, a considerable annynumbering some 17,000 infantry and 1,000 horsewas ready to relieve lhe garrison at Pavia.

Meanwhile attempts by the French to diven theRiver Tissino had proved a failure and a thrce·pronged assault on the city had been equallyunsuccessful. Realising that the Imperial reliefforce would soon be aniving, Francis had movedhis headquarters to the park of Mirabello, securinga strong position belween Pavia and the oncomingImperialist ann)'. Frundsberg, ordel"ing pontoons10 be built across the Po, dl"ew up his forces facingtht' French artiUery. There foHowed three weeks oftrench warfare and intennitlenl sonies.Frundsberg's men succeeded in making contactwith Leyva in the city, supplying him withammunition and provisions and co.ardinatingplans fOI" the oncoming baule.

Drenched by rain and decimated by sickness, theFrench soon began to lose morale. On '20 February,6,000 French troops insisled on returning home. Atthe same time 2,000 Cennans deserted the Frenchcamp, thus reducing Francis's army to less than20,000 men. Of this total 9,000 were Italian, 5,000Swiss, 4.500 Cennans and 1,300 Gendannerie. Hisgenerals advised Francis to withdraw, while Leyva,in a similarly desperate situation, warned Lammythai he could no longer hold the cil)'. At this pointBourbon begged for an attack.

At midnight '23/'24 February the Imperialistanny, under cover of an artillel) barrage and anois), dcco) cl"eated by three companies of Lands­kncchts remaining in the camp, moved nonh-

wards up the River Vernavola to a fordable strctchand proceeded to cross it, thus outflanking theFrench. Having crossed the ford they reached thewali of thc park. Without drawing the attention ofthe enemy the Spanish engin(..ocrs succeeded b}daybreak in making a breach 50 yards wide.Frundsberg now formed a van of seven Fahnltin,ordering them to put on their white shins over theirarmour (those who did not have shirts wercorderedto use paper) so that they could easily recognisecomrades in the darkness. B} da}break the Im­perial forces had advanced in column on Mir­abello, Lannoy and Bourbon commanding thehorse in front, with the artillery and thc main bodyofinfamry under Pcscara behind them. With threeblasts from a cannon Frundsberg signalled to Leyvathat it was time to attack.

The French, now having to reverse their front,were brought into confusion. Since most of histroops were guarding the lower banks of theVcrna\'ola, Francis was forced to deploy theremainder (the more doubtful units of the BlackLegion) to the right and the Swiss to the left. Leyva,seeing the time was right, now swept out of the city,thus cUlling offAlcm;on, in command ofthe Frcnchforces on the western nank, from his king. Francis,ordering the attack, sent his horse against thebreach in the park wall where several companies ofItalians wcre persevering with the remainder of theartillery which was bogged down in the mud. TheFrench had lillie trouble in forcing the Italians [0

withdraw to a near-by wood. On seeing this,Pescara ordered Lannoy to throw his horse againstthe French lines, but they were met wilh such ahea\'} fusilade from the French artillery that theytoo had to seek shelter, this time behind a group offannhouses. Francis now took the offensive andordered his horse to charge, with the Swiss andGcmlan [OOtIO follow. The salvo which Galiot, theFrench military commander, had fued at theGennan horse was his first and last, for the Frenchwere now charging across his line of fire. In spite ofthis situation the French had rallied well and wereattacking in good order. However, the infantrywere too slow in following up the charge and werechecked by the Imperialists. The Gennan Lands·knee-hts of the Black Band now found themselvesfacing their own kinsmen in the ranks of Frunds·berg and Ems. In the violent melee which ensued

the mercenaries in the pay of lhe French weresurrounded on three sides by the Imperial foot andhacked to pieces.

Meanwhile the Swiss, facing Pcscara's arquc·busiers positioned in the trees of the park, sufferedgrievously as swift vollies from 1,500 muskets begandecimating their ranks. With his fOOL in routFrancis now threw his mounted Gendannes intothe fray in a last·ditch attempt to break theImperial assault. However, with their lances uselessamidst the trees in the park, they were gunneddown at point-blank range by the no\\ well.positioned arquebusiers. Francis was one of thevictims. His horse shot from beneath him, he "'asonly barely s.1.Vecl from a mob ofvicious Spaniardsb}' sevcral of his entourage and the speed}

Fruu;:itI t, 14!H-1547, wu KiDS of FI'UlCe fl"On> '515 _til biIdeath. A.uDou.s 10 ..-lUe the Valois d.a.iDu 0.. Milan aJId~y, lie pursued an agrn,pve fomp poliq wllidt."'vulved IWn i .. a Rriu of wan willi Charles V oC Gern>a.ayBy iii. victory at MaripaJ>o lie WOD the rqn.tatio.o oCth.....oapowerful aad I:l0riou. prince ... E...-ope. Ia 15'9 be....-cc:es..fv.I .. c:aadidate Corllle dectioD DC ...... Holy RoEmperor. Ia '50 F......cis failed to acqu~ tJl.e .uppa" 0

Henry vm at ...... Fidd of th.. Cloth oC Gald, and ~fu ......er Ht-backs al Mila.o. ... '50 and with the dd"_ 0Charles Duke OfBo.rboD iI:t 1,5ll3o Ia retaliario.. for Bourbon'....ali 0 .. M.anftlln F......cis ODce more ...vaded Italy, ....was ddn.led resowulirtslyat lIIe Bani.. oCPavia .... 'S-50 8e~obiI death, F.....w ud IDOU-llled further e:am.pups .,....Charles aided Illy Dew allin_the Turtt. and th.. ProtesPriac.on ofGerrna.ay.(P.,.tutt ~ 0.-1, l.~M_;~ c.ru.ryStJ.)

2

intervention of Lannoy, who granted him safeconduct from the field of battle.

The battle had been equally disastrous for theFrench on the right flank. Kaspar von Frundsberg,leading the charge from the cit) against Alem;on'stroops, had succeeded in dri\-ing hundreds of theFrench into the Tissino \\here man) drowned intheir hea\') annour.

In less than twO hours 8,000 Frenchmen hadfallen at the expense ofonly 700 Imperialists. Thedefeat of the French at Pavia left Ital) at the mercyof Charles, and proved that the Spanish and theGennan Landskneehts were the best shock troopsin Europe.

Francis, exiled to Spain, had to suller thehumiliation of complying with Charles's termsbefore he could return to his kingdom. Thus hepledged to renounce his claims on Burgundy, Italy

and Flanders. However, no sooner was he rem·stated at his court than he declared the temlS ofpeace invalid and sct about cstablishing a nC\\I ami­Habsburg alliance. On '2'2 .1\la) 15'26 in Cognac,Frands fonned the Holy League with the Pope,Francesco Sforza of Milan, and the princes of theVenetian Republic and Florence.

Italian Cantpaigns 1526 29

.1\lcanwhile Charles had been faced with internalproblems. The Gennan peasants had sought to venLtheir political frustration by means of revolt, butthis had been speedily crushed by the SwabianAlliance. Furious at the defiance shown by theFrench court Charles approached Frundsbcrg onceagain. The forces of the League had already begunto consolidate their positions in Lombardy. "',lith

Loc:oc_1., or ........ I.........I-Coloaft.11 .....1~H_~. ·AmpMlt-lli,-.!RnrJt.J.js.L.s'.~4t~~.,4tt.M..dRlOIfT:TIle UlIilp WlUI a1 .....ys haDd-picl<ed rrom the I"IlDlu. He WlUIco.u.... ...uyaccornJl"li'ied by the drununer ...d fifer,....l CUi a

28

fine &pre: a. the Ioead of doe ~e.1Ior FiJ:mJeiD. II ...... _IUllCOlllU:llOa .0 6Dd the eou;ip ia do.. L1Uclo: ofthe &.o.ydef~lIIQ: .raadard Iiteno.Uy wido toodo ....l Bail. Jori..... doe halia..hiJiu.ria.a, tP\"eS ... aCCOlPlI or a dead eo:uip fowod Da doeh.llJdi",td with bedo aTDUI Iuocl<ed ID piec:u ....lloi••t::a.adardcletlldoed ia lois teeth.

an army of 12,000 Landsknechts, poorly equippedand without adequate financial resources, theImperial commander succeeded in avoiding anengagement at Trient and reached Brescia by mid­Xovcmber 1526. However, Frundsberg and Bour­oon were divided and unable (0 join together.~Iedici, commanding the Papal forces, hadplanned to ambush the Imperial almy underFrundsberg south of Mantua at the Po crossing byBargofone. Frundsbcrg rightly hesitated to cross,hoping to hear news of the conclusion of a peacetreaty, but on seeing that the Papal Venetian armywas about to take the offensive he ordered a smallfalconet to be brought up: loading it himself, he hitthe commander of Lhe enemy's forces, smashingMedici's leg 10 pieces with only his second shot. TheItalians withdrew in confusion.

Although the Imperial troops were now able tocross the Po and enter Papal territory their strategicposition was not strong, as provisions and financeswere veT)' low. \\'hat Frundsberg must have beenfearing had already happened to Bourbon-hisSpanish troops had mutinied and were nowrunning riot in the Italian Countryside.

By the end ofthc year Bourbon had succeeded inassembling an army again and in February 1527.with some 20,000 men, he left Milan and joinedFrundsberg near Piaccnza. A march on Rome nowsecmed inevitable, for only by forcing Clcment torecognise the Impcrial claim to Italy cOllld Charlessucceed in splitting the League down the middle.At the same time the Imperial anny was thirstingfor plunder and to deny the Landsknechts such anopponuniry would have been an open invitation tomutiny. On the march to Romc news came that thePope had signed a peace treat)' with Lannoy andhad offered 60,000 ducats to appease the Lands·knechts. Enraged at the off"er of only twO ducatspcr man, the Spanish and Italian contingentsmlltinied on Bourbon. The news soon spread toFrundsberg's camp, where his men demandedimmediate payment on Lheir AlonatssoJd. In a greatspeech the veteran commander tried to placate histroops, who seemed to be on the verge of mutiny.His attempt was in vain, yet JUSt when il seemedthat total rebellion was incvitablc, the situation wassaved by an odd twist of fate. Frundsberg, exhaus·ted b)' his cxtensi\'e campaigning and no\\ in illhealth. collapsed in front ofhis men. Their reaction

BlocIdl.oodt al ADlwftJ>' nu. woodCUI l;akea from~ 'WN.KlUliC (CCMU'tn)' ofthe BriIiAbM_)depiru. _e r......._01M.ximm.n'.arl)'_~iatheLowCo"'lri_Lo1111 wllea M••imjlian __ ID&I'do.iag ... ADlwftJ> be __lI.hed by a btockhouH which Charm VD.I .!lad erected tod.f.nd the city. Altho..gh o..cn......bered, Maxirni1.ia.n. avoidedthe blO(:lo.ho..... and charged the eaemy al hi. Darrow..t froatto m,.l,,: ..B'ed;v....At: of hi. Land.bedu•. After takUtg th..bloekJoo..se lie ordered it to be n>ced ...... the occu.....,.ba....ro-Iy ""eo;>Ited by~ aDd the 'wllet:l'.

was one of immediate sympathy for their com·mander and all thoughts of mutiny soon disap·pcared.

Frundsberg was taken to Ferrara and Konrad\·00 Borneburg took o\cr his command. Disciplint',in spite of the incidcnt in the German camp. \\now virtuall) non·existent. I t was only the thouKhtof rich plunder which drove the Imperial arm) ontowards Rome. By April, Bourbon and Boynebur~

had reached Florence, and by decoy. passed anarmy of the League which stood in their way By~fay they had reached Rome. Bouroon, who hadbeen forced to leave his artilleT)' behind and waswithollt any siege equipment, asked the Pope forprovisions for his men and free access to Naples.Clement. hoping for relief from the Duke ofl:rbino, refused. The Constabk. now gro\",in~

desperate, had to make a quick decision. The amtyof the League which he had c1e\'erly by-passed wasnow in his rear and his own troops wcre ~~n~ foran assault.

On the morning of6 ~fa) 1527 the first German

29

Landskncchts broke through the walls of Rome.Bourbon, who had insisted on leading the firstassault, was killed climbing the city wall. As soon asthe first cannons had been captured lhey wereaimed at the fortress of San Angelo. The Popefollowed by his cardinals only just managed toescape to the Castel San Angelo, while his Swissbodyguard fought a fateful rearguard action in theVatican. Within lhree hours lhe whole Vatican hadbeen taken. Von Boyneburg made an attempt torestrain his troops from plunder, but predictably, itwas in vain. Although they had assembled insquared formalion, expecting an attack fromUrbina's oncoming relief force, the) soon dispersedon sight oflheir Spanish and Italian comrades whobegan a wild rampage through the city, looting andmurdering. The 'Sacco di Roma' outraged thesentjment of lhe whole civilised world.

Charles, now with the whole Papal State in hispower. was ex~cted to declare himself 'TheSupreme Head of the Christian Church'; but herefrained from doing so, seeing that he needed the

Pope to maintain his hold on ltaJ). Not untilFebruary 1528 did the last units of Landsknechtsleave Rome. For the march on Naples a finalmuster-parade was arranged. Of lhe 1'2,000 menwho had crossed the Alps with Frundsberg scarcely5,000 remained, the ranks having been decimatedby the plague which had mcamvhilc broken out inRome.

The war in Italy did nOl end until the summer of1529. Atlhe Peace of Cambrai Francis renouncedhis claims on Italy for the second lime at theImperial expense of the Duchy of Burgundy.Charles had to promise to overthrow the Medicis ofFlorence in return for the Papal recognition ofHabsburg sovereignty in Italy and Europe.

In February 1530 Charles V was cro\..nooEmpcrorofthe Holy Roman Empire by the Pope inBologna. The' MonorchiD UnilNTsalis' thus seemed tohave been achieved at last. However, externalpressures were soon to change this. In the East theTurkish Emperor Suleiman 11 had been extendinghis innuence. In 1532 the Turks, having swept

_.

J /\

Tak... (renD Ihot 'ScbwfturKhlacht' by Ha.oo. Holbela, this ....vivid po""'raJ or Wto.al 'bad war-i.e. a coftf"rOIlt.atiOItbetwee:a $wi.. and Germ.... mercenaries_m...l hit.... beftl

30

like. Tbe more KaabaJ«er pro~·ed ...osl elfeo;:ti~·e al do.eqllltrters apia.sl Ihot cumbersome halbercltl aad plkes.rc..kV IN 10 ~,jtrJtuftJ.U/1'dl, BIU/t)

through Hungary, had arrived at the gates ofVienna. Charles, who had bttn involved in re­ligious conflict wiLh factions within the Empire, wasforced to concede to the Protestant princes onceagain in order to acquire arms and money at theImperial Diet at Augsburg in 1530. In 1532 head\'anced on the Turks at the head ofa huge armyand repulsed them in the woods ofVienna. Despitetheir defeat the Turks maimained their aggressivepolicy. [n the ).,Iediterranean Barbarossa, themuch-feared pirate, became the scourge ofSpanishand Italian shipping and in 1534 crowned himself'King of Algiers and Tunis'. In the same year heapproached Genoa with his f1cct as an open gestureof challenge to Charles. The lattcr promptlyrelaliated and with an army of 30,000 and anarmada of some 364 ships and galleys attackedBarbarossa at Tunis, uttcrly defeating the Turkishcommander both on land and at sea. Francis, whohad In pan instigated the aggressive Turkishpolicy, was unable toolfer the Turks any dircct hclpsince thc Imperial campaign had the aura of acrusade for '-Veslcrn civilisation. He did, however,hastily conclude the so·calJed 'Capitulations' withSuleiman, strengthening their alliance III anattempt to restore the balance of power.

Campaigns of 1536 54

In the meantime the war in Italy had flared upagain. Francesco Maria Sforza, the last Duke of~lilan,died in 1535 without an heir. The Duchy ofMilan therefore fell to Charles V. Francis promptlyclaimed the Ouch)' for his son Charles Ill, Duke ofOrleans and occupied Turin in 1536. As a result theGerman Emperor crossed the Alps once again, thistime entering his opponent's tcrrito')-. With anarmy 50,000 strong he devastated Provence andbegan besieging ~'larscillcs. He was soon forced tobeat a retreat as his ranks were decimated by theplague, and he retumed to Germany with hisobjectives unachieved. The Turks had meanwhilerenewed their threat-Barbarossa conqueringNaples and Suleiman I I inflicting a heavy dcfeat onFerdinand of Bavaria, the brother of Charles V, atthe Batue of Esscg. The Emperor realised that hewas incapable of fighting a war on two fronts andagreed to a meeting with Francis at Aigues·Monesin 1538. Francis thereby agreed 10 abandon further

Map of me Battle ofRav_l.) CoIOJUla with800beavy bOrMb) 6,woSpamsh ialuatry. c)600 b_vy cavalry. d) ,,-WlUlt";m Iquan< uader Carda-. e) 400 bnvy borM. f)..- (__ ,)PHcanl. whh .,_ l.if!:;bl bof'ft_ .J Duke of Fern... with 7SObe.vy ca...try from me Compllpn d'Ordoroaaaee.•) 1,000Gee....... LandslulKhu u.ader MoUard and Jaoob von Ern•• 3),,-e.- aDd Picard)' U'y m .uppo.....tJ La l'ali ..with s80 beavy cavalry. s) 00 WaJlU'y, rnaiaJ)' h ..l 6)],000 liS11i bol'M.(1-;_ R...IIN.. '~sdN.u tl61'!f1Ul1~'''', f·.... Ij

alliances with the Turks and Charles promised toyield Sa\'o) and two-thirds of the territory ofPiedmont to the French. Milan \\as not discussed.

The Turkish pressure was soon to gather freshmomenlUm. In 1538 Corfu fell to Barbarossa andFerdinand was dealt a second blow b} Turkishforces at PCSI in Hungary. Charles was obliged toundertake a second expedition, Ihis time againstAlgicl'S. His flcet ravaged by the clements and hisarm) drenched b} rainstorms, the expeditionproved abortive. In the light of these defeatsFrancis decided to declare war on Charles onceagain, using the murders of his diplomats as apretext. Aftcr a succession of inconclusive cam­paigns the French lost Luxemburg and much oftheir southern from around Piedmont. In February1543 Charles entered illlo an aJliance with Henn.VI I I ofEngland and inJune the same} ear the (1('\\

Imperial ally declared waron France. The idea W<ti

an obvious pincer movement-Hen')' \'ia Calai.and Charles from the Lo\\ Countries. Charles \\-asdelayed by further Turkish aj.{gression III the~Iediterranean. In Piedmont. the French had alS(becn successful. Francois d'Enghicn, a cousin of theFrench king, had laid scige to the Imperialisfortress of Carignano. The ~larquis del VasIO. icommand of the Imperial forces, decided 10 fore

3

TILi. detailed pba of ....e Balde of P.via .hoWl' b_ ....em.pnialU;I ......y OUtJnaBoeavrM FraIII<U' anny, ....u. fon:iDKhim 10 I1Ino his liae 10 f.a~. c:harte Ibroup the trefl of thepark ofMirabdlo. n.e trefl pro"ed 10 '"' .. V-1 adVLauo&e 10tile Gn-uoaa aad Spa.Uaia arqa~ who _ ..urablyco"ued apio.1 the cowne.-..d:I.a.rJea of the F dl borlle.AI_~ aad ....e h.li... con.tiasenla failed 10 _e to the..ll.I.taDce of FI'"AIlCU.,~ piomed dowD by .. -.DoWned....wt &O.......epni_ tnIoOps ill Pavia umlu ....e comDUUMlofKaapar "on Fnmd.berz:, ....e aon of the f.an:lou. m.periaJi.tseneral.(Photo uu,1tsy &l>'lt RomJmd LJd)

refused to accept the authority of this Council andwere consequently outla\\ed by Charles. Theelectors had fonned thc Schmalkaldic League in1546 in an attempt to defend Protestant interestsagainst Imperial intc[yemion. B} 1547 the)' hadmobilised a considerable army supported b)' thecities of Vim, Augsburg, Constance and Stras­bourg. In April lhat year Charles engaged Moritzof Saxony at Miihlberg with t3,000 Imperialistsand 3,500 Papal troops. The battle was importamfor the introduction of a new tactic detennincd bythe increasingimponanceofthe mounted pistoleer.This new mobile firepower proved devastatingagainst infantry, and the repeat<.'C! vollies fired byeach line ofhorse bcforedropping back demolishedranks at a time. The Protestant ann)', numbering9,000, was thoroughl)' defeated by the Imperialists,who su[fered only 50 casualties. The two Protestantleaden were taken prisoner and all fears of aprolonged ci\'il war seemed to have been ground­less. In France, however, the new king Henry IIhad resumed his father's policy of aggression and

•

/

'--i )'I· _--[,1 _~ "--.- . .

• -«......o 0 0

• 0

I ii'- 1.1. : •.• IU

II '-/ --.1.' ,'" ,- ,•,

-­_.i

..-

--',,-':--;- ,.r '.... _

the French into batLle in an atlempt to relieve thefortress. The twO annies met at Ceresole d'Alba,some 30 miles south east of Turin. Enghien hadmustered 13,000 foot, 600 light horse and goohea\l' cavalry while del Vasto's force comprised18,000 fooL, 800 light horse and 200 heavy cavalry.

The battle was nOlable for the inlroduction ofnew lactics by both sides. The French concealedmost of their arquebusiers immediately behind theartilJery in the front, and on the wings between thefonnations of horse and pike. The Imperialistsemployed cxacd) the same tactic, the overallintent.ion being to fire on impact of the two frontranks, thus killing the officers and seasoned troops.During the ensuing bloodbalh the Imperial horseon the left flank registered an initial triumphagainst Enghien's gendarmes, but the fooL guard­ing the right Rank were soon repulsed and rouledby the French 'provincial legions', and Swissdetachments. Del Vasto managed to beat a hast)retreat ha\'ing lost some 6,000 men and all hisart.iUery. Yet in spite ofthis victor)' the French wererecalled from Piedmont as Charles had invadedChampagne with 30,000 Landslmechts and 9,000Spaniards. Henry VIII had also landed and takcnBoulogne, wilh 4-0,000 troops. By July 1544Charles had taken Saint Dizier, Epernay, andChateau Thierry. Henry VIII, contenl with his'Enterprise of &ulogne', showed no intent.ion ofadvancing inland and the Dauphin, who hadsuccessfully implemented 'scorched earth' tactics,placed the Imperial anny in an impossible SIlU­

ation. The Cennan troops, starving and mut.inous,began to desert and Charles was forced to sign thePeace of Crepy on 18 September, whereby theEmperor renounced his claims on Burgundy whileFrancis acceded Naples, Artois and Flanders;Savo)' and Piedmont were restored to their rightfulhouses.

In the space of 27 rears the Valois·Habsburgstruggle had brought four wan to Europe withouteither side gaining any monumental advantage.Francis died in 1547, giving Charles the leeway heneeded to turn his attention to the religious eonAictwhich was lhreatening to split the Empire fromwithin. In December 1545 an ecumenical councilhad been held at Triel1l to solve the religiousquestion. The Protestant princes, notabl)- Moritz,Elector ofSaxony, and Philip, Duke ofHcsscn had

32

concluded an alliance with the PrOlcslanl princesin Germany. In 1551 Henry met Moritz ofSaxonyand Philip of Hcsscn al Friedewald, and t.heyarranged to assist the French king in taking thecities of Metz, Toul and Verdun. In 1553 Charlesbesieged Metz but was forced to retreat and in 1554he suffered a further defeat at the hands of theFrench king at Reuly. ~Ieanwhile ~IOrilZ had beenpressing south towards Innsbruck, the Emperor'Splace ofrcsidence. In 1552 Ferdinand of Austria,me brother of the Emperor, was forced to sign theTreaty of Nassau with the Protcstanls. Charles wasb) now no longer in a position to govern his Empireand handed Ferdinand this responsibility.

In 1554 Charlt'S, in a last attempt to weaken theFrench threat, organised a marriage between hisson Philip ofSpain and ~Ial)-Tudor ofEngland. InJanuary 1566 Charles abdicated in favour of hisson, who received control of all the Italian landsand colonies. In September thai year he renouncedme Imperial tiLie in favour of his brother Fer·dinand.

Conclusion

Although the L.'tndsknechtS \\lere 10 sec servicethroughout Europe, it was precisely this in·tcrnational involvcment which caused their ul·timate disappearance. Charles was continually atpains to acquire funds and support for his cam·paigns from his Princes, who wcrc inclined to o[ferfinancial aid only at a political price. The Lands·knechts, for their pan, suOered largely from abreakdown in discipline, as the mercenaries wereprepared to renounce their allegiance to theEmperor at a price. The ultimatum 'Nomoney no Landsknechts' was often beard. Manyhistorians are led to believe thai the decline of theLandsknechts began upon the death ofFrundsberg.Certainly the original conception of .Maximilian'sreign-that ofa lxxIy ofpikcmcn who would be amalch for the S\\liss-had gradually been super­ceded due to the progress offirearms. B}' the secondhalfof the sixteenth CCOllll) garish costume beganto disappear, and e\'en the word Landsknecht soonmade wa) for 'kaistrlichtr Fussknuht' (ImperialFOOl.soldier), thus marking the end of one of themost colourful periods in European militaryhistory.

C]/ie 'P/rlf6Al Imperial Htrald, 1525

If several regiments were together in one army itwas customary for the commanding officer to havea herald who could act as liaison and conveymessages to the enemy. He was normally clad in asilk surcoat bearing the embroidered coat ofarms ofthe Obrist or, as in this case, the Imperial double·headed eagle. As a symbol of his peaceful task hecarried a while baton.

A2 GnJrg ron Fnmdsbtrg

Born in Minde1heim in 1473, Georg von Frunds­berg became a devoted servant of the Habsburgs.He continually wore the Imperial field recognitionsign, which was a red sash, and was noted for hisRoman.st)led hclmet and the halberd which hebore with distinction.

Aj Got-t von Btrlichingtn (1481 1562)

Known as 'Gotz of the Iron Hand', he belonged tothe class of Imperial knights who were fastbecoming an anachronism al Ihis time ofupheaval.His iron hand was a substilute for the onc he hadlost at the Siege of Landshut in '5°4-. Largelycelebrated as a 'robber baron', he took part inmany campaigns in Burgundy, Lorraine, Switzer·land and for Maximilian in t497 and 14gB; hiscareer ended wilh the wars against the Turks inHungary in 1542 and the campaigns ofCharlcll Vagainst Ihe french in t54+ He was also prominentin the Peasant's Revolt, in which he led L11e peasant'Bw/dsdlUh Regiment'. (Thc standard was a red nagwith a green shoe and trailing ribbon motif.) Hewas acquitted by the Imperial Chamber for his partin the rebellion, bUI seized by the Swabian Alliancein 1528 and kept prisoner at Augsburg until 1530.

B TIlL Emptror Maximilian I

Apart from his contribution towards the creation ofthe LandsknechtS and Ihe development of a'modern' artillel)' system, ~1aximilian was alsoresponsible for the production of one of the mostimportant styles of renaissance armour. Known as

33

nu. rather wCc:u.nlte reprneae.tioD of P by P.tiDiera1pCures, oevenheles.. the maio fcatvru of the nle. I... thecop Ide ofthe piclure 0011' caD see Alenl;oD'a croops io their vain.uempe to eacape .eros. the Tiu;ioo. I... the CftIln: the

'Maximilian armour' in referencc to the supportwhich lhc Emperor gave lO the amlOuring guilds inGcrmany and Austria, this style was dominanl inlhc ycars between 1500 and 1530. II was character­ised by the multiple groovcs and flutings whichaffordcd both omameillation and greater pl'O~

teclion. The Emperor owned IwO sets of horsefurnishings. The larger battle armour retained aGothicoutline and \\as festooned with the Imperialdevice (the two-headed eagle). The horsc furnituredepicted here is the lightcr sct bearing the Austriancoat of anns notc the Tyrolean eagles on thepectoral.

CI Captain, 1520

Since they were expected to fight in the front rank it

34

lm.peria.I eroo.. are forciol their _,. thro"tl:b th", breach iothe wall of the Park of Mlnboo:Uo. I... the forqroUDd, the cla.abbelW_ th", Fnncb 1D0Ufteed e-darrn.,. .Dd Lanno}"aeavalry ;. cl.....ly vi.iblt:. (Au.rllm/«ulMs MIlSt~'"' j'ItMIJ)

was Cuslomary to find the' Hauprftutt' in armour.This captain is wearing a lalcr fonn of 'Max­imilian' armOlU· wilh ornamenlal flulings. A lalerdcvclopment was the so-callcd Trablwmisch ortrOlling armour, which was a much lightcr form ofprotection with more rounded articulations, widerann-guards and shoulder pieces. Hcadgear ingencral consisted ofa felt. beret with a basin-shapedcrown and a wide brim. Often this was cuI alregular intervals all round, and sometimes turnedback 10 fonn stiff loops. This was suitably adornedwith bright fealhers, or ruffled wool.

C2 S(kullh~iss, C.1520

Since this office was usuall) taken up by a villagemagistrate or somc other public dignitary, lhe

ul1ifonn Tarel)' underwent a transfonnation of anysort. The important features arc the chain ofofficeand the Slaff, a foml of roar spear, which wasprobably the forerunner of Ihe officer's spontoon.The skull cap he is wearing, known as a calQ/lt, wasusually made of cheesecloth or thin linen, de·cora ted with slashjng. The purpose of the cap wasto keep rolh hair and hal in place but in actual factit was originally a type of hairnel worn by thewomenfolk. The tunic, in Italian Renaissance style,is Iypical of the dress worn b)' officers, members ofthe nobility and indeed Ihe mounted troops of theday.

C3 Standard BeaUT, 15°5

Hairstyles were still long at the beginning of thesixteenth centuI) and beards were not yet infashion. With the advent of the Spanish trends infashion a reversal in slyies look place, short hairbeing preferred, together wilh long, orten exag~

gerated beards. A certain AUSlrian by the name ofAndreas von Rauber, it is recorded, let his beardgrow to the ground and whenever he fought tied itround his waisl; and the Oberst GrafEiteifritz vonHohenzollern plaited his beard from his chindownwards! The red cross, which was the field signfor Imperial troops (the other being a red sash) wassewn all to the doublet. The Swiss mercenaries worea white cross on their jerkins to distinguishthemselves from Ihe foe in times of "bad war'. Thestandard is the 'BlutJalm£ which was carried in the'forlorn hope' to remind the Landsknechts of thedeadly situation in which they found themselves.

Dl Arquehusitr,1520

Before the early 15205, which marked the arrival ofthe musket, the arquebusiers rarel) used rests. Withthe introduction of the musket, incorporating alonger barrel, rests became more common. It wasalso cuStomary for arquebusiers 10 carry Ihepowder, unmeasured against the number ofbullets,in a hal'll around thc neck. Herc, however, we see abandolier bearing the 'Elcven Apostles', Ihe elevencharges equalling 1 lb. ofpowder. Each charge wascontained in a wooden vessel with a leathercovering, which was preferred to the somewhatnoisy copper vcsscls, and attached finnl) to thebandolier. A leather pouch containing shot, clean·

ing needle, grease, rag and clout was worn at thewaist and suspended beneath this \'0 as a small tinphial containing olive oil for cleaning and lubricat­ing the moving parts of the arquebus/musket.Further accoutrcments were the small touch.powder horn, somctimes hooked all to the butt ofthe gun; the iron ramrod, which was later replacedby a wooden version; and a four.foot.long matchwhich hung from the belt on the ri~ht hand side. In\'oct weather this was carried under the berel or inthe leather pouch. The invention of the cartridgecase in lhe lauer half of the sixteenth centul1'greatly facilitated the wholc procedure ofloading.

D2 Gem~inlL'thtl, lI'illibold Pirdhelmtr Rtglment,1529

The only attempt made in these times at some fonnof uniformity was made by the Nuremberg pat­rician Willi bald Pirckheimer, who raised a regi­ment in 1529, fining it out wilh red jerkins andhose, red being Ihe heraldic colour of :'\Iurcmberg,and also blending in well with blood! This corporalis wearing the Donnal shin gathered at the neck,\\;th full slecn."S which were pulled OUI through theslashes in the puffed-out jerkin. The origin of'slashing' probably lies in the complete un·suitability ofsixlcenth century costume for fighting.An oversized shirt, often gathered at the neck, andtight-fitting hose and doublet restricted movementat the joints. Realising this the Landsknecht selabout com'erting and adding to his ·unifonn'. Thefirst step was to slil open thejerkin at the elbows andshqulders, the hose at the knees and hips. To createa more striking appearance, slrips of ribbons weretied round tbe arms and the shin was pulledthrough the jerkin in bunches.

D3 Pikffllon, (.1520

It was uncommon for the nonnal foolSOldier towear armour. The 'true' Landsknechl never \\-ore abackplate since he nevcr turned his back on theenemy. It was, however, due 10 lack of resourcesthat Ihis cuStom was adopted. The len leg was oftcnleft bare, free of any hindrance, so that pike drillcould be carried Qut with greater de'\tcrity.Sometimes lhis was carried to the extreme, thebUllOCks being completely exposed. The hose weresometimes slashed in the upper part and striped in

35

the lower. The Icgs were of different colours anddecoratcd in various ways wlth pipings, stripes andspiral bands.

E Locolmml, 1545

Armour underwent several changes during thesixteenth century. A complete suit of armourusually weighed between forty and fifty pounds. itwas therefore necessary to introduce as manyarticulations as possible to increase mobility insome way. By 1530 the Maximilian-styled armourwith its multiple grooves and flutings had disap­peared, with the breast plate and the cllisscsrevcrting to their former smooth states. The breastplate bcgan to assume a more curved shape, takingon the form of a peascod. The neck-piece wasreplaced by a collar with a gorget which wasarticulated in lobster fashion, as were the upperarm sections and the gauntlets, which had jointedfingers. The saddlery, which at the bcginningofthesixteenth century had been essentially iron with thecantle fiued to its mountings, was now made ofwood and leather reinforced with iron, affordinggreater comfon and freedom of mo\'ement. There

110e "Redu de:r .....,"'"' Spies""or 'jud&m",",1 o(the pikes' ...... arOnD ofn>aai.ot me p_deL After the priamler bad Hna triedby jury l:Ie ...... led 10 eM plaICe O( .....ecutio... wlricll ...... aD

av",",ue O( OM pikes o( Iris c:ontndes. Aller the uecuticm, 1MPro~_1~edthem _ICe more o(the "mela'and thoe <:os!

or Tailia& to obey them..

36

were also developments in the horse-armour, whichbegan to show greater articulation, notably withthe three-piece hinged 'pcytral' or pectoral buckledto the main body-piece by means of leather straps.The bulbous ornamentation on the pectoral,known as the glance-knob, was designed to parrylance blows.

Fl Drummtr, 1525

The drum was often large and cumbersome andwas usually carried on the back during the march.Sometimes it bore the Imperial motif either thedouble-headed eagle or the Burgundian crossedstaves and fiery devices.

F2 Landskntehtl c.1553

The origin of the CPluderhost' the huge baggyhose dates back to 1553 when they first appearedin the camp of Prince Moritz of Saxony who wasbesieging ~Iagdeburg. So monstrous was theirappearance that the clergy banned them. Thecourt priest at Berlin, a certain ~llusculus, in a greattreatise on the subject complained that the hose didmore to expose the anatomy than hide it since it wasdivided at the hips by a huge often obscene; cod­piece in the form of a bow of slashed material.Before its acceptance as a fashion it was notuneommon for Landsknechts caught wearingPludtrhost to be incarcerated. Essentially the hoseconsisted of yards of material held up by' slasht:dbands sllspended from the waist at the front andrear.

F3 Ensign ofNuremberg, 1550

By the mitl-sixteenth century costume had under­gone a considerable transformation, beinginfluenced to a large extent by Spanish trends.Beards became more pointed; and the wide slashedberet gave way to a much smaller version, or to ahelmet ofmarion and burgonct type. The burgonethad hinged cheek-pieces, and often an additionaJfaee plate known as a beaHr. The marion was asimple open helmet used particularly by thearquebusiers. Doublets were prone to c.xtensivevcrtical slashing, and the shirt was rurned at neckand cuffs in typical Spanish fashion. Footwearbegan to cover the whole instep at this stage. in theearlier period an exaggerated type of shoe called

As WIIS ofteo the CII""'. jUlilice .ameli...... h.d lO be .dJniDi....lerfll withoul lrial. Co...mon (ormJl of eseculioR were

•Kuhmiiult' -cow's mouth-had been fashionablc,but the open instep and elaborate toe section wasquite impractical on mudd) battlefields.

GI DopptlsolJntr oj tht Black Ltgion, 1520

Known as the 'Black Legion' or 'Black Bands', this

'"-M' Ixlle.-diDS auwI the 'wheel'. {Woo'(MI ~, BMr~t-lrf .....'Wtiu Ii. Mf"t' ,(I>M1Ul7 8111IJh ,1/Mmt1>l1

group of soldiers grew originally from a nucleus ofsome 800 Landsknechts in French pay \\ ho refusedto return to Cemlan) in accordanc~ with~1a.ximilian·s decree artcr the Imperial defeat atRavcnna in 1512. Cnder the command ofthe Dukeof Gueldres, this nOLOrious compan) was outfitted

37

DnunDlrr and Piper: Found invariably in th....nlouragr ofth.,"Dsi"" thr m.usicians w ..r .. relipo.u;;bl .. fot' m.aintaiaing th..intpetus i.D th.. aliliauh, mo".,mrnt being art a' W .... pile.... for

in black jerkins and hose, and their armour wasblackened by fire to avoid rusting. The 'BlackLegion' was finally destroyed at Pavia in 1525.

G2 Sulltms

The sutleress and her male counterpart were oftenfound in the train, where their goods found acertain market. Their prices were fixed by the&h.uJthtiss to avoid any haggling, which was oftenthe cause of camp brawls. In general the sutleressprovided \'inually everything a soldier might

38

r"rry 6".. beats of th.. drum. During th., march On" tnuliici.anDormll1ly joined th.. rear.(1I'oodo</ oJ ]o.sl .Immutl ttl 8/(lu" •Orr d,ul!.:!" ""'tldsAnnA!')

require, and was often the fil'Stto join in the plunderof a caplUred town.

G3 Provost

The provost was responsible principally for polic­ing the Landsknechts and enforcing the 'articles'.After the quanennaster had selected a suitable sitefor the camp, the provost immediately detenninedthe location of the marketplace and ordered agalJows to be erected. While the &huJthtus fixed theprices of the goods to be sold, the proVOSt charged

the sutlers and sutlercsscs a small 'protection' fee.Similarly he often demanded a sum of money fromprisoners who had finished their sentence in thecamp gaol (oftcn the provosl's own lem).

H: Standards

The Fiihnltin, which in Gcmlan is the diminutivc ofRag, was by no means a small affair. Standards wereusuaJly anything up to ten feet in length with awidth of six feet. The staO" was nonnaJl)f slightlylonger than the width of the standard and bore aknob at the lowcr end whieh was used 10 facilitatethe cdebratcd 'flag swinging', which still goes on inparuofSwitzerland and Southern Gennany loday.The standards of the Fiihnll!ln usuaJly bore thecolours and heraldic devices of the captain, or ofacity, ifit was represented. The material was usuaJlysilk and the shape and size often varied. Con­temporary prints show rounded standards attachedto haJberds, for example. The standard was asymbol of the april ilt corps and accordingly if aregimen! or Fiihnltin had fallen into disrepute the

flag was nOI 10 be unfurled until the unit had re­established ils honour. During this time thestandard was always carried with the point facingtheground. On the death ofthe ObriSl, his body wasdraped in the flag and buried with it. Similarly.when the regiment disbandccl after a campaign, mestandards were usually taken down from theirstaves and tom into pieces, each soldier recei\'ing aportion as remembrance for his service.There were also flags designed for the train. Theleading carriage of thc Emperor or the FtJdobristusually carried the imperial standard or that of thecommanding officer. ThOS(' wagons carrying breadand flour carried a white flag, and the field kitchena red. flag. Oftcn standards were taken aJong \.. hichhad no place in the train whatsoever. TIltse ofcourse belonged to unwarranted bands the so·called Aftroiltbrudtr, from which we have the wordmarauder J who were to be found in most annies onthe march at that time.

HI The Reichsstunnfahne was the ImperialbatLle flag and as such always bore the double-

/

The whole _uale ' oneo derisively caJ.lecI the 'wltorn artlo_rb or ...tid, the artillery. The w .....e u-aia wu uaderaDd. ........n', wu in y retlpKU • ....ul in iudf,"'~;ta the c:om.rnand of the HtlreDwllibd, ... offieer with lIM: raak ofOwa ..laAdard aDd. of1_ bdDti en>pJoyecl 10 ........trua c:apuiD wbo had biti _ ti~,etUUI', eaa;p. ..... Rrw-t'L

39

headed cagle. When the Emperor was not presentthe standard ofthe commanding officer became theleading baule nag.

H2 In the Turkish Wars, '532, the standard ofFriedrich of Bavaria who was the supremecommander of the Imperial forces was used insteadof the double-headed eagle. It bore the figure ofSt~Iichaelon the Bavarian colours beneath the words'DE COELO VICTORIA'.

H3 Charles V as successor to MaximiHan in­herited an immense empire. This was s~ mbolisedon a new Imperial flag depicting the twin pillars ofHercules i.e. German)' and Spain and the motif'PLUS OULTRE' or in Gcnnan ':',lOCHWElTER'.

H4 Arter the marriage of Maximilian to ~fary,

daughterofCharlcs the Bold, the Burgundian motifof the cross of St Andrew was adopted andappeared on all his standards until his death. Thefigure of the crossed branches later appeared ingold, blue and red. It was nOt uncommon to see theCross of St Andrew nanked by the twin pillars ofHercules "ith the words 'PLUS ULTRA' above.

HS Standard of Georg von Frundsbcrg.

f/6 The Cross of St Andrew orten appeared In

simple fOlm against a yellow background.

H7 Standard oflhc Fugger family, Augsburg.

/-/8 Standard of Memmingcn,

Hg Standard of the Georgschild Rirtergesellschqfl(league of Swabian knights). This standard wasadopted by the Swabian Alliance and ultimalelycarried by Swabian troops in the fifteenth andsixleelllh centuries.

40

Cunp' Wil1t.in ....... was_ Cort., doe I ..od,kn~u:w~Wt to.....ft.- ........ ~. to 6JKI or~ .....m ........ abdt...... Thit oCtaolOOk tile Corm oC...impl.. leaa-co Or aD l.locI-.l>aped lau' __d..oCb.......d>... -....d mud .upported ... aD A' &a.m... oCIoalbndL110.. (:IlIDp~ Itevtr _ to 0_ be<m complet.. withoutthe h"l'" beer Mr"l"tl and tIM awn......... clru-. ased ..pmbliaS tabl....

HIO RnthsrtmifoJmt. This Rag was always carriedby the arch-marshal alongside the Emperor.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anon, Wtu.r Kun;g, Biography of Maximilian I,15 18.

Blau, Friedrich, Dtr deutsche LiIndrknecht, Garlitz1882.

Deiss, Friedrich, Dos deutstht &ldotenhuth, Berlin1932 .

Doring, Hans, Kriegshuch oj GraJ Rtinhord rif Solms,

'545·Lezius, Martin, Vonviirts ... Vorwiirls ... zur

Geschichte dtr dtulschm Landskntclll, Leipzig 1935.Nell, Martin, Zur En/sleJlUllg der deu/schen UJnds-

knechle.Richter, Erich, Frtmdsberg, Munich 1968.RUSfOW, Vol. I, Geschichte dtr lrifallttrie, 1884..Scheer, Johannes, Das UJndsknechtsltben.Zwiedeneck-Sudenhorst, Hans von, Kriegsbildtr der

deutschm LiIndsknechlJ Stuttgart, 1884.

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