The large square in the center was made up of the pikemen, 56 files across and 22 ranks deep. The colunellas were eventually replaced, in the 1530s, by the much larger tercio, a huge pike-and-shot formation with an on-paper strength of roughly 3,000 men.Īs this formation matured in usage by the Spanish during the sixteenth century, it generally took on the appearance of a bastioned square that is, a large square with smaller square bastions at each corner. This was especially necessary because the firearms of the early sixteenth century were inaccurate, took a very long time to load and only had a short range, meaning the shooters were often only able to get off a few shots before the enemy was upon them.
The arquebusiers could shoot down their foes, and could then run to the nearby pikemen for shelter if enemy cavalry or pikes grew near. It interspersed formations of men in close order armed with the pike and looser formations armed with the firearm, initially the arquebus. The French army of the Valois kings was particularly formidable due to its combination of all of these elements.Īt first, this mixed infantry formation was referred to as a colunella (colonelcy), and was commanded by a colonel. The infantry formations of the period were a mix of pikemen and shot ( arquebusiers or musketeers ). H represents halberdiers.) A group of loose shotte has been pushed forward into the front of the formation. Pikemen are represented by the letter p, the two winges of shot by the letter o. The musketeers, and those arquebusiers whose shooting was not blocked by friendly forces, were supposed to keep up a continuous fire by rotation.
Pike And Shot Formation By cronenadat1974 Follow | Public
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