Breastplate for comments

[kronckew]

Thanks, Fernando.

One faux pas by re-enactors is there apparent insistence on uniformity, us in everybody must be uniformed the same. A fairly modern concept in armies. The re-enactors above are all dressed in red, Roman re-enactors pretty much all have the same kit, the same shields, and the same paintings on them, with only limited variation. It started somewhere in the late renaissance - 18c, I suspect as firearms were more prevalent, as a fairly intelligent method of camouflage. The Officers of course wore more flamboyant markings of rank, but they knew the convention was that no one was supposed to give undue attention to shooting officers. That kinda went away in the late 18c - early 19c, especially after more accurate rifles made sniping and killing the officers a good tactic, as us gol-durn Americans found out to our benefit. Another reason swords went out of fashion, if you see a man with a sword, shoot him first. Worked enormously well in 1815 at New Orleans. A Scots regiment attacking the American line lost their officers, and with no one to order them to fight back, stood in place, arms shouldered as they were massacred to a man, obeying the last order they had received in true British fashion.

Ώ ξειν', ἀγγέλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ότι τήδε κείμεθα, τοις κοίνων ρήμασι πειθόμενοι

‘dic hospes, Spartae, nos te hic vidisse iacentes,
dum sanctis patriae legibus obsequimur.’

stranger, go tell the Spartans that here,
obedient to our law we lie.

It's the same method that flocks of birds, herds of zebra, antelope, etc. use. If everyone looks the same, a predator has trouble singling out and aiming for an individual. If you all wear the same colour, and the same hats, and it's different than your enemy. It helps prevent the blue on blue mistakes we make nowadays with our more modern cammys that blend more into the background...Now-a-days if you stand out at all, you probably WILL get shot.

[midelburgo]

I believe the last real "push of pike" took place in 1544 at the battle of Ceresoles. It was mortiferous when the arquebusiers from both sides waited until pikes were contacting to shoot.

Afterward, pikes were used to form "shuttles" protecting the firepower inside from enemy cavalry. But if one of those formations would try to approach another for contact it will suffer too many casualties on the way. The arquebusiers inside a moving block of pike cannot shoot for obvious reasons. So they came outside to skirmish and entered the block again if cavalry was nearby. And they kneeled, fired prone or used cover. Something pikes could not do. Recharging was a really dangerous moment to do it outside the block and it could not be made on the move inside.

I have seen dozens of reports from battles from the second half of XVIth century to the end of TYW, and I do not see "push of pikes" anywhere. In spite of what re-enactment groups, movies and wargamers do.

The tendency to increase firepower and decrease pikes will just make it more difficult. The generalized exchange of soldiers quality (volunteers) for quantity (forced recruits), did the same. As did the more often use of field artillery and its rate of fire. If a block of pike decided to make a stand protecting a vital point it will be sooner targeted by guns than have another block of pike sent against them.

Again, the reports of wounded from hospitals have usually a lack of pike blemishes.

Of course, there were situations where firepower was scarce (lack of powder, or after heavy rain), so I imagine there could be some exceptions outside of the larger battles. I would like if somebody could give well-sustained examples.