THE
THE MAGAZINE FOR THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DISCERNING WDISCERNING WARGAMER ARGAMER Feb./Mar.2004Feb./Mar.2004•• ##33••£3.55£3.55
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EL CID SPECIAL FEATURE
EL CID SPECIAL FEATURE
INTERVIEW WITH CALPE MINIATURES
INTERVIEW WITH CALPE MINIATURES
THE TROJAN WAR
THE TROJAN WAR
THE LANDSKNECHT
THE LANDSKNECHT
THE LATEST IN THE HOBBY
THE LATEST IN THE HOBBY
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AL5 5PP
AL5 5PP
CALPE MINIATURES
CALPE MINIATURES
Meticulously researched finely sculpted 25mm wargames figures
Meticulously researched finely sculpted 25mm wargames figures
New Prussian Landwehr. March-Attack
New Prussian Landwehr. March-Attack
Figures-Until the end of this year (2004) please stipulate whether you want
Until the end of this year (2004) please stipulate whether you want
the new or the old
the new or the old
landwehr
landwehr
.
.
The
The
Figures-This is the second set of the new Landwehr figures. They are all in march-attack poses. To add to the This is the second set of the new Landwehr figures. They are all in march-attack poses. To add to the realism of these figures, I have ensured that they are all ‘in step’ as you would expect from a battalion realism of these figures, I have ensured that they are all ‘in step’ as you would expect from a battalion marching in this fashion.
marching in this fashion.
PL15
PL15 Marching, looking forwardsMarching, looking forwards
PL15b
PL15b As above looking right. As above looking right.
PL16
PL16 Marching, taking long step, looking forwards.Marching, taking long step, looking forwards.
PL16b
PL16b As above, head turned left. As above, head turned left.
PL17
PL17 Marching, leaning forwards Marching, leaning forwards slightly.slightly.
PL18
PL18 Marching, holds musket with both hands.Marching, holds musket with both hands.
PL19
PL19 N.C.O. carries musket on right as you would expect from an N.C.O. armed with short infantry sabre.N.C.O. carries musket on right as you would expect from an N.C.O. armed with short infantry sabre.
PL20
PL20 Standard bearer.Standard bearer.
PL21
PL21 Drummer, drumming.Drummer, drumming.
PL22
PL22 Falling casualty.Falling casualty.
PL23
PL23 Enthusiastic figure, urging others on.Enthusiastic figure, urging others on.
PLpk2
PLpk2 Bareheaded versions of PL16 (bandaged head) PL17 (bareheaded), and Bareheaded versions of PL16 (bandaged head) PL17 (bareheaded), and PL18 (balding).PL18 (balding).
PL24
PL24 Mounted officer, shouldered sword, fits new horses.Mounted officer, shouldered sword, fits new horses.
PL25
PL25 Foot officer, wearing Litewka, sword shouldered.Foot officer, wearing Litewka, sword shouldered.
PL26
PL26 Foot officer, wears the Litewka, holding sword down by his side.Foot officer, wears the Litewka, holding sword down by his side.
Trail Arms
Trail Arms
figures-Some of my customers dislike this pose so sales are erratic. However, it is the classic rapid movement pose Some of my customers dislike this pose so sales are erratic. However, it is the classic rapid movement pose for Prussian infantry and no range should be without them. They are also good for livening up units in trail for Prussian infantry and no range should be without them. They are also good for livening up units in trail march and firing line poses. For these reasons, the set is small but I find the figures useful.
march and firing line poses. For these reasons, the set is small but I find the figures useful.
PL27
PL27 Right leg forward, looking right. Long trousers.Right leg forward, looking right. Long trousers.
PL28
PL28 Right leg bent at Right leg bent at the knee, left leg the knee, left leg straight, lookinstraight, looking forwards. Long trousers.g forwards. Long trousers.
PL29
PL29 Left leg forwards, looking left. Wears gaiters.Left leg forwards, looking left. Wears gaiters.
PL30
PL30 Left leg forwards, looking forwards. Rolled Left leg forwards, looking forwards. Rolled trousers.trousers.
New
New
Horses-These replace the seven original horses. Horses-These horses have the same proportions as the artillery horses and These replace the seven original horses. These horses have the same proportions as the artillery horses and are shorter and stockier than the original horses. The officer above only fits these horses. They are all in are shorter and stockier than the original horses. The officer above only fits these horses. They are all in walking and trotting poses. A set of galloping horses will come out shortly.
walking and trotting poses. A set of galloping horses will come out shortly.
H1
H1 W Walking horse, front left leg forward.alking horse, front left leg forward.
H2
H2 W Walking horse, front right leg raised.alking horse, front right leg raised.
H3
H3 Trotting horse, front right leg forward.Trotting horse, front right leg forward.
H4
H4 W Walking horse, head lowered.alking horse, head lowered.
H5
H5 Trotting horse, front left leg forward.Trotting horse, front left leg forward.
H6
H6 W Walking, front left leg raised, head down.alking, front left leg raised, head down.
These horses are These horses are designed to work as a designed to work as a ‘Walking Set’ for the new ‘Walking Set’ for the new cavalry figures I am cavalry figures I am working on at present. working on at present. Forthcoming Forthcoming releases-(1) Galloping horses. (1) Galloping horses. (2) Landwehr cavalry. (2) Landwehr cavalry.
New prices –
New prices –
Foot figures 70p
Foot figures 70p
Horses 80p
Horses 80p
T
T
his issue of the magazine is dedicated to El his issue of the magazine is dedicated to El Cid. This myth from medieval Spain is now pre-Cid. This myth from medieval Spain is now pre-sent in the world ofsent in the world of wargames, especiallwargames, especially after the publication of the y after the publication of the spectacular extensiospectacular extensionn for Warhammer Ancient Battles, which allows gamers to accurately recreate the ups and for Warhammer Ancient Battles, which allows gamers to accurately recreate the ups and downs of an epic period of peninsular history that, despite its unquestionable interest, is downs of an epic period of peninsular history that, despite its unquestionable interest, is ge-nerally quite unknown in Britain. This will not be the last time we cover this character. In future nerally quite unknown in Britain. This will not be the last time we cover this character. In future is-sues, we will be adding more articles on his heroic deeds as well as on the Reconquest, the generic sues, we will be adding more articles on his heroic deeds as well as on the Reconquest, the generic name for the period of fighting over eight centuries that was the clash between the Muslim and the name for the period of fighting over eight centuries that was the clash between the Muslim and the Christian kingdoms and that ended with the taking of the city of Granada.
Christian kingdoms and that ended with the taking of the city of Granada.
Until now, the magazine has mainly concentrated on European and American conflicts in which Until now, the magazine has mainly concentrated on European and American conflicts in which Spa-nish troops did not participate. It is difficult to find figures of soldiers and rules specifically designed for any nish troops did not participate. It is difficult to find figures of soldiers and rules specifically designed for any key period of Spanish history, except for those dealing with the Napoleonic period, the Conquest of key period of Spanish history, except for those dealing with the Napoleonic period, the Conquest of Ameri-ca and some things from the
ca and some things from the Spanish Civil War. So, we Spanish Civil War. So, we welcome Games Workshop’s initiative and we ho-welcome Games Workshop’s initiative and we ho-pe that it is not the only one. That is why we are going to promote and fight for this interesting history. We pe that it is not the only one. That is why we are going to promote and fight for this interesting history. We will include articles about the exploits of the
will include articles about the exploits of the soldiers of the crown of Aragon in soldiers of the crown of Aragon in Asia Minor, the Spanish Ter-Asia Minor, the Spanish Ter-cios in Italy, Germany and
cios in Italy, Germany and Flanders, the civil wars of the Flanders, the civil wars of the XIX century between Carlists and Elizabethans, theXIX century between Carlists and Elizabethans, the colonial battles in Africa and Americ
colonial battles in Africa and America and much more. a and much more. All in all, we are going to strive to convince manu-All in all, we are going to strive to convince manu-facturers and publishing companies to make figures and to release rules that allow gamers to evoke the facturers and publishing companies to make figures and to release rules that allow gamers to evoke the te-rrains from the fundamental pages of the history of a nation that has notably influenced Europe and the rest rrains from the fundamental pages of the history of a nation that has notably influenced Europe and the rest of the world. We hope we can count on the support and collaboration from all of our readers.
of the world. We hope we can count on the support and collaboration from all of our readers. PUBLISHING COMPANY: PUBLISHING COMPANY: Revistas Profesionales, S.L. Revistas Profesionales, S.L. www.revistasprofesionales.com www.revistasprofesionales.com
c/ Valentín Beato, 42 - 3rd Floor
c/ Valentín Beato, 42 - 3rd Floor
91 304 87 64 Fax. 91 327 13 0391 304 87 64 Fax. 91 327 13 03 28037 MADRID 28037 MADRID PUBLISHER: PUBLISHER: Agust Agust íín Bueltan Buelta
DIRECTOR:
DIRECTOR:
Antonio Rico - [email protected] Antonio Rico - [email protected]
E-MAIL: E-MAIL: [email protected] [email protected] COORDINATOR: COORDINATOR: Javier G
Javier Góómez - [email protected] - [email protected] FOTOGRAPHER:
FOTOGRAPHER:
Anastasio Jim Anastasio Jimééneznez
ILLUSTRATOR: ILLUSTRATOR: Javier Briz Javier Briz FORMATING: FORMATING: Ra
Raúúl Clavijo / Oscar l Clavijo / Oscar ValVal COLLABORATORS:
COLLABORATORS:
Jes
Jesúús Jims Jiméénez Zaera, Eduardo de Mesa,nez Zaera, Eduardo de Mesa, Ana Valtierra, Antonio Carrasco, Emilio Garc Ana Valtierra, Antonio Carrasco, Emilio Garcíía,a, Rafael G
Rafael Góómez, Adolfo Ramos and El Mercenario.mez, Adolfo Ramos and El Mercenario. SPECIAL THANKS:
SPECIAL THANKS:
Á
Á ngel Villena, Carlos V ngel Villena, Carlos V áázquez, Gerardo Peinado,zquez, Gerardo Peinado, Carlos Fuentes, Paco Nieto, La Flecha Negra, Carlos Fuentes, Paco Nieto, La Flecha Negra, Fantassin, Librer
Fantassin, Librer íía Atla Atláántica, Corvus Belli andntica, Corvus Belli and Newark Irregulars. Newark Irregulars. ADVERTISING: ADVERTISING: Felipe Ribagorda Felipe Ribagorda [email protected] [email protected] C/ Valent
C/ Valent íín Beato, 42 - 3rd Floor n Beato, 42 - 3rd Floor
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The writers thereof are solely liable for these. The writers thereof are solely liable for these. All
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Printed in Spain - March/2004 Printed in Spain - March/2004
News, Letter to the Editor
News, Letter to the Editor
...4
4
Interview with Peter Fitgerald
Interview with Peter Fitgerald
Calpe Miniaturas Modeller
Calpe Miniaturas Modeller ... ...
6
6
The Trojan War
The Trojan War
Between myth and reality
Between myth and reality ... ...
8
8
The Landsknechts
The Landsknechts
By Eduardo de Mesa
By Eduardo de Mesa ...
16
16
SPECIAL FEATURE: EL CID
SPECIAL FEATURE: EL CID
El Cid and his times
El Cid and his times
War in Medieval Spain
War in Medieval Spain...
24
24
Bibliography on El Cid
Bibliography on El Cid
By Jes
By Jesúús Jims Jiméénez Zaeranez Zaera...
32
32
Illustrations
Illustrations
By Javier Briz By Javier Briz ...34
34
Pluribus bellum
Pluribus bellum
Rules for Antiquity and Middle Age Miniatures
Rules for Antiquity and Middle Age Miniatures ... ...
38
38
Dust, sweat and iron: The Battle of Alcocer (Summer of 1081)
Dust, sweat and iron: The Battle of Alcocer (Summer of 1081)
Scenario for Warhammer Historical Battles
Scenario for Warhammer Historical Battles ... ...
42
42
Mio Cid defends Valencia
Mio Cid defends Valencia
Scenario for DBM Scenario for DBM...
48
48
Painting Moors
Painting Moors
By El Mercenario By El Mercenario...50
50
Miniature Figures
Miniature Figures
–
–
The Reconquest
The Reconquest
By Rafael G
By Rafael Góómezmez ... ...
54
54
Model-making: The Gate of a XI Century Al-Casaba
Model-making: The Gate of a XI Century Al-Casaba
By Adolfo Ramos
By Adolfo Ramos ... ...
56
56
The Latest in Miniature Soldiers
The Latest in Miniature Soldiers
New section with the
New section with the latest wargame miniature releaseslatest wargame miniature releases...
60
60
Publications
Publications
By Rafael G
By Rafael Góómezmez ...
62
62
Boardgames
Boardgames
By Joaqu
By Joaquí í n Mejn Mejí í aa ... ...
64
64
Asociación Española de EditorialesAsociación Española de Editoriales
de Publicaciones Periódicas de Publicaciones Periódicas
C
C
ontents
ontents
L
L
eader
eader
4
SE
yThe third “In the Name of Glory”
Championship 2003. Organised by
the Club Alpha Ares, Barcelona.
Last December, the third “In the Name of
Glory” Championship was held in Barcelona.
The number of this year’s participants broke
the existing record. This shows the importance
of the Napoleonic wargame sector and the
in-creasing recognition of these rules, one of the
few that are available in Spanish. Their
aut-hor, Dave Marks, came from England to act as
arbitrator. The guys from El Último Tercio also
participated in the tournament; they brought
period flags to add even more colour to the event.
There was also a 15mm WWII demonstration using the Battleground rules by José Antonio Zafra and a painting and diorama
contest that displayed the talent of the participants.
The fantastic prizes of the tournament were provided by the sponsors: Fantassin, ALEA, Librería Atlántica, Simtac, Campaign
Game Miniatures and Figurat. As in other occasions, there was a wonderful atmosphere of camaraderie among participants and
friends and the event ended with an association lunch. The next “In the Name of Glory” Championship will be held in Madrid
next May and will be organised by El Último Tercio Club. For pictures and more information on the tournament, the rules and the
clubs please visit our web page: http://www.terra.es/personal5/tressaco
Dermot Quigley, Club Alpha Ares.
FALL-IN 2003
In Timonium, near Baltimore, U.S.A., what is probably the biggest of the wargame events organised around the world was held from the 14th to the 16th of November. We travelled to the States so that we could witness the huge force our hobby has there and we were very pleased with what we saw.
The show was organised on a level that we are not used to seeing in Europe. When we registered, they gave us a 92-page event guide that gave us detailed day-by-day in-formation on the demonstration battles that would take place, the battle periods, the ru-les being used in each one, the scale of the figures and the anticipated maximum num-ber of players. They also provided us with information on the exhibitors, including several explanatory maps of the different exhibition sites.
The show did not disappoint us at all; there were massive battles, among which the most remarkable one was the Market-Garden Operation. It had thousands of 20mm fi-gures and vehicles and a spectacular 19-metre scenario. They also recreated scenes from
Julius Caesar
’
s Conquest of the Gauls with a great battle between 1200 Roman legionaries and more than 3000 Gauls. In Dealer Hall, we were able to enjoy a large number of displays from the main English and American manufacturers; the interesting new rele-ases presented by Sash and Saber and Old Glory made them the most outstanding exhibitors of the event. Outside of the exhibition site, we attended a magnificent performance of mounted archers and swift hussars. At the same time, the Sienkiewicz Society, which is dedicated to studying the history and culture of XVII-century Eastern Europe, was giving classes on the use of muskets and pikes.News
News
A winged hussar and a Pancerny during the equestrian demonstration.
Our magazine was also present at Fall-In 2003. Spectacular view of the scene prepared for
Operation Market-Garden.
General view of the sales area at Fall-In 2003.
Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor
Dermot Quigley teaches participants how to play "In the Name of Glory".
Finalists shake hands at the end of the final with winner Juame Ribé (left) next to Gonzalo Campos.
To the Director of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy:
Firstly, even though it is not the first time I write and surely will not be the last, I would like to congratulate you and the staff at WS&E for the new stage of your magazine: I am very happy with the content and especially with the distribution. The last stage of "Soldados y Estrategia" was very difficult for enthusiasts from provinces to get a hold of at newsstands (the preferable
way), given the normal problems that, in practice, can hold up delivery.
Both the texts and the photos make WS&E an essential and very attractive publication for all enthusiasts since there is a lack of ma-gazines in Spanish about wargames and other related subjects.
Nevertheless, with regard to the intentions you stated in the leader of your last issue about making WS&E
“
for everybody”
, ICLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS - More info: 91 304 87 64
We are a group of wargame
enthusiasts from Madrid and we play Napoleonic battles with simplified Empire rules. We are looking for enthusiasts interested in this period and in the same type of rules to make a club. If you are interested, contact us at empirerules5@ hotmail.com
Wanted: 1/72-scale miniatures or similar. Price negotiable, ask for Alberto. Tel.: 0034 617 91 76 18
ADVERTISEMENT
44x32 mm
Only: 18
E
/nº
91 304 87 64
[email protected]ADVERTISING
INFORMATION
91 304 87 64
[email protected]If you do complex transformations of your figures, including partial
or total modelling, and you would like to collaborate with the
magazine, send us an e-mail to [email protected]
would like to raise a few questions and to make some sugges-tions:
- Nowadays, plastic figures have become quite popular and their use is on the rise; do you plan to include them in future is-sues of WS&E?
- With regard to the last question, would you accept ads on plastic figures in the new free ad section for readers?
- Do you plan to cover the subject of fantasy and sci-fi war-games and figures?
- Why don
’
t you include a report on the development of bat-tle pictures that include interesting things, such as the terrain, the approach etc. as you did in the last stage?- Lastly, an idea that could be interesting for enthusiasts as well as original for publications in Spanish: The book
“
Little Wars”
, which can be considered the origin of modern wargames, just like“
Floor Games”
, is a brief work whose author, H.G. Wells, was interested in carrying out battles with tin soldiers and playing games with figures and cons-tructions in his yard and in the living room of his house. Neither of these books is available in Spanish; WS&E could publish them in series, cards, or any way you think is the best. The readers would surely welcome it, and it would be another milestone in the originality and practical and histo-rical interest that have characterised your magazine from the beginning.Thank you very much for considering my letter. Best Re-gards,
Francisco Javier Ortega
Answer:
Dear Francisco Javier:
Thank you for your glowing letter and suggestions. Be-low you will find a response to each one of your questions and suggestions.
- Of course we are going to cover the
subject of plastic figures. We believe that this can be the perfect way to become familiar with this hobby and, in addition, the manufactu-rers now carry varied catalogues that provide a lot of period choices. - We do accept ads on this type of figure in the free ad sec-tion; all you have to do is send it.
- I cannot tell you that we are not going to include these subjects in the future, but if we do, it will not be on a regular basis because there are already magazines specialised on this subject and we be-lieve that our readers prefer our historical wargame specialisation.
- We are open to writing about a wargame battle, but we have to find one that is of general interest since readers tend to be more interested in the information on real battles and how to adapt it to specific rules than to read about how we fought the battle.
- We have made note of your suggestions on the books by H.G. Wells and we are going to consider what we can do re-garding this matter.
Best regards.
NAME AND SURNAME:... ... ... HOME ADDRESS:... ... ...Nº:...POST CODE:... CITY:... TELEPHONE:...
This section is free for all Wargames- Soldiers & Strategy readers,provided that it is for non-profit purposes only.
Cut out or photocopy this coupon and send it with the ad and personal information to
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R
ecently, we had the opportunity to visit Peter Fitgerald, owner and modeller of the magni-ficent figures by Calpe Miniatures. This was an extremely interesting meeting that allo-wed us to get to know Peter better and to check out all his spectacular figures. He spo-ke to us about his experience and future planes and we share the highlights with you below.When did you begin modelling figures?
I started more seriously about eight years ago. Before that, I had collaborated with Chris Gilder, Peter Gilder’s son, at his brand Connoisseur, modelling figures to complete several ranges that he had started but that I wanted for my collection. After, I ma-de some Napoleonic figures for another brand and then I ma- de-cided that the time had come to found my own.
Why did you choose the name Calpe?
Calpe is the Roman name for Gibraltar and, sin-ce I was born there, I thought it was perfectly appropriate to use it as my brand name.
Where did you learn how to model?
No one taught me; I began by transforming the Connoisseur figures that, given their style, were easy to change and on which the errors we-re not very noticeable. Later, my good friend Bill Gaskin taught me how to use Milliput and the rest has been experience and perserverance.
How many figures have you modelled over the years?
It is difficult to say; I think some 400 if I include the ones I ve made for other brands. I have not marketed all the ones I ha-ve modelled for myself and some of the figures that I had in-cluded on my lists and that I have been removing as my style evolved because they were becoming obsolete.
Since you have mentioned it, how would you describe your style?
I think there are two great styles: the one defined by Gilder and the one created by the Perry brothers. Gilder's focuses more on the movement, looking for the figure that has a rea-listic pose and that gives you a feeling that it is alive, although it sacrifices a lot of details. Perry ’s style is much more detail-oriented and focuses less on the movement; this makes their figures seem a little static; however, they are evolving towards a more dynamic style. My style is very much influenced by what I learned when I was transforming Peter
Gilder’s figures, although I have tried to con-centrate on the details that the figures of the Perry brothers have.
So, which figures would be the most compatible with yours?
For their size and style, mine are
most appropriate for 30mm figures that fo-llow the line created by Gilder; they are not very compatible with the figures designed by the Perry brothers because of the size, among other things.
Interview with Peter Fitgerald
Interview with Peter Fitgerald
Why is it that your brand only has Napoleonic Prussians?
I began to play wargames with a group of friends, and when I star-ted, the only army left was the Prussian army since the rest had al-ready chosen. So, basically, I was stuck with it. I had to devote time to changing figures to complete the army and that is how I began to model and to become a Prussian enthusiast. Since then it has been my favourite army; besides, it is one of the armies that has the grea-test variety of uniforms, especially the Reserve and Landwehr units. When I started my own brand and since I only made figures for me and some friends at the beginning, I decided to prepare a complete collection of the Prussian army, including most of the variants.
Have you thought about making other armies or figures for other periods?
For some time, I seriously thought about preparing samurai fi-gures and I even modelled some, but in the end I decided to concentrate on being the best specialist in the Prussian army for the period between 1813 and 1815. When I finish the Prussians, I will continue with my philosophy of thoroughly covering an army and I will begin with the French soldiers from the same period; I have already modelled some of them as a test.
So, what are your next figures going to be?
I am in the advanced stages of the L ützow Freikorps and the cavalry of the Landwehr; after I finish these figures, I want to do the Hussars, the Cuirassiers, the Guard and, lastly, the Generals and the General Staff.
Are you planning on releasing more Landwehr or Re- serve variants?
Yes, while I am working on the others, I will continue releasing variants; the next one will be a Landwehr with an English shako.
Before, you said that you only made figures for you and some friends?
Yes, at the beginning, my only objective was to develop my army by making the figures myself; I made some ex-tra figures to cover the cost of the materials and the smel-ting equipment. Then I decided to make my hobby my profession and to devote my time to my figures. That is when I put my figures on the market; my aim is to
po-sition my brand among the top manufacturers. We finished the interview with Peter here. We thank him for having shown us some of the many new items he is working on -the French, among others- that are undoubtedly among the best figures that we have seen. When he decides to market them, they will be highly demanded by enthusiasts, gi-ven their detailed craftsmanship and their uniqueness that portrays the real way to wear a battle cape. We were also able to see so-me spectacular ashigaru figures. It is a shaso-me that Peter
de-cided not to produce them. They are absolutely beautiful. Wargames Editorial Staff
Myth…
“Homer” spoke of a great war, a war of men and gods, of mor-tals with fateful destinies and of great heroes. He spoke of a war that involved the entire Greek world, that cost the “Acha-ens countless lives” and that would change everything forever. There was a time when men were at the will of the gods’ whims; they were no more than mere puppets in the hands of the gods’ plans and lived or died because the gods so wished. However, the gods, when it comes down to it, have the same defects, weaknesses and passions as the mortals. And it was one of these weaknesses, jealousy, that was the mythical origin of this war: Paris had to decide which goddess was the most beautiful.
It was after this decision that the events quickly began to un-fold: the abduction of Helen, the gathering of 1186 Achaen ships in Aulis (Boeotia), the landing in Troy, the struggle and death of heroes and, finally, ten years later, the capture of the city.
…
background
…The Trojan War, a source of controversy for many centuries, shows us much more than we realise. It is the philosophy of an entire civilisation -their worries, their customs, their fears, and, in the end, their human condition. The aim of this article is to read between the lines, to go beyond what the myth tells us. However, what Homer documented is one thing and what re-ally occurred is another.
Troy is also known as Ilium, Ilion and Ilios. It is located in the region of Troad, present-day Turkey, near the strait con-necting the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, which the Tro- jans called Dardania (after the Trojan patriarch) and the Greeks Hellespont (after Helle, the daughter of Athanus I, the King of Thebes, drowned in these waters, according to myth). It has mountains to the east and to the south and is situated on top of a hill in the plain of the Scamander River.
This is where the Greek armies supposedly disembarked. It is supposed that the fighting was carried out in a closed forma-tion consisting of several lines, with the shields at the front to provide better defence. These soldiers’ duties were to make su-re that bsu-reaches wesu-re immediately filled and to evacuate the wounded. They used stones and throwing weapons in the ini-tial clash. Even though these weapons usually did not kill the enemy, they did represent a considerable hindrance if they we-re to get stuck in shields. The front line was made up of the pro- machoi, the vanguard, who began the hand-to-hand combat with swords and spears. The weight of the weapons quickly ti-red the men, so good organisation was requiti-red for replacing the exhausted troops.
Extraordinary duels fill the Iliad and provide a good des-cription of the weapons and armour that were used. One of the most important duels was the one which occurred between the Trojan prince Hector and the Greek Ajax. During this fight, Ajax was equipped with a Mycenaean shield (sakos ) in a figu-re-of-eight shape and the typical boar-tusk helmet and Hector
8 SEy
THE TROJAN WAR
Between myth and reality
THE TROJAN WAR
Between myth and reality
An element that shaped a philosophy, the Iliad was considered
testimonial dogma in Classical Greece. Ten years of heroic
figh-ting or pillaging expeditions? What Homer documented is one
thing and what really occurred is another.
with hoplite armour. Several centuries separate the two types of armour, which has fuelled some debates on whether the Tro- jan War really took place.
In theory, hoplite armour as well as the phalanx formation appeared in the VII century BC, even though it is questioned due to the lack of images (except for the Olpe Chigi ). When Greeks became adults, they formed part of the army. At this age, they became citizens and, therefore, had the obligation of defending their city. The civilised warriors were heavily armed and wore a characteristic uniform: helmet, metal cui-rass, sword, greaves or leg guards, spear and hoplon, a round shield held by two handles -the porpax or central armband that fits around the forearm near the elbow and the antilabe or grip that is held in the hand. The hoplites, the front-line infantry army, received its name from this shield. These in-fantrymen were far different than the common citizen-mili-tia, which was poorly armed with spears and slings. All of these arms were made of wood, usually ash, and bronze. In general, the use of iron was quite uncommon. It appeared only as a precious material used for prizes or in trade and was not used to make arms.
The Greek warrior defended the land of the polis of which he was an active member. All of the patriotic feelings that ap-pear in the Iliad and, in general, Greek philosophy are proof of this. The different armies led by the kings or basileus that were wooing Helen were aggressive brotherhoods united by family ties (phratria) or ritual friendship (hetairia). It is logical to think that Homeric society knew their ancestors and that it establis-hed ties of philia between their members who could be coun-ted on for help if necessary.
According to Homer, the territory of the Greeks or Achaens was dismembered and was made up of blood-related groups without their own organs: the king (basileus), the council of el-ders (gerontes) and a popular assembly. For example, Aga-memnon, the commander of the Achaen army, did not have A Mycenaean army deployed for combat. The two main tactics used by
these armies were compact infantry formations and chariots as shock elements.
The infantry units usually had little body armour, and their basic armament was normally a large tower-shaped or figure-of-eight shield and a long spear or pike.
absolute power and could not take any decisions without first consulting the “curly-haired Achaen sons”. Even so, the mea-ning of the word basileus is still debatable since there were se-veral kings in some of the mentioned territories. With regard to data, specialists tend to use that which appeared in Pylos, governed by the Wanax (king) and the lawagetas (military com-mander), for their studies of the society at those times. Apart from these figures, there was a hierarchy
within each contingent that seemed to be based on the recognition of the superiority of a relative or friend over another. This is the case with Achilles and Agamemnon whose superiority was recognised over Patroclus and Menelaus, respectively. Ho-nour and social position are the elements that created the hierarchy.
The nobles did not go to the battlefield on foot like the rest of the contingents, but were taken by their charioteers in chariots drawn by two or more horses. When they reached the battle site, the aristocrat
would choose an honourable adversary; once he beat this ad-versary, he would choose another. This process was repeated as many times as necessary. Meanwhile, the charioteer stayed in the chariot and waited for the nobleman to return after com-bat. That is, the chariots were not elements of combat, but me-re means of transport that me-repme-resented a social position or rank. In the Archaic or Classical ages, they were not used in war; ho-wever, they were vehicles used for parading of for transporta-tion that marked the warrior’s status.
The hoplites were brave soldiers because they fought hand-to-hand and put their lives at risk. In comparison, there are the soldiers that fought in the distance: Paris, the archer, for exam-ple. Heracles by Euripides stated in an illustrative and signifi-cant sentence that “for a warrior, the test of their braveness is
not being an archer; it entails staying in their position and ke-eping their eyes fixed on an entire field of spears that appear before them…”. The archer is unmanly and is never a hero: he fights in the distance. The Greeks value this matter so much that in many occasions the Greek/non-Greek opposition is re-presented by the hoplite/non-hoplite.
Apart from the contingent with more or less normal charac-teristics, there was the exemplary figure of the heroes. The indisputable model recog-nised by Greeks and Trojans was Achilles. The motives of the heroes’ actions were honour and glory. A perfect example of this concept is when Achilles flew into a rage after Agamemnon had taken Briseida away from him. He was abducting not only his slave, but also the geras (honorary booty) that belonged to him. The geras was a privilege granted in recognition of any type of superiority, whether it be be-cause of the position (as in the case of Agamemnon) or because of the bravery of the heroic deeds (as in the case of Achilles). That is, the foot soldiers received a part of the booty, but the elite, both kings and heroes, received the geras. Stealing Achilles’ geras was al-most like denying his grandeur in combat; this is even truer if the person that steals the geras is, as the hero Agamemnon re-proached, king of kings (basileutatus) and remains in the pro-tection of the encampment.
In Homer’s poems, dying in combat guaranteed glory; and it is this heroic death and eternal youth that Achilles picked when he was given two choices the day he was born: he could either enjoy everlasting glory after dying as a youth, or live a long life without glory. The glorious death (kalos thanatos) granted the warrior that died in battle the status of “courageous man”, establishing his arete , excellence or act of striving to
re-“for a warrior, the test of
their braveness is not
being an archer; it entails
staying in their position
and keeping their eyes
fixed on an entire field of
spears that appear
before them…”
ach the highest potential, and, in turn, doing away with the ne-ed of constant social approval.
Herein lay the importance of social recognition, the praise of the public opinion or the common time. The other time, the everlasting glory conferred for heroic deeds, is even more im-portant. After all, being forgotten is the real death.
Dying on the battlefield saved the warrior from being for-gotten with the passing of time. For the men of future genera-tions, the memory of the hero was fixed to such an extent that the youth were defined by their aptitude for taking up arms; the youths with this talent were called hoploteroi. Perhaps to us the description of the death of Hector seems like a macabre spec-tacle: wounds, blood and dust covering his entire body. Ho-wever, all of these marks are signs of his majesty and, therefo-re, increase his manly beauty. So, that is why the Greek mentality attaches so much importance to dying beautiful.
However, it is not only dying beautiful, but also being a be-autiful warrior. When Patroclus died, all of his companions (in-cluding Achilles) cut their hair over his corpse before handing him over to the fire. That is, they decorated him with what was representative of their warrior status -their
hair (unlike the women, who offered the best dresses they had knitted). This was no ordinary act. The law of Lycurgus institu-ted for Macedonian soldiers said that they must leave their hair long and take good care of it, especially before combat, be-cause it was a symbol of vitality and youth.
It was necessary for them to shock the enemy with a horri-fic and tough appearance. Herein lay the importance of the in-sult and the mutilation of the dead body, known as oikia. Achi-lles was so angry at Hector for the death of his friend Patroclus that it was not enough to just kill him. He could do something even worse: He dishonoured his corpse until his father Priam, the King of Troy, came to beg him for it. Heroes needed their exploits to be sung, but they also needed their bodies to be paid a tribute of honours (geras thenonton ). The mortal blow
freed the heroes of their psike, but the change of state occurred thanks to funeral rituals that took them to the shores of the Ha-des, which was connected to the divine world. A divine world created, as in all cultures, according to the peoples’ needs, in-terests, worries and lifestyle.
In Greek mythology, the gods constantly appear in the all man’s acts and are a reflection of them: their appearance re-sembles that of humans and their family structure is similar to ours, but they do not grow old or die. On the battlefield, they appear in many different ways: in the middle of a mist, as a hu-man, etc. They are fearful beings that must not be angered. He-siod provides us with the formula: be attentive to the dike (jus-tice) and do not let your pride (hybris) grow, if so, you will be punished, just as Ulysses was.
…
or reality
Much has been written about this subject. Antiquity considered the Trojan War as something that was obviously historical. Troy even became a pilgrimage centre where, for example, Alexander the Great stopped in 334 BC on his journey around Asia. However, from the end of antiquity until around 1870, when Schliemann dis-covered the remains of a city that he iden-tified as Troy in the colony of Hissarlik, it was considered to be a myth.
“Homer” describes the taking of Troy as a war with men and gods; this war is part of Mycenae’s distant and practi-cally forgotten past that has survived as legendary tales pas-sed on from generation to generation and enormous walls built by Cyclopes. This history has little to do with what the Trojan War or warfare could have been (if it, in deed, exis-ted). What we do know is not based on these legendary ac-counts, but on the translations of Linear B tablets and on the archaeological site findings. The latter, not Homer, will pro-vide answers to all the unsolved mysteries on how the My-cenaean army was organised and what weapons and ar-mour were used.
11
SEy
“Troy even became a
pilgrimage centre”
The first defining characteristic of these armies is the exis-tence of standardised equipment that is gathered in the inven-tories of the Mycenaean palaces. These lists include large num-bers of body armour, swords, helmets, etc.
The shields used were built in different shapes, such as fi-gure-of-eight, tower and rectangular. They were made out of a convex-wood shell that was covered with cow skin. This construction provided a very strong surface. Even though they were very effective forms of defence, the body was pro-tected with a helmet and a cuirass. Research has found se-veral types of helmet, but the boar-tusk
helmet was apparently the most widely used. It was made out of a leather cap over which rows of boar tusks were sewn. The body armour, however, was hard and made with movable bronze plates: two for the chest, two for the shoulders, a round piece for the neck and a skirt for the lower body that was longer in the back than in the front and
that consisted of three doubled rows of semicircular pieces. If we add the heavy spears and swords they normally carried, we reach the conclusion that the use of this type of armour is only conceivable with the help of a chariot.
Chariots are very light vehicles with two four-spoked wheels, a wooden chassis with a fireguard and sometimes an opening and a whippletree to which the traces of the har-nessed horses are fixed. In Archaic or Classical Greece, they were used as taxis and that is why their use in Mycenaean times is seriously doubted. To look at an example from re-latively the same period, we know that in the Battle of Qa-desh (1286-1285 BC) the Egyptians launched attacks in cha-riots driven by three Hittites (at least one of them carried a spear) while an archer shot. However tempting this analogy may be, this type of battle would have been very difficult to
carry out in the Hellenic world due to the rough terrain that was full of rivers and vegetation.
The armament is not the only proof of an organised army. The tablets that were discovered in Pylos show armed forces that had a clear objective: to protect Western Peloponnese from a threat that apparently came from the sea. To provide the best defence for these attacks, the coastal regions were divided into ten sections commanded by an officer that had three to eight subordinates that led contingents with 30 to 110 men di-vided into groups of ten. In all, there were 800 men grouped at
various patrol posts.
As is well known, the authorship of the Iliad (which is only a fragment of the tenth and last year of the war) and even the existence of the war are debated to-day. Those that question its existence base their arguments on certain ele-ments, such as the out-of-phase arma-ment arma-mentioned above. This is logical if we think that the poem, which dates back to 700 BC, was recited and improvised by the poets without the help of the written version; there were no stan-dardised texts until quite some time later (one was found in Athens circa 520 BC), so the original poem could have un-dergone substantial changes.
However, what interests us is to see how the existence of this war is defended by authors who base their arguments on the fact that the Mycenaean Greeks were closely linked to the military and political circumstances of Western Anatolia. They argue that the vassal state of Wilusa (in the Troad region) was attacked on countless occasions and that the Mycenaeans could have been involved. In addition, Wilusa can be an equi-valent of (W)Ilios, at least philologically speaking. Even so, the Trojan War would not have occurred as believed. It would ha-ve been a series of continual attacks that were combined by the
“dying in combat
guaranteed glory; it is
this heroic death and
eternal youth that
Achilles picked”
rhapsodies. But, there is more. Investigations have found re-ferences to a vassal king called Alaksandus of Wilusa in an-chient documents about the Hittite world from Bogazkoy’s ar-chives. Alexandros is the official name of Paris, and Troy is known as Ilios or Ilion. The similarity of the names has made some writers believe that Paris was a historical figure, a kinglet in that part of Asia. The names of Hector and Achilles also ap-pear in Mycenaean archives, but not as names of princes, but as slaves, which could reveal their popularity.
But, there is even more. In 1971-1972, some frescoes showing scenes of daily li-fe circa 1500 BC were uncovered in The-ra; the scenes depict threats from the sea of attackers that have boar-tusk helmets and tower-shaped shields, that is, Myce-naean armour, and that are coming for supplies of cattle and women. This has posed the question of whether the Myce-naean conquest of Crete in the XV cen-tury BC was preceded by these pillaging expeditions, which could lead us to think
that the same was also true in the case of Troy. In other words, the ten years of war could have been ten years of pi-llaging until the final conquest, and not ten years of heroic fighting as Greek tradition says.
In reality, we have remains in Hissarlik whose historical centre expanded over a long period. The Trojan War took pla-ce at around 1200 BC, that is, in the middle of the Bronze Age in an area under Mycenaean control. There were also two pro-ven catastrophic epro-vents that help situate the war: an earthqua-ke circa 1250 BC and a fire circa 1180 BC. What is more, the archaeological site of Troy portrays a city full of buildings used for storing provisions (as if they feared something), damaged by fire and laden with corpses.
Myth, background or reality, who knows the truth? What we do know is that the Trojan War is an epic account that es not intend to portray the historical period, even though it
do-es provide us with certain information on the material culture. In the end, it is the story of a glorious past, an epic event that maintains a vague memory of what really happened. The unity of an idyllic people and the armour and warfare techniques are disfigured and appear completely out of context. We see it in the battles fought with weapons from different periods; howe-ver, the weapons and military tactics match archaeological fin-dings that were, indeed, known of in the Homeric period, but that only correlate to the Mycenaean period. The helmet that Ullyses borrows from Merino for his night-time departure, the swords studded with silver nails, the “tower-shaped” shield and Nestor’s goblet are elements that have be-en discovered during excavations.
The remains, along with the legendary memories, could have been hidden with what was left of the Mycenaean popula-tion in Athens, city that acted as the “refu-gee centre” during the Submycenaean pe-riod. Indeed, the migrations of seaside populations from the eastern Mediterrane-an region since the XIII century might have caused the end of the Mycenaean world. This Mycenaean world ended almost as Homer depicts in his story - a epic poem that spoke of Myce-naean splendour and glory, that created heroes and important figures who would keep the Greek tradition alive with nostal-gia for a past that was better.
“After dumping the burial mound, they left again. Later, they gathered and took part in the distinguished funeral banquet at the abode of Priam, the king raised by Zeus.
That is how they celebrated the funeral of Hector, the hor-sebreaker.”
Author: Ana Valtierra Fotography: Anastasio Jim
é
nez Paintings: Redoubt and Wargames Foundry figures from thecollections of
Á
ngel Villena and Carlos Vá
zquez13
SEy
“the ten years of war
could have been ten
years of pillaging until
the final conquest,
and not ten years of
heroic fighting”
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D
uring the first half of the XVI century, there was a revolution in the art of war employed in the bat-tles between the Spanish and French monarchs in Italy; it evolved from a purely medieval form to a modern form which implemented innovative tac-tics and techniques. The clashing armies began to use the arquebus for combat, and the medieval armies of heavy cavalry gradually became less important; these and other improvements greatly changed the tactics of combat. The role of the infantry once again became important, now that large masses of foot soldiers were being used on the battlefield; their role had not been this important since the antiquity age.Among these infantrymen, the German landsknechts , the quintessential mercenary soldiers of the XVI century, were the ones that stood out the most. They reached the culmina-ting point of their renown during the Italian Wars in which they competed with their Swiss adversaries. In German
landsknecht means “servant of the country”. Its origin dates
back to the last decades of the XV century, when Maximilian of Austria, the Holy Roman Emperor and German King, rea-lised that it was necessary to maintain a personal corps of soldiers so that he did not have to rely on the German nobles to form his armies, as had occurred to other German empe-rors in the Middle Ages.
In the beginning, these troops had been recruited in the Austrian Tyrol, Alsace, Württemberg and Baden, and they first became active in 1490 when Maximilian administered an oath of loyalty to his troops; he also gave them what we would call nowadays an “esprit de corps” when he de-cided to provide these units with training and weaponry taken from the Helvetian model. The Swiss were the in-fantry par excellence in the XIV century; however, it was not until after their victories over the Duke of Burgundy, Charles “The Bold”, in Grandson, Morat and Nancy bet-ween 1476 and 1477 that they had truly become the most famous infantrymen in Europe. This fame was well won, given they had been able to defeat the heavy cavalry, which had been, up to that moment, the most important weapon.
But, Maximilian not only copied the Swiss model, but also exceeded it. With the help of Georg von Frundsberg and other German nobles, such as the Counts of Cleven and Lodron, he trained his soldiers to use t he pike, the hal-berd, the sword, the crossbow and the arquebus, the main weaponry of the German landsknecht; (however, the crossbow stopped being used in the second decade of the XVI century.) This training considerably improved the qua-lity of the corps; despite being an exceptional idea, the outcome of the first battles was not good. But, once they
16 SEy
THE LANDSKNECHTS
THE LANDSKNECHTS
The arquebusier García de Cerezeda wiped the sweet off his brow
while he began to reload the arm he had just fired several times.
He looked to the left and saw an enormous German armed with an
enormous sword who was wearing a strange combination of
multi-coloured, slashed garments and who had just wiped out
three Swiss with one swipe of his sword.
achieved their first victories, the landsknechts gradually began to be recognised as a lethal and dangerous force by their enemies. Their fame was such that young nobles en-listed in their ranks, following the example set by Maximi-lian, who had marched alongside his men, without armour and with a pike on his shoulder, as if he were one of the landsknechts.
Landsknecht
Recruitment
and Organisation
Recruitment was based on a contract; the Emperor used this contract to pay for the services rendered by a lord or nobleman, who was given the rank of colonel (Obrist), and to lay down a list of stipulations, such as the length, the financing and the number of men nee-ded for the campaign. He also stipula-ted the terms under which the soldiers would participate in the campaign, their pay and the bonuses they would receive; for example, if the troops em-barked, they would be supplied with fo-od during the journey, and, if they had to attack a fortified point, they earned a bonus.
The colonel named his second-in-command and the captains that were going to command the f ä hnlein
(com-panies) of the regiment. The officers, in turn, began the re-cruitment process by calling the possible candidates with the sound of his drummers playing in the squares of the towns and cities. He then went through the volunteers and rejected the ones that were not fit for service or that
did not have enough equipment (remember, the soldiers had to provide their own defensive and offensive wea-ponry). During the Italian Wars, this type of recruitment practice gathered landsknechts that belonged to the upper and middle social class. The reliability of these troops in-creased considerably because they were better discipli-ned and were not as greedy with the booty as the light ca-valrymen, the stradiots (save exceptions, such as the
Sacco di Rome).
If the volunteers were accepted, they had to sign a contract that united them with the regiment. Once the selection process was over, they carried out the ceremony, in which the recruits were looked over and were given final ap-proval by the officers; the regiment was then divided into 10 f ä hnlein, with 400
soldiers in each one, 100 of which we-re veteran soldiers called doppels ö ldner (“doublepay”) that received a double salary because of their experience and because they had a riskier position in combat. The recruits were paid a month in advance; they formed a circle around the colonel, who, mounted on his hor-se, read them their rights and obliga-tions as landsknechts . These rights and obligations were from a letter that cle-arly explained their conduct and the punishments they would receive if they infringed these ru-les. Then the soldiers swore an oath of allegiance to the Emperor, to their officers and to the cause for which they were to fight; the future standard-bearers also had to swear never to abandon the standard in combat and to die for it.
The
landsknechtsfought in large pike
squares, that is, in units
of 3,000 to 4,000
soldiers, which could
adopt various geometric
shapes, depending on
the number of pikemen
and on the strategy they
planned to use.
Once the companies were brought together, they were subdivided into rotten (squads), made up of 10 soldiers or 6 doppels ö ldner , that were under the command of the rott- meister (squad leader). However, all of these figures were theoretical because they depended on the final recruit-ment of 4,000 soldiers (sometimes this recruitrecruit-ment objec-tive was not always reached and other times it was excee-ded). Frundsberg, Götz von Berlichingen, Charles of Bourbon and other warlords were
known for being able to recruit thou-sands of soldiers in only 20 days.
The regiment had a very efficient or-ganisation system. They had officers who were in charge of supervising the food and other products the merchants sold to the troops; there was also a type of military police that maintained order on the provisioning train that followed the soldiers -keeping the women, chil-dren, lovers and prostitutes that accom-panied them under control was essential for the discipline of the troops. Other of-ficers applied the law, which was unfor-giving in cases of desertion: if a soldier left their post, they were killed by the pi-kes of the other troops they had be en put
in danger. This system of order also had a hangman, who was armed with an enormous sword and a rope for hanging. The general staff also had cunsellor officers, chaplains, guards of the colonel, doctors, interpreters, etc. The inter-preters were very useful during the Italian Wars, since the army of Charles V was made up of many nations: Spa-niards, Germans, Flemish, French, Swiss, Greeks, Italians, etc. They were needed so that the officers could understand all of the languages and efficiently organise the actions ta-ken during the ups and downs of the campaign.
The oath of allegiance was very important during the first part of the XVI century; these troops, despite being mercenaries, recognised the supreme authority of the Em-peror, who was their monarch and to whom they, his sub- jec ts, owe d the ir loyal ty. The y fea red Max imi lian so much that when he banned them from fighting under the French flag, most of them acceded to his wishes; only about 800 men known as the “Black Band” stayed and fought for Francis I, who was defeated in Pavia in 1525. This rule was still being applied during the reign of Char-les V and the Empire’s enemies could only count on small groups of deserted landsknecht .
During the religious wars of the se-cond half of the century, they became true soldiers of fortune; they no longer fought for their Emperor, but for rivals that paid only for their services and did not impose the same laws.
Weaponry and Training
Despite being a force that was brought together for each campaign, the landsk- nechts were trained to use all sorts of weapons during the journey from the recruitment site to the area of operations and even during their days of rest.
The pike, a 6-metre-long spear, was not easy to handle and even less when walking; the up and down movement of such long staves must have made them quite awkward and required great strength to them steady. Their training taught them how to hold the pike as well as the different positions they had to use when attacking, defending and fighting against cavalries and infantries. The most difficult step they had to learn was to charge at a relatively high
18 SEy
Their fame was such that
young nobles enlisted
in their ranks, following
the example set by
Maximilian, who had
marched alongside his
men, without armour and
with a pike on his
shoulder, as if he were
one of the
landsknechts.
The nobility, still steeped in the tradition of the medieval cavalry, feed the ranks of their gendarme units. The new armament and infantry tactics was proof that the heavy cavalry had their days numbered.
speed while holding the pike at the end without breaking the formation.
The landsknechts fought in large pike squares, that is, in units of 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers, which could adopt va-rious geometric shapes, depending on the number of pike-men and on the strategy they planned to use. The typical square had the arquebusiers covering the flanks and the doppels ö ldners at the front armed with two-handed
swords and halberds. The latter sometimes carried maces, which could have either a square or a circular shape. To counter cavalry attacks, the pikemen took positions at the front and were backed up by the doppels ö ldners and the arquebusiers. The verlone Haufe, units of convicts clearing their guilt or of volunteers, were positioned in front of the squares; the duty of this guerrilla group was to break the enemy’s formation by shooting and provoking them with insults- in short, they acted as bait.
These troops were also trained for hand-to-hand com-bat. This skill was essential for them to be able to act quickly when the two infantry squares clashed; whether alone or in groups, these soldiers improvised their own at-tack and defence tactics on the battlefield. The clash of the two pikemen units must have been a terrifying sight -men trapped between their own pikes and the enemy ’s, the doppels ö ldners rushing in from behind with arms that
were easier to use in small spaces, the pushing of fellow comrades in the back ranks, the screaming, the corpses pierced on the long spears. These encounters must have unleashed total chaos that only the strongest, better armed and best trained soldiers could survive. Recently recruited soldiers were also trained to use the katzbalger (“cat gut-ter ”), a short sword with an s-shaped guard, which was easy to handle in reduced spaces. This weapon greatly hel-ped the soldiers in the clashes of pikemen.
The arquebusiers belonged to the same category as the doppels ö ldners, however, they received different training. These soldiers quickly learned how to use the arquebus, but it was more difficult for them to obtain good results.
They learned how to load, aim and shoot rapidly, which was not easy considering the weight of this arm and the difficulty of handling the gunpowder while holding the lit cord with the right hand. The number of arquebusiers in the regiments was greater than those used by the Swiss, but less than those used by the Spanish, the true experts of this weapon.
The doppels ö ldners were the most experienced soldiers
in the f ä hnlein. Some of them were armed with pikes and
arquebuses, but the weapons of choice for these veterans were the zweih ä nder (a double-edged sword), the halberd and the short sword. The large swords were used to carry out their main mission: after the initial clash between the two squares, they cleared a way through the sea of pikes and entered the enemy formation through the gaps left by the dead. By doing so, they were able to break up the enemy’s front lines as well as the cohesion of their squa-re. This action was extremely dangerous –another reason for them to be paid twice as much as the recruits. They were also scattered throughout the square so that it would better withstand attacks coming from the flanks and so that they could push the rest of the soldiers during the charge. These veterans were considered true heroes by their comrades and, in many cases, were promoted to the rank of officer because of their exemplary service.
The landsknechts had one of the greatest artillery trains of their time. It was created by Maximilian and improved by Charles V. The types of cannon used varied greatly –from light to heavy cannons that were used to knock down walls and that could fire cannon balls weighing se-veral kilos. The gun carriages were painted black and the metal parts red; the cannon was left unpainted and was made out of copper, which was the most convenient alloy to use. Great skill and care went into the manufacturing of these pieces.
Clothing
One of the most striking characteristics of the landsknechts was their clothing. Their garments were full of slashes,
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Landsknecht fife and rottmeister (squad leader).
Pikeman with heavy armour and doppelsöldner (2-handed sword).
