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Landsknecht with a Zweihänder. Just like the Reisläufer, Landsknecht formations consisted of men trained and armed with pikes, halberds, and swords. [11] 300 men of a Fähnlein would be armed with a pike, [27] though a Landsknecht 's pike was generally shorter than a Reisläufer 's at about 4.2 meters (14 ft). [28]
Georg von Frundsberg Frundsberg, by Christoph Amberger.. Georg von Frundsberg [a] (24 September 1473 – 20 August 1528) was a German military and Landsknecht leader in the service of the Holy Roman Empire and Imperial House of Habsburg.
Nonetheless, the repulse at Marignano presaged the decline of the Swiss form of pike warfare—eventually, the two-century run of Swiss victories ended in 1522 with disaster at the Battle of Bicocca when combined Spanish tercios and Landsknecht forces decisively defeated them using superior tactics, fortifications, artillery, and new technology ...
Articles related to Landsknechts, German mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period.Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line was formed by Doppelsöldner ("double-pay men") renowned for their use of Zweihänder and arquebus.
The full Landsknecht contingent of Francis I. army in 1515 was initially 17,000 men strong, composed of 12,000 pikemen, 2,000 arquebusiers, 2,000 two-handed swordsmen, and 1,000 halberdiers. Landsknecht contingents are organized in companies or Fähnlein of up to 500, with actual numbers often being lower than the nominal full strength.
At first the Swiss attack succeeded in driving back the landsknecht defenders and capturing a few of the guns, the speed of the Swiss advance rendering their fire ineffective. But Bourbon’s cavalry from the French right counter-attacked their flank, driving the forlorn hope back to the shelter of the Swiss vanguard.
During the second phase of the battle, the majority of the combat was borne by Swiss who were repeatedly attacked by cavalry and then by the Protestant Landsknecht regiment. Although they routed the Landsknechts and almost recaptured the Catholic artillery they were eventually broken by a final charge by fresh Huguenot gendarmes.
The landsknechts and the Gascons proceeded to attack once more, with even greater casualties. [52] Fabrizio Colonna, who had by this time returned to the camp with the remnants of his cavalry, charged into the flank of the attacking infantry; he would write that "with 200 lances he could have retrieved the fortune of the day". [53]