Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A modern recreation of a mid-17th century company of pikemen. By that period, pikemen would primarily defend their unit's musketeers from enemy cavalry.. A pike is a long thrusting spear formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages [1] and most of the early modern period, and wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until it was largely replaced by bayonet ...
Articles relating to pikes, long thrusting spears formerly used in European warfare from the Late Middle Ages and most of the early modern period, and wielded by foot soldiers deployed in pike square formation, until they were largely replaced by bayonet-equipped muskets.
Pikes as issued were normally 18-foot-long (5.5 m), but on the march they were commonly cut down to a more wieldy 15 feet (4.6 m) or so. The pikemen carried basic swords and typically wore steel helmets but no other armour; [ 11 ] in some regiments a few pikemen, usually those in the front rank, would have also worn body armour .
The push of pike still played a role in the English civil war; two-thirds of the infantry consisted of pikemen at the start of the war, declining to one-third as the war progressed and the matchlock gained dominance. [6] Pikemen often cut down the lengths of their pikes in order to make them more manageable. [7]
Discover the latest breaking news in the U.S. and around the world — politics, weather, entertainment, lifestyle, finance, sports and much more.
The standard in the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire in 1641 was 66% muskets and 33% pikes. As pike-on-pike clashes became less common in field battles, so did armor. By 1660 body armor had mostly disappeared in pike and shot formations; the pikes themselves had also shortened, from 18 feet to 13 feet. [23]
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
Even in the Tudor period, bills were still common with levies sent to fight the Scots. The Battle of Flodden in 1513 was a classic match between continental-style pike formations (Scots) and billmen (English). When the English army fought in the Italian War of 1542–1546, the bill was still the main polearm of the English.