The Sealed Knot Society, as we all know, was formed to
commemorate the English Civil Wars. In military terms though it is a
far more important factor in that we are portraying the end of one
era and introducing the beginning of another. This was the last
major conflict on English soil in which the pike was used in mass
numbers, before giving way to musket that would dominate
battlefields worldwide for the next 200 years.
The pike would remain only as a bodyguard for the artillery and
even this practice was abandoned after the Napoleonic wars. However
if we go back before the Civil Wars we may see that the pike had a
long and bloody history before firearms were even invented. The
first successful use of the pike is mainly associated with the
ancient Greeks and Macedonians under the leadership of Alexander the
Great. He built up a huge empire on the strength of his pikemen who
not only carried 15-18 foot pikes, but also carried huge round
shields. These warriors formed formations called phalanxes in
which they would interlock their shields. These phalanxes could
literally bulldoze down any army sent against them. The Persians and
the Indians lost tens of thousands of men in trying to stop this
invincible machine.
The next notable users of the pike were the Carthaginians.
The Carthaginians severely massacred a Roman army at the battle of
Canae in 216BC. Here Hannibal’s African pikemen slaughtered 62000
Romans out of a force of 65000. It was the worst defeat ever
inflicted on the Romans. Nevertheless, the Roman method of fighting
at close quarters with their short sword would eventually build them
a massive empire of their own. Later on the Romans would again face
mass pike formations, this time at the hands of Germanic Barbarians.
These Barbarians formed wedge formations and were more than a match
for the Romans. The Romans went into decline and the Germanic hordes
would conquer the majority of the western Roman Empire. In this
period, known as the Dark Ages, the shield wall was the
dominant battle tactic, the pike being relegated to isolated
regions. The Picts of Scotland favoured the pike or long
spear, and in the early middle ages it was the Scots who would
adopt it as their traditional weapon. The Scots would form massive
rings of pikemen known as schiltrons that were a match for
anyone, until the English adopted the Welsh longbow. The Scots would
normally adopt defensive tactics, which were ideal for the
longbowmen who would destroy them with ease. Falkirk, Halidon Hill
and Horiddon Hill are three occasions when the Scots suffered
severely the effects of the longbow. The glory of Crecy and
Agincourt were down to lessons learnt at the price of Scottish
pikemen.
Meanwhile on the continent the Swiss, Germans, Flemish and
Burgundians were all beginning to use the pike offensively against
the armoured knights of the day. This new tactic of attacking with
the pike meant that the lowliest born peasant could easily bring
down the highest rank knight, and the days of the dominant knight
were over.
The Swiss, who originally favoured the halberd, were becoming
famous for their skill in using the pike. By 1400 they were hiring
themselves out to all the great powers of the day, ushering in the
age of the mercenaries. In the late middle ages they were considered
to be among the best infantry available, second only to the English
longbowmen. It wasn’t long before they spawned their own imitators.
In 1500 the notorious German Landsknechts had already emerged
to challenge the Swiss crown. The Landsknechts would eventually
outshine the Swiss. On many a 16th Century battlefield when Swiss
met Landsknecht it was usually a bloody fight to the death. So much
hatred existed between these two bands of mercenaries that it was
simply known as bad war, with no prisoners! The Landsknechts
were also to become famous for their outrageous dress code, indeed
they would be the most colourful troops ever to set foot on the
battlefield.
Back on the home front, the English were slow in adopting the
pike, and during the Wars of the Roses the only pikemen on the
battlefield were foreign mercenaries. The English preferred the
Brown Bill. The Billmen had fought it out for 30 years during
the Wars of the Roses, and therefore were expert masters of the
Brown Bill when they completely stuffed a Scottish army in 1513 at
Flodden Field. Here the Scots had adopted Landsknecht Pikes,
but their discipline was far inferior to the German standards. The
simple Brown Bill proved to be more effective to use at close
quarter, this resulting in the loss of 10000 Scottish lives
including their King, James IV. No wonder the English were slow to
adopt the Pike!
However it would not be too long before the English would swallow
their pride, and from the middle of the 16th Century the pike became
part of the English war machine. The English Pikemen were to see
active service on the continent but by the end of the 16th Century
it was in Ireland that the pike was put to the test.
In 16th Century Ireland, the Irish army preferred to ambush their
enemies, and use other guerrilla tactics. In fact an English army
with pikes were almost annihilated in 1598 at the battle of Yellow
Ford. This was at the hands of an outdated army of bowmen, mail-clad
axe-wielding warriors dressed like Norsemen, and peasants throwing
short spears or darts. The reason for this was the terrain. The pike
could not be used on rough terrain as it was essentially an open
pitched battle weapon. Open warfare was not on the Irish agenda. So
by the time of our own period we can see that pike and shot tactics
were the standard practice of any battlefield. Even during our
period the pike was in decline, but still essential as most Civil
War armies had an abundance of Cavalry.
Towards the end of the 17th Century the Plug Bayonet had
been invented, which gave way to the ‘Bayonet’ proper, so merging
the arms of musket and pike into one. Oddly enough it was the Irish
in the late 18th Century who felt the need to field this weapon
against disciplined English Redcoats. They suffered appallingly as
the English musketry proved too much for outdated Irish pikemen.
I think we should look at our period in a new light and have
respect for all our different arms. But the pike with its continued
presence for over 2000 years has far outreached the musket which was
only around for a mere 300 years. This alone demonstrates the
staying power of this historic weapon. Long may it reign!
Greg King
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