Swiss mercenaries in the Middle Ages. Swiss mercenaries: the “pit bulls” of European wars

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At the end of the 15th century, Europe looked completely different from what it does now. The borders of states, which we are now accustomed to consider permanent and inviolable, were anything but permanent and inviolable. Borders changed constantly for the same reasons: the death of a ruler, a wedding, as a concession, or a military campaign. The stakes of wars during this period were very high, so generals and military leaders were constantly looking for new ways to gain an advantage over their enemies.
Landsknechts, Germanic mercenary soldiers who existed from about 1487 until the seventeenth century, provided one such advantage. Initially created as a force to support the aspirations of creating the Holy Roman Empire by Maximilian, heir to the Holy Roman Empire, they soon began to hire themselves out to the highest bidder (including Maximilian's enemy, the King of France - but this practice was very quickly stopped by Maximilian, ordering everyone Germans in the pay of France to return home).

"Landsknechte" (a term first coined by Pieter van Hagenbach, chronicler of Charles the Bold of Burgundy) literally means "servant of the country." Recruited mainly from the poor in southern Germany, they became famous for their extraordinary clothing and effective fighting tactics. At the zenith of their fame they were the best military force in Europe.

The face of the war was changing... The powerlessness of the knightly cavalry against any well-prepared formations of pikemen and new hand guns. New mobile infantry - landsknechts - pikemen in best traditions Swiss mercenaries quickly became the main component of mercenary armies throughout Europe. The battles of the Renaissance were sometimes like a game of chess, in which victory and defeat were recognized very quickly, if possible with the least amount of bloodshed.
These gentlemen's agreements soon began to disappear from the battlefield due to the use of tactical stratagems such as ambushes, camouflage of units, deception of the enemy, smoke and dust screens to blind the enemy before a sudden and massive attack, which first appeared and were included in strategy and battle formations European armies.

The main force of the Landsknechts were soldiers using pikes (a pole weapon 14-18 feet long with a 10-inch steel tip), supported by "shock troops" armed with huge two-handed Zweihander swords (a 66-inch long sword with a double-edged, sometimes wavy blade weighing 7-14 pounds; such soldiers were called “Double Pay Soldiers” - Doppelsoldner - they went on the attack in the front ranks, breaking into the ranks of enemy pikes, breaking them and clearing passages for the main forces) or halberds (polearms 6 -7 feet). In addition, Landsknecht units wielded arquebuses and various types heavy artillery. Using new tactics, they soon earned the respect of their enemies.

Impregnable and impenetrable square constructions, bristling with pikes in all directions (copied from the Swiss), ranks of soldiers armed with new deadly arquebuses, and a mobile artillery system became the standard of these new deadly mercenary armies. The Landsknecht army inspired fear with its very appearance.
The Swiss mercenaries were formidable warriors who believed good enemy dead enemy. The Swiss reigned on the battlefield for about a century until new weapons were introduced - light cavalry and arquebuses, which for some reason they ignored. The Swiss supremacy in foot battles finally came to an end at the Battle of Bikoki. Under the command of Georg van Freundsberg, the Landsknecht contingent destroyed over 3,000 Swiss mercenaries using earthworks, exhausting attacks and a new weapon - arquebuses.

Landsknechts' clothing was the most decorated and provocative during the Renaissance. Landsknechts were free from regulating style and appearance clothing laws to which other citizens were subject - Maximilian granted them this liberation: "Their lives are so short and joyless that fine clothing is one of their few pleasures. I do not intend to take it away from them."

Their garments were famous for their "puff and slit" decoration, which resulted from cutting out the outer garments and stuffing the lower layers through these slits. Sleeves often puffed out theatrically, as did pants. Often their sleeves differed in color palette and puff contours, even from one another! The trouser legs were sometimes also different. They wore wide, flat hats of enormous size, often decorated with ostrich feathers. Some wore obscenely large pouches covering their genitals. Even their shoes were decorated in the split-and-puff style. The external effect often resulted in a sensation of distorted vision.

The puff-and-slit style in clothing was also adopted by other peoples, becoming regular type jewelry in some parts of Europe. The English nobility were partly fascinated by "puffs and slits." Henry VIII began to dress in this style after seeing the clothes of the landsknechts he hired; actually, famous portrait Henry VIII Hans Holbein depicts him in a camisole decorated with puffs and slits.
Other portraits of Henry show him wearing what appears to be a knee-length skirt; he adopted this style from the Germanic military skirts worn by some Landsknechts. Henry's son, Edward VI and Elizabeth I also dressed in this style.

Men who joined Landsknecht units usually brought with them a woman to take care of them - a sister, wife or daughter. These women were called "Hure" - literally translated as "whore" - but they were not prostitutes, only camp companions (Kampfrauen). They cared for the men between battles, and even participated partially in the battles themselves, following the fighters, robbing the dead and finishing off the dying. Some even helped the artillerymen, dismantling enemy houses for wood, which was later used in earthworks and fortifications.
Women also adopted the puff-and-slit style of clothing, although not to the same extent as men. Their hats were similar to men's. One characteristic aspect of women's attire was that they shortened their skirts, raising the hem several inches from dirty land and creating puffs from excess fabric around the hips.

The authority of the commanders in the mercenary regiments suffered to a large extent due to the fact that the soldiers knew that the colonel showed much more soldiers' cash than it actually was in order to appropriate it for himself keeping the dead shower. Quite often, on paper, units of mercenary troops were twice as numerous as in reality. In the event of a review, to replenish the strength of the regiment, hired people, usually servants, sometimes cross-dressing women.
The customs of the time did not allow, if such fraud was discovered, to impute it to the really guilty ones - the colonel and the captain, but the regulations required that the nose of the extra portraying the soldier be cut off so that he could not continue to work as a figurehead.

The life of a Landsknecht was not easy - punishments for breaking laws and regulations were swift and cruel, battles were bloody and terrible, and living conditions were usually uncomfortable. The main (and only) benefit was the payment: a landsknecht earned more per month than a farmer earned in a year. If he survived, he could retire rich.
The development of firearms caused the decline of the strength and glory of the Landsknechts - dense formations of pikemen. The wild, untamed clothing of the Landsknechts disappeared by the second half of the 16th century, and even the word "Landsknecht" itself gradually fell out of use, they were now called the Imperial Infantry (Kaiserliche Fussknecht). Thus ended one of the most famous periods in European military history.

Today's Switzerland is a rich and prosperous country, although a few centuries ago it was on the outskirts European civilization. However, even then the entire continent knew about the small mountainous state. There were two reasons: firstly, the famous local cheese, and secondly, the hired Swiss infantry, which terrified the armies of even the largest European countries.

Children of the mountains

The Swiss built their style of warfare on the basis of ancient experience. The mountainous terrain of the cantons was unsuitable for cavalry. But the linear infantry was very effective. As a result, to end of XIII century they invented a new version of the ancient Greek phalanx - the famous “battle”.

It was a square measuring 30, 40 or 50 warriors in width and depth. The first ranks were occupied by soldiers dressed in heavy armor and armed with pikes - long (3-5 meters) spears. Their head was protected by a helmet, their chest by a cuirass, and their legs by pauldrons and legguards. In general, the sight of such infantry bristling with spears was very threatening.

In the third row were riflemen with halberds. Behind them stood two more rows of halberdiers, but with longer peaks - about six meters. This battle formation, reminiscent of the Macedonian phalanx, allowed the mercenaries to successfully repel attacks from all sides. The most effective “battles” were against cavalry, including knightly cavalry.

The beginning of triumph

On a foreign military service Swiss mercenaries begin to appear in the 14th century. The noble Pisan Visconti family begins to hire them. Mercenaries are praised for their tenacity and loyalty.

Rumors of invincible warriors begin to spread throughout Europe. However, the Swiss experienced their first real triumph not in the battle with the opponents of the Pisans, but in the battle with French king Charles VII in 1444.

The monarch sent a 20,000-strong army to Switzerland. When the French reached the canton of Basel, a small detachment of 1,300 Swiss daredevils - mostly young pikemen - came out to meet them. A little later, they were joined by a couple hundred more volunteers from local residents.

The forces were too unequal: 20 thousand well-armed French under the command of the heir to the throne, Louis (son of Charles), and 1,500 Swiss. The king's subjects tried to attack them for several hours. However, the Swiss, bristling with pikes, successfully repelled all the attacks of the royal infantry and cavalry. As a result, they forced Louis to retreat in disgrace, leaving more than four thousand dead on the battlefield.

European glory

After a crushing defeat, the French begin to attract the Swiss into their service. Treaties were concluded between the king and the mercenaries (the first dates back to 1452), which could be extended an unlimited number of times.

The treaty of 1474 is noteworthy. It is known from it that King Louis XI (the same one whom the Swiss defeated in 1444) took upon himself to pay 20 thousand francs annually to the cantons, which, in turn, were supposed to provide soldiers to the monarch.

Thanks to the Swiss (by the end of the 15th century, five thousand mercenaries fought for the French), the inhabitants of Versailles were ultimately able to win the internecine war with the Dukes of Orleans. Subsequently, the number of “battlemen” at the royal court increased to 20 thousand people. They take part in all the wars waged by the kingdom: in Italy, with Spain, and also with the rebellious feudal principalities.

The mercenaries never showed weakness or cowardice; in all battles they were the most reliable fighting force that the king could rely on. It is no coincidence that the monarch’s personal guard will subsequently be organized at court - 100 Swiss with halberds.

All European rulers, including the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian, drew attention to the mercenaries from the cantons. They were attracted to the service by the Kingdom of Spain, the Netherlands, and even distant England.

Despite the fact that warriors from the cantons served many kings, they were famous for their absolute loyalty and incorruptibility. There was not a single case where the Swiss violated the treaty. But they demanded the same from the employer. If he violated the agreements, the Swiss could easily leave the battlefield.

Strong and reliable armor made them warriors who knew no fear. The mercenaries also became famous for their extraordinary cruelty. They almost never took prisoners, and if they left their enemies alive, it was only for further public execution.

Papal Defenders

In the 16th century the Swiss became personal guard Popes. In 1527, when German troops took the Eternal City, only 147 guards remained to cover the retreat of Pontiff Clement VII. Fighting with many times superior Landsknechts (several thousand people), the Swiss were killed every single one, but were able to ensure the safety of the Pope.

Also noteworthy is the episode of 1943, when troops entered Rome after the overthrow of Benito Mussolini Nazi Germany. Having replaced camisoles with field uniform, and halberds for rifles, the guards took up defensive positions around the papal residence in the Vatican.

As soon as the Germans appeared on the square, the Swiss shouted to them that they did not want bloodshed, but if something happened they would fight to the end. As a result, the Germans retreated, not daring to launch an assault. To this day, the personal security of the pontiff is provided by soldiers from the cantons.

In the 15th century it was considered the best in Europe. The Swiss revived the tactics of the Greek and Macedonian phalanx, based on coordinated actions in a dense attacking formation. The first ranks of the battle formation (battle) were made up of spearmen. Acting against the cavalry, the pikes were aimed only at the horses, and the horsemen, knocked out of the saddle, were attacked by the halberdiers. The Swiss, deftly wielding halberds, cut down knights in heavy and useless armor, armed with spears too long for close combat. The emergence of such tactics was the result of two centuries combat experience Swiss cantons, accumulated in the wars with the Germans. Only with the formation of the state union of “forest lands” (Schwyz, Uri and Unteralden) in 1291 with a single government and command, the famous Swiss “battle” could take shape.

The mountainous terrain did not allow the creation of strong cavalry, but the line infantry in combination with riflemen was brilliantly organized. It is not known who was the author of this system, but undoubtedly it was a person familiar with military history Greece, Macedonia and Rome. He used the previous experience of Flemish city militias using the phalanx. But the Swiss needed a battle formation that would allow the soldiers to repel enemy attacks from all sides. First of all, such tactics were intended to combat heavy cavalry. The battle was absolutely helpless against riflemen; organized infantry could successfully resist it. Its vulnerability to projectiles and arrows was explained by the fact that in the 14th century, solid metal armor of the Gothic type began to be used everywhere. Its fighting qualities were so high that warriors, both horse and foot, who had such equipment, little by little began to abandon large shields, replacing them without big size“fist” - convenient for fencing.

In order to pierce such armor as efficiently as possible, gunsmiths came up with new variants of weapons: godendags, war hammers, halberds... The fact is that short-shafted axes, axes, and coins for piercing solid armor did not have enough swing radius, therefore, their penetrating power was small, and in order to pierce a cuirass or helmet, it was necessary to deliver a whole series of blows (of course, there were very physically strong people who successfully used short-shafted weapons, but there were few of them). That's why they invented weapons shock action on a long shaft, which increased the radius of the blow and, accordingly, its strength, which was also facilitated by the fact that the warrior struck with two hands. This was an additional reason for abandoning the shields. The length of the pike also forced the fighter to manipulate it with both hands; for pikemen, the shield became a burden. For their own protection, unarmored infantry riflemen used large shields, forming them into a solid wall or acting individually.
Traditionally, the invention of the halberd is attributed to the Swiss. But in no country could such a weapon suddenly appear, right away. This requires long-term combat experience and a powerful production base, available only in large cities. Most favorable conditions to improve weapons at that time they were in Germany. The Swiss did not invent, but systematized the use of halberds and pikes in the ranks.

Sometimes the warriors inside the battle changed places, depending on the developing combat situation. The commander, to strengthen the frontal ramming attack, could remove the halberdiers from the third rank and transfer them to the rear. All six ranks of pikemen would then be deployed along the lines of the Macedonian phalanx. Warriors armed with halberds could also be in the fourth rank. This option was convenient when defending against attacking cavalry. In this case, the pikemen of the first rank knelt, sticking their pikes into the ground and pointing their tips towards the enemy horsemen, the 2nd and 3rd, 5th and 6th ranks struck, as described above, and the halberdiers, placed in the fourth rank, they had the opportunity to freely work with their weapons, without fear of interference from the first rank. In any case, the halberdier could reach the enemy only when he, having overcome the palisade of peaks, cut into the ranks of the battle. The halberdiers controlled the defensive functions of the formation, extinguishing the impulse of the attackers, while the attack was carried out by the pikemen. This order was repeated by all four sides of the battle.

Those in the center created pressure. Since they did not participate in hand-to-hand combat, they received the least pay. Their level of training was not high; poorly trained militias could be used here. In the center were the battle commander, standard bearers, drummers and trumpeters, who gave signals for this or that maneuver.
If the first two ranks of the battle could withstand enemy fire, then all the others were absolutely defenseless from overhead fire. Therefore, the line infantry simply needed cover from shooters - crossbowmen or archers, first on foot, and later on horseback. In the 15th century, arquebusers were added to them.
Swiss combat tactics were very flexible. They could fight not only as a battle, but also as a phalanx or wedge. Everything depended on the commander’s decision, terrain features and battle conditions. Your first baptism of fire the Swiss battle took place at Mount Morgarten (1315). The Swiss attacked the Austrian army, which was on the march, having previously disrupted its ranks with stones and logs dropped from above. The Austrians were defeated. In the battle of Laupen (1339), three battles took part, supporting each other. Here their excellent fighting qualities were demonstrated in a battle with the phalanx of the militia of the city of Freisburg, which was broken through by a battle that was not afraid of flanking. The heavy cavalry was unable to break through the Swiss battle formation. Carrying out scattered attacks, the horsemen were unable to break the formation. Each of them had to fend off blows from at least five people at once. First of all, the horse died, and the rider, having lost him, no longer posed a danger to the battle.
At Sempach (1386), Austrian cavalrymen tried to defeat the battle by dismounting. Having the best defensive equipment, they attacked the Swiss with a phalanx, probably in the corner of the formation, and almost broke through it, but the situation was saved by the second approaching battle, which struck the flank and rear of the Austrians; they fled.

Meanwhile, the successes of the Swiss should not be attributed only to weapons and close order. The social structure played a significant role in the high effectiveness of their fighting techniques. That's right, the pike was a fairly easy-to-handle weapon, especially when defending in close formation, and did not require special skills from the soldiers, but it was not the pike itself that determined the effectiveness of detachments of pikemen on the battlefield. The main factor was the cohesion of the detachment. Therefore, the Swiss made a lot of effort to form their internal cohesion of the team as a kind of microsociety.
Swiss spearmen were united in companies (“Haufen”), each with about two hundred people. The Haufen recruited residents of one region - cities and the villages surrounding them. The company was led by a Hauptmann, or captain, who was appointed by the city administration. The remaining officers were selected personnel. Therefore, the Haufen were units with well-developed internal connections and inseparable from the community or canton, of which they always remained a component - their military continuation. Such social intimacy motivated Swiss foot soldiers to acts of courage and self-sacrifice in the name of their comrades, and it is therefore not surprising that such units often fought to the last man. In addition, the importance of maintaining the integrity of the Haufen on the battlefield forced the Swiss not to spare their enemies, since otherwise they would have to allocate some people from the detachment to guard the prisoners. Social nature The structure of the Swiss “companies” affected the level of training of soldiers. Communities could begin military training V early age. So, say, at the end of the fifteenth century, a official school, where they taught spear fighting techniques.

On the battlefield, the Haufen were traditionally grouped in three columns. This organization goes back to the traditional medieval practice of dividing the army into three elements: the vanguard, the main shock detachment and the rearguard. For the Swiss, these three columns usually moved in echelon. However, the Swiss tactics were characterized by quick and decisive actions in order to force hand-to-hand combat on the enemy as quickly as possible.

Next to durability and reliability, the most formidable quality of the Swiss infantry was its speed of movement. There is no army “faster on the march and in formation for battle, because it is not overloaded with weapons” (Machiavelli).

As soon as the Swiss began to move, their enemy involuntarily had to take the fight, no matter what battle formations he was in at that moment. The Swiss tried to make it a rule to start the battle first and never allowed themselves to be attacked. The formation of their columns ended early in the morning on the eve of the battle, and the troops were sent to the battlefield already in battle formations. No delays were required to form battle formations; each battle moved towards the enemy at a uniform but rapid pace, covering the distance in an incredibly short time. The dense mass moved silently in perfect ranks in complete silence, until at the same time a mighty roar was heard and the battle rushed towards the enemy's line. There was something ominous in the speed of the Swiss advance: a whole forest of pikes and halberds was falling over the edge of the neighboring hill; the next moment, without changing his pace, he continues to move towards the enemy’s front line, and then - almost even before the latter realizes his position - the Swiss are already nearby, four ranks of sharp pikes are pushed forward, and new ranks of forces are rolling in from the rear in a line.

Ability fast movement, as Machiavelli noted, stemmed from the determination of the Swiss confederates not to burden themselves with heavy armor. Initially, this abstinence of theirs was explained only by poverty, but then it was established by the understanding that heavy armor would interfere in battle and impede the effectiveness of their national tactics. Therefore, the usual equipment of spearmen and halberdiers was light, consisting only of a steel helmet and breastplate. But even not everyone had such armor; many soldiers trusted weapons to protect themselves and wore only felt hats and leather vests. The use of armor that protected the back, arms and legs was generally completely inappropriate; The warriors dressed in this way were often not enough to form the first rank, where they were usually located. Only commanders were required to wear full armor; they were therefore obliged to ride on horseback on the march in order to keep up with their relatively lightly armed subordinates. Appearing in full view of the enemy, the commander dismounted and led his soldiers into the attack on foot.

Swiss infantryman's breastplate and helmet

The Swiss infantrymen were formidable warriors who considered a dead enemy a good enemy. The Swiss reigned on the battlefield for about a century until new weapons were introduced - light cavalry and arquebuses, which for some reason they ignored. The Swiss supremacy in foot battles finally came to an end at the Battle of Bikoki. Under the command of Georg van Freundsberg, the Landsknecht contingent destroyed over 3,000 Swiss mercenaries using earthworks, attrition charges and a new weapon, the arquebus.

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