Renaissance Reconnaissance, Part 3 - Box #6, #7 "Lotta Landsknechts!"

"Hut dich, hier komm ich!" -  Traditional chant of the Landsknechts. 

 

   Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian began the process of raising Landsknecht infantry in 1486. Primarily armed with the Pike, these were  supplemented by Doppelsoldner armed with Halberds and/or two-handed swords, plus crossbowmen (and later, arquebusiers). The Swiss first met the Landsknechts in battle at Dornach, July 22, 1499.Landsknechts were easily distinguishable by their flamboyant, typically outlandish clothing. In an era when commoners were prohibited by law from wearing colorful, gaudy or expensive attire, landsknechts were granted an imperial exemption. They wore oversized flat hats festooned with feathers and sported colorful clothing with “puff and slash” decoration. In particular, landsknechte favored huge sleeves of billowing fabric (puff) with long cuts (slashes) revealing underlying mismatched bright colors. These flashy costumes clearly set them apart from the era’s common soldier, which was exactly as the landsknechts intended.

 

For us wargamers, Landsknechts pose both a unique challenge and an opportunity Certainly there are no soldiers more evocative of the wars of the 16tgh century than the Landsknecht. As mercenaries, they could be found serving in most armies of the period, although their mortal enemies were the Swiss (and vice versa!). Units of flamboyant Landsknechts firmly set the time and place of a game, but most of us are somewhat intimidated by the parti-colored clothing and elaborate slashing

The figures are an eclectic mix of Hinchliffe and Old Glory. Still, I find that when approached one unit at a time, psinting them is manageable... and the end result well worth the effort!

32 pikes, 16 skirmish crossbowmen, 9 Skirmish Arquebusiers, 60 formed Arquebusiers.

The next box has the bulk of the Landsknecht foot, once again a mix of chiefly Hinchliffe and Old Glory figures. 

There are 148 pikes/halberdiers in the 7th box. 

Support troops are 12 MI Arquebusiers, 4 LI Arquebusiers, and 18 Doppelsöldner armed with Zweihänder (two handed swords), allegedly used to break into enemy pike formations. The veracity of this usage is suspect.