The demi-lancer or demilancer was a type of heavy cavalryman in Western Europe during the 16th and early 17th centuries.
The demi-lancer or demilancer was a type of heavy cavalryman in Western Europe during the 16th and early 17th centuries.
"Demi-lancer" was a term used in 16th-century military parlance, especially in England, to designate cavalrymen mounted on unarmoured horses, armed with a slightly lighter version of the heavy lance of a man-at-arms and wearing three-quarter or half-armour, in contrast to the full plate armour of the man-at-arms or gendarme, who rode barded mounts. The cuirass (torso armour) and pauldrons (shoulder protection) of the demi-lancer were intended to be at least pistol proof. An open-faced helmet, such as the burgonet, was often worn in place of the fully-enclosed close helmet. Armour for the leg and foot was replaced by long cuff-topped riding boots. In addition to the lance, the demi-lancer would have been armed with one or two wheellock or snaphance pistols carried in saddle holsters, and a sword (including Walloon swords and rapiers.) [1]
Demi-lancers were representative of the early modern trend of reducing the coverage of armour, while increasing its thickness to provide protection for the vital areas against the projectiles of gunpowder-based firearms of the time, such as the arquebus and, later, the musket. This abbreviated armour was also meant to increase the mobility of the men and horses, as well as reducing the expense of equipping and maintaining them throughout a long campaign. [1] In common with other 16th-century cavalrymen, demi-lancers were frequently used to strike the enemy's flank and to pursue routing troops.
Demi-lancers were prominent in the English troops who fought in the Dutch War of Independence, and were mobilised as part of the defences of England against the invasion threat posed by the Spanish Armada. In all 2,711 demi-lancers were raised in England in 1588, the year of the Armada. [2] The English demi-lancers were raised using the "Trained Band" system, and from the feudal levy on nobles and ecclesiastics. [3]
The demi-lancer was gradually replaced by similarly armoured cavalry whose primary armament were pistols; these cavalrymen were variously called pistoleers, cuirassiers, or Reiters . In addition, harquebusiers - cavalry with lighter armour using longer firearms, such as doglock carbines - began to appear on the battlefield. The trend towards the loss of the lance began in Germany in the mid-16th century; France had largely abandoned the lance by 1580, and England by 1600. The use of the heavy lance was still mentioned in military treatises up to the mid-17th century, but its actual use had died out well before that time.
The Battle of Coutras (20 October 1587) between the forces of Henry of Navarre and the Royalist force commanded by the Duc de Joyeuse during the French Wars of Religion illustrated the demise of the heavy lancer. Navarre's cavalry comprised 1,300 armoured pistoleers whilst the Royalists deployed 2,000 gendarmes. Within a few minutes of combat the Royalist lancers were routed, many being captured and held for ransom. [4] Only the Polish hussars continued to use a heavier type lance up to the late 18th century. The use of the lance required great skill and constant practice, whereas the use of pistols in battle was far less demanding. This is probably one factor behind the disappearance of the armoured lancer in Western Europe, another being the widespread adoption of the infantry pike. Lighter lances continued in use, especially in Poland, Russia and the Balkans, until their renaissance in the Napoleonic period.
Historically, cavalry are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in the roles of reconnaissance, screening, and skirmishing in many armies, or as heavy cavalry for decisive shock attacks in other armies. An individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations depending on era and tactics, such as a cavalryman, horseman, trooper, cataphract, knight, drabant, hussar, uhlan, mamluk, cuirassier, lancer, dragoon, or horse archer. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used other animals for mounts, such as camels or elephants. Infantry who moved on horseback, but dismounted to fight on foot, were known in the early 17th to the early 18th century as dragoons, a class of mounted infantry which in most armies later evolved into standard cavalry while retaining their historic designation.
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat with swords and firearms from horseback. While their use goes back to the late 16th century, dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the 17th and early 18th centuries; they provided greater mobility than regular infantry but were far less expensive than cavalry.
A lance is a long thrusting spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike similar weapons of the javelin and pike family typically used by infantry. Lances were often equipped with a vamplate, a small circular plate to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact, and beginning in the late 14th century, they were used in conjunction with a lance rest attached to the breastplate. Though best known as a military and sporting weapon carried by European knights and men-at-arms, the use of lances was widespread throughout Eastern Asia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa wherever suitable mounts were available. Lancers of the medieval period also carried secondary weapons such as swords, battle axes, war hammers, maces and daggers for use in hand-to-hand combat, since the lance was often a one-use-per-engagement weapon; assuming the lance survived the initial impact without breaking, it was often too long, heavy, and slow to be effective against opponents in a melee.
The Polish cavalry can trace its origins back to the days of medieval cavalry knights. Poland is mostly a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment. The knights and heavy cavalry gradually evolved into many different types of specialised mounted military formations, some of which heavily influenced western warfare and military science. This article details the evolution of Polish cavalry tactics, traditions and arms from the times of mounted knights and heavy winged hussars, through the times of light uhlans to mounted infantry equipped with ranged and mêlée weapons.
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of plates worn over mail suits during the 14th century.
Cuirassiers were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their lances and adopting pistols as their primary weapon. In the later part of the 17th century, the cuirassier lost his limb armour and subsequently wore only the cuirass, and sometimes a helmet. By this time, the sword or sabre had become his primary weapon, with pistols relegated to a secondary function.
A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully-armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a knight's or nobleman's retinue, or a mercenary in a company serving under a captain. Such men could serve for pay or through a feudal obligation. The terms knight and man-at-arms are often used interchangeably, but while all knights equipped for war were men-at-arms, not all men-at-arms were knights.
Uhlans were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Prussia, Saxony, and Austria-Hungary.
A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as 700 BC and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by heavy cavalry, but fell out of general use by the late 16th century, before its revival by light cavalry in the early 19th century.
The caracole or caracol is a turning maneuver on horseback in dressage and, previously, in military tactics.
The harquebusier was the most common form of cavalry found throughout Western Europe during the early to mid-17th century. Early harquebusiers were characterised by the use of a type of carbine called a "harquebus". In England, harquebusier was the technical name for this type of cavalry, though in everyday usage they were usually simply called 'cavalry' or 'horse'. In Germany they were often termed Ringerpferd, or sometimes Reiter, in Sweden they were called lätta ryttare.
Reiter or Schwarze Reiter were a type of cavalry in 16th to 17th century Central Europe including Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, and others.
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Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a tactical reserve; they are also often termed shock cavalry. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and historical period, heavy cavalry were generally mounted on large powerful warhorses, wore body armor, and armed with either lances, swords, maces, flails (disputed), battle axes, or war hammers; their mounts may also have been protected by barding. They were distinct from light cavalry, who were intended for raiding, reconnaissance, screening, skirmishing, patrolling, and tactical communications.
The Battle of Coutras, fought on 20 October 1587, was a major engagement in the French Religious Wars between a Huguenot (Protestant) army under Henry of Navarre and a royalist army led by Anne, Duke of Joyeuse. Henry of Navarre was victorious, and Joyeuse was killed while attempting to surrender.
For much of history, humans have used some form of cavalry for war and, as a result, cavalry tactics have evolved over time. Tactically, the main advantages of cavalry over infantry were greater mobility, a larger impact, and a higher riding position.
The Chevau-légers was a generic French name for units of light and medium cavalry.
A gendarme was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army from the Late Middle Ages to the early modern period. Heirs to the knights of French medieval feudal armies, French gendarmes enjoyed like their forefathers a great reputation and were regarded as one of the finest European heavy cavalry forces until the decline of chivalric ideals largely due to the ever-evolving developments in gunpowder technology. They provided the King of France with a potent regular force of armored lancers which, when properly employed, dominated late medieval and early modern battlefields. Their symbolic demise is generally considered to be the Battle of Pavia, which saw the gendarmes suffer a disastrous defeat and inversely confirmed the rise of the Spanish Tercios as the new dominant military force, leading to the preeminence of the House of Habsburg in 16th century Europe.
The Polish hussars, alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during a charge. The hussars ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776.
The secrete or secret, a French term adopted into English usage, was a type of helmet designed to be concealed beneath a hat.