Push Of Pike
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The push of pike was a particular feature of
Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
and
Early Modern warfare Early modern warfare is the era of warfare during early modern period following medieval warfare. It is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including art ...
that occurred when two opposing columns of pikemen (often Swiss Reisläufer or German Landsknechte) met and became locked in position along a front of interleaved pikes.


Shoving match

During push of pike, opposing blocks of pikemen would advance with their pikes "charged" horizontally at shoulder level to jab at one another until bodily contact was made. The two sides would then push physically until one or other of them gave way. The push of pike would continue until one of the opposing formations routed or fled, which would generally lead to massive casualties. Each man pressed on the one in front, and so sometimes the formations would crush against each other and many pikemen would have to fight in closer melee combat. The rear ranks would sometimes join the fray but their primary role was to add more weight to the push. Aside from getting impaled by enemy pikes, those in the front ranks died from getting crushed or suffocated due to the sheer number of bodies pressing from each side. The Italians referred to this as 'Bad War' after seeing Swiss pikemen become locked in heavy combat, where – because both formations refused to back down – both sides lost huge numbers of men in the bloody melee. There are instances when both sides agree to a break for a short rest then the pikemen resume their clash. Rodeleros along with the Doppelsöldner were used in order to break push of pike engagements. The push of pike still played a role in the
English civil war The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
; 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 A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that is in contact with the gunpowder through a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or Tri ...
gained dominance. Pikemen often cut down the lengths of their pikes in order to make them more manageable. This habit had on many occasions disastrous consequences as the side with the longest pikes had the advantage during push of pike. The push of pike was still crucial and it decided the outcome of many battles from the 14th to the early 18th century.


Battles involving push of pike

* Battle of Arbedo (1422)
Italian Wars The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts fought between 1494 and 1559, mostly in the Italian Peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and Mediterranean Sea. The primary belligerents were the House of Valois, Valois kings o ...
: *
Battle of Ravenna (1512) The Battle of Ravenna, fought on 11 April 1512, was a major battle of the War of the League of Cambrai. It pitted forces of the Holy League against France and their Ferrarese allies. Although the French and Ferrarese eliminated the Papal–Sp ...
* Battle of Novara (1513) * Battle of Pavia (1525) * Battle of Ceresole (1544) Marian civil war: * Battle of Langside (1568)
Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between the Habsburg Spain, Habsburg Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military expedition in 1585 to what was ...
: * Battle of Santo Domingo (1586)
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
: * Battle of Zutphen (1586) * Battle of Nieuwpoort (1600)
Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...
: * Battle of Stratton (1643) *
Battle of Inverlochy (1645) The Battle of Inverlochy occurred on 2 February 1645, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, when a Cavalier, Royalist force of Highlanders and Confederate Ireland, Confederate Irish troops under the overall command of James Graham, 1st Ma ...
* Battle of Torrington (1646) *
Battle of Dunbar (1650) The Battle of Dunbar was fought between the English New Model Army, under Oliver Cromwell, and a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark, David Leslie on 3 September 1650 near Dunbar, Scotland. The battle resulted in a d ...
Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...
: * Battle of Benburb (1646)


References

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External links

* Warfare of the early modern period Pikes (weapon) Late Middle Ages {{mil-hist-stub