Pikemen had been a vital part of all infantry formations, protecting musketeers from cavalry and being the “shock” element in melee combat. Sending men into battle with an obsolescent weapon is better than sending them forward with nothing at all.īy 1700, most European generals realised that the pike and pikemen were hopelessly outdated and outclassed on a modern battlefield. Pikemen still march into battle because not every European nation can afford (or find) enough guns for everyone. Pikes are not without their uses: a solid wall of spear points is a formidable barrier to any cavalry attack. Pikemen are shock troops, relying on mass and impact in melee. Pikemen carry long spears of a type that would have been familiar to the soldiers of Alexander the Great.ĭespite the fact that firepower is the key to battle, “trailing a pike” into battle is more gentlemanly than carrying a gun.
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