Swiss tactics and organisation

The Swiss started with eight-foot halberds, but on emerging from their mountains had to turn to the pike to stop cavalry; originally ten foot, the Swiss pikes were enlarged to 18 foot in the early Italian Wars. In the attack they were characteristically held head-high, well forward from the butt, and with the point inclined down.

Throughout our period the Swiss remained pikemeh; many of them were without armour, but front rank men were usually well-protected, with open burgonet or pot-helmet, half or three-quarter armour, and often arm protection, including mail sleeves. They formed a deep pike phalanx, with the usual halberdiers guarding the colours and being used if the advance was halted. There were at least ten per cent of men with crossbows, or, from the 1490s on, with arquebusses, and these formed skirmishing screens in front or on the flanks of the pikes. When fighting on their own the Swiss used a larger proportion of other types of troops — at Morat in 1476 they had two cavalry to every five firearms, five pikes and five halberds; while when fighting the French in the early 16th Century they had 25 per cent arquebusiers and a few cavalry, half of them mounted arquebusiers, and a small number (four to eight) of cannon.

The pikes were normally formed into three very large columns (though at Bicocca there were only two) which could be of equal strength (at Bicocca 4,Q00 each) or widely different, according to circumstances. At Novara, 1513, there was a striking column of 6,000 and two small diversionary ones of 1,000 and 2,000 respectively.

Against infantry the Swiss nearly always took the offensive; their training gave them tremendous speed — they reckoned to charge artillery between the discharges and they liked to achieve surprise where possible, while the sight of that forest of spear-points coming down at a rush was often enough for the enemy. The columns went forward in echelon, one (not always the right) in advance, the others further back to guard its flanks and act as reserve. Leadership was professional rather than inspired, and the Swiss did not entirely adapt to the growing power of firearms and field defences; a bloody lesson from the French cannon at Marignano was followed by disaster in the sunken road at Bicocca, 1522.

An actual Swiss halberd of the late 15th or early 16th Century showing characteristic shape (Tower of London).

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Gewaltschaufen

A Swiss halberdier at Pavia, 1525. He wears a Lansknecht-type costume, including a short 'katzbalger' sword, b Swiss pikeman at Marignano, 1515. He wears tight striped hose like earlier Swiss, sallet with face protection, corselet and tassets. c Swiss armoured pikeman, also at Marignano. He wears a type of sallet with plumed beret-style cap partly covering it, and half-armour with tassets. d and e Swiss horn blowers from a battle picture of 1512. ‘d’ is Lucerne — horn white, red cord; clothing blue and white with white crosses; red scabbard, ‘e’ is Uri — horn white, red cords; clothing yellow and black with white cross. 1 Swiss soldier 1572 with pike and two-handed sword, g Swiss Guard, France, 1581. Cap black, pompoms white-blue-red. Doublet — white strip down front; right half red slashed blue, left half blue slashed red. Left sleeve blue with red stripes. Right sleeve white-blue-red, repeated. Forearm — left blue, right red. Codpiece red-white-blue. Left leg — front blue, red stripes, back probably reversed. Right leg blue-red-blue-white-blue-red-blue. Left stocking blue with red garter. Right stocking white, with red garter and stripe. Shoes black, h Sergeant of Papal Swiss Guard, with glaive, 1517. He wears a garment with baggy sleeves, square cut-away neckline (corselet beneath) and long skirt called a ‘Sajone’ which ivas worn throughout the first half of the 16th Century by the Swiss Guards, i Shows another Swiss Guard Sajone of 1511, in red and black.

Usual Swiss pattern of attack — three large pike columns in echelon.

Skirmishers

Nachhut

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Right Cent-Suisse standard, early 17th C. Blue with white cross. All detail gold except black writing, grey sea, natural faces. Central shields are blue (left) and red (right), while large crown has blue backing. Ribbon in bottom left and top right is red. (NB 'Est' is speculative.)

Swiss 16th Century flags, a Confederation flag, red and white, already in use in the 15th and 16th Centuries, b Zurich — blue and white, c Zug — blue and white, d Lucerne — blue and white, e Fribourg — biack and white. 1 Unterwalden, Solothurn — red and white, g Schaffhausen — yellow with black ram. h Uri — yellow with biack bull, red ring and eyes, i Appenzell — white with black bear, red tongue, j Berne — bear black on yellow, tongue and corners red. k Basle — white with red crozier. I Basle, as seen at Marignano — yellow with red crozier. m Glarus —red with monk in black habit, white face, hands and feet, brown stick, yellow bible and halo, n Schwyz —red with left-hand figure blue, right-hand green, white faces, gold halos, o Schwyz — red with gold canton, p Schwyz — plain red. In later times carried smali white cross, but not in this period, q Geneva — red and white, r Geneva — red and white, s Unknown, but also used at Marignano. Styles and details of all these Swiss flags seem to have varied a great deal. They are sometimes shown as ‘f with a shield imposed on the flag, t Papal flag used by Swiss at Marignano.

Bottom left A group of Swiss soldiers in equipment and fighting positions (Swiss National Museum, Zurich).

From then on the Swiss took a lower place, though they were still a valuable part of a balanced force.

Each Swiss column was made up of the forces sent by a number of Cantons — for example at Marignano; Nachhut — Lucerne, Basle and Schaffhausen; Gewalt-schaufen — The ‘Forest Cantons’, Uri, Unterwalden, Schwyz, Zug and the Grisons; Vorhut — Zurich, Appenstell and Glarus, St Gall.

Swiss companies appear to have been about 200 strong, commanded by a Captain (Hauptmann) and standard-bearer (Venner). Every contingent of 200 or over was entitled to carry its own flag. They had few officers and no NCOs; officers were elected. The Swiss were among the first troops to march in step to music, and had their own drums, etc; in battle they charged to the ‘frightening sound’ of their horns. The ‘Uri Bull’ and the ‘Unterwalden Cow’ were particularly famous, being probably auroch’s horns, handed down reputedly from Charlemagne’s day.

In French service, regimental organisation later developed, and by 1600 the Swiss units were of ten or 12 companies, each of 200 pikes, 30 muskets, and 30 arquebusses.