The Landsknechts, Vol. 58 Book

Even most students of military history might have to stop and think if they came across the German term in the title. It originally meant "servant of the land" but the spelling often was changed to Lanzknecht -- "servant of the lance" -- and what it refers to is the mercenary pikeman of the early 16th century, especially as employed by Emperors Maximilian I and Charles V against their enemies in central Europe. The mercenary companies of this period and place didn't operate the same way as the Italian condottieri, though. They weren't available for hire to anyone with the money to pay them but rather were raised ad hoc and as needed for service to the emperor alone. While they often carried two-handed swords and halberds and various other weapons, their primary arm was the Swiss-style pike, which was as much as eighteen feet long. (I can't even imagine efficiently manipulating something that size.) As auxiliary weapons, the crossbow gradually gave way to the portable firearm, and artillery of primitive design also was added. The text is excellent in describing the development of the Landsknechts and their most important international campaigns, which included both notable successes and serious failures. They disappeared mostly because of the emperor's growing inability to pay them (the mercenaries' motto was "no money, no men") and their eventual replacement by conscripted foot soldiers. Given the fact that this book was first published more than thirty-five years ago and simply reprinted since without updates, I suspect the interpretations Miller draws from the sources are now a bit outdated.

One of the selling points of Osprey's books, of course, is the section of color plates showing uniforms and insignia, but in this case the term should be "costume." There was no uniformity at all and the gaudy and garish outfits depicted again seem very inefficient. Officers (and their mounts) might own elaborate sectional armor but the typical infantryman was lucky to possess a breastplate. But they certainly had a sense of theater.