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M162 - Landsknecht

ref. EK Castings Zinnfigur – M162 - Landsknecht

M162 - Landsknecht, 16e
Landsknecht (German Landsknecht.) - German mercenary infantry of the Renaissance. Mercenaries hired mostly of representatives of the lower class (the poor), as opposed to the Knights nobles, although the latter often occupied positions of senior officers in the units of mercenaries. In addition, the mercenaries were a kind of "German response" of the Swiss infantry. Like any mercenaries in war mercenaries did not shun robbery and robbery. It was believed that landsknecht earned in a month more than the farmer - for the year.
Landsknechts detachment is usually called the company that, in many European languages also means "company" (English company;. French compagnie;. IT compagnia;. Spanish compañía;. It Kompanie.). The number of these companies, in contrast to today's mouth could reach several hundred or even thousands of people. At the head of the company was the captain, who was a senior commander, as well as commercial manager of the company, in which the task was to find an employer to conclude a lucrative contract with him, and to distribute payments among the members of the company in accordance with their position and achievements. These leaders also called condottieri - from the Italian Condottiero - Commander. As condottieri were often representatives of the highest aristocracy. Sometimes the captain assigns itself of one or more assistants - lieutenants (from frantsuhskogo lieu tenant - Deputy). Depending on the size of the company it could break up into smaller units, led by commanders of lower rank - sergeants, corporals, sergeants.

Discipline in the company supported severe measures - corporal punishment (for non-fulfillment of the order), and in the case of serious crimes (fleeing from the battlefield) and death. Punishment appointed captain, and performed, usually before the general structure - they served as a means of educating not only the offense, but also the entire company. Looting of civilians or prisoners of war was not considered a great sin, and sometimes to storm the town was given a few days "to plunder" of the company, as a reward.

In spite of all the costs, hired armies of mercenaries in the expansion period of feudal society appeared to be more effective than the impact force of feudal armies - knightly cavalry, and during the XVI century. completely replaced the latter for the following reasons.
With the proliferation of firearms invulnerability knights, clad in armor, and the inaccessibility of their castles come to naught. "The gun killed feudalism" - a saying attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.
Knight's cavalry consisted mainly of representatives of the "noble" class, a relatively small, so the army of mercenaries, recruited from all social classes, the formation of the Knights surpassed in number, would be enough money from the employer and the professionalism of mercenaries knights did not concede.
Knights - the elite of the feudal society, had their power ambitions - they are indispensable participants in conspiracies and palace coups, and they often changed their overlord in favor of the pretender to the throne, while the mercenaries were only for the money and, as a rule (provided generous and regular fee), had no motive to participate in political intrigue, and therefore enjoyed great confidence of the monarchs.

Mercenary troops - mercenaries and Reiter were transitional link from konnnitsy chivalric Middle Ages to the regular armies of modern times, completed with recruits.


Clothing

costume with wide sleeves and pants. Huge hat with feathers. Landsknechts Clothing was the most decorated and the calling in of the Renaissance period. Mercenaries were free from regulatory style and appearance of garments law which governs other citizens - Maximilian gave them this liberation: "Their life is so short and bleak that gorgeous clothes - one of the few pleasures I'm not going to select it from them.". Their robes were famous for the decoration in the style of "puffs and cuts" which have arisen as a result of cutting the clothes and packing the lower layers through these incisions. The sleeves are often dramatically flared as pants. Often their sleeves varied palette of colors and contours even puffs from each other! Leg sometimes differed. They wore wide flat hats, huge size, often decorated with ostrich feathers. Some wore obscenely huge bags covering their genitals. Even their shoes were decorated in a style-and-puff cuts. Externalities often led to a sense of distortion.
Style "puff-and-cut" was also assimilated other peoples clothes, becoming a common type of decoration in some parts of Europe. The English nobility was partly fascinated "puffed and cuts." Henry VIII began to dress in this style after seeing the clothes they hired mercenaries; in fact, the famous portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein portrays him in the jacket, decorated with puffed sleeves and slits. Other portraits of Henry depict him wearing something looking like a skirt to the knee; he adopted the style of the German military skirts worn by some of the mercenaries. Henry's son, Edward VI and Elizabeth I also dressed in this style.

Since the battles often on both sides of the conflict were mercenaries who looked exactly the same, in order to distinguish "us" from "strangers" in the melee mercenaries belonging to the same company were wide ribbons of matter of the same color on the hat, as a bandage on the shoulder or sling over shoulder. This gave reason to call each company matching color band of mercenaries (from the German das Band - tape). And thanks to the behavior of mercenaries against civilians, the word "gang" in the European practice has acquired a new meaning - a stable armed criminal gang.


Weapons and armor

Landsknechts could be armed with the following types of weapons:

blade arms
zweihänder (two-handed sword)
Flamberge (two-handed or bastard sword with a blade wavy shape)
Koshkodor (short sword was often used as additional weapons to zweihänder or Flamberge)
Messer (two-handed saber)

Drevokovoe weapon
Lance
Halberd

Firearms
Harquebus
wheel-lock pistol (only for senior officers)