Pikemen

To start this blog off, here are my current pike units - at the time of posting I have three, with plans for a fourth.

In the late 15th century the pike came to be the dominant infantry weapon in European warfare. It was most famously associated with the Swiss, and was also used by the Flemish and Germans. The Swiss had famously defeated Charles the Bold's armies with their massed pikemen, after which they served as mercenaries on both sides of the succession conflict. Interestingly soon after being responsible for his death they were found in the County of Burgundy fighting for his daughter Mary. The Swiss had agreements and treaties with both France and the Franche-Comté, and whilst the cantonal governments seemed to want to preserve peace, the soldiers themselves were just happy to find work. They were first recruited by the Prince of Orange to fight for the Burgundian cause in 1477, but the next year they were persuaded to enter French service instead.

Maximilian brought German mercenaries with him when he entered the Low Countries, some of whom may have been Swiss (sometimes the Swiss are referred to as Germans in sources). The Flemish provided him with armies to fight the French in the initial stages of the war, though later they were more often opposed to his rule. At the battle of Guinegate (1479) Maximilian's army was mostly comprised of Flemish pikemen, though it also featured German/Swiss infantry. In later years armies were also raised in the duchy of Brabant, presumably based on a core of pikemen.

My idea for these pike units is that they can represent multiple nationalities - German, Swiss, Flemish or Brabantine. They can also be used for Swiss fighting in French service, and perhaps further down the line as rebels from Liège or Holland. For this reason the standard bearers are on separate bases so they can be switched out.

There is one large unit of fifty (five ranks of ten), which is the most Swiss-looking in appearance (basically meaning more feathers). They will be used mostly as Swiss or Germans. The other two smaller units of forty (in four ranks of ten) I've tried to keep looking a bit more generic, so they can pass as Flemish or Brabantines more easily.

The flags are variations of the ragged saltire of St Andrew, which was used by the both the Valois Burgundian dukes and their Hapsburg successors, and in turn was inherited by the Spanish years later.

The units are mostly made up of metal figures from the Perry Miniatures 'European Armies' range, with lots of headswaps to avoid duplicates. Mixed in with these are some metal multi-part 'Swiss front rankers' from Steel Fist miniatures, a few from the Wargames Foundry range of Swiss, and even a few converted Old Glory figures. Some are conversions featuring parts from all these ranges.

And here is the large Swiss unit under a French flag, plus details of the different standard bearer options - in the future I plan to do others, including flags for Flanders and Brabant.