Landsknecht

Landsknecht, German mercenary pikeman of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. At the height of their success, the Landsknechte ranked among the most-effective foot soldiers in the world. Though there is no consensus on the origins of the word Landsknecht, it likely meant “servant of the land.”

The Landsknechte—like their predecessors and bitter rivals, the Reisläufer (Swiss mercenaries who pioneered early Renaissance tactics)—fought in phalanxes of pike. Integrating mobility with shock, their squares of hundreds of pikemen and halberdiers could rebuff heavy cavalry charges, allowing the artisans and peasants who made up the squares to take down knights. The weight of those tight disciplined formations pressed down on opponents, transforming the pike square into a weapon in its own right.

After the battles of Morat (1476) and Nancy (1477) demonstrated the effectiveness of Swiss tactics, Maximilian I created the Landsknechte in imitation of the Reisläufer. Constantly at war, Maximilian recruited Reisläufer to train his soldiers, who previously had a weak reputation. The Landsknechte were further strengthened in organization by Georg von Frundsberg, the German soldier and devoted servant of the Habsburgs called the “Father of the Landsknechte.”

Landsknechte came from all walks of life; they were German peasants, artisans, nobles, and criminals. Some fought because of financial need, and some for adventure and plunder, some because their lords levied soldiers. They participated in numerous conflicts, including military responses to revolts in the Netherlands, uprisings for Swiss independence and Swedish independence, the Italian Wars (1494–1559), the Peasants’ War (1524–25), the Landshut War of Succession (1504), the Siege of Vienna (1529), Spanish conquests in the Americas, and the 16th-century European religious wars. Hundreds and thousands of sutlers, laundresses, cobblers, prostitutes, cooks, and baggage boys trailed and supplied Landsknecht armies.

Landsknechte fought for anyone, and they also fought against anyone, including their own lords. They elected many of their own officers, and they carried out military justice. Such independence and participation in their own government made them more difficult to control than other mercenaries. Likely to mutiny if pay was not forthcoming, they were known to abandon the field, force a fight to end a prolonged siege, or, as was the case of the Sack of Rome (1527), take their pay in plunder. From the late 15th century through the first decades of the 16th century, Landsknechte enjoyed elevated status, bargaining power, and a knightly honour unusual for foot soldiers. They were exempt from sumptuary laws, and scholars speculate that the billowing slashed doublets favoured by the Landsknechte may have influenced Renaissance fashion.

By the middle of the 16th century, underemployment and a population explosion in Europe had pushed additional men into their ranks, driving down their status and pay. Roving bands of unemployed Landsknechte menaced Europe; persistently disloyal, they lost their appeal to the lords and rulers who might employ them. With increased reliance on gunpowder, commanders gradually abandoned pike squares in favour of shallower formations, and by the close of the 16th century the Landsknechte were no more.