Pikemen are the backbone of the 17th-century army. Originally picked from the biggest and strongest men, they wore body armour and helmets, and carried a pike as their main weapon. The pike was an ash pole
16 - 18 feet (approximately 5 metres) long, with a steel spearpoint at the business end. Today's pikeman is as likely to be a woman as a man, and carries a rather less lethal pike. The musketeers provide ranged
fighting, whereas the pike block is the heavy assault force of the infantry, as well as providing a defensive 'hedgehog' for the musketeers and the officers when cavalry attack. |