WEBVTT 1 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:25.160 Hello and Welcome to Western CIV Episode three hundred and 2 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:29.879 thirty one. And the Ottomans. Of course, it should go 3 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:33.320 without saying that one of the most pressing external threats 4 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:36.600 on the Holy Roman Empire in the Habsburg Lands were 5 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:40.280 the Ottomans. The Turks were one of those ever present 6 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:43.479 threats that tended to wax and weigh in importance depending 7 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.159 on how aggressive the present sultan was in the present 8 00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:51.359 state of the Empire and or Austria in general. As 9 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:55.520 we have already seen, different Catholic and Protestant kingdoms had 10 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.240 no issue allying themselves with the Islamic Ottoman state, felt 11 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:05.000 that doing so gave them an advantage. But the Ottomans 12 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:08.519 were also a kind of boogeyman that the Holy Roman 13 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.719 Emperor could point to every time they wanted to raise 14 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:17.439 taxes or for some kind of unity. But the Turkish 15 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:21.959 War that began in fifteen ninety three was different, and 16 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.359 that it was so long and so costly for both 17 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:33.159 sides and left the Habsburg state essentially financially and politically bankrupt. 18 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:38.879 That was Emperor Rudolph, who confidently began the conflict in 19 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:44.680 fifteen ninety three. The thirteen year struggle contributed to a 20 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:48.000 chain of problems that kept the Ottoman Empire out of 21 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:52.480 the Thirty Years War that ensured a relatively tranquil piece 22 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:57.519 for Hungary. With hindsight, this was undoubtedly a benefit for 23 00:01:57.560 --> 00:02:01.680 the Habsburgs, since it enabled them to concentrate on the 24 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:06.760 problems of the empire and their Western and Northern European emperies. However, 25 00:02:07.480 --> 00:02:10.879 this was by no means clear at the time, and 26 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:17.000 the Turkish menace remained a constant source of anxiety. Worse, 27 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:22.039 as I mentioned, the Turkish War left the Habsburgs financially bankrupt, 28 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:29.479 contributing to the outbreak of renewed conflict in sixteen eighteen. Now, look, 29 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:33.080 the Ottomans were the superpower of the early modern world. 30 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:37.639 Their empires stretched for two point three million square kilometers 31 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:42.680 across three continents. They had at least twenty two million inhabitants, 32 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:46.759 well over three times the number in the Habsburg monarchy. 33 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:51.840 Much of the initial impetus of the empire was lost, 34 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:53.960 as we know after the death of sule Mon the 35 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.080 Magnificent in fifteen sixty six, but it would be wrong 36 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:01.719 to categorize the Ottomans in decline. They remained at the 37 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:05.560 terror of Europe, associated by Protestants and Catholics alike with 38 00:03:05.639 --> 00:03:09.120 the scourge of gods and to punish a sinful mankind, 39 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:13.879 and viewed with a kind of mixture of awe and revulsion. Now, 40 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:17.879 the internal problems of the empire made the Ottomans frankly 41 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:23.039 more unpredictable in their actions, aiding to an already unstable 42 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.479 situation in Southeast Europe at the point where their empire 43 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:29.639 met that of the Habsburgs and the lands of the 44 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.599 Poles to the north. The war that broke out in 45 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:36.759 fifteen ninety three was essentially a struggle between these two powers, 46 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.520 the Habsburgs and the Ottomans. We're trying to extend influence 47 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:45.240 over the intervening region while denying access to their rivals. 48 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:48.199 Here we're really talking about a couple of key areas. 49 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.039 We're in the Balkans. We're talking about Serbia, Transylvania, Hungary. 50 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:56.639 To an extent, Hungary was already split into Habsburg and 51 00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:00.360 Ottoman spheres of influence. The Emperor controlled the north and 52 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:04.759 southwest along with Croatia, while the Sultan commanded the central 53 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:08.879 area and the southeast. Neither side had a clear position 54 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:11.919 in the region. The to the east of Hungary, which 55 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:16.279 was split into four principalities, all of which were nominally 56 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:19.759 at least under the control of the Turks, but pursuing 57 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:24.399 varying degrees of autonomy. The area along the northern shores 58 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:27.600 of the Black Sea belonged to the Crimean Tartars, the 59 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:31.560 long descendants of Djengis Khan. These had paid tribute to 60 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:36.399 the Ottomans since the later fifteenth century. They provided useful 61 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:41.319 auxiliaries for the Turkish armies, but they were largely left alone, 62 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:44.040 mostly because they served as a key buffer between the 63 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.120 Ottomans and the Russian Czar as we know. Further to 64 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:53.120 the northeast, the three Christian principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia and 65 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:56.519 Transylvania lay to the north and west of the Tartars. 66 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:01.240 They likewise paid tribute but were or open to influence 67 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:05.519 by Poland and Austria. The Poles wanted access to the 68 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:09.360 Black Sea and pushed into the area between Moldovia and 69 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:13.759 the Crimea. Polish influence grew pronounced in Moldovia during the 70 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:17.879 fifteen nineties, and they also worked within the internal and 71 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:23.240 domestic politics of Transylvania and Willachia. Of the three principal 72 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:28.279 and peripheral territories, Transylvania is by far the most significant 73 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:32.879 to our story. Transylvania had been a part of Hungary 74 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:37.279 until the fifteen forties. It was composed of four major 75 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:43.920 and several minor communities. Transylvania was an impoverished region. Over 76 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.720 half of its territory was blanketed in forest, and only 77 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.680 about a fifth of its total land was under cultivation. 78 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:52.720 In an era when. 79 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:57.000 Economic success was still driven by agriculture, those were bad 80 00:05:57.079 --> 00:06:01.360 places to start. Each of its communities was effectively an island, 81 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.600 cut off from the others because of said forests and 82 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:09.079 no shortage of mountains. As a result, it was impossible 83 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:14.160 for Transylvania to maintain a Western style standing army. But 84 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:21.240 Transylvania's terrain also made it extremely difficult to conquer. As 85 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:25.480 a consequence, both the Habsburgs and the Ottomans looked on 86 00:06:25.560 --> 00:06:29.519 the region as a potential buffer zone, though in reality 87 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:32.199 they wanted nothing more than to add it to their 88 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:38.600 respective empires. Now, from the Habsburg perspective, this was all 89 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:42.680 about defense, at least for the moment. To keep the 90 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:47.920 Ottomans at bay, the Habsburg essentially turned their Hungarian borders 91 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:53.160 and their periphery states into a militarized defensive zone. I 92 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.560 mean that this was about a forty mile deep swath 93 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:02.319 of territory that ran the entire border between the Hungarian 94 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:07.199 and Ottoman states. The heart of the defense were twelve 95 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:12.680 major and one hundred and thirty minor fortifications. By the 96 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:16.639 fifteen seventies, these posts were manned by no less than 97 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:23.439 twenty two thousand men who formed permanent garrisons. However, because 98 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:27.839 of financial constraints, the Habsburgs often had to rely on 99 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:32.279 local magnates to keep their defensive border in some form 100 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:35.800 of fighting shape. Now, before we go on to the 101 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:38.920 Turkish war itself, however, I want to spend a little 102 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:43.279 time breaking down early seventeenth century warfare so we can 103 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.759 understand how the coming conflict is going to be fought. 104 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.800 A long Turkish War saw the largest mobilization of troops 105 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:16.160 in the history of the Holy Roman Empire and really 106 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:19.680 the habsburg Lands at least since fifteen sixty eight. It 107 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:22.879 was the opportunity for many soldiers to gain experience of 108 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.319 major operations prior to sixteen eighteen. In that way, it 109 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:29.759 functioned a lot like the US Mexican War and the 110 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:32.159 lead up to the American Civil War. It was an 111 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:36.759 opportunity for many generals to try out new techniques and frankly, 112 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.639 to learn a lot about how warfare had changed. The 113 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.399 list of Rudolph's officers reads like a roll call of 114 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:47.320 senior generals of the first half of the Thirty Years War. 115 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.919 If we look at it. There were Germans, Austrians, but 116 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:55.080 there were also Italians and some Spaniards who participated in 117 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:58.080 the Turkish War and were also going to play major 118 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:02.399 roles to come in the Third Years War. The presence 119 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.679 of some of these outside figures has been largely overlooked 120 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:09.559 by military historians who concentrate on warfare and Western Europe 121 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:14.320 and underestimate the impact of the Turkish campaigns on subsequent developments. 122 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:18.519 This Western focus is kind of embedded in this concept 123 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:21.519 of what we call the military revolution, which has been 124 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:26.039 an accepted way of viewing early modern warfare. The proponents 125 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:30.159 of this approach stress Spain and the Dutch, as we've 126 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:33.799 talked about already in Sweden, as sort of the leading 127 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.919 stars of these new ways of fighting during the sixteenth century. 128 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:41.080 These are new ways that rely on gunpowder, weaponry wielded 129 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:46.559 by large disciplined units. Innovations and tactics and strategy allegedly 130 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:50.440 made warfare more decisive, as well as increasing its scale 131 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:54.399 and impact, and state and economy developments you could fit 132 00:09:54.440 --> 00:09:57.240 into sequence with one power replacing another as the most 133 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:02.200 efficient war maker. Beginning, we have the Spanish, whose predominance 134 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:05.759 gets shaken first by the Dutch, who develop a more 135 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:10.080 flexible military system, and then later on Sweden, which improves 136 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:14.279 upon than, of course, financially, which France is going to 137 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:19.039 perfect in the later seventeenth century. There's been little attention 138 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:22.120 paid to the Imperial forces during the Thirty Years War 139 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:26.080 because they're often perceived to have clung to the obsolete 140 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:29.559 Spanish system of the past that is associated with essentially 141 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:34.399 positional warfare. In fact, Spanish ways of fighting often proved 142 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:38.159 successful and were in constant evolution rather than being static. 143 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:42.080 Methods that were developed from the fifteen seventies to deal 144 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:44.799 with the Dutch were also very effective against the Turks, 145 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:51.360 who likewise frequently evaded battle and sheltered behind fortifications. However, 146 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:54.960 the Hungarian theater of war encouraged its own practices that 147 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:58.440 influenced how armies would fight later on in Germany, so 148 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.840 it's more appropriate I think if we take a step 149 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:04.600 back and we look at a macro level of fighting 150 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:08.200 in the Holy Roman Empire in this era as really 151 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:12.159 a combination of a bunch of different styles, rather than 152 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:16.480 as a one size fits all approach. The Spanish style 153 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:21.080 developed following the Real Military Revolution in the sense of 154 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:26.000 a largely technologically driven change in warfare. This is the 155 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:30.360 time period between fourteen seventy and fifteen twenty that really 156 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:35.759 saw the widespread adoption of handheld firearms by both cavalry 157 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:40.320 and infantry, and their combination with new shock tactics by 158 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:45.960 large discipline bodies of troops. These developments, in turn, sprang 159 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:50.559 from changes in metallurgy and gunpowder milling that made firearms 160 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:54.440 truly effective for the first time in Europe. Relatively rapid 161 00:11:54.440 --> 00:11:59.679 improvements followed in both handguns and cannon that forced commanders 162 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:02.360 to re think their use of these weapons. Guns and 163 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:05.600 artillery were deployed on a larger scale in battle, and 164 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:10.000 were combined with existing weapons in new offensive and defensive tactics. 165 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:14.360 The pace of technological change slowed from the mid sixteenth century, 166 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:18.559 by which time all basic weapons had appeared, while further 167 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:24.279 developments were restricted by manufacturing problems. For example, cannon production 168 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:29.519 lagged considerably behind ballistic theory because gun foundries were unable 169 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:34.000 to deliver pieces that matched the potential that mathematicians had calculated. 170 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:38.679 It proved difficult to bore a straight tube in a 171 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:43.879 solid barrel before the mid seventeenth century. Instead, the canons 172 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:47.320 that we're going to see used iron rod coated with clay, 173 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:50.759 horsehair and manure. That bore was covered with a mixture 174 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:54.120 of molten copper, tin, lead, and brass, and the mold 175 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:57.679 would form essentially a bronze barrel. The core was then 176 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.279 removed and a drill used to finish the to the 177 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:03.360 required caliber and a method that was time consuming and 178 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:10.799 by no means reliable. There was amazing variety of heavy guns, 179 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.960 but they essentially fell into two types. There were cannons. 180 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:18.240 These are short barreled, thin walled pieces, firing round shot, 181 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:21.679 usually between about twenty five to seventy five pounds. They 182 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:26.519 were used mostly to attack fortifications. These guns were extremely 183 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.320 heavy and were required more than ten horses or more 184 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:33.919 to move them into position. Then there were the so 185 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:39.399 called culverins. These were long barreled thicker, tubed weapons. These 186 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:42.519 were safer to use and had greater range and accuracy. 187 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:46.039 They had stronger barrels that required more metal, making them 188 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:50.159 generally twice as heavy as cannons firing shots of equivalent weight. 189 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:54.559 These tended to be used for six to twelve pound 190 00:13:54.679 --> 00:13:59.000 cannon balls. They were produced in smaller pieces, and they 191 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:02.639 could be pulled into position by as few as two horses. 192 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.679 These guns were supplemented for siege work by mortars, which 193 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:11.200 were short, stubby guns that could fire shot in a large, 194 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:17.120 overarching ballistic fashion. Beginning in the seventeenth century, fire and 195 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:21.240 arms started to diverge into cavalry pistols and muskets for 196 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:25.519 infantry men. Muskets were around four feet long in the 197 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:28.360 seventeenth century and had a firing range of around two 198 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:33.159 hundred and fifty yards. The effective range of a shot 199 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:36.320 which it would do actual damage, however, was less than 200 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:40.360 half of that. There were heavier weapons with a longer range, 201 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:44.039 but those generally required some sort of stand to hold it, 202 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:50.759 which of course limited mobility. Muskets typically used newer flint 203 00:14:50.759 --> 00:14:54.559 locks to fire, while hand goods or pistols used mechanical 204 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:59.519 wheel locks. Contemporary drill books convey a false image that 205 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.919 it elect abate sequence of hand, arm and body movements 206 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:07.759 were all necessary to load and fire a musket. In fact, 207 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:12.399 the carefully itemized movements reflected the prevailing scientific concern to 208 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:16.960 fix and understand human movement rather than an actual practice. 209 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.840 The most complicated maneuver was the countermarch, intended to provide 210 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:24.879 continuous fire during an advance or a retreat. Each rank 211 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:28.480 had to fire in turn. Those who had just discharged 212 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:32.399 their weapons remained stationary to reload, while the next line 213 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:35.279 stepped through the gaps in each man to take his turn. 214 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.120 By the time the last line had. 215 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:41.000 Fired, those who had shot first would have reloaded and 216 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:45.240 could move forward. This was modified around fifteen ninety five 217 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:48.519 so that men stood in blocks of five, peeling off 218 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:51.679 as their group went right or left once they had fired, 219 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:54.240 so as to reduce the number of gaps required in 220 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:58.679 the line. Arquebuses and lighter muskets took around a minute 221 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:02.840 to load, require bring fewer ranks to maintain confinuous fire 222 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:06.879 than heavier muskets that needed up to three minutes to reload. 223 00:16:08.120 --> 00:16:11.879 The Dutch practiced the retiring counter march enabling them to 224 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:14.799 fire while avoiding contact with the approaching enemy. 225 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:17.320 Well trained, motivated. 226 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.600 Troops could cover up to forty meters a minute with 227 00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:23.120 an advancing counter march at about half of that if retreating. 228 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:27.559 The system could be also used while stationary, with each 229 00:16:27.639 --> 00:16:30.279 man peeling off to the rear once he had fired, 230 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:33.679 and the soldier behind him stepping into his place to fire. 231 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:38.360 The Dutch deployed in only ten ranks, accepting lighter firearms 232 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:42.080 as a consequence, so as to keep these movements relatively simple. 233 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:46.799 The Spanish preferred much deeper formations of ten two fifteen, 234 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.279 as much as sometimes even twenty five ranks, and appeared 235 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:52.279 to have let their men fire in their own time, 236 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:55.639 simply ignoring those with lighter, quicker firing weapons nearer. 237 00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:55.919 To the front. 238 00:16:57.080 --> 00:17:02.000 Musketeers also carried short sores for peronnual protection, either a 239 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:05.640 tuck for stabbing or a heavier weapon called a hangar 240 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:09.680 for cutting. Most were of poor quality that bent or blunted, 241 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:14.400 so when meles did happen, they were largely fought by 242 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:18.319 simply inverting the musket and using the heavy angled stock 243 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:22.720 as a club. It was considered best practice by the 244 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:27.319 seventeenth century to combine musket men with pikemen to defend 245 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:30.359 the formation against a charge while the musket men were 246 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:35.440 reloading the formation when the pikes were presented, would quite frankly, 247 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:39.839 have looked not much different than Alexander the Great's phalanx 248 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:45.119 about nineteen hundred years earlier. The seventeenth century is also 249 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:48.920 when we see armies develop uniforms for the first time. 250 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:53.200 The Swedes are usually given credit for that innovation, though 251 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:57.400 it appears that Germans were using uniforms prior to sixteen eighteen. 252 00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:03.039 When the Thirty Years War erupted, two states effectively set 253 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:07.720 the standard for formation and tactics heading into our conflict, 254 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:13.960 the Spanish and the Dutch. The large square formation that 255 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:17.279 became known as the tercero, after the term used by 256 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:21.559 the Spanish for their infantry formations. The thinner, longer Dutch 257 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:27.480 formation became known as the battalion. It's become historical convention 258 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:31.960 to see the Dutch formation as inherently superior to the Spanish, 259 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:35.880 not the least because of its association with firearms that 260 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:40.359 have appeared to later generations as more obviously advanced than 261 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.920 Pike's weapons, of course, first used by the ancient Greeks. 262 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:49.240 This distinction is not accurate, nor does it correspond to 263 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:53.240 sixteenth century military thinking that drew directly on the ancient 264 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:58.440 world for its inspiration. The deeper block formation offered better 265 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:02.279 all around fighting ability than the thinner Dutch lines, where 266 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.440 each unit relied on its neighbor standing firm or its 267 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:07.599 vulnerable flanks would be exposed if the. 268 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:08.400 Enemy broke through. 269 00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:12.319 Though only the first five ranks of their tersero could 270 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:15.440 fire at any one time, the presence of another ten 271 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:18.319 or more men behind stiffened the resolve of those in 272 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:20.839 the front, or at least it made it a lot 273 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:21.920 harder for them to run away. 274 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:24.319 The unit assumed a. 275 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:27.799 More imposing presence on the battlefield, something that was a 276 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:30.920 considerable advantage as it bore down on a foe that 277 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:34.680 might be wavering in their morale. In an age of 278 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:38.400 black powder, the battlefield was soon filled with smoke, making 279 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:41.519 it extremely difficult for commanders to see what was happening. 280 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:45.559 It was easier to lose control of long, thin lines 281 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.920 composed of smaller but more numerous battalions than a deployment 282 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:55.119 of fewer, larger terseros. These could be positioned in echelon 283 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:58.720 which means they're diagonally positioned in sort of a checkerboard 284 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.839 fashion about two hundred meters apart. If one became detached 285 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:04.960 or separated, it was big enough that it could just 286 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:06.880 fight on its own until it was rescued. 287 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:09.680 Now by fifteen. 288 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:13.400 Ninety, cavalry had evolved into five distinct types in an 289 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:17.519 effort to address the different tactical rolls of shock, firepower, 290 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:22.720 and reconnaissance. Shock tactics exploited the physical and psychological impact 291 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:26.880 of a charge by heavily armored and armed horsemen riding 292 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:32.160 large horses. Cavalry mounts were around sixteen hands that's how 293 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:35.680 you measure a horse high, weighing up to almost four 294 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:39.599 hundred and fifty pounds, and could gallop at nearly thirty 295 00:20:39.640 --> 00:20:42.119 five miles per hour, though the way to the rider 296 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:45.279 meant that those attacks were delivered at a much much 297 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:49.480 slower pace than that. Horses were conditioned by being exercised 298 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:52.839 and field full of blazing straw and heaps of rotting 299 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:55.279 meat to get them used to the sites and smells 300 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:58.759 of the battlefield. They were also trained to kick and 301 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:04.240 maneuver in formation at various gates. As a result of 302 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:08.720 changing tactics. Two types of heavy cavalry evolved. One was 303 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:11.720 the lancer, which is kind of what it sounds like. 304 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:16.599 These were quasi armored, knight like fighters who carried heavy 305 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:20.480 steel tipped wooden lances capable of executing the kind of 306 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:24.359 charge that heavy cavalry had been doing for centuries. 307 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:27.640 The other type was the curisser. 308 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:32.480 These armored riders were identical to lancers, but used long 309 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:38.920 slashing swords instead. Both types carried pistols. These were now 310 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:43.400 becoming just as revolutionary to cavalry as muskets were to infantry. 311 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:48.200 German cavalry troops had developed the carricle tactic as early 312 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:51.799 as the fifteen thirties. For this, successive ranks would trot 313 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:55.759 within range, fire and then ride back to reload, sacrificing 314 00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:59.720 the psychological impact of shock tactics to the accumulation of 315 00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:03.799 figher power. The carricle was less tiring on horses and 316 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:07.240 required less resolve from soldiers than a charge, since men 317 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.279 did not need to close with the opponents. Even men 318 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:13.319 trained to charge home with cold steel would often panic 319 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:16.880 and break off their attack about ten meters from their targets, 320 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:20.279 quote bouncing back to their starting positions. According to one 321 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:25.119 source end quote. This explains why contemporary accounts speak of 322 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:29.440 repeated charges by the same unit in battle. The desire 323 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:32.920 to improve mounted firepower led to a third type of 324 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:37.240 I guess we call medium power cavalrymen called the caribiner 325 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:41.319 or arquebuser, equipped with a large arquebus or caribbeine within 326 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:46.119 greater range and penetrating power than the kystol. These generally 327 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:49.480 were less armor, usually no more than a helmet, may 328 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:52.799 be a breastplate to coat, boots and gauntlets. They rode 329 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.279 smaller horses, which were cheaper to raise. They carried two 330 00:22:56.279 --> 00:22:58.680 pistols and a sword as well, so they could be 331 00:22:58.759 --> 00:23:03.680 used with shock tactics, and consequently gradually replaced more expensive 332 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:08.559 curisers and lancers. By about sixteen thirty. Many regiments were 333 00:23:08.599 --> 00:23:11.799 composed of a mix of curissers and arquebussers into the 334 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:15.079 sixteen twenties, with the former deployed in the front ranks 335 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:18.519 if the unit made a charge. The fourth type of 336 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:22.680 cavalry was a form of mounted infantry called dragoons, who 337 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:26.240 rode light horses or ponies and generally lacked any armor, 338 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:28.759 including the high boots that were difficult to walk in. 339 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:33.279 Dragoons were a mix of pikemen and shot, using their 340 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:37.799 mounts for rapid movements to stiffen scouting parties, to support infantry. 341 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:41.799 Skirmishers sent forward to secure key positions or occasionally to 342 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:45.400 turn the enemy flank. The last type was often employed 343 00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:49.200 on similar tasks, but remained mounted to fight. These light 344 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:54.240 cavalry were most numerous in the Hungarian, Polish and Transylvanian armies. 345 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:57.799 Then where there were the last groups that I want 346 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:02.799 to briefly mention, and those are the Cossacks. Cossacks were 347 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:06.960 an ethnic group centered around what is today southern Poland 348 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:12.359 and Ukraine. They were light armored and carried lances. Cossacks 349 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:17.000 made up around one fifth of all imperial cavalry. While 350 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:19.440 they do not play a large role in the Thirty 351 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:23.359 Years War, they will play an increasingly important role in 352 00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:26.640 our Eastern European story going forward. So I wanted to 353 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:31.400 mention them now. Now, the primary unit of military organization 354 00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:36.039 for both infantry and cavalry was the regiment. The regiment 355 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:39.000 was made up of companies, and in the Empire these 356 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:43.200 were still called banners, a holdover from the old medieval period. 357 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:48.799 Companies were organized based on recruiting needs, not around tactics 358 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:53.680 or strategy. Captains were contracted by local rulers to raise 359 00:24:53.720 --> 00:24:57.920 companies based on the needs of the region. These companies 360 00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:03.160 then formed together larger regiments. Interestingly, the military hierarchy of 361 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:06.519 the twenty first century was relatively in place already by 362 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:10.920 the year sixteen hundred. There were generals, colonels, captains, lieutenants 363 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:14.839 of various kinds, and majors. Now, colonels and captains did 364 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:17.519 most of the heavy lifting because they did most of 365 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:22.000 the recruiting. Spanish and Imperial colonels recruited regiments of around 366 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:24.839 two to three thousand infantry and maybe a thousand horse. 367 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:28.319 From there, these groups would be broken down in different 368 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:34.279 amounts based upon tactical considerations. Battles hacked sought to combine 369 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:39.400 the three main military arms, cannon, musketers, and then of cavalry. 370 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:43.839 Battles generally opened with a cannonade at under a thousand paces, 371 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:48.039 while skirmishers went forward to probe and test the enemy position. 372 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:51.079 These moves bought time for the rest of troops to 373 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:54.359 assemble and could be used simply to delay an enemy 374 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:57.880 while the army made good an escape. The preference for 375 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:02.039 large infantry formations kept up deployment relatively varied, since these 376 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:05.640 could be interspersed with artillery and cavalry in different patterns 377 00:26:05.799 --> 00:26:10.119 according to the terrain and the commander's intentions. Dutch style 378 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:14.920 firing tactics became increasingly influential, and so the infantry tended 379 00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:17.359 to be massed in the center in one or more 380 00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:21.400 continuous line, with only narrow gaps between each battalion to 381 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:26.599 prevent enemy cavalry from striking the vulnerable flanks. Second and 382 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:30.440 subsequent lines were kept usually between let's say, about one 383 00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:33.319 hundred or three hundred yards behind the first. If there 384 00:26:33.319 --> 00:26:36.359 were any closer, they risked shooting their comrades in the back, 385 00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:39.720 but any further back it would be too far away 386 00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:43.240 to assist in the event of a crisis. This linear 387 00:26:43.319 --> 00:26:46.839 tactic encouraged commanders to place their cavalry on the wings 388 00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:49.799 of the infantry lines, in a manner that became standard 389 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:54.400 in later seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Full adoption of linear 390 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:58.160 tactics was inhibited by doubts about the relative merits of 391 00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:02.319 firepower over the old charge, and of course, by the 392 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:05.920 conditions in Eastern Europe were the Turks and others employed 393 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:10.839 more flexible, enveloping tactics, using large numbers of light troops. 394 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:15.519 Imperial generals operating in Hungary relied on earthworks or wagons 395 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:20.079 and other movable defenses to protect their foot soldiers. Generally, 396 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:24.200 each of the three arms fought against its mirror counterpart. 397 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:28.200 The artillery sought to take out the enemy heavy guns 398 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:31.000 before its own troops move forward and obscured the feel 399 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:34.720 of fire. The cavalry, of course, would engage the opposing horse, 400 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:36.960 trying to drive them from the field and expose the 401 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:40.000