Divisions of Foot on the flanks of any one Division of Horse then the Commander of the Division of Horse that is to march between two Divisions of Foot must be in a readiness to Charge the Enemies Horse that hath routed his Foot either with part of his Division of Horse or the whole as he seeth occasion or as he may with convenience That your intention of fighting Foot amongst the Horse may not be discovered by your Enemy who hath not been used to the like Discipline or at least that he may not know the way and order that you intend to fight your Foot in let your Divisions of Foot which are to fight on the flanks of your Horse in a day of Battel as you see them in the two former figures let I say the two Divisions of Foot which belong to each Division of Horse march in the reer of the Divisions of Horse as you see them in the foregoing figure till they come within Musquet-shot of their Enemies Horse then draw up the two Divisions of Foot the one on the one flank of a Division of Horse and the other on the other flank of the same Division of Horse in the same order as you see them in this foregoing figure CHAP. XIV VVhat Strength each Division of Horse ought to be from three thousand to ten thousand to fight on the flanks of a Body of Foot in a day of Battel if you will have no Foot to fight amongst the Horse IF your strength of Horse be three thousand and if they be to fight on the flanks of a Body of Foot in a day of Battel without Foot to fight amongst them then each Division of Horse ought to be thirty in front three deep and ninety in a Division If your strength of Horse be four thousand then the strength of each Division of Horse ought to be an hundred and twenty forty in front and three deep If your strength of Horse be five thousand then each Division of Horse ought to be an hundred and fifty strong fifty in front and three deep If your strength of Horse be six thousand or seven thousand then they ought to be an hundred and eighty in a Division sixty in front and three deep If your strength of Horse be eight thousand nine thousand or ten thousand then ought each Division of Horse to be an hundred in front and three deep and three hundred in a Division Your Divisions of Horse from ninety to an hundred and eighty if you have no Foot to fight amongst your Horse ought to charge their Enemies Horse after this manner Each Division of Horse from ninety to an hundred and eighty in strength ought to be sub-divided into three subdivisions as is here set down and shall be declared unto you by this following figure marked with the letters A B C. The three sub-divisions of Horse marked with the letters A B C are a Division of Horse of ninety sub-divided into three equal sub-divisions being thirty in a Division ten in front and three deep The distance of ground between the subdivision marked with the letter A and the subdivision marked with the letter B is twenty paces three feet to the pace The like distance of ground is between the sub-divisions of Horse marked with the letters B and C the little strokes that stand in the fronts flanks and reer of the three sub-divisions stand for Officers Now when the Van-guard of your Horse cometh within fifty paces of the Enemies Horse let the two sub divisions of Horse marked with the letters A and C advance towards their Enemies Division of Horse upon an easie trot and the Officers of the two Divisions of Horse must be careful that they Charge all together the Division of the Enemies Horse which they meet with And when the two sub-divisions on the right and left hand marked with the letters A and C do advance towards their Enemy to charge them then let the middle sub-division of Horse marked with the letter B follow after easily upon a walking pace And when the Officer in chief that commandeth the middle sub-division of Horse marked with the Letter D seeth the other two sub-divisions of Horses marked with the letters A and C to be mingled with the Enemy then let him command his sub-division of Horse to advance upon a round trot and charge his Enemy The same order must be observed by all the Divisions of Horses that are but ninety in strength when they come to charge an Enemy And the Divisions of Horse from ninety to an hundred and eighty in strength must observe the same order in charging their Enemy as is here set down in this Division of Horse of ninety marked with the letters A B C if no Divisions of Foot be to fight amongst the Horse If you be eight thousand nine thousand or ten thousand strong in Horse then each Division of Horse when you come to fight in Battel ought to be three hundred in strength and each Division of Horse ought to be sub-divided into five equal sub-divisions as you see them in this following figure marked with the letters D E F G H. In these five sub-divisions of Horse marked with the letters D E F G H there are sixty Horses in each sub-division twenty in front and three deep So that the five sub-divisions marked with the letters D E F G H are a Division of Horse of three hundred in strength sub-divided into five equal parts and being at their close order in rank and file And the little small strokes that you see in the flank reer and front stand for Officers The distance of ground that is left between the sub-divisions marked with the letters D and E is twenty paces three feet to the pace And the distance of ground between the sub-divisions of Horse marked with the letters E and F is twenty paces The same distance of ground is between the sub-divisions of Horse marked with the letters F and G and G and H. If you intend to have your Divisions of Horse to be three hundred in strength my opinion is that each Division of Horse ought to be sub-divided into five equal parts as you see them in this figure marked with the letters D E F G H. For these reasons a Division of Horse for three hundred in strength being divided into five equal parts as you see them in this foregoing figure will take up much more ground in front than a Division of Horse that is but three hundred in strength and not sub-divided Now it is one of the chiefest advantages that can be taken in a day of Battel by your Divisions of Horse to out-front your Enemies Divisions of Horse Besides a Division of Horse of three hundred in strength being sub-divided as is before set down will be better commanded and not so subject to fall into a disorder upon any occasion as a Division of Horse of three hundred in strength all in a body Moreover you
the two left hand files of Pikes of the six ranks of Pikes marked with the figures 1 and 2 to charge to their right and left hands over the shoulders of the Musqueteers on the right and left hand marked with the figures 5 and 6. Command also the four files of Musqueteers marked with the aforesaid two figures to turn to their right and left hands When the two right hand files of Pikes are commanded to charge to their right and left hands then command the other twenty files of Pikes in the first three ranks of Pikes marked with the figure 1 to Charge to the front over the shoulders of the Musqueteers marked with the figure 3. Then command the twenty files of Pikes marked with the figure 2 to Charge to the reer over the shoulders of the two ranks of Musqueteers in the reer marked with the figure 4. And the aforesaid Musqueteers must observe to turn to their right hands about when the Pikes are commanded to charge to the reer The Musqueteers which are placed without-side of the Pikes marked with the figures 3 4 5 and 6 must stand ready with their Matches Cock and Pans guarded and to be ready to give fire either by one rank at a time or two ranks as the Officers shall see occasion to command them the which must be done after this manner If you command only the outermost ranks of Musqueteers to give fire then must you command them to present kneeling on their right knees and command them to level so low with their Musquets that they may shoot at the horses legs by that means they will shoot clear under the tops of your Pikes being charged If you please to command two ranks of Musqueteers to give fire at one time then as soon as the Musqueteers are ready to present command your Pikemen to port their Pikes then command all the Musqueteers without-side of the Pikes to present where the first ranks of Musqueteers are to kneel on their right knees then the second tanks of Musqueteers must move up close to the first ranks of Musqueteers every Musqueteer in the second ranks stepping forwards with their right legs within the in-side of their Leaders right legs then they must step forwards with their left legs close up by their Leaders left legs without-side of their Leaders legs and present their Musquets over their Leaders heads in the first rank When the Musqueteers have thus presented command them to give fire And if Horse charge a Division of Foot which stand in the same order that this Division of Horse doth marked with the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 You must command your Pikemen to charge again and be careful to place the Captains Lieutenants and Serjeants of the Division on the four corners of the Division as you see them in the foregoing figure marked with the figure 7. CHAP. XVI Some Observations concerning the Marching of an Army You must be careful before you march with your Army into the Field to see your Souldiers well Cloathed well Armed and well Disciplined and that you be stored with Shooes and Stockings for the March and also with Ammunition Bread and Mony If you be not careful of this you will soon bring your Army to ruine You must also have a great care of those Souldiers which fall sick or are hurt upon a March for this alone will not only encourage Souldiers to undergo any danger or labour but by it you will win their affections so that they will never forsake you You ought to know the nature of the Country the quality of the ways the compendiousness of turning the nature of Hills and the course of Rivers through which you are to march And the best way to know these things is by good Guides and good Maps For he that leadeth an Army by an unknown and undiscovered way and marching blindfold upon uncertain adventures is subject to many casualties and disadvantages Let every Commander therefore perswade himself that good Discoverers are as the eye of an Army and serve for lights in the darkness of ignorance to direct the resolutions of good providence and to make the path of safety so manifest that he need not stumble upon casualties For that which a General should chiefly observe upon a March is first Safety and next Convenience If you March into a Country which is hard to enter and which hath but few passages whereby to enter into it you must force one and before you go farther you must there fortifie as well to assure your way for your necessaries as for your retreat For a General must be careful never to March into any such place where his Enemy may be able to cut off his Provisions or his Retreat It is most convenient and ready to have your Divisions of Horse and Foot to march at the same strength or some ten or twelve men more in a Division than you intend to fight them by which means your Army will be much more ready upon any occasion to be imbattelled And your Officers and Souldiers being used to march with their Divisions in the same strength and order as you intend to fight them will not be so apt to be in a disorder as that Army that doth not use to march with their Divisions of Horse and Foot at the same strength as they intend to fight them Your Regiments of Horse and Foot ought to be divided into Brigades your Foot into three Brigades and your Horse into six Brigades if you be twelve Regiments of Horse strong or above It is most necessary to use your Brigades and your Divisions of Horse and Foot to march in Battalia when time and ground will give leave for otherwise you will not be able to march three hundred paces in the view of an Enemy with your Brigades imbattelled but your Divisions of Horse and Foot will be apt to lose their distances and by consequence will be most apt to fall into a confusion You must be careful to be furnished at the least at every quarter with three Guides If you be to march in the night you ought to have six Before you set forwards your Guides must be agreed upon the way which they will take There must also be a Captain of the Guides a man of spirit and vigilance and one that may take care to get Guides from place to place You must be careful to carry with you the Maps of the Country through which you are to march The best way to keep your men from straggling upon a march when they pretend to go out of their ranks and files to drink or to ease themselves is this let them have command to leave their Pikes or Musquets with their Camerades and the Lieutenant and Serjeant ought to see this order observed You ought upon a march to send out some parties of Horse or Foot according as the situation of the Country and the strength of the Enemy requireth in the Van-guard and flanks of
Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters C B D have thus presented command them to give fire together And when these Musqueteers before spoken of have fired let the three first ranks of the three Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters C B D remain kneeling on their right knees Then command the second ranks of the three Divisions of Musqueteers to kneel upon their right knees as close to their Leaders right knees as they can Then command the last ranks of the three Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters C B D to march up to their Leaders stepping with their right legs within side of their Leaders right knees and step forwards with their left legs without side their Leaders left legs and present their Musquets over their Leaders heads and then command them to give fire After the last rank of the three Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters C B D have fired command the two first ranks of Musqueteers of the aforesaid three Divisions of Musqueteers which are kneeling to stand up commanding your Division of Musqueteers marked with the letter A and the three Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters C B D to march on easily and make ready again and when they are ready let them give fire in the same order as they did before This order of marching and giving fire must be observed by all the other Divisions of Foot that are to fight in the Body of an Army Or if you approve not of the way of Musqueteers firing as is here set down you may subdivide them after the old manner and so command them to give fire The order that this Division of foot marked with the letters A B C D must observe to defend themselves against Horse is after this manner as you shall see them placed in the next figure marked with the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 And the way to bring the three Divisions of Musqueteers and one of Pikes marked with the letters A B C D to the order of the figure following marked with the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 is done after this manner You must command the last rank of Musqueteers of the Division of Musqueteers marked with the letter B to turn to their right hands then command an Officer to draw them away on one side of the right hand file of the Pikes and draw them in between the third and fourth ranks of Pikes marked with the letter A. Then command your Pikemen to advance their Pikes and close their files and ranks to their close order Then command the Division of Pikes to advance forward till they come within three feet of the last rank of Musqueteers which are in the front of the Pikes Then command the two last ranks of the Division of Musqueteers marked with the letter C to turn to their left hands Then command the two last ranks of the Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letter D to turn to their right hands Then command two Officers to lead these four files of Musqueteers which were before four ranks into the reer of the Pikes marked with the letter A the which four files are there to meet and joyn together in the reer of the Pikes Then command those Musqueteers which did before turn to their left hands to turn to their right hands and those Musqueteers which before turned to their right hands to turn to their left hands Then command the first rank of Musqueteers which is only left of the Division of Musqueteers marked with the letter C to turn to their left hands Then command an Officer to lead them down close on the out-side of the right hand file of the Pikes and when the Officer hath brought the Leader of the file of Musqueteers right against the bringer up of the right hand file of Pikes command the file of Musqueteers to stand Then command the half file of that file of Musqueteers to double his front to the left hand Then command those two files of Musqueteers to turn to their right hands about Then command the first rank which is left of the Division of Musqueteers marked with the letter D to turn to their right hands commanding an Officer to lead them down close on the out-side of the left hand file of the Pikes and when the Officer hath brought the Leader of the file of Musqueteers right against the bringer up of the left hand file of the Pikes command the file of Musqueteers to stand Then command the half file of that file of Musqueteers to double his front to the right hand Then command those two files of Musqueteers to turn to their right hands about Then command the Musqueteers which have not as yet closed their ranks and files to close their ranks and files to their close order and file and rank even with the Pikes This which is here set down is the readiest and easiest way to bring the former figure marked with the letters A B C D unto the order of this figure following marked with the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. And this Division of Foot is now in a readiness to withstand the charge of any Horse The figure marked with the figure 1 is a Division of Pikes consisting of four and twenty files and three deep The figure marked with the figure 2 is a Division of Pikes of the like number that the figure 1 is The two ranks of small pricks in the front of the Pikes figured with the figure 3 are two ranks of Musqueteers having four and twenty in a rank The two ranks of small pricks in the reer of the Pikes marked with the figure 4 are two ranks of Musqueteers having four and twenty in a rank The two files of pricks on the right hand of the Division of Pikes marked with the figure 5 are two files of Musqueteers six deep and the like are the two files of pricks on the left hand of the Division of Pikes marked with the figure 6. The little strokes at the corner of the Division of Foot marked with the figure 7 stand for Officers And the rank of small pricks between the two Divisions of Pikes marked with the figures 1 and 2 are one rank of Musqueteers consisting of four and twenty Musqueteers in number You see in this figure marked with the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 the Musqueteers standing under the shelter of the Pikes the Pikes and the Musqueteers being all at their close order and in a readiness to receive a charge from Horse and the Pikes sheltering the Musqueteers every way upon occasion from the force of the Horse Now the way how these Musqueteers and Pikemen shall defend themselves against Horse I will here declare unto you If you perceive your Enemies Horse to divide themselves into four parts to charge any one Division of Foot which is placed in this manner as you see them in this foregoing figure then command the two right hand files of Pikes and
to your Marshal of the Field and your Major-Generals and Colonels of the Brigades both of Horse and Foot before they begin to fight And your Orders ought to be written if you have time for after the Battel is once begun is is impossible for a General to give Orders more than in that part where he is present at the same time That you may know how to place your Divisions of Horse and Foot at their true distances you ought to allow unto every Horseman in the Front of the Divisions of the Van-guard and Battel six foot of ground in breadth and to every Foot Souldier in the Divisions in the Van-guard and Battel you ought to allow five Foot Also you must observe that between every two Divisions of Horse and Foot in the Van-guard of your Army to allow an hundred paces of ground in breadth three feet to the pace besides what you allow for the Division in the Battel which is for the reserve You ought likewise to allow between the Vanguard of your Horse-Troops an hundred paces and between the Van-guard of your Foot an hundred and fifty paces three feet to the pace This order must be observed both in placing the Divisions of Horse and Foot and the Van-guards Battel and Reer-guard of your Army that the formost Troops being put to recoil may not fall upon those which should come up to relieve them nor the Battel upon the Reer You must always be careful to place the best Regiments either of Horse or Foot on the Wings of your Army The Officers that lead the Divisions in the Vanguard of a Battel ought to have special care to see that the Divisions both of Horse and Foot keep their distances but especially the Officers that lead the Divisions in the Van-guard of your Army on the flanks of your Horse or Foot they must be extraordinarily careful that they close not with their Divisions in upon the main Body I know no one thing that Officers care is more required about in fighting a Battel than to see that such Divisions as they Command keep their Distances For let a man consider how hard a thing it is for an Army that is imbattelled in a Campagnia to march a mile together without losing their Order And questionless it is much harder for an Army to march a mile together in the face of an Enemy and the Van-guard of the Army continually skirmishing to keep their distances And unless the Officers of an Army are punctual in observing their Orders of keeping their distances in marching it is impossible but some part of your Army if not the whole will be in a confusion before the Battel be half fought It is seldom or never seen that two Armies that are of any equal strength and that use one kind of Discipline being imbattelled one against the other but the one Army out-fronteth the other upon one of the Wings and the other Army out-fronteth the other upon the contrary Wing when both Armies come to encounter Therefore you ought to give punctual Orders before the Battel beginneth to those Chief Commanders that Command on the outermost flanks of the Van-guards of the Horse that in case either of the Wings of Horse doth out-front his Enemies Wing of Horse they should advance easily keeping their order with that Wing of Horse which they Command as soon as their Cannon begin to play and not before and charge that Wing of Horse which they do out-front Command also those Divisions of Horse that out-flank your Enemies Horse on the flanks when they come within a near distance of your Enemies Troops to wheel with their Divisions so that they may be able to charge the Wing of their Enemies Horse on the flank at the same time when the rest of the Horse chargeth them in the Front And in case you do out-front your Enemies Army on both flanks either by the advantage of the number of your men or by the well-ordering of them then both your Wings of Horse must observe the aforesaid order Here you must note that if you fight Foot among your Horse your Foot must advance with your Horse and your Horse by no means to advance before your Foot until your Enemies Horse be put to flight But if it falleth out so as most commonly it doth that the one Army be out-flanked upon one Wing and the same Army doth out flank the other Army on the other Wing if it fortune so that you be out-flanked in one of your Wings of Horse then ought the General to give an especial order to the Officers that that Wing of Horse which is out-flanked do not advance from the main Body of the Foot but keep an even front with the Foot until their Enemies Horse come up close to them to charge them And in the mean time so soon as the Officers of either of your Wings of Horse discover that they shall be out-flanked they ought to have order to draw up on the outermost flank of that wing of Horse that is out-flanked the Reer-Guard of Horse of the same wing of Horse with all the expedition that may be For I am confident it is far less dangerous to want a Reer-guard in a wing of Horse than to be out-flanked by his Enemies Horse Likewise those Officers that do perceive they shall be out-flanked by the Enemies Horse ought to have order that if any of their Divisions of Horse which doth most often fall out when they are out-flanked by the Enemies wing of Horse do front against the Enemies Foot and not against their Horse that then they shall draw all those Divisions of Horse on the outermost flanks of the same wing of Horse But in the imbattelling of two Armies if it prove so that your Armies are equally fronted the which seldom or never doth happen then if you have one wing of Horse that are more confident in their Valour and Resolution than you are of the other let that wing of Horse charge first for as many hands make light work so the best hands make surest work and the other wing of Horse keep in even front with the main body of Foot until the Enemies Horse come up to charge them You ought to use your best judgment and skill to charge your Enemy first in that place where you are surest to overcome him for so favourable are mens judgments to that which is already happened that the sequel of every action dependeth for the most part upon the beginning If it fortune so that either of your wings of Horse do put to flight either of your Enemies wings of Horse then ought the Chief Commander of that wing of Horse to have order upon the flight of his Enemies wing of Horse to send but three Divisions of Horse after them the which three Divisions of Horse ought to have their Orders before-hand for the same and their Directions what to do One of the three Divisions of Horse that is appointed to
Alarms or wronged Religion beateth her zealous Marches go on and prosper CHAP. III. Some Observations of an Offensive VVar and Conquering of Countries AN Offensive War will keep you from Civil War at home and make you feared of your Enemies and beloved of your Friends and keepeth your Gentry and Commons from laziness and all sorts of Luxury But here you must note to entertain a Forein War is not good to be observed but by such Kingdoms and States that are able to go thorough with their Designs they undertake Because as a Foreign War is necessary for Rich and Potent Kingdoms and States so it is hurtful to Petty Kingdoms and States for being too weak to gain by it they will in the end but lose their design their Honours and Monies and impoverish themselves and increase their Enemies It is not for Kings and States to undertake a troublesome and dangerous War upon an humour or any other slender motion but diligently weighing the circumstances thereof and measuring the peril and hazard with the good consequents to inform their Judgments of the Action and so try whether the Benefit would answer their Labour They ought likewise to be well informed of the greatness and riches of the Countrey the quality and strength of the People their use of War and the opportunity of their Havens And he that maketh an Offensive War must so proceed therewith that he be sure to keep what he getteth and to enrich not impoverish his own Countrey For he that doth increase his Dominions and yet groweth not in Strength must needs go to wrack Now those grow not strong who grow poor in the Wars although they prove Victorious because their Conquests do cost them more than they get by them This errour many run into by not knowing how to limit their hopes and so grounded on their own vast conceits without weighing their strength they are utterly ruined For Conquests not having Power answerable to their Greatness invite new Conquerours to the ruine of the old That Prince who putteth himself upon an Offensive War ought to be Master of his Enemy in Shiping Purse and Men or at least in Shipping and Purse or else he must see some Garboils in the State which he assaileth And he ought to be called thither by a party otherwise it would be a rash Enterprise If you make any attempt upon any Forein Countrey the first thing you ought to do is to take some Sea Town that hath a convenient Harbour and that lieth nearest the greatest City in that Countrey in which you make your War This Town you ought to secure and harbour very well with good works and take care that it be very well Victualled before you advance further into the Countrey with your Army So this Town will serve to keep your Provisions for your Magazines and being well provided of Victual will serve upon occasion to make good your retreat For having once gotten possession of a Sea Town and having well Fortified and Victualled the same you have one foot on Land and the other on Sea Having fortified a place for your Magazine and your Retreat advance with your Army unto the chief City in the Countrey By which means you will soon force your Enemy to Battel and if you win the Battel and follow your Victory close you may gain the chief City of the Countrey either by Composition or Assault if it be not Fortified or before your Enemy be able to relieve it you may be able to starve it But in case you do not prevail to be Master of the chief City either by Composition or Assault then ought you strongly to intrench two thousand Foot and five hundred Horse in a Quarter and so Fortifying one Quarter after another with your Army until you have intrenched so many several Quarters as you think may be sufficient to keep the City from Provisions And then if you think fit you may run Lines from one Quarter to another And having strongly Intrenched that part of your Army that is quartered about the City draw the rest of your Army into a Body and intrench them in some place near the Town where you think it most convenient to meet with any Enemy that may come to the relief of it You ought likewise to use the best means you can for intelligence and continually to send out Parties of Horse several ways that when any Enemy approacheth near you you may be in a readiness to fight with him If you come to be Master of the Chief City of a Kingdom or Country I account that Kingdom or Country more then half won The surest way to keep that Country you Conquer in Obedience to you will be to oppress them as little as may be especially at first either in their Purses Consciences or Laws He that obtaineth a Kingdom with the Rupture of his Faith hath gained the Glory of a Conquest but lost the Honour of a Conquerour But you ought to disarm them and take Pledges of them for their Obedience the which must be kept in your own Country You ought also to employ in your Garrisons all the Gun-Smiths and all the Salt-petre-men that you find in the Country you have Conquered and to take into your hands all the Powder and Brimstone you find and destroy all the Powder-Mills that are out of your own Garrisons When it shall happen that you are to Conquer a Country that doth afford Covert and Protection to an Enemy who is more malicious than valorous and through the fastness of the place refuseth to shew himself unless it be upon advantages the War doubtless is likely to prove tedious and the Victory less Honourable In such cases there is no other way than so to harrass and waste the Country that the Enemy may be famished out of his Holds and brought to subjection by scarcity and necessity which is a means so powerful as well to supplant the greatest strengths as to meet with Subterfuges and Delays that of it self it subdueth all opposition and needeth no other help for atchieving of Victory It is much better for a Prince to invade an Enemy in his own Country than to attend him at home in his own Kingdom if so be that he hath competent Forces to give him hopes of doing good upon his Enemy For the seat of War is always miserable CHAP. IV. Some Observations upon a Defensive VVar. THE best way to prevent any attempts of any Foreign Enemy is to be able and ready to resist their Designs and the best way to do that is to have a good Rich Publick Treasure before-hand and your people continually well trained up in Martial Discipline When you foresee that an Enemy is resolved to set upon your Country to conquer it and if your Enemy be so much Master of you at Sea that you fear the shutting up of your Havens by his Shipping then ought you to provide your Magazines extraordinarily well with Ammunition Arms and Salt and great
Foot a Quarter-Master General of the Horse an Engineer General a Scout-Master General a Waggon-Master-General Captains both of Horse and Foot and Corporals of the Field The Marshal of the Field receiveth Orders from the General the Major-General of the Horse and the Major-General of the Foot receive their Orders from the Marshal of the Field the Serjeant-Majors of the Brigades from their Serjeant-Major-General the Serjeant-Majors of Regiments from the Serjeant-Major of their Brigade the Quarter-Masters of Horse-Troops and the Serjeants of Foot Companies receive their Orders from the Serjeant-Majors of their Regiments the Quarter-Masters of Horse-Troops and Serjeants of Foot Companies give the word and such Orders as they do receive from the Serjeant-Majors of their Regiment to all the Officers of their Companies the Quarter-Master of the Artillery and the Quarter-Master of the Victuals receive their Orders from the Marshal of the Field the Marshal of the Field speaking with the Serjeant-Major-General of the Horse and the Serjeant-Major General of the Foot the Quarter-Master of the Artillery and the Quarter-Master of the Victuals so giveth Orders to all the Army All Orders and Commands ought to be given in Writing if there be time for the same Thus much more I do think fit to add in this place That my opinion is each Troop of Horse ought to be an hundred in strength besides Officers and each Troop ought to have two Quarter-Masters Each Foot Company in my opinion should be an hundred and fifty strong besides Officers and each Company ought to have six Serjeants Each Regiment of Horse in my opinion ought to be eight hundred in strength besides Officers and so many Regiments of Horse as there is in an Army so many Troops of Dragooners there ought to be of an hundred and fifty in strength besides Officers and each Troop of Dragooners ought to have six Serjeants Each Regiment of Foot ought to be a thousand five hundred in strength besides Officers Each Regiment of Dragooners must be in strength according unto the number of the Regiments of Horse that there is in an Army CHAP. X. Some Observations shewing how necessary it is to have Souldiers well Disciplined and well Exercised before they are brought to Fight IT cannot be denied but Warlike Discipline and good Fortune were the raisers of the Roman Empire And it is not length of life or number of years that teacheth the Art of War but continual Discipline and Meditation of Arms till a man hath with care and diligence imployed his study and labour therein For upon the Foundation of Practice is grounded the Frame of sound and perfect skill Plutarch speaketh this of the Victory which the Thebans had against the Lacedemonians the Thebans till that day had no reputation for Valour but afterward by exercise and use of Arms under Epaminondas and Pelopidas became the bravest Souldiers in Greece Not unlike was the saying of Pyrrhus to his Muster-Master Choose you said he good Bodies and I will make them good Souldiers This sheweth how necessary Discipline and Exercise is for the making of good Souldiers CHAP. XI Some Observations concerning a Train of Artillery and him that Commandeth it THE General of the Ordnance ought to be a man generally experienced in all parts of Martial Discipline especially in all parts of the Mathematicks and in Gunnery It is a place of great Honour and much Trouble and requireth much experience and a great deal of care and foresight for executing the place well The General of the Ordnance ought to choose an able man to be a Lieutenant of the Ordnance and to take care that the chief Engineer be an able man and also the inferiour Engineers The Master Gunner ought to be a very able man and the inferiour Gunners very good The General of the Ordnance must likewise foresee that there be a skilful Fire-work-Master and that he be not only skilful but valiant and able to put his skill in execution Likewise there ought to be provided good Battery-Masters and works Basis's To setd own every particular thing and the Officers that belong to a Train of Artillery would require the labour of writing a Book by it self Wherefore I will but touch on some particular things and places and leave the rest to the care of the General of the Ordnance to make choice of such Officers as a Train of Artillery requireth and he will have need of and to provide for every thing in particular according unto the designs that he shall take in hand The General of the Ordnance ought to give special Order to his Master-Gunner that such Guns as he maketh choice of for his Train be diligently tried by him whether they be true boared or whether they have their full Metal and that all the Field-Pieces that are made choice of for the Train be ten or twelve Foot long The which you will find to be of great advantage in fighting a Battel with your Enemy whose Field-pieces are not so long All your Pieces of Battery ought to have Block-Carriages besides their other Carriages and to each Piece of Battery two thick planks three inches thick and sixteen or eighteen inches broad and fourteen foot in length The which planks may be easily carried upon your spare Carriages and these planks will be always ready at hand and save planking of your Batteries You ought to have the powder for your Cannon to be made up into Carthrages for all your Cannon and this way you will find less dangerous and much quicker for service than the charging of them with Ladles The Waggons that carry your Powder ought to be planked with thin planks on the sides and over at top Then you may have Locks set on them and keep them locked by which means a Rogue will not be able easily to fire your Powder upon a March. It were very fit the Lieutenant of the Ordnance the Commissary of the Victuals and the Master of the Fireworks should have Companies of Fire-locks or Snapances of an hundred and fifty apiece the which Companies will serve to guard the Train upon a March and at night in their Quarters and free the Army from that Duty and be very serviceable upon divers other occasions Cannon is a great clog to an Army upon a March but an Army which hath none can do no great Service and therefore in these times the Artillery is an essential part of an Army It is very fit a General of the Ordnance should have belonging to his Train some certain number of Boats or Punts with Carriages to carry them on for to make a Bridge over unpassable Rivers CHAP. XII Some Observations and Preparations to be observed by a General in Field-Service also concerning Intelligences and Spies AS soon as a General can get Provisions for his Horse it will be most advantageous for him to have all things in a readiness to take the Field For if he take the Field before his Enemy he preventeth the Enemy of his Designs
A General ought to be careful before he taketh the Field with his Army that he provide for the punctual supplying of his Army with Mony Ammunition Victuals Arms Men Shoes Stockings Shirts And seeing it is impossible for an Army upon a March to carry with them sufficient of all these necessaries therefore a General ought carefully to foresee as he advanceth any way with his Army that his Magazines for his Army be always so near him and so well stored with such things as he shall have occasion to use that his designs fail not for want of any of the aforesaid things And he must be careful that his Enemy be never able to cut off his Provisions at any time or his Retreat A General or Chief Commander ought to see that he doth not ruine his Army upon disadvantages either by engaging them unadvisedly in Battels or by assaulting Towns and Breaches rashly or by long Sieges or long Winter Services without good probability and assurance in the judgment of men to prevail And he must take care always to joyn Judgment with Valour in all his Actions A General ought carefully to lay hold on such occasions as offer themselves to defeat his Enemy and judiciously observe to know when to fight and when not A good Commander ought wholly to avoid doing any thing which being but of small moment may only produce evil effects in his Army For to begin a Skirmish or a Combate wherein the whole Forces are not imployed and yet the whole fortune is there laid to stake is a thing savouring too much of rashness And yet I hold it fit that wise and experienced Commanders when they meet with a new Enemy that is of Reputation before they come to joyn Battel should cause their Souldiers to make trial of them by some light Skirmishes to the end that beginning to know them and to have to deal with them they may be rid of that Terror which the Report and Reputation of these men have put them in And this part in a General is of exceeding great importance for these small experiences made by the Souldiers will cause them to cast off that terror which by means of the Enemies Reputation had possessed them Thus Livy saith that Valerius Corvinus was sent by the Romans to make some small Skirmishes with the Samnites that a new War and a new Enemy might not affright them But a good Commander must be very careful that nothing arise which upon any accident may take away the Courage and Hearts of his Souldiers Now that which may be of force to take away their Courage is to begin with loss And therefore a Commander should be very careful how he engageth any of his Troops in small Skirmishes and that he send no parties out of his Army upon any occasion without taking care that they be commanded by good Commanders and that the Officers that Command such Parties have Order not to engage themselves with the Enemy unless they have some certain hopes of Victory Nor ought he to undertake to guard any passages where he cannot bring his whole Army together Nor should he keep any Towns unless it be those upon loss whereof his utter ruine followeth And those that he guardeth he should take such care both for their Defences and also with his Army that when-ever the Enemy hath any design to assail them he may make use of all his Forces to the rescue of them If you have any certain hopes of starving your Enemy or putting him to a retreat for want of Provisions your securest way then will be not to fight with him especially if your Enemy be of equal strength with you or stronger than you are If a Commander in Chief discovereth his Enemies Foot to be lodged in their night Quarters in a Campagnia with their Carriages it were good then to charge them in the night with so many Horse as you shall think fit in several places and leave part of your Horse and Dragoons to make good their retreat upon occasion If it falleth so out that your Horse cannot totally rout your Enemies Foot let them have Order to fire their Ammunition and so retreat It is very fit a General should often command his Horse and Dragoons to fall upon his Enemies outermost Horse-Quarters The which is one of the readiest easiest and securest ways that I know of to break an Enemies Army A General is not so much blamed for making trial of an ill-digested project as he will be for the obstinate continuing in the same Therefore the speediest leaving of any such enterprise doth excuse the rashness which might be imputed to the beginning Difficulties of extremity are never better cleared than by adventurous and desperate undertaking And hence groweth the difference between true Valour and fool-hardy Rashness being but one and the same thing if they were not distinguished by the subject wherein they are shewed For to run headlong into strange adventures upon no just occasion were to shew more levity than discretion and again to use the like boldness in cases of extremity deserveth the opinion of vertuous endeavours A General should always be careful so soon as he cometh out of the Field to visit his Frontier Towns and take with him some of his best Commanders and some of his choice Engineers and to see what Fortifications his Frontier Towns want and to give order for the repairing of such wants and likewise to take care that the Magazines be furnished with a years provision and that he give especial Command to the Governours of his Frontier Towns to be careful by their vigilance and good itnelligence to prevent sudden surprises and valiantly to defend their Towns and providently to dispose of their provisions in case they should be besieged Concerning Spies you must be always suspitious of them because as it is a dangerous task for him that undertaketh so it is also for him that imployeth them And that Spies may not agree to give false advice they should be examined severally that by the agreement or disagreement of their advices you may judge whether they be good and by the verification of those which speak true or false you shall know who betrayeth you or doth you true Service But this is not all to beware of your own Spies you must also take heed of those of the Enemy which you must pre-suppose you have in your Camp For this reason besides the secresie which must be used in all enterprises it is good to give a charge by publishing in a still way that you have a quite contrary design to that which you purpose to put in execution that so these Spies may report it to the Enemy But the most effectual means to be well served by these kind of men is to be very liberal to them for they are faithful to those who give them most A General must take care that he have continually Spies in the Enemies Army to know when his Enemy moveth and
what condition his Enemies Army is in and he ought to have in every Frontier Town of his Enemy some correspondence with some Town-dweller or Souldier of the Garrison that by them he may understand from time to time what condition his Enemies Garrisons are in And if the Enemy draweth any Forces to an head at any of his Frontier Towns let the aforesaid people give the Governour of your next Garrisons notice of it You ought to know that Intelligence is the most powerful means to undertake brave Designs and to avoid great Ruines and it is the chiefest Foundation upon which all Generals do ground their Actions A General that Commandeth an Army and seeth that for want of Mony he cannot keep them long together is unwise if he ventureth not his Fortune before his Army falleth asunder For by delaying he certainly loseth whereas hazarding he might overcome Another thing there is yet much to be accounted of which is that a man ought even in his losing seek to gain Glory by being overcome by force than by any other inconvenience The principal Heads of War for Field-Service are the Art of Marching Incamping Imbatteling and to know the ways how to procure good Intelligence and providently and skilfully to get Provisions fit for his Army and his Designs and not to ground his foundations upon vain imagination In matter of War the motions ought to be quick where the least moment of time oft carrieth the whole business It is necessary in War oftentimes to change Counsels according to the variety of the accidents In execution of Designs of War good judgment ought to ground them and diligent expedition put them into Act on For the least fault or stay that a man commiteth may give leasure and occasion for the Enemy to provide that all the plots and counsels how good soever shall serve to no purpose CHAP. XIII What strength Divisions of Horse ought to be from four thousand to ten thousand when they are to March in an Army and when they are to Fight a Battel or if Foot be to Fight on the Flanks of each Division of Horse or when they come to be Embattelled to Fight on the Flanks of an Army That small Divisions both of Horse and Foot are much better than great Divisions for Service either in Campagnia or within Enclosures because they are not so apt to fall into Disorder and are much more ready to be commanded upon all occasions AN Army which is imbattelled in small Divisions of Horse and Foot is not so easily routed as that Army which is imbattelled in great Divisions And small Divisions are much more ready than great Divisions for besides seconding one another and wheeling upon all occasions they will likewise out-front an Army which is imbattelled in great Divisions The which is one of the greatest advantages that can be taken in the imbattelling of an Army Also small Divisions of Horse and Foot are much readier for Service where you cannot imbattel them according to the rules of Art by the nature of the place or within inclosures or where the brevity of the time will not give you leave To conclude an Army that is imbattelled in small Divisions is much more troublesome for an Enemy to deal withal than an Army that is imbattelled in great Divisions It is most convenient and ready to have your Divisions of Horse and Foot to March at the same strength or some ten or twelve men more in a Division than you intend to fight them in a Battel by this means your Army will be much readier and sooner imbattelled upon all occasions If you fight your Horse in a day of Battel on the Flanks of your Body of Foot which is the usual way of placing the Horse and if you intend to Skirmish in the day of Battel with a small Division of Foot on each flank of each Division of Horse which I hold to be the best and strongest way of imbattelling your wings of Horse provide always that your Musqueteers in each Division of Foot that are to Skirmish on the flanks of each Division of Horse in a Day of Battel be so ordered that they may be sheltred by Pikes from the Force of the Enemies Horse And in what order the two Divisions of Foot shall fight in a Day of Battel on the flanks of each Division of Horse so as to have the Musqueteers sheltered by the Pikes from the force of the Enemies Horse shall be demonstrated unto you in the following figures If your strength of Horse be four thousand and if they be to fight on the flanks of a Body of Foot and each division of Horse to have a division of Foot fighting on each flank then each Division of Horse ought to be forty in front and three deep and so the strength of each Division of Horse will be an hundred and twenty If your strength of Horse be five thousand then each Division of Horse ought to be an hundred and fifty strong fifty in front and three deep If your strength of Horse be six thousand or ten thousand then ought you to have an hundred and eighty in a Division sixty in front and three deep And of this strength as is aforesaid ought your Divisions of Horse to be If you intend to fight Foot on the flanks of each Division of Horse in a Battel the Divisions of Foot that shall fight on each flank of each Division of Horse shall be in strength twelve files of Pikes and twelve files of Musqueteers which in all make a Body or a Division of an hundred forty four men And on the flanks of each Division of Horse when you come to imbattel them to fight you must place a Division of Foot of an hundred forty four men half Pikes and half Musqueteers The order how the Divisions of Horse and Foot shall march together when they come near an Enemy and how they shall imbattel and skirmish shall be demonstrated in the following Figures The Divisions of Foot before spoken of will serve to fight on the flanks of any Division of Horse of what strength you please to have them In the first place for your better understanding of this new way of Discipline the which I am well assured you will find very serviceable and advantageous against an Enemy if you make use of it I will demonstrate unto you in the following Figure in what order a Division of Horse and two Divisions of Foot shall stand ready to march to be imbattelled when occasion shall serve The which order must be observed by all the rest of the Divisions By this means you may understand how all the rest of the Divisions of Horse and Foot that are to fight on the flanks of an Army in a day of Battel may be ordered for a march and to be in readiness to be imbattelled when an Army cometh near the Enemy These Figures following lettered with A B C D E F G shew you the order of the
Divisions of Horse and Foot I mean those Divisions of Horse and Foot that are to be imbattelled together in a day of Battel on the flanks of the Body of Foot to be ready to march when occasion shall serve or to be imbattelled And this order which shall be here set down for this one Division of Horse figured with the Letter A in the following Figure and the two Divisions of Foot figured with the Letters B C D E F G the same order ought to be observed after the same manner for a march when you come near an Enemy By this means your Army will be much the sooner imbattelled upon any occasion and always in a readiness to receive your Enemy if so be your Divisions of Horse and Foot when they march be of the same strength as you desire to have them when they are imbattelled to fight and that you march your Divisions of Horse and Foot by Brigades as you do intend to fight them The Figure before figured with the letter A standeth for a Division of Horse the order that they are in in rank and file is their order The figures figured with B C D E F G are small Divisions of Foot the which shall be at large demonstrated in this following observation the order that they stand at in rank and file is their order viz. three foot in file and six in rank The distance of ground between the Divisions of Musqueeteers D F and the Division of Horse A is thirty paces three feet to the pace And this distance of ground of thirty paces between the two Divisions of Musqueeters D F and the Division of Horse marked with the letter A ought to be when the Divisions of Horse and Foot are imbattelled to fight The distance of ground between the Division of Musqueteers and the Divisions of Pikes is twelve Footmen Which are Pikes and which are Musqueteers this following demonstration will declare unto you The figure before figured with the letter A is a Division of Horse of threescore in front and three deep and in the strength of the Division is an hundred and eighty Horse The figure with six files and six ranks of small pricks figured with the letter C is a Division of Musqueteers in strength six and thirty each small prick standing for a Musqueteer The figure figured with the Letter B with cross strokes is a Division of Pikes of twelve files and six deep The strength of the Division is seventy two Pikemen and each stroke standing in way of a rank standeth for a rank of Pikes being twelve in rank and each stroke standing in way of a file is to be accounted for a File six deep The figure figured with the letter D is a Division of Musqueteers of the same strength that the figure C is The figures figured with the Letters E F G are the same that B C D and the little small strokes in the Front Reer and Flanks of the Divisions of Horse and Foot stand for Officers When these two Divisions of Foot and one of Horse are to march away by small sub-divisions as the way will give leave then the right-hand division of Foot figured with B C D is first to march away next the Division of Horse signified by the Letter A then the left-hand Division of Foot figured with the Letters E F G is to follow the Division of Horse figured with the Letter A. You are to appoint to every Division of Horse two Divisions of Foot like as you see in this former figure of A B C D E F G if your Foot will hold out to do it If you have not so many as to do it you ought not to fail to flank each Division of Horse in the Van-guard of your Army with two Divisions of Foot as is set down in the former figure And each Musqueteer of those Divisions of Foot which are to be imbattelled on the flanks of each Division of Horse ought to have when they come to encounter with the Enemy two pair of Bandaliers or a pair of Bandaliers and a dozen of Charrages in each Musqueteers Pocket Likewise each Musqueteer ought to have twelve spare Botlets besides his Bandaliers furnished with Powder and Bullet and each two Divisions of Foot ought to have a Powder-Bag full of Powder carried along with them All the Divisions of Horse and Foot that are to be imbattelled together on the flanks of your Army in a day of Battel for the Wings of your Battel being divided into Brigades are to march after this order as is here set down for the marching of this one Division of Horse and two of Foot when you are near an Enemy and marching towards him This way of fighting Foot amongst Horse is much the stronger way of Imbattelling an Army in my judgment then any other that I have either seen or read of and hereafter in a fit place I shall shew sufficient reason for to prove it so to be The following figure marked with the Letters HIKLMNO shall shew you in what manner the Musqueteers in the two Divisions of Foot that are imbattelled on the flanks of each Division of Horse as you see them in the foregoing figure marked with the letters ABCDEFG how I say the aforesaid Musqueteers shall be drawn into a fit Order to give fire on the Enemies Horse or Foot upon any occasion The words of Command that you are to give to the Musqueteers to bring them into the Order of the following Figures KLNO from the Order of the foregoing figures CDFG are these words of Command which follow Command the two first Ranks of the two Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the Letters C and D to march forwards till the two last ranks of the aforesaid two ranks of both the Divisions be twelve foot beyond the front of the Pikes then command them to stand then command the two ranks of Musqueteers that belong to the Division of Musqueteers marked with the letter C to turn to their left hands and the two ranks of Musqueteers marked with the letter D to turn to their right hands then command these four ranks of Musqueteers the which are now files to march forwards till they meet Then command those Musqueteers which before did turn to their right hands to turn to their left hands and those Musqueteers which did turn to their left hands to turn to their right hands and file even with the Pikes Then command the two last ranks of Musqueteers of the two Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters CD to turn to their right hands about and march forward till the two reer ranks of both the Divisions be twelve feet beyond the reer rank of Pikes in the Division of Pikes marked with the letter B. Then command the four ranks of Musqueteers to stand commanding the two ranks of Musqueteers that belong to the Division of Musqueteers marked with the letter C to turn to their right hands and the two ranks of
Musqueteers marked with the letter D to turn to their left hands Then command the four ranks of Musqueteers which are now files to march forwards and meet in the reer of the Pikes Then command those Musqueteers which did before turn to their right hands to turn to their right hands again and those Musqueteers which did turn to their left hands to turn to their left hands again and file even with the Pikes Then command the two middlemost ranks of Musqueteers which are left of both the Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters C and D to march forward and front even with the Musqueteers in the front of the Pikes Then command the Division of Horse marked with the letter H to close their ranks and files to their close Order and the Division of Pikes marked with the letter B and the two ranks of Musqueteers which are now in the reer of the Pikes to close their ranks and files to their close order The same words of Command and Order must be observed by the two Divisions of Musqueteers marked with the letters GF as is here set down and observed by the two Divisions of Musqueteers C and D. And these words of Command which are here set down will bring the former figure marked with the letters ABCDEFG into the form and order of this following figure marked with the letters HIKLMNOPQRS By the words of Command which are before set down the Musqueteers in the former figure marked with the letters ABCDEFG are brought into this order and form as you see them in the figure marked with the letters HIKLMNOPQRS Now what order this figure marked with the foregoing letters is in I will here declare unto you The Division of Horse marked with the letter H is threescore in front and three deep who are now at their close order in rank and file the which is a foot and half in file and six in rank Likewise the two Divisions of Pikes marked with the letters I and O on the flanks and the four ranks of Musqueteers in the reer of the Pikes marked with the letters L and Q are at their close order in rank and file the which is one foot and an half in file and three in rank Also the three ranks of Musqueteers marked with the letters MKNRPS are at their order in rank and file the which is three foot in file and six in rank These twelve ranks of Musqueteers which are in the front stand ready to advance with the rest of the Horse and Foot against an Enemy and to be commanded to make ready and give fire on the Enemies Horse or Foot as occasion shall serve as you see them in the figures marked with the letters M K N R P S. When these twelve ranks of Musqueteers which are in the front are commanded to give fire upon the Enemy you must command them to do it in this manner Command the twelve ranks of Musqueteers marked with the letters M K N R P S to make ready being ready command them to present the which you must command them to do after this manner Let the first six ranks of Musqueteers before spoken of present kneeling upon their right knees then let the six last ranks of the former twelve ranks of Musqueteers move up close to the first six ranks of Musqueteers which are presenting and kneeling on their right knees Then command all the Musqueteers in the six last ranks to step forward with their right legs within the in-side of their Leaders right legs and step forward with their left legs close up to their Leaders left legs without-side of their Leaders left legs presenting their Musquet over their Leaders heads in the first ranks The twelve ranks of Musqueteers marked with the Letters M K N R P S being thus presented as is here set down command them to give fire together and when they have given fire command them to advance easily with the rest of the Foot and Horse and make ready again and give fire after the same manner again as is before spoken of and so often as you please The four ranks of Musqueteers which are in the reer of the two Divisions of Pikes marked with the letters L and Q will serve if any of your Musqueteers in the front shall be hurt or slain Now I have shewed you how the Musqueteers in the Divisions of Foot which are to fight on the flanks of each Division of Horse in a day of Battel are to give fire on the Enemies Horse I will now shew you in the next figure marked with the figures of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 how the Musqueteers shall be sheltered by the Pikes from the Enemies Horse when they shall charge the Divisions of Foot which are on the flanks of each Division of Horse But first I will set down the way how you shall bring the Musqueteers in the former figure marked with the letters M N R S to the order as you shall see them in this following figure marked with the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. You must command the two ranks of Musqueteers six in front and two deep on the right hand Division of Foot marked with the letter M to turn to their left hands and command an Officer to lead them down on the right hand flank of the Division of Pikes marked with the letter I keeping one foot and an half distance from the right hand file of the aforesaid Division of Pikes until he bring the two men that were the left hand men of the two ranks of Musqueteers marked with the letter M even with the bringers up of the right hand file of the Division of Pikes marked with the Letter I. Then command them to turn to their right hands about and close their ranks and files to their close order After that command the two ranks of Musqueteers six in front and two deep on the left hand of the aforesaid Division of Pikes marked with the letter N command I say those two ranks of Musqueteers to turn to their right hands and command an Officer to lead them down on the left hand on the left hand flank of the Division of Pikes marked with the letter I keeping one foot and an half distance from the left hand file of the Division of Pikes marked with the letter I until he bringeth the two men that were the right hand men of the two ranks of Musqueteers marked with the letter N even with the bringers up of the left hand file of the Division of Pikes marked with the letter I. Then command the two files of Musqueteers the which were before ranks which you have drawn down on the left hand flank of the Division of Pikes marked with the letter I to turn to their right hands about then command them to close their ranks and files to their close order The same order must be observed with the four ranks of Musqueteers six in front
and two deep marked with the letters R and S on the right and left hand of the left hand Division of Pikes marked with the letter O as is here before set down for the four ranks of Musqueteers marked with the letters M and N. Then command the four ranks of Musqueteers marked with the letters K and P to close their ranks and files to their close order And these words of Command before set down will bring the former figure marked with the letters I K L M N O P Q R S to the order of this figure marked with the figures of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. By these words of Command before set down you see the Musqueteers marked with the letters M N R S P K in the figure before this former figure are now brought into this order as you see them in this figure before marked with the figures of 5 6 11 12 9 3 under shelter of the Pikes The Musqueteers and Pikes being at their close order standing in a readiness to receive a charge from Horse and the Pikes to shelter the Musqueteers every way upon occasion from the force of the Horse The figure marked with the figure 1 is a Division of Horse threescore in front and three deep being at their close order The way how the Musqueteers shall be sheltred by the Pikes from Horse I will here declare unto you Command the two right hand files and the two left hand files of the Division of Pikes marked with the figure 2 the which Division of Pikes is twelve files of Pikes and six deep to charge to their right and left hands the two right hand files to the right hand and the two left hand files of Pikes to the left hand over the shoulders of the Musqueteers on the right and left hand marked with the figures 5 and 6 commanding these four files of Musqueteers marked with the aforesaid two figures to turn to their right and left hands When the two right hand files and the two left hand files of Pikes of the figure marked with the figure 2 are commanded to charge to the right and left hands then command the other eight files of Pikes of the figure 2 which have not as yet charged their Pikes I say command the three first ranks of those eight files to charge their Pikes to the front over the shoulders of the Musqueteers marked with the figure 3. Then command the three last ranks of Pikes of the eight files of Pikes to charge to the reer over the shoulders of the two ranks of Musqueteers marked with the figure 4. And these two ranks of Musqueteers in the reer marked with the figure 4 must observe to turn to their right hands about when the Pikes are commanded to charge to the reer The same Order and words of Command the which are here set down for the right hand Division of Foot marked with the figures 2 3 4 5 6 7 must be observed by the Officers of the left hand Division of Foot marked with the figures 7 8 9 10 11 12. The Musqueteers which are placed without-side of the Pikes marked with the figures 3 4 5 6 9 10 11 12 must stand ready with their Matches Cocks and Pans guarded and ready to give fire either by one rank at a time or two ranks as the Officers shall see occasion to command them which must be done after this manner If you command only the outermost ranks to give fire then must you command them to present kneeling on their right knees and command them to level so low that they shoot at the Horse legs and by that means they will shoot clear under the tops of your Pikes being charged If you please to command two ranks of Musqueteers to give fire at one time the Musqueteers being ready to present command your Pikemen to port their Pikes then command all your Musqueteers to present the first rank of Musqueteers kneeling on their right knees the second rank of Musqueteers must move up close to the first rank of Musqueteers every Musqueteer in the second rank stepping forward with his right leg within the inside of their Leaders right legs and step forwards with their left legs close up by their Leaders left legs without-side of their Leaders left legs and so present their Musquets over their Leaders heads After the Musqueteers in the first rank have thus presented command them to give fire then may you if occasion serve command your Pikemen to charge their Pikes again and your Musqueteers to make ready again But here some may object that if any one of these two Divisions of Foot marked with the figures 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 should be charged by Horse several ways at once then the four corners of the Division of Foot will be ill defended by reason that the two outermost files of Pikes to the right and left hand are charging to their right and left hands so by this means they conceive the four corners of the Division of Foot will be left naked for want of Pikes to defend them To prevent this objection the Captains Lieutenants and Serjeants ought to be placed on the four corners of a Division of Foot with the Musqueteers as you see them in this foregoing figure marked with the figure 7. For you must understand that each little long stroke at the corners of the Division of Foot standeth for an Officer Now all the Captains that command the Foot on the flanks of each Division of Horse in a day of Battel ought to have Pikes and the Lieutenants and Serjeants ought to have Partizans and Halberts of eleven foot in length In this Service against the Horse are two chief things that the Commanders of the Foot who command any Foot amongst the Horse in a day of Battel ought to give their Souldiers a strict charge to observe the first is that the Musqueteers when they are to give fire should always take aim at the Horses legs The second observation is that your Pikemen charge their Pikes against the Horses and not against the Horsemen when the Foot are charged by Horse and that your Pikemen charge not their Pikes until the Enemies Horses are come within forty paces of your Foot If you fight Foot among your Horse on the flank of your Army as you see them placed in these two figures before marked with the letters HIKLMNOPQRS and the figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. Then you must observe when your Enemies Horse come to charge your Horse or the Foot on the flanks of your Division of Horse that your Divisions of Horse move not from the two Divisions of Foot on their flanks unless your Enemies Horse be put to the retreat but to keep an even front with the two Divisions of Foot on their flanks and receive their Enemies Charge keeping the aforesaid order But in case your Enemies Horse rout any one of the
fight wherefore you ought always to have half your Horsemen to watch on horse-back one half of the night and the other the other half of the night and when the one half of your Horsemen watcheth the other half of your Horsemen must be saddled and the Officers and Horsemen be in their cloaths Your innermost Horse-quarters which lie safer than your outermost Horse-quarters when the one half of your Horsemen watcheth the other half may be unsaddled but your Officers and Horsemen must not lie out of their Cloaths And the Officers in each quarter ought to have order upon any alarm that as soon as they are drawn in Arms they should make all the haste they can to assist their Camerades that are assaulted in their quarters and that an Officer in Chief in each quarter go two or three Rounds in a night And this order of watching ought to be observed in your Horse-quarters if you lie within twenty miles of any Garrison of your Enemy that is able to affront any of your quarters The General of an Army ought always upon a March to give out two words at night the one for a Watch-word and the other for a Field-word The Officers ought to receive both but the Souldiers only the Field-word the which ought not to be given to the Souldiers unless there be an Alarm Towns and Villages that lie in a Champaign Country are most fit for Horse-quarters the Towns and Villages that lie in an inclosed Country are most fit for Foot-quarters CHAP. XVIII Some certain Observations to be kept in the fighting of Battels and some Directions for the Imbattelling of an Army WE may observe two especial ends which the great Commanders of the World have ever striven to atchieve Victory and Over mastering their Enemies The latter by cunning and wisely carrying of a matter before it come to trial by blows the former by forceable means and fighting a Battel the one proceeding from Wisdom and the better faculties of the soul the other depending upon the strength and abilities of the body The latter end is principally to be embraced as the safest course in these uncertain and casual events For that which resteth upon corporal strength and maketh execution the way to a conclusion is full of hazard and little certainty And yet of all the actions of War the most glorious and most important is to know how to give Battel For the art of imbattelling an Army hath always been esteemed the chiefest point of skill in a General for skill and practice do more towards the Victory than multitude seeing the gaining of one or two Battels acquireth or subverteth whole Empires Kingdoms or Countrys And therefore a General of an Army ought to know all the advantages which may be taken in a day of Battel and how to prepare against disadvantages which may happen Concerning both which I will here give you my opinion Advantages bring hope of Victory and hope conceiveth such spirits as usually follow when the thing which is hoped for is effected whereby the courage becometh hardy and resolute in Victory and where the Souldiers fear no overthrow they are more than half Conquerours So on the other side disadvantages and danger breed fear and fear so checketh valour and controuleth the spirits that Vertue and Honour give place to distrust and yield up their interest to such directors as can afford nothing but diffidence and irresolutions It is most necessary for a General in the first place to approve his Cause and settle an opinion of right in the minds of his Officers and Souldiers the which can be no way better done than by the Chaplains of an Army Also a General ought to speak to the Colonels of his Army to encourage their Officers with a desire to fight with the Enemy and all the Officers to do the like to their Souldiers And the better to raise the common Souldiers spirits let their Officers tell them that their General doth promise them if they will fight courageously with their Enemy and do get the day that they shall have besides the Pillage of the Field twelve-pence apiece to drink to refresh their spirits when the business is done The which I am confident will make the common men fight better than the best Oration in the world It is very fit a General should use his best endeavour to understand the strength of his Enemies Horse and Foot and how they are armed both with Offensive and Defensive Arms and what proportion of Pikes they have to their Musqueteers Also he must endeavour to know by name and place the Chief Officers of his Enemies Army and their abilities in Martial Affairs by the which means he may guess where the Chief Commanders do command in a day of Battel So he may easily know how to place his Army best for his own advantage This if carefully observed will be of very great use You ought to know that novelties and unexpected adventures are very successful in Battels and in all Martial designs A General must be careful never to hazard a Battel with his Enemy when he findeth him imbattelled in a ground of advantage although he do out-number him much with men The safest way then will be to fight with him by Famine For although a Generals Fortune should be generally subject to his will yet by his wisdom he should rather follow Reason than Fortune in such cases A General ought to be careful when an Enemy approacheth near him to send out some two or three knowing Officers with a good strong party of Horse and Dragooners to make good the Horsemens retreat upon occasion whereby to discover the Enemies strength and order of his March and that they take notice of what advantages may be taken of the ground which lieth between them And the party that is sent ought to have order if it be possible to take some stragglers that the General may the better understand the strength and condition of his Enemies Army If you intend to give Battel you must have regard to these principal things that follow You must never suffer your self to be forced to fight against your will and never to fight your Souldiers when their spirits are either dismayed or cast down If you resolve to fight with your Enemy then you ought to choose a place for the Battel fit for the quality and number of your Souldiers For if you fear to be inclosed by a great number you ought to shelter your flanks or at least one of them by the nature of the place as by a River Wood or some other thing equivalent If you be weak in your Cavalry you must avoid the Plains or fight with Foot amongst your Horse as is shewed in the three next Battels If you be strong in Horse you must avoid strait passages or inclosed places You ought to know that directions are the life of Action and the sinews and strength of Martial Discipline and therefore you must give punctual orders
follow the routed wing of the Enemies Horse should be commanded to be sub-divided into small sub-divisions when they are to follow the execution about fifteen Horsemen in a Division and the other two Divisions of Horse ought to follow after in order and keeping their men together without being sub-divided that they may make good the Retreat of the other Division of Horse which is upon the execution of those Horse of the Enemy which are fled And all the three Divisions of Horse ought to have order not to follow the Enemy above a mile and then to return to the Army again with all the expedition that they may And all your other Horse that have put the Enemies wing of Horse to flight ought to charge the Enemies Foot with as much speed as they can Having spoken of some advantages that may be taken by the Horse on the flanks of an Army in a day of Battel the which are the chiefest advantages in winning of a Battel and how they are to prepare against disadvantages that may happen I will now speak something concerning some advantages and some disadvantages that may happen in Foot Service in a day of Battel And first of the advantages that may be taken by Foot in a day of Battel the greatest advantage that can be made use of is by ordering the Musqueteers so that they may be able readily to skirmish with Foot and to be suddenly put in order upon any occasion to be sheltered by the Pikes from the Enemies Horse Each Division of Foot that fight in the Body of your Army if you intend to use this kind of Discipline which is set down in this Book ought to be in strength two hundred eighty eight men half Pikes and half Musqueteers And each Division of Foot that is to fight amongst your Horse ought to be an hundred forty four men in strength half Pikes and half Musqueteers The way how to order these Divisions of Foot in a day of Battel is shewn you in these three following Battels By this way of ordering your Foot the success of a Battel will not wholly rely upon the success of the Horse as it doth now adays as we do order our Infantry Your Foot being ordered this way as is before spoken of the success of a Battel will lie more upon the success of the Foot then upon the Horse And I account them being thus ordered as is here set down and as you shall see them in these three following Battels a more firm body to trust to for Victory than the Horse The Horse likewise by fighting of Foot among them become a firmer Body than by fighting Horse alone And such as shall make trial of this way of imbattelling their Troops shall find it very advantageous unto them in fighting a Battel and no hinderance at all but a great furtherance to the Horse-Service If your Field-pieces be of ten or twelve foot in length and having their full metal and if you meet with an Enemy whose Field-pieces are not so long you will find that you have by it a great advantage of your Enemy The advantage is this when you come with your Army and Artillery within shot of your Enemies Body of Foot your Artillery being placed in the Van-guard of your Army command your Army to stand and your Cannoneers to play with your Artillery upon the Enemy If your Enemies Field-pieces be no longer than are usually carried into the Field you will be able to shoot upon your Enemies Body of Foot a quarter of a mile before your Enemies Artillery will be able to shoot at your Body of Foot with any certainty The which will prove a great advantage to those that shall make use of it to be able to out-shoot your Enemy a quarter of a mile with your Artillery and your Enemy to recover that disadvantage must be constrained to march a quarter of a mile in Battalia with his Army before he can bring his Artillery to shoot to any purpose at your Army the which will prove if you have good Cannoneers a great dis-heartening if not a total overthrow to your Enemy All the Musqueteers that march in the Van-guard of an Army in a day of Battel ought to have two pair of Bandaliers furnished with Powder and Bullet and in case you have no Bandaliers let there be provided for each Musqueteer in the Van-guard of the Army twelve Carthrages which they ought to carry in their right-hand pockets and twelve Bullets apiece in their pockets besides and each company to carry with them for the re-furnishing their Musqueteers upon occasion a Powder-bag full of Powder Thus ought the Musqueteers in the Van-guard of an Army to be furnished All the rest of the Musqueteers ought to have their Bandaliers furnished with Powder and Bullet and each Musqueteer ought to have twelve Bullets apiece in their Pockets and each company must carry with them a Powder-bag full of Powder It is very fit likewise that you have in each Company six good Fouling-pieces of such a length as a Souldier may well be able to take aim and to shoot off at ease twelve of them being placed in a day of Battel when you bring a Division of Foot to skirmish with an Enemy on the flanks of a Division of Foot six Fowling-pieces on the one flank of a Division of Foot and six on the other flank as you shall see them placed in these three Battels following Those Souldiers that carry the Fowling-pieces ought to have command when they come within distance of Shot of that Division of the Enemy that they are to encounter with that they shoot not at any but at the Officers of that Division Likewise you ought to have on the flanks of each Division of Pikes a Souldier with Hand-Granadoes that if you bring your men to push of Pike they are to fire the Granadoes and to throw them in amongst the Enemies Pikemen which will prove a great advantage if they be boldly and well thrown Unto every Division of Foot in the Battail of your Army you ought to have two Divisions of Horse of forty in a Division ten in front and four deep on each flank of each Division of Foot in the Battail of your Army as you shall see them in these three following Battels These Divisions of Horse will be always in a readiness to charge the Enemies Foot at all times when the General shall think fit If you out-flank your Enemies Foot with your Foot either on the one flank or both the flanks let so many of your Divisions of Foot as do out-flank your Enemies Foot be drawn up on the Enemies flank and give fire on them And the Officers in Chief that Command on the flanks of the Van-guard of the Foot ought to have particular Orders for the same in case any such thing should happen and likewise they are to have a special Order for the keeping of their true distances in their advance towards an Enemy
If you perceive you have more Pikemen in your Army than your Enemy or if your Pikemen be better armed with Defensive Arms or with longer Pikes and that you have no advantage of him in your Artillery nor the Enemy in the ground upon which you are to advance then make what orderly hast you can continually skirmishing with your Enemy with the Van-guard of your Foot to bring your men to push of Pike with your Enemy When you have done that you must give order to the Officers in Chief that Command the Battel of your Army that they be careful to advance so with the Battel to front with the Van-guard of the Enemy some little while before your men come to push of Pike that at that time you may bring as many men to fight as you can The disadvantages that may happen to the Foot in a day of Battel are these The greatest is to be beaten by the Horse either on the one flank or both flanks and therefore the Foot Officers ought to imbattel their Foot so that they may be able to shelter their Musqueteers by their Pikes from the charge of any Horse The way how it may be done is shewed plainly in the three next Battels Another disadvantage is to be out-flanked by your Enemies Foot to prevent which your Chief Officers that command on the flanks of the Foot ought to have Order that as soon as they perceive they are or shall be out-flanked upon one or both the flanks they should draw up the Reer-guard of their Foot unto one or both flanks of the Van-guard of their Foot as they shall see cause Another disadvantage that the Foot may have is to be out-shot by the Enemies Artillery In case it falleth out so then when you once come within shot of your Enemies Artillery your Horse ought to have order to advance as orderly and speedily as they may until they come to encounter with the Enemies Horse If you fight with Foot amongst your Horse your Horse and your Foot must advance together Likewise you must advance with your Foot and Artillery as orderly and speedily as may be until you come within shot of your Enemy with your Artillery without shooting either with your Cannon or Musquets If you understand that your Enemy hath more Pikemen in his Army than you have or his Pikemen better armed with Defensive Arms or their Pikes to be longer than yours then ought you to avoid as much as you can the bringing of your Souldiers to push of Pike In case the Musqueteers in the Van guard of your Foot do come to want Powder or your Divisions of Foot in the Van-guard of your Army have lost so many men that they need relief from their reserves in the Battel then let the Officers in the Van-guard of the Foot have special command not to retreat with the Van-guard of Foot by no means but to advance skirmishing easily towards the Enemy until their reserves be marched by them Then let their Officers Command them to stand and see that their Bandaliers be furnished with Powder and Bullet and set them in order with as much expedition as may be and then let them march up within an hundred and fifty paces of the Reer-guard of Foot and to be in a readiness to second them upon any occasion A General ought to give particular Orders to all the Officers in Chief of his Army before the Battel begins in writing if he have time that the Officers in Chief may know how to Command their Souldiers to make use of all the advantages that he conceiveth may happen unto them in a day of Battel that upon any neglect of his Officers for not making use of any such opportunities the excuse of not having Order for the same may be taken away Likewise it should be written in their Orders how they ought to prevent any disadvantages that a General conceiveth may befal them The which will not only prevent excuses but according to the old saying He that is forewarned is fore-armed Set upon your Enemy when he is affrighted and distracted for there is nothing then to be expected of your Enemy but despair and confusion A General must be careful to give a very strict Order to his Officers and Souldiers that not a man of them offer to Pillage before the Field be clear of the Enemy and that such Officers as do suffer their Souldiers to Pillage before the Field be clear of the Enemy shall suffer for the same as the Souldiers for Pillaging Before the Battel begins you ought to give out a Field-word both to your Officers and Souldiers and besides your word that your Souldiers and Officers may the better be able to know one the other being mixt with the Enemy they ought to wear something or other about them to be known from the Enemy After the winning of a Battel a General should follow his Victory with all the expedition that he may either by keeping his Enemy from gathering an head again or presently falling upon some Countries or Towns where he thinks he may do his Enemy the most hurt For the yieldings after a Victory if well prosecuted are better than the Victory it self because when people are in suspence and great fear and confusion as it happeneth in sudden things it is a singular time to obtain Victories or some honourable composition The fruit of Victory consisteth in the well using of it which whosoever doth not incurreth an infamy so much the greater than not to know how to overcome by how much it is a greater fault to be deceived by the things that are in a mans power than by those that depend upon fortune Likewise a General is to take care for recruiting of his Army upon all occasions but especially after a Battel Although those things which are here before set down seem easie to understand and very easie to practise yet are they so often neglected by Commanders in Chief either in neglecting to make use of advantages or not giving out punctual Orders before a Battel for the aforesaid things or through the neglect of such as should put their directions in execution that one or more of the aforesaid neglects are always the loss of Battels And the loss of two or three Battels proveth the loss of Countries and Kingdoms He that desireth either that a City defend it self obstinately or that an Army in the Field fight it out resolutely must try his Wits to make an impression in the breasts of them that are to fight that such a necessity lieth upon them And it much helpeth an Army towards the winning of a Battel to make them confident that in any case they cannot doubt of Victory The things that give them this confidence are that they be well armed and well ordered For when Valour is accompanied with good Order and good Discipline it makes good use of the fury in such manner and at such times that no difficulty abateth it nor
being unable to make experience of their valour you lose or are in danger to lose your Enterprise Thus it came to pass at the coming of the French into Italy in the year one thousand five hundred and fifteen in the time of Francis the First King of France where it manifestly appeared to what pass it came to hold difficult places ill to be kept and to stop passages as you may see in Guicciard lib. 12. For the reasons aforesaid the Romans never held nor guarded the passages against Hannibal but rather would that their Armies should fight in open places where they might overcome him than to send them to the Mountains to be consumed with cold or other discommodities of those places CHAP. XXI Some certain Observations touching the profitableness of Intrenching and some Directions for the same THE Intrenchment incloseth your Army as a walled City from whence you may march privately with such designs leaving your Baggage in safety The Intrenchment hindereth the Enemy from constraining you to fight unless when you please The Intrenchment causeth you to take strong Cities in the face of a more puissant Army than your own Briefly the Intrenchment is less subject to Infection than the Villages are In effect an Army Intrenched and hutted will rather subsist three months in Health in a Camp in the Summer-time than a fortnight in the best Villages One of the most necessary parts of War is to know how well to incamp and intrench When you come to besiege a Town before which you intend to intrench your Army you ought to place your line of Circumvolation so near the Town that you may be able to quarter your Army within it safely from your Enemies Shot allowing an hundred and fifty foot for an Alarm-place between the Breast work and the front of the Quarters The Trench without your Breast-work must be twelve foot in breadth and six foot in depth and three foot in breadth at the bottom And the Earth that cometh out of the Trench will raise you a Breast-work or Rampier of twelve foot in breadth at the bottom six foot in height and three foot in breadth at the top with one foot bank Upon your line of Circumvolation at the distance of every two hundred paces you ought to have a Spur upon your line to flank it And before the Quarters of every Regiment upon your line of Circumvolation you must leave a small Avenue that one single man and no more may be able to pass through at a time You must likewise have in your line of Circumvolation four great Avenues for Carriages to pass through and upon the great Avenues you must set up Turn-pikes and without every Turn-pike there must be an Half-Moon Here note your Army must be divided into as many Quarters as you intend to have approaches against the Town And you must raise some Batteries close within the line of Circumvolation there where you think the most advantageous places may be for the same for the annoying of any Enemy that may come to trouble you If you suppose your Enemy may come so strong as to attempt the forcing of your Quarters then ought the Trench of your line of Circumvolation to be in breadth sixteen foot and in depth eight and in breadth at bottom six foot You ought likewise to have some Out-works both Half-Moons and Horn-works within Musquet-shot of your Rampier or Breast-work And if there be any Hills somewhat above Musquet-shot off from your line of Circumvolation that may be advantageous to your Enemy for the planting of his Ordnance to play upon your Breast-work or any part of your Quarters you ought upon such an Hill to raise a Sconce Thus you ought to observe and do if you intend to fortifie your Leaguer strongly for to prevent a powerful Army from forcing your Quarters If you have a desire upon any occasion to Intrench your Army in the Field for their better safety your best way then will be to draw your Army into as little a compass of ground as you may with convenience For the less compass your Rampier is the easier it will be to defend And if you have any occasion to send out any part or parts of your Army upon any design those which are left the less compass of ground they have to desend the better they will be able to do it The Sod or Turf which you are to face your Intrenchment withal if you are likely to have any Winter-Siege or any long Siege must be four or five inches long or thereabouts and in length fourteen or fifteen inches diminished inwards CHAP. XXII Some certain Observations about the taking of Towns and strong Places THere are seven ways to win Castles strong Holds and fortified Towns First by Treachery Secondly by Surprise as by Petarring the Ports and by Assaults Thirdly by Approaches Batteries and Assaults Fourthly by Approaches Mining Batteries and Assaults Fifthly by Intrenching Approaches Mining Battery and Assaults Sixthly by Composition Seventhly by Starving Philip of Macedon esteemed no place strong where his Ass loaden with Gold might enter For the attempting or taking of Towns by Surprise is very commendable in Officers and sometimes very successful where the Officers have good Intelligence and carry their business secretly carefully orderly and valiantly And there is no adventure for surprising a place more safe in War than that which is farthest from suspicion of being undertaken and by such sudden designs one may gain that in one hour the which may not be gotten any other way under a years service of an Army or two In the besieging of all Towns a Commander must be careful that his Enemy be not able to cut off his Victual or his Retreat and that he besiege no Town but such as he is able to cut off all relief from the Besieged A Commander in Chief ought likewise to be careful how he adventureth upon Winter-Sieges and long Winter-Services or long Sieges at any time unless the consequence of the place requireth it and that he be sure to take it in the end Long Sieges ruine Armies empty the Purse and most commonly it falleth out so that it hindreth Armies from better imployments and after a long Siege though things fall out according to a Commanders desire he will have little reason to brag of his Victory when he vieweth his Expences his Time and his Army The malice of a great Army is broken and the force of it spent in a great Siege Hannibal entring into Italy with his Army to make War upon the Romans would not be drawn to besiege any of their Towns all his War was to weaken them in Force and Reputation knowing that when he was absolute Master of the Field it would not be long e're the walled Cities would open their Gates without expecting any Engineer or Battery If a General besiegeth any Town in which his intelligence or his opinion hath deceived him so much that he hath little hope of
Governour ought to give command that they play upon his Enemies approaches as often as his Ammunition will give leave A Governour should be careful to sally no oftner with strong parties than necessity requireth or the advantages that the Enemy by his carelesness or boldness shall give him occasion At the beginning of every night you ought to make sallies with small parties upon the Enemies Workmen that do then approach and break ground and now and then to sally with a strong Party At the beginning of the night you ought to make some fires so near the Enemies approaches as you can conveniently that you may be able to see by the light of the fire where your Enemies break ground that so you may the better hinder them by shooting at them with the more certainty For which occasion your Town ought to be the better provided of Wood and Pitch-Barrels And there must be care taken to lay some Souldiers with Fowling-pieces or Fire-locks behind little small Breast works not far from the fires to spoil those that may come to put out the fires If a Governour of a Town be sure he hath more Powder than is answerable to the rest of his Provisions the which he ought always to have then may a Governour undermine his Enemies Corps de Guards when they are advanced very near unto his Out-works And always when he springeth a Mine he ought to sally strong on his Enemies Trenches and to command those Officers if it be possible to nail the Enemies Ordnances and for that purpose some Souldiers ought to be appointed to carry fit instruments with them And whensoever you sally strong on your Enemy you must likewise have in a readiness some Spademen to slight such of the Enemies works as your Souldiers shall possess themselves of Also you must have a care to appoint many Souldiers for the throwing in of Hand-Granadoes into your Enemies Corps de Guards the which will be a special means to help your Souldiers for the beating your Enemy out of their Corps de Guards If your Town be fortified with a dry Mote and if your Town be well manned it is much stronger then a wet Mote And as soon as you see upon what parts of the Town your Enemy doth make his approaches then dig a Trench in the bottom of your dry Mote so far as you see your Enemies approaches are in breadth against your Town about eight or ten foot in breadth and so deep until you come either to Water or Rock But if you are fain to dig deep before you find either then make a Gallery under ground under the bottom of your dry Mote so far as your Enemies approaches go For which purpose your Town ought to be furnished with good store of Timber And if you observe the aforesaid directions it will be impossible for your Enemy to run his Galleries to the Rampier of the Town without being discovered and then you may easily prevent him from doing you any hurt either by his Galleries or his Mines If your Town be fortified with a wet Mote then the best and strongest Fortifications that belong to a wet Mote is a false bray of some twenty foot in breadth and when you perceive where your Enemy will make over his Gallery to your Rampier then must you plant two of the best pieces of Cannon that you have in your false Bray just against the mouth of your Enemies Galleries the which two pieces must be sunk so deep that they may play almost level with the water By this means you will be able to do your Enemy the more mischief and secure your Ordnance the better from your Enemy For the more security of your Ordnance and Cannoneers from your Enemies Batteries you ought to raise the Traverses close to your Cannons cross your false Bray In desending the Out-works of a Town that is fortified with a wet Mote there must be a special care and resolution shewed For the Out works being once lost you can Sally no more on your Enemy I will conclude with this advice to all Governours that are to defend a besieged Town that they have a special care of these three things The first is that from the beginning to the end of a Siege their care be such that their Garrisons spend no more Victuals daily than necessity requireth The second thing is that they do not vainly waste their Men Ammunition and firing but that they do so order the expence of these things that they may be able to hold out with their Victuals For many Governours do either cowardly or ignorantly make a waste of the aforesaid things that they may give over Towns the sooner to their Enemy and that as they conceive with honour enough whereas their own cowardliness hath brought them to want necessaries for the defence of their Towns more than the pressing Service of their Enemies But if such Governours had their deserts they ought to die for such carelesness and cowardliness The third and last thing is that they carefully defend their Out-works and their Town with all the Skill Judgment and Valour that they and their Garrisons can afford and that they so order their Sallies and the cutting off their Out-works and Towns that their Garrisons and Towns may be able to hold out so long as the Provisions of the Town shall last One thing more I think fit to adde in this place a way to break a Bome or a Bridge that shall be made over a River for hindering Provisions from coming to the Town that is besieged Take a great Ship and let it be made with Mason-work within in the manner of a Vaulted Cave and upon the Hatches lay Mill-stones and other Stones of great weight and within lay many Barrels of Powder in the Vault By means of the danger you will hardly get any man to conduct it therefore you must tye a great Beam at the end of the Ship to make it keep a straight course in the midst of the Stream and when you have a fair wind lay your Train and set it going If the Corn you keep in store for your Garrison be now and then dusted it will keep good in a Garner seven years but if your Corn by chance grow musty then make Bisket of it for then it will make as good Bisket as the best Corn in the world CHAP. XXV Some Observations concerning Fortifications TOuching the Art it self in respect of the matter and the manner it is a member of Architecture but the end is Military For to fortifie is nothing else but to raise Works answerable to necessity and the occurrences of War Neither is it the end of Fortification to make a place impregnable or impossible to be taken for so it were ars artium But to reduce it to a strong defence concerning which Art seeing there are so many Books written I will here set down only thus much in brief of it that in Fortifications you must observe five