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
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
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
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