Selected quad for the lemma: hand_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
hand_n	left_a	rank_n	right_a	50,843	5	9.3193	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B08601	War practically perform'd: shewing all the requisites belonging to a land-army, in marches, battels, and sieges. / Deduced from ancient and modern discipline by the experience of Capt. Nath. Boteler.	Boteler, Nathaniel.	1672 (1672)	Wing B6288D; ESTC R173344	93,172	256

between Eumenes and Craterus mentioned by Plutarch in Vita Eumenis where Eumenes placing the Horse before his Foot did it saith the Author because he held them the prime of his strength and therefore put upon them the hazard of the day and herein shewed himself both in counsel and action a brave and well-experienced General As for the best forms and fashions of Horse-battels the most ancient and then the most common was that of a Rhombe And this was in special account with the Thessalians witness Aelian cap. 18. who were reckoned for the best Horsemen of Greece as Xenothon reports them in his Hist. Graec. lib. 7. 644. D. and held that account to the time of King Pyrrus And for this form these reasons are given That it was fittest for all Encounters because the Horse thus postured were ready to turn Faces about any way upon all occasions That it could not be surprised in Flank or Rear as having the best and choice men in the Flank and the Commanders in every point of the Rhombe But the practice of our days consists most in the ordering of the Horse into square Bodies And the grounds hereof are That these forms are with most ease and facility to be put in order That they are aptest for the joynt movings of the Horse And that the Commanders do joyntly charge the Enemy in the Front which in no form can be done but this To speak freely of both these forms I opine with them who hold that the Rhombe in point of piercing and artificial breaking into the battel of an Army is the most proper unless perhaps that a Wedge be in the same case to be preferred for being narrow and pointed in the Front it naturally forceth a passage with the point and withal maketh way for the rest of the Body to follow and so without much ado piercing farther and farther it must necessarily hazard the breaking of the adverse Battel and so disperse it that afterwards execution may be done at pleasure On the other side the square Horse-battel in respect of doing execution and violent overthrowing of all in its way is to be preferred before any other for it bringeth more hands to fight and beareth down all things before it So that I see not but both these forms of Horse-battels may be held in use even in these times the one for entrance the other for bearing down this for a thorow execution that for a dispersion But there is one thing more in the ordering of Horse-battels of especial observation and that is their depth of which Leo his opinion was cap. 12. sect 40. that a Horse-battel was onely to be four in depth and his reasons were that bearing Lances the fifth was unprofitable because from thence their Lances could not reach to the Front neither saith he can Horse as Foot with their thickness or depth thrust one another forwards from behind and therefore in his opinion the number of four was sufficient for the depth in File And yet we find in Polybius that the Horse was for the most part in his time ordered eight in depth But this was in the Age of Lances In our now Pistol-world I finde the King of Swedens Horse which were ordered in the Wings of the Van at the battel of Lipzwick to be four in depth And those that were in the Wings of the Rear to be five in depth and so likewise were Tillies Horse In the battel of Lutzen the King of Swedens Horse were in no place above three in depth whereas Walsteins Horse were every where six It seems therefore that there can be no certain rule touching this particular but that it must be varied according to the number of Horse and the necessity of enlarging the fronts so that Aelians proportion may be received with most approbation for the general which is to double the number of the Front to the number of the Flank and as the number of the Troop ariseth to enlarge the length of the Front and the depth of the Flank proportionably one to another yet would I not have it to exceed the number of eight at any time in depth nor under four for the one extream loseth the fighting of some hands by reason of their over-depth and the other is over-weak to sustain any great shock I shall add one thing more which may concern both Horse and Foot concerning words of Command touching which I find that it was the ancient use witness Polyen lib. 4.217 sect 2. that when the Horse were commanded to turn to the right hand the word of Command was Turn to the Staff that is to that side where the Staff or Lance was then carried and when they were to turn to the left hand the word was Turn to the Reins because the Reins were born in the left hand And so to the Foot the words of Command were of old To the Pike when they were to turn to the right hand and to the Target when they were to turn to the left Now the present words of Command to this purpose both to Horse and Foot are To the right hand To the left hand To the right hand about To the left hand as you were To the left hand about To the right hand as you were Touching which I shall onely offer it to the consideration of our present Commanders whether it were not safer in this case to take up some other words of Command then those that are now in use And this in regard that our present words of Command To the right hand To the left hand are subject to be mistaken as being of too alike sound and may very well be taken one for another And all mistakes of this kind must needs be very disadvantagious and carry with them much of peril as all judicious men will readily confess So that we may do well to be herein presidented by our Sea-men who in their Sea-words of Command for the Condeing of a Ship use not to say Larboard the Helm but Port the Helm when they would have it to be put to the left side of the Ship lest by the affinity of the sound it should be taken for Star-board the Helm which is to have it to be put on the contrary side and that in many cases to a certain ruine And this also may be the better perfected by Aelians rule that the particular be placed first as to say to the Horse To the right hand turn your Face when you would have them turn to the right hand To the Reins or Sword turn your Face when they should turn to the left hand And to the Foot to say To the right hand turn your face when they are to move that way and To the Sword turn your faces when you would have them move to the left hand As for the words Double your Files or Ranks or Length or Depth The doubling of the length is to be used either to over-wing the Enemy or to avoid the

Rear and that as well in regard that it is the place of most security as that upon all occasions his advice and command may there be best given and taken And the Ensignes are to be ordered into the midst of the Maniples or somewhat nearer the Front As for the Artillery it is to be ordered before the Front without the corners of the Vant-guard upon the most elevated ground that it may the better play upon all parts Only if the Enemy be expected to charge on all parts then is the Artillery to be placed on all parts and such Pieces as are not for the present employment to be bestowed between the Battel and the Rear unless the fight be before a Town or Camp entrenched and then it is left either in the Town or Camp and so is the Baggage likewise and all the unprofitable persons But this ordering of an Army for a Battel hath not passed without reprehension in divers particulars As first of the Phalanx and indeed all other over-great Bodies for it being an undeniable Maxime that those Troops stand in best order which can bring up most hands to fight at once it as undeniably followeth that the smaller Troops and divisions must needs do this best and therefore are preferable Because in great Squadrons or Phalanxes many men are drowned in the depth of the Files and Flanks and never appear but when the breaking of the great Body doth present them to the Butcherie The great Squadrons are also reprovable in regard that they are unmanagable and cannot be preserved in order but when the ground is large and plain and withal of an even and perfect level otherwise they must either stand immovable or upon the least motion be subject to shaking and disorder whereas the lesser Bodies are scantled for all places champion or woodie level or uneven of what condition soever Again if two or three ranks onely of the great Bodies happen to be broken or any way disorderdered the whole Body is equally interessed in the disorder and hath far less means to rally it self then a small maniple whereas on the contrary if any violence rout or disorder a maniple it proceedeth no further then to that part where it taketh the disranking of any one of these small Bodies not at all or very little extending to the confusion or disorder of any of the rest by reason that their intervals and separations or distances serve to cut off such inconveniencies and yet no way hinder the general uniting of all their strength into one Body And these are the exceptions against great Bodies and united Phalanxes The second exception against the former order is about the placing of the General himself between the Battel or Middle-guard and the Rear-guard as the former order prescribes Concerning which notwithstanding many opinions are to be found and various Presidents Vegetius in his third Book and eighteenth Chapter saith that the General of the Army is accustomed to be in the right Wing betwixt the Horse and the Foot And he addeth This is the place which governeth the whole Battel as from whence all sallyings out are direct and free so that saith he the General resting thus betwixt the Horse and Foot may best govern them with commands and directions Now of both these there have been found examples of the first Diodorus Siculus affirmeth that it was the manner of the Scythians that the King should be in the middle of the Phalanx And Arrian in his first Book and thirty sixth Chapter affirmeth that Darius took the same place And Leo also cap. 4. Sect 63. and 67. and cap. 12. Sect. 66. giveth the middle of the Battel to the General And Plutarch reports that Timoleon in his fight against the Carthaginians placed himself in the very midst of the Battel On the other side we have it in Xenophon Cyrop lib. 7. fol. 176. that Cyrus in his Battel against Croesus took his place in the right Wing betwixt the right hand of the Battel and that of the Horse that were ordered in the Wing And Alexander the Great though bred amongst the Phalangers did the like in most of his Battels And for the Moderns I find the valiant King of Sweden at the battel of Liptzwick in the right Wing in the Front of some Brigades of Horse and at the Battel of Lutzen in the very Front of the right Wing of his Vant-guard consisting of six Horse-Squadrons lined with five Bodies of Musqueteers For mine own part as amongst these various opinions I cannot approve of the Generals placing himself in the midst of the Middle-guard or Center of the main Body of Pikes in regard that it neither expresseth valour nor can he see about him to discover any advantages or disadvantages and to direct accordingly so on the other side I shall not advise to have any General to be over-hazardous in adventuring his person in the very heighth of the Front especially when the Army falls up to the charge lest the loss of the best bloud of that body procure the languishing of the whole And thus I am sure was lost at Lutzen the best General of the World though to the wonder of the World that headless Army got the day in a fury In mine opinion therefore though a General may place himself at the time of a battel in the right Wing of his own Middle-guard yet ought it to be with some Brigades of Reserve and by no means in the very Point or Post of the Van. For questionless it is a great errour in a General when his courage shall not suffer his judgment to distinguish betwixt the duties of a common Carabine and the General of an Army As for the lining of the Horse with Musqueteers or at the least with the light-armed whereof we gave a touch before it was not uncommon with the Ancients And it was always held that Horse being thus charged could not resist both And we have a notable example hereof in Hirtius de Bello Afric when Caesar having a march to make and but a small number of Horse with his Legionary Souldiers was set upon in his way by the Enemie abounding with Horse and light-armed Numidians amongst them And when Caesars Souldiers fell out to charge the Enemies Horse retreated and the Foot stood fast until their Horse with a short wheeling about returned upon the Rear of the Enemy to their rescue by which way of fight Caesar himself confessed that he was so perplexed that he found no other course to save himself then to recover some hills of shelter near at hand and that had it not been for them he must have fared worse And for those Musquereers wherewith the King of Swedens Horse at the Battels of Liptzwick and Lutzen were lined they were so shadowed from the Enemie by these Horse that when those of the Enemies came up to the charge they did a very great execution upon them before they were aware and were a main means of