Selected quad for the lemma: order_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
order_n	close_a	file_n	rank_n	13,052	5	12.0341	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17524	The complete captain, or, an abbridgement of Cesars warres with observations upon them; together with a collection of the order of the militia of the ancients; and a particular treatise of modern war: written by the late great generall the Duke of Rohan: Englished by I.C.; Parfait capitaine. English	Rohan, Henri, duc de, 1579-1638.; Cruso, John, d. 1681.; Caesar, Julius.	1640 (1640)	STC 4338; ESTC S107127	109,532	199

roll by their names and surnames and of what company they be You must command them on pain of death to bring back their ladders if you cannot get the town for they seeing the danger and trouble of bringing them back again will rather desire to do their uttermost endeavour to enter the town moreover you must command ten other men to enter after the first ten which must be led by an officer and another to be on their rear to take care to see them mount without losing of time and without making too much hast otherwise the ladders will be so much laden as that they will break after this ten more must follow commanded and divided as the former and every file of ten must know by which ladder they must mount and in what order that so al● may be done without confusion The first te● which follow their ladder must carry another though they have no order to raise it that so if any piece of the first should break there may another be raised in the stead If it be by petard the petardier shall call him that is to carry the madrier or planchier then he is to call three for the petard two to carry it and the third to assist in time of need and if the planchier be fastned to the petard thē foure men may carry it interchangeably by two and two and those two which carry not the petard with the planchier shall each of them have a great smiths hammer After these foure the petardier shall call two men each of them carrying a great ax after them one with a crow-lever then another with a dark-lantern then one with three or foure pieces of lighted matches besides these there must be one to command them which shall carry a piercing instrument or a coopers turrell or some good hooks with steeled points and a weighty hammer So that to attend every petard well there must be ten men this file of ten for the first petard shall be led by some brave Sergeant which shall have the name of every man of his file in writing and shall also know what every of them is to carry The men must know the Mule which carrieth their equipage and so soon as they come to the place where they are to unlade they must place themselves about the Mule that so each of them may receive what he is to carry If the second petard must be applied to a gate or barres they which shall carry it must be in the same order as they of the first petard but if it be for a draw-bridge the rolling-bridge or carriage goeth formost with seven or eight men which are imployed as well to carry it as to push it forward after this the planchier and petard must be carried after the same manner as the first then shall they follow in file and in close order which carry the ladders and planks to cast upon the breach which the petard shall have made upon the draw-bridge then shall they follow which carry hāmers hatchets pinsōs instruments to pull out bolts and to cut chains then some with fire-lances and granadoes and some dark lanterns The officer which shall have the leading of them must take care that not a man lose his rank and shall divide them into files and shall take care to cause the spare men to carry such portions of the equipage as they did carry which shall happen to be hurt or killed which he shall onely cause to be laid out of the way without suffering those which are to be imployed about the service of the petard to trouble themselves about carrying away any man that is killed or hurt At all the gates and bridges the men must be disposed in the same order But when you go against iron-grates or portcullices you must cause those to march first which carry the tresses or iron-hooks then marcheth the planchier and the petard after which follow hammers hatchets crows of iron and other instruments which may be thought fitting you must not forget to carry fire-balls granadoes or fire-lances if you have observed that you may make use of them every man must carry a hatchet at his girdle you must rather have a supernumerary number of instruments then want one Having thus put all into order and officers at the head and on the flanks of every file you must have besides some petards planchiers and other instruments for reserve which must be carried in the same order as the ●ther For you must alwayes have a double equipage When you come near the place where the execution is to be done you must distribute to every man what he is to carry The Sergeant ordereth them in file and commandeth every one duly to follow his leader then he causeth them to march forward to give room to those of the second petard and so consequently of all the rest there being a guide for the first file to shew them the way And that you may not be intangled sometimes you may cause ten cuiraciers to march before one foot to discover whether the enemy be not on the advenues then follow three men bearing good targets to shelter amongst others the petardier then march they which carry the petards and the other train in such order as hath been said which shall be followed by fifty muskets led by a Captain to give fire for their defense if need be with large hailshot He must look that no man stay by the way as they march when the enemy asketh Who goeth there they must hasten their pace and then the petardier taketh the first petard with him and the rest must follow very close that so when the first is fired the second be ready to be put into his hands The ten horsmen which have marched before all the equipage so farre shall not advance further then the distance of pistoll-shot from the first bars then they shall fall back to the Captain which leadeth the fifty musketiers The first petard being fired the officer shall cause his men to be placed on the right and left hand to give room for the second petard then that shall do the same to give passage to the third then that maketh room for the rolling-bridge and they for the petards and other instruments and consequently all the rest And they which are unladen must help the rest without making any noise And if the petardier calleth for any thing he that carrieth it must be ready to give it him and no man upon pain of death must stirre out of the place where he was placed but onely to give to the petardier what he calleth for or to supply some bodies place which in carrying something to the petardier was hurt or killed The officers must take care that the petardier be presently served and all be done without noise or confusion The ouverture being made they which shall be commanded for the first attempts must be ready to enter and to force whatsoever shall resist them they

the Hastati must then fight at so wide a distance that between two files they might receive two other files which sheweth the weaknesse of this first order which being so ranged in battalia could not be able to repulse nor sustein the adverse battallion And even the files being at so wide a distance from each other were not able to keep themselves right in fight nor to observe their distances but in the other way there are many conveniences to be found First many bodies of a hundred and twenty men apiece or thereabouts assaulting a battallion they may very well defeat it at the worst they may retreat without disordering themselves or loosing their distances And the second order which is embattelled behind the first just over against their intervalls may easily fill them as also in case of necessity the third body may supply those distances which are reserved for them renewing the fight three times And that which confirmeth us the more in this opinion is that in reason it ought to be so next the description of the battel of Zama which Scipio fought against Hannibal where it is said that Scipio to hinder Hannibals elephants from routing his souldiers caused the Cohorts of the Principes which were placed just over against the intervalls of the Hastati to stand just behind them so to leave streets for the passage of the elephants which sheweth plainly that the order of battalia was disposed by Cohorts and not by files I speak not of the Velites in this order of battalia nor of all other light-armed souldiers because they fought not but with casting-weapons and afar off and when the armies approched to give the shock they retired themselves behind the heavie-armed Now to form the said order I will say that the file was alwayes of ten men in depth that a Cohort or Maniple of a Legion of foure thousand two hundred men consisted alwayes of one hundred and twentie souldiers and consequently the Cohort made ten ranks and twelve files conteining at six foot square of ground for every souldier seventy two foot in breadth and sixty in depth and the moity of it when they were at three foot distance The first figure of a Cohort This figure in the Authours copy hath 13 files 11 ranks which I conceioee to be a mistake In each of the three orders howsoever the Legions were weaker or stronger there were alwayes ten Cohorts or Maniples but the Cohorts were either increased or diminished according to the proportion of the Legions The second figure of ten Cohorts The two first orders are of an equall number and the last of half as many and by this example of one Legion you may see how all the troups passed into each other The third figure of a Legion I conceive that between the Legions there was a far greater distance then between the Cohorts that so they might prevent confusion amongst them which I judge to be so necessary as that without the observation thereof it was altogether impossible to observe any good order Concerning the cavalry seeing it was divided into the like number of troups as the Infantery it is like they fought in the same order but the one half were on the right flank and the other on the left Thus the army was composed of six great bodies namely foure bodies of infantery and two bodies of the cavalry and every body divided into small troups as hath been shewed before The order of Battalia of a complete Army The fourth figure So in this figure the intervalls should be 4 times wider if the bodies must be so large but I conceive a generall mistake in the figure and that in Praissac pag. 190. to be much better CHAP. IX Of Sieges NO Romane Commander hath made braver sieges then Cesar nor described them more perfectly He hath left examples for the assailing of all sorts of sites and to maintein a siege against all kinds of reliefs At Brundusium which is upon the sea he constrained Pompey to abandon it for that he shut up the haven by which that town was to be relieved At Cadenac which was a site inexpugnable he constrained the garrison to yield it by taking away their water At Alexia where were 80000 souldiers within the town and which expected two or three times as many he so fortified himself before it both against the town and against the enemy without as he famished it And at Bourges and Marseilles he took the first by assault and constrained the other to yield when it was upon the point of being taken by assault I will not here particularize the engines which they then made use of to force places of strength because the cannon hath taken away the use of them Yet I will onely say that they approched to the walls by degrees as much sheltred as they could and then attempted to batter them down by their engines or by mines to force an assault or at least to lodge upon the breach which I the rather speak to shew that howsoever we have changed the manner of fortifications the better to make resistance against our new thundring engines neverthelesse the ancient maximes for the taking of towns are the same which we make use of at this day Concerning the siege of Alexia it is the modell by which the Prince of Parma the Prince of Orange and the Marquesse Spinola have directed themselves to make theirs And all these great works and circumvallations which we admire and by the help of which they have taken many great cities in sight of greater armies then their own which have not been able to relieve them are nothing in comparison of those which Cesar made at this siege of Alexia To conclude they which come nearest to the manner of warring of the ancient Romanes as well in sieges as in the field are they which prove the most excellent Commanders CHAP. X. Observations vpon some battels of the ancients NOw that we have shewed the ancient Militia of the Grecians and Romanes by means whereof they have obteined so many brave victories we must yet observe two principall causes which their most excellent Commanders have successefully observed to obtein victories in battel namely to strive to overwing their enemy and never to cause their army to fight all at once Cyrus to keep himself from being overwinged in the battel which he fought against Cresus doubled the front of his army by as many more as they were by making the files of his infantery but 12 deep which before were 24 and to enclose his enemy he placed his best men on the wings who having defeated the wings of the adverse army came to assault the body of the battel on their flanks and on their rear At the battel of Cannae Hannibal placed all his best souldiers on the wings and the meaner ones in the middle that so the Romanes finding but little resistance there might insensibly sink into them and by that means they

sorts of offensive arms there be but three much in use namely the pistol sword and carabine The Spaniards onely have continued some few companies of lances which they keep rather for gravitie then reason for the lance doth no effect but by the violence of the carreir of the horse and besides there is but one rank which can make use of it so that their order must be to fight by single ranks which cannot resist the squadrons and if they should fight in squadrons they would rather be troublesome then serviceable And for musketiers on horseback or dragones they are also in a manner left off for that in the civil warres they ruined the Infantery every man desiring to have a nag that so he might be the fitter to rob and pillage neverthelesse some well-ordered troups of this kind in an armie are of very great service either for executions to gain bad passages to guard the quarters of horse or else on a day of battel to cause them to dismount as forlorn hopes before the squadrons of Cavalrie Now the Cavalrie must be proportioned with the Infantery which may be distinguished according to the situation of the countrey where the warre is made or else according to the enemy against whom you are to fight For if you you be in a champain full of forrage and if ye be to make warre against a great Cavalrie as that of the Turk in such a case you must fortifie your self with the greater number of horse But if the warre be in a countrey enclosed either by mountains forrests moores or hedges and ditches and that hath many fortified places for that the warre is rather reduced to sieges then to battels and field-combats in such a case you must strengthen your Infanterie And these two bodies are so necessary the one for the other as an armie cannot be held to be good nor subsist unlesse it be equally provided of both Neverthelesse if I were not induced by some extraordinary reason I would make the proportion of my army for the open countrey of a fourth part of horse to three fourth parts of Infantery as to twentie foure thousand foot eight thousand horse in an inclosed countrey of a sixth part of horse to five parts of foot as to twentie foure thousand foot foure thousand horse It remaineth to give to these two bodies such arms as were before mentioned with the most profitable proportion The Swisses have many more pikes then muskets and for this they have made themselves to be much feared in a champain countrey for in a day of battel where you come to hand the number of pikes hath much advantage of that of muskets Other nations do equally divide the pikes and muskets and because the war in these times is reduced to sieges rather then battels we desire to have a greater number of muskets then of pikes For my self which adde the targets to them my opinion should be to have the regiments of 1440 souldiers namely of 600 pikes 600 muskets and 240 targets For the Cavalrie I would proportion it after this manner I would compose the regiments of 500 horse whereof I would arm 400 with Cuirassiers arms 50 with carabines and 50 to be dragones But this is not all to provide good arms for your souldiers unlesse you oblige them to wear them it being an unsufferable shame to see their delicatenesse in these times and how they disesteem them and to cover this fault they publish that it is want of courage to go armed and that they will go in their doublets into the most dangerous places aswell as they which are armed It is not enough to go into a place to cause ones self there to be knocked on the head we should go thither to conquer and not to be beaten Besides this inconvenience groweth of it that if you use not your self to wear your arms you are so pestered with them as you cannot fight in them on the contrary if you accustome your self to them they are no more troublesome to you and you are at as much libertie in them as if you were in your doublet But the greatest mischief that cometh of it is that the ruine of military discipline followeth on it which a good Captain ought to cause to be exactly observed in every part For if he slacken it in one or in favour of some persons the consequences which follow on it by little and little will be such as they will wholly overthrow it and then he shall find himself without obedience and without respect which he shall never recover without incurring the hatred of those whom he hath too much spared it being most certain that it is easier to prevent a mischief then to help it when it is befallen CHAP. III. Of Militarie Discipline BEsides that which hath been said to incite every one to take upon him the profession of arms rather then any other we must make other observations to make a man worthy thereof which consist in three things namely in the recompense of commendable actions in the punishment of bad ones and in the continuall and exact exercise of militarie discipline for there is no profession in the world which hath more need of such helps then that of warre where for the single pay which hardly affordeth livelyhood and with which the meanest artisan would not be contented the souldier abandoneth himself to all sorts of perils and labours but none are instigated thereunto unlesse it be by emulation of honour or by licence to do evil and as the first aim is vertuous so you shall have good service of such as enter into it for that end But of the other you shall reap nothing but shame for in stead of a good and obedient army you shall find that you have no better then a troup of pillaging rogues which without order or obedience forsake you either after a good boot-haling or in any eminent danger For this reason the election of souldiers is a better way of forming an army then onely to receive voluntaries where all the vagabonds and evil livers and such as cannot live but by robbing cause themselves to be enrolled Therefore to incite such as are vertuous to well-doing and to deterre the vitious from doing evil recompenses and punishments are principally necessary The Romanes have made very profitable use of these two means and if we follow not their way we shall never have good nor well-disciplined souldiers It matters not though we use not the very same remunerations and the same punishments they did it sufficeth that they be equivalent that so we may receive the same benefit by them and these things are diversly done according to time and custome The principall is to be an exact observer of them that so the remunerations may excite brave men to worthy actions and the rigour of punishment may keep cowards from doing basely The manner of decimating the souldiers which the Romanes had is held to be cruel neverthelesse there