Starting in the 14th century
Infantry were gaining the upper hand over armored horsemen on the battlefields of medieval Europe
Archers and ranged troops were able to bring them down at distance and mass
Formations of pikemen and halberdiers could stop them dead in their tracks
The Swiss infantry of the time with their well disciplined squares of pikemen showed that they could consistently defeat large armies
containing heavy medieval horsemen
Tacticians of the day began to experiment with the most effective way to deploy their infantry as their importance on the field of battle
grew over the years
The integration of pikemen and arquebusiers into a unified fighting force
Was a major issue that military leaders were grappling with by the end of the 15th century
it was the Spanish armed forces who pioneered the new methods of infantry fighting and they created a new type of
organizational unit the Tercio
The Spanish would improve the effect of the Swiss Square by adding the firepower of the arquebus and by the first part of the 16th century
They were transformed into the most formidable military force of its age
They were the first fighting force to efficiently mix pikes and firearms
Literally meaning "third". They were originally designed to be composed of one-third pikemen, one-third swordsmen, and one-third gunmen
Tercio companies dominated European battlefields in the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century and are seen by
historians as a major development of early modern combined arms warfare
The size of tercios varied between specific forces but also over time
With a typical unit having around 1,500 men, but up to 3,000 were deployed in some situations
They were then organized into companies of 250 to 300 men each
Tercios had extremely affected leadership as they were led by a maestre de campo who was in charge of the entire unit
They were generally well respected by their troops as they usually came from the ranks of the tercio itself
The maestre de campo was appointed by the king but still had to prove their ability in battle before given leadership of the unit
Each company was led by captain and the maestre de campo and the captain's all had
experienced second in commands ready to take over their duties if needed as
a standing army these soldiers in the Tercios were
Experienced combat veterans due to their constant deployment around the world and service of the Spanish Empire
They were either on campaign quelling insurrections or pacifying enemy territories
They had to be trained in all types of warfare including siege craft ship-to-ship warfare and even amphibious assaults
Another factor that gave Tercios the edge against others was that typically the core of Spanish armies were formed by Spanish subjects
Who were renowned for their discipline cohesiveness and professionalism
Other European powers who had adopted the Tercio formation
normally used foreign soldiers or mercenaries who often didn't match the Spanish in their fighting abilities or motivation
Logistically, the Tercios had a relatively light footprint allowing them to move all over Europe fairly quickly
Much of their success is in fact due to their mobility at a strategic level as an infantry formation
they did not have to worry about supplies for horses, and they operated separately from artillery units and
only took light field guns with them as
Long as they had powder and shot
The Tercio could live off the land and be ready for battle at the end of a long march
Tactically what also made them so effective was that they combined traditional warfare strategy with the newest weapons of the time
These units had very few or any weak spots because of the great coordination of pikes, swords, and arquebuses.
The pikemen would protect the other soldiers within the unit from enemy cavalry or infantry charges
These swordsmen would be placed near the pikemen in case the unit was reached and close range combat was needed
The gunmen were positioned to attack in harass hostile units
Also, they were used to degrade the effectiveness of enemy pike squares
diminishing their capacity to resist offensive attacks as
The firearm rose and prominence the use of swordsmen declined and were phased out in the coming centuries
Eventually Spanish commanders also solved major problems that plagued the effectiveness of using gunmen in battlefield formations
Both the arquebus and the later muskets were highly inaccurate and only massed volley fire could be effective
Also the rates of fire were agonizingly slow as getting off one round per minute was considered a good rate
Gunners simply could not shoot accurately enough and fast enough to stop a charge of enemy infantry
to combat this issue Spanish commanders imposed strict fire discipline
Gunmen were formed up in depth and trained not to fire without orders
The procedure was for the first rank to deliver a single masked volley on command and then retire to the rear to reload
The second rank would then step forward aim fire on the order and retire and so on as the tercio could deliver volley after volley
against an advancing formation of enemy troops
By 1590 the spanish were able to maintain a constant rate of fire by rotating ranks of gunmen through one another
In battle the Terios were generally more maneuverable and had more extensive skirmishing abilities than other pike and shot formations
Their companies could maneuver independently in battle with later versions of the Tercios having up to four blocks of mangas
Mangas were a detachment of 100 to 400 men that were more mobile than the regular Tercio formations
They would detach themselves from the main Tercio force to harass enemies and keep them engaged in combat
mobile formations of Spanish arquebusiers reorganized to the flanks were decisive at the Battle of Pavia in
1525 against the kingdom of France
the highly effective Spanish gunman caused tremendous casualties to the French forces
Which were virtually annihilated during the battle the victory led to the rise of Spanish Habsburg domination in Italy
Even in defeat the skill of the Spanish tercio won them Fame and admiration throughout Europe
During the siege of Castelnuovo in 1539
About four thousand Spanish defenders were attacked by fifty thousand soldiers of the invading Ottoman Empire
After weeks of valiant resistance, the walled town was eventually taken by the Ottomans
However, the Ottomans suffered 20,000 deaths in the assault while the Spanish lost almost everyone in the heroic defense against all odds
The difference between Spanish tercios and other armies using the same tactics was highlighted at the Battle of Nordlingen against Swedish
led Protestant forces in 1634 during the 30 Years War the
30 Years War started as a struggle between Catholic and Protestant States
But eventually evolved over the years into a general conflict between the great European powers
At the time the Swedish army was considered one of the strongest if not the strongest and most effective in Europe
Also, they had already defeated other pike and shot European powers in numerous battles
However, it was the highly trained Spanish troops that made the difference between victory and defeat
During the engagement the Spanish would use a special tactic to reduce the effect of the powerful Swedish gunfire
When a Spanish officer would see the Swedish prepare to fire he ordered his men to kneel and let the bullets pass over their heads
And then counter fire a volley
The tercios withstood relentless assaults and stood their ground against the Swedish led forces
With successful counter-attacks leading them to victory
By the end of the two-day battle the Swedish army was completely routed
Although only a small part of the overall Roman Catholic army, the Spanish tercios were a decisive factor in the battle
Extraordinary unit cohesion of the Spanish tercio is another key reason for their effectiveness on the battlefield
They had a unique ability to take substantial combat losses and yet maintain unit integrity and continue fighting
At the time it was simply unheard of for any unit to take heavy losses in an open field and not flee or surrender
This can be seen at the Battle of Rocroi against the French in
1643 in which the dominance of the Spanish Tercio was finally shattered in battle
The French skillfully outmaneuvered the Spanish cavalry and artillery and began withering attacks on the enemy infantry
Allied nations Pike and shot formations broke under the attacks and fled the field, but the Spanish tercios continued fighting
Even though the situation was dire
reinforcements were expected
So the Tercios has fought on taking mounting losses until acceptable terms were offered
In the end their battlefield casualties were over 60% but the Spanish were allowed to orderly withdraw from the field with their standards and weapons
Even then the defeat was mostly due to the collapse of the supporting cavalry
Rather than the failure of the tercios themselves who had fought valiantly in the battle
Tercios continued to win important battles for a time even after the 30 Years War, but they were greatly modified from their older forms
By then improvements in field artillery and firearms had given the new linear combat style a decided advantage
pioneered earlier by the Dutch
The later 17th century tercios adopted so much of the linear styles organization and tactics
They had little resemblance to their classic forms of the previous century
By the beginning of the 18th century the Spanish Tercios were transformed into regiments
The Spanish Tercio was a major success on the battlefield for almost a century and a half due to a combination of factors
This can be seen through its ability to coordinate weapons into battlefield formations, a strict combat discipline,
Good training, a strong fighting spirit, an experienced and skilled commanders
All of these abilities together was the very definition of a professional army
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