Lost pile
The Lost clusters (more rarely the lost crowd ), also Forlorn Hope , of nl. lost hoop (French enfants perdus ), denotes a special troop of mercenaries who were not included in the order of battle, but instead waged a scattered battle in front of the crowd . They stepped out of the second row and positioned themselves directly in front of the first, which was the element of surprise in the attack. In fact, it was a doomed vanguard . There are some military-historical equivalents to this type of vanguard, for example Les Enfants perdus in French or the Swiss boyships .
In attack they should surprise the enemy and with the two-handed sword to the pursuing columns a lane through the enemy squares cut, the hundred men were wide and a hundred deep. Another task was to lure the enemy out and bring him within range of the “heap of violence” behind them, the main force, which was mostly armed with pikes . In some skirmishes they carried the blood flag , a red pennant or a flag.
In defense , it was their job to hold back the first onslaught and disrupt the opposing battle line. Because of the high risk, the double mercenaries and mercenaries who had to prove themselves because of wrongdoings fought in the lost heap . Even special financial incentives were not enough to recruit enough soldiers for these units, so that mostly men condemned to death were taken who could fight for their freedom with this mission. It was men of the greatest courage or the deepest despair who made this group what it was. These shock troops were often led by young officers who, if they survived these missions, could be assured of a promotion and a career boost.
During the English Civil War , the Forlorn Hope Regiment was a volunteer force for the New Model Army . Many were Puritans and other Protestants , including many men of Dutch origin, which underlines the origin of the name. Such troops were also used by the English against the Indians in the 19th century. Some medieval princes also maintained such companies as double mercenaries.
With the increasing prevalence of handguns , the tactics of the lost heap changed to the “lost” firefight. In later wars, units that fought on "lost posts" were referred to as the Lost Pile. This is also occasionally reflected in literature and in war films. The Lost Heap was cited as a topic particularly often during the Second World War , for example by the SS , which named one of its special units "Lost Heap". Arnold Schönberg composed two ballads called “Verlorener Haufen” (op. 12, 1907).
literature
- Douglas Miller, Gerry A. Embleton: The Landsknechts (= Men-at-arms Series . Volume 58 ). Osprey Publishing, London 1994, ISBN 0-85045-258-9 , Tactics and Formations, pp. 7th f . (English).
- Hannsjoachim W. Koch : Illustrated history of the war campaigns in the Middle Ages . Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-8289-0321-5 , section "Professionalization", p. 199 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rolf Michaelis : History of the Lost Pile. In: Die Zeit , No. 20/1988
- ↑ Rudolf Adler: The Lost Pile. Memories of a paratrooper . Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2004, ISBN 3-8334-1507-X .
- ↑ A lost bunch. War film by John Ford with John Wayne , USA 1945 (Original title: They Were Expendable )