Rondartschier
The Rondartschier (also Rontartschier) represented in the 16th and 17th centuries as swordsmen , alongside pikemen and musketeers , one of the three armies of infantry at that time . The equipment included steel chest harness , bracers and greaves, a light chain mail , helmet, the Rondartsche (a round shield ) and long sword , broad sword or rapier .
background
The Rondartschiere had their wedding in the 17th century. It was named after the round shield called Rundtartsche or Rondartsche, which was originally used by the Ottoman troops during the siege of Vienna in 1529 and later also in 1683 . Rondartschier formations were the last infantry units to be armed with "cold steel" .
The Rondatschiere always operated in cooperation with pikemen and musketeers, typically within the framework of the Spanish Ordinance (Tercio), which was copied throughout Europe . They were used both defensively and offensively. On the one hand, they were responsible for the frontal and flank protection of the clumsy pikemen and musketeer formations. On the other hand, during a break in fire, they could undermine the pikes of the opposing formation and decimate the enemy soldiers in close combat. If the battle situation permitted, they were covered by their own musket fire. They were extraordinarily successful and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy musketeers and pikemen . They were also used when two opposing pike formations were wedged together. Then, for example, they crawled under the opposing pikemen and stabbed them.
In addition to Spain, the Archduchy of Austria , the Electorate of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Poland also recruited mercenaries.
Even Raimondo Montecuccoli , demanded that an infantry company should include ideally 88 Musketeers, 48 pikemen and 8 Rontartschiere.
With the development of volley fire and the Europe-wide introduction of the bayonet at the beginning of the 18th century, the use of pikemen and Rondartschieren became militarily superfluous. The Rondartschen were also valued by the cavalry because of their bullet resistance. It was either attached to the horse's neck area or attached to the rider's shoulder when he was not using it.
Late medieval shield shapes
The use of shields became less common in the field of warfare, but they were used from 1490 to the 1690s, depending on the region. There were different forms, so the Scots and English used a similar small round shield, which is one of the Targen . There were the asymmetrical winged arrows or the Turkish Kalkan of the Eastern European fighters, as well as the buckler and the steel-made Rondartsche.
See also
literature
- Georg Dietrich von der Groeben : From the armor. in: New War Library or Gesammlete Beytráge on War Science. Vol. 6. Wilhelm Gottlieb Korn, Breslau 1777, OCLC 596930971 , p. 67/68. ( online )
- Georg Ortenburg : Heerwesen der Neuzeit, Vol. 1: Weapons and the use of weapons in the age of the cabinet wars , Bernard & Graefe, 1986, p. 95
Web links
- Medieval weapon glossary - Rondartsche (PDF; 1.2 MB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rondartsche on beyars.com, accessed on August 28, 2014.
- ↑ Middle Ages Gun Glossary - Rondartsche (PDF; 1.2 MB)
- ↑ a b Kurbairisches Dragoon Regiment Johann Wolf - Rondartschier on regimentjohannwolf.de, accessed on August 28, 2014.
- ↑ Georg Ortenburg: Weapons and the Use of Weapons in the Age of Landsknechte , p. 95
- ↑ Georg Dietrich von der Groeben: From armor. in: New War Library or Gesammlete Beytráge on War Science. , P. 68.