pikemen
Long-shafted foot soldiers
Pikemen were infantry soldiers armed with pikes—long wooden spears typically fifteen to twenty feet in length.
They formed the backbone of European armies from the late medieval period through the seventeenth century, standing in tight formations to repel cavalry charges.
The term now appears mainly in historical contexts: The pikemen held their ground as horsemen approached.
Pole with sharp point
- phalanxMassed infantry formation
- infantryGround combat troops
- formationCreation or arrangement
- halberdAxe-headed infantry pike
squares · footsoldiers · lance · ranks · Swiss · mercenaries · drill · charge
Papal security force
- Thirty Years War1618-1648 European religious conflict
- English Civil War1640s British constitutional conflict
- CromwellEnglish republican military leader
- Low CountriesThree small European nations
Flanders · levies · militia · professional · mercenary · Tudor · Stuart · Hapsburg
Tower of London guardians
- guardWatchful defensive attention
- processionFormal moving line
- royalOf monarchs
- Tower of LondonMedieval riverside fortress
livery · uniform · pageantry · halberdier · honor guard · tradition · heraldic · escort
spear
Pole with sharp point
halberd · squares · footsoldiers · lance · ranks · Swiss · mercenaries · drill · charge · cavalry
Swiss Guard
Papal security force
- Thirty Years War1618-1648 European religious conflict
- English Civil War1640s British constitutional conflict
- CromwellEnglish republican military leader
Low Countries · Flanders · levies · militia · professional · mercenary · Tudor · Stuart · Hapsburg · billmen
Beefeaters
Tower of London guardians
- guardWatchful defensive attention
- processionFormal moving line
- royalOf monarchs
Tower of London · livery · uniform · pageantry · halberdier · honor guard · tradition · heraldic · escort · state
- medieval warfareknights, siege warfare, castle, castle siege, siege
- militarysoldiers, army, troops, officers, navy
- guards and soldiersbodyguards, sentries, watchmen, sentinels, gatekeepers
- warriorsfighter, knight, footsoldier, barbarian, samurai
- military historybattles, soldiers, campaigns, officers, battlefields
- ancient armiesphalanx, legion, hoplites, heavy infantry, light infantry
pikemencavalry
Mounted military force
archers · horsemen · bowmen · crossbowmen · dragoons
pikemencavalry
Mounted military force
horsemen · mounted troops · knights · hussars · cuirassiers