15th century battle formation ...KNOW THE DRILL

[Gerry Embleton]

Henry Landis presents to us an interesting theory. For it to work the  
roads from all of the villages contributing to the muster would have to  
merge one with another and presumably widen as they did so to  
accommodate each new village "snakelet" as it joined the ever widening  
"column" - or it would pass in several columns along conveniently  
placed parallel roads.

The proposition that the formation would split to pass around obstacles  
like a bush tree or vinyard is ok but what happens if the obstacle is a  
thicket, forest or many vinyards with only one small gap to pass  
through ?

Anyway - we have written evidence that forming up was practiced at  
large musters, that battle formations were organized (and took some  
time to set up) before action.

Henry's novel approach to the subject is interesting but needs to be  
considered in the light of our knowledge of known 16th and 17th century  
practices and the practical experience of re-enactors who have  
experience of handling large formations.

We have NO 1470's drill book (which does not mean they didn't exist)  
and no conveniently clear references of manoeuvres of large formed  
bodies of troops of the 1470's. We have pictures of battle formations,  
later (16th century) and early classical texts, the latter being the  
base for 15th century training.

As re-enactors we have very little time to practice and very few people  
with experience. We need to invent a very simple set of basic commands  
and manoeuvres that can be easily understood, quickly learned and will  
serve the company on the march and in the field.
We need to be able to form up at a drum beat, each person in his or her  
place for an inspection - to be able to turn immediately into a column  
of march and from it into battle formation. With a clear chain of  
command, simply clearly shouted orders and a bit of training it is  
really not difficult to achieve...
We developed this 10 years ago after much practical experience and our  
conclusions were published in Dragon.  They worked extremely well and  
at the end of a few days everyone in the company knew exactly where to  
stand, how to march and what commands to expect. This proved extremely  
useful in emergencies which did (and still might) arise. The simple  
diagrams in Dragon should  provide a useful and time saving starting  
point for any new theories and practices. The essence of  drill in any  
reenactment company of any period is to keep it simple, keep the orders  
clear and make the drill compulsory for everyone.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
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Gerry Embleton - Time Machine AG
La Chaîne 15. CH-2515 Prêles. ++41 (0)32 315 23 93
www.time-machine.ch

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