What Weapons And Armor Where Used By The Various Troops In The Spanish And French Armies During The

What weapons did the Spanish Empire use/produce during the 18th century?

Thanks for the A2A!While the Spanish army had lost its preeminent role in Europe by 1700, it played a major role in the War of Spanish Succession, which saw the dawn of the 18th century (1701–1714). In that war, the Spanish army used the following weapons.[1]Muskets The British army fielded the more refined Doglock Musket, but the Spanish army used the more generic musket pictured below.PikesUsed in conjunction with muskets to protect from cavalry chargesHalberdsUsed mainly by artillery troops to protect during reloadingBayonetsUsed for infantry vs infantry melee combatSwordUsed by infantry if formation was broken by cavalry charges, as well as a primary cavalry weapon.Dragoon sword c 1700, British MuseumFlintlock PistolsMain weapon used by cavalry to disrupt pike formations without getting to close.Flintlock pistol, c 1700, Illinois State MuseumCannonMain artillery piece used in sieges, defense of fortresses, or battlefield support.Reenactors use a 1700 British cannon in FranceBy the time of Napoleon, just after the 18th century, the Spanish army had declined still further. While Napoleon’s troops could reliably fire 4 volleys per minute,[2] the Spanish troops struggled to fire 2, as the Spanish army used obsolete muskets and had poor training.[3] In the Napoleonic wars, halberds were no longer used, and pikes were only seen rarely. Spanish forces likely used the same muskets, artillery, and pistols they had used in 1700, illustrating the sharp decline of Spanish power after 1650, and making their forces markedly inferior to the French.Cheers!Footnotes[1] Weapons used in the Spanish Succession War[2] Napoleonic Wars : Musket Fire : Bayonet[3] Napoleonic Wars : Weapons : facing colours : Napoleonic Armies : Napoleon Guide

What weapons were primarily used during The Thirty Years' War?

The 30 Years war had two phases : pre- and post-Gustav Adolphus.King Gustav of Sweden — Game Changer MaximusKing Gustav re-thought warfare and designed new tools& methods for the work of war.Here are the first phase soldiers and their tools (look to be French)the most powerful units at the start were the Spanish Tercios: pike & shot & swordTercios & their imitators fought in huge squares, (a tercio on the march)the nuts and bolts of it:The guns were the arquebus (so heavy it needed a support stand)and the Mousquet (smaller firelock — one that needed no stand)Here, the Battle of White Mountain, 1620 — catholic victory; both sides were similarly equipped.The Imperial artillery was heavy & hard to move. it took four horses to wrestles them around.The cavalry had given up the lance and was no longer the shock force on the battle field. They used a big horse pistol (wheel lock), rode close to the pike formation,, fired, wheeled away and retired to the rear to reload. The splendid Lipizzaner breed and school of riding shows the equestrianism required to fight cavalry this way (videos at bottom of page)Wheel lock pistolponderous and ineffective except in pursuit.Gustavus would give them back their swords and teach them to charge again.He brought back cavalry versus cavalry and cavalry versus infantry assaults — cavalry charges.Shock had returned to the field of war.Gustav thinned those infantry squares into a thick lines and gave them more gunsHere it the battle of Lützen, Gustav (red) vs Wallensteinby lightening the artillery , he made his army more flexible. It tool only one or two horses to move most of his gunsCut outs … cool! (who knew…) NB the limber had yet to be invented, so each battery was served by a wagon full of powder & shot.That about does it.Cromwell would use the Swedissh army example around which to form his ‘New Model Army’The genius of Sweden’s ‘Lion of the North’How cavalry behaved before Gustavus Adolphus.see also rejoneadora Ana Batista (Lord, how that woman can ride!)an art of war translated into the corrida

What did the Spanish Army look like in the 1500's and 1600's?

Going by several books I've just read (two by Geoffrey Parker), the Spanish army in the period you mentioned was based on heavy infantry -- the tercio (regiment, if you will) composed of halberdiers, arquebusiers and musketeers. Tercios, which were divided into several companies each of 250 men (those were the theoretical numbers) fought as large solid blocks, much like a Greek phalanx and Spanish soldiers were renowned for their ferocity. The pikemen did the assaulting, the arquebusiers and musketeers provided covering fire. There were no uniforms and no standard weapons, in fact the members were encouraged to dress the way they wanted to, though certain famous tercios might affect certain badges (such as feathers on their wide-brimmed hats for instance). Those who could afford it more metal armor, the rest made do with leather armor or thick coats. Spain recruited volunteers for the tercios and in some cases conscripted. There were never enough Spaniards to supply Spain's imperial plans so there were plenty of mercenaries - Italians, Dutch, Germans and even British. There was never enough money to pay them either, so during the Eighty Years war against the Dutch, tercios mutinied dozens of times for their pay. Despite the silver from South America Spain was drained by the fight against the Dutch, plague also ravaged the manpower pool, and finally other countries such as Sweden and France developed more flexible tactical systems (based on smaller companies, mobile artillery and cavaLry) that shredded the dreaded tercios. The decisive battle was Rocroi in France in 1643  when a Spanish army was all but destroyed by the French.