Pike square

A dense infantry formation with ranks of soldiers facing outward and presenting long pikes in every direction. It was designed to resist cavalry and close attacks.

Pike: A long infantry weapon with a pointed head, used chiefly to repel charging troops and cavalry. Long pikes projected beyond the front ranks, creating the formation’s defensive hedge.
Swiss mercenaries: Soldiers from the Swiss Confederacy who served foreign rulers for pay, especially from the late medieval period onward. Swiss infantry gained a reputation for aggressive pike formations in European campaigns.
Battle of Flodden: A 1513 battle in which English forces defeated a Scottish army near Flodden in Northumberland. Scottish pike formations struggled against English bills and archery on difficult ground.
Roman legion: The principal organized military unit of ancient Rome, built around cohorts and manipular or cohort tactics. Roman infantry relied on flexible units and short weapons rather than a dense pike hedge.
Battle of Nancy: A 1477 battle in which Swiss and allied forces defeated Charles the Bold of Burgundy. The Swiss victory helped make massed pike infantry a feared force in European warfare.
Spear wall: A defensive line of overlapping spears or similar weapons presented toward an approaching enemy. The square extended a spear wall around its entire perimeter.
Battle of Morgarten: A 1315 battle in which Swiss forces defeated an army of the Habsburg duke Leopold I. The Swiss victory helped establish the reputation of infantry resisting mounted forces.
Battle of Bicocca: A 1522 battle near Milan in which Spanish imperial forces defeated the French and their Swiss allies. Massed Swiss pikemen suffered heavily from prepared arquebus fire.
Phalanx: A close-order infantry formation whose ranks present overlapping shields and projecting spears or pikes. The pike square shares the phalanx’s dense ranks but forms an all-sided defensive block.
Battle of Marignano: A 1515 battle in which French forces defeated the Swiss near Milan. The battle checked Swiss expansion and exposed the costs of attacking well-supported positions.

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