A line of Tilean pikemen armed with Tilean pikes.
A weapon often favoured by mercenary regiments is the pike. Pikes are very long spears, almost twice as long as a standard spear and longer even than a horseman's lance. Because of the great length of the pike, it can reach over three ranks of soldiers (the troops behind level their pikes over the shoulders of, or between, the ones in front).[1a]
Ideal for combating heavy cavalry, pikemen set the foot of their pike into the ground and wait for the charging enemy to impale themselves on the sharp spearhead. When fighting cavalry, pikemen close ranks and form an impenetrable wall of sharp points. Horses are very reluctant to close with this steel hedgehog and are held at bay.[1a][2a]
History[]
The pike is not a glamorous weapon, nor one that is easy to use, but its simplicity and functionality earned it the respect of generals and philosophers alike -- the latter praising it for its honesty and lack of guile and claiming that it and the short sword are the only weapons fit for a gentleman's use; the former understanding its strategic potential and the fact that a row of pikemen can hold their own against almost any other force on the battlefield.[3a]
For such a simple weapon, the pike's history is a long one. It originated in Tilea, where the armies of the city-states had been using spears and pole-weapons as their primary weapons since the days of the Reman Empire. But it was the mercenaries of the Border Princes who recognised the true potential of the pike, adopted it and made it feared across the Old World.[3a]
This was several hundred years ago, at a time when heavily-armoured cavalry were the most powerful and respected part of any army's force, and the undisputed rulers of any battlefield. After the mercenaries showed that a square of pikemen could not only withstand a charge by a full force of mounted knights, but could actually break it, the shape of the Empire's armies and the face of its wars were changed forever.[3a]
Characteristics[]
The pike's simplicity of design is deceptive. It is a pole of ash, between fifteen and twenty feet long and less than two inches thick. One end is blunt, the other is finished with steel -- the pike itself is shaped like a dagger-blade and is as much as eighteen inches long. It is sharp-tipped and with honed sides, so it can be used to slash as well as to stab.[3a]
The pike is a cumbersome weapon, and not just in combat. If carried horizontally it vibrates uncomfortably in the hand in time with its bearer's steps and whacks the thighs of anyone walking nearby; if carried vertically it snags on the branches of trees. It is too long to be thrown with any accuracy, or to be used as a quarterstaff or close-fighting weapon by anyone except an expert -- though they do exist.[3a]
The pike is the great leveller. It makes a peasant the equal of his mounted and armoured lord. The key to its use is discipline: a lone pikeman with some skill and some luck may be able to bring down a horseman, but when formed into a square with several hundred of his fellows, four ranks deep, their pikes lowered to form a forest of steel-tipped shafts, protecting ranks of archers or artillery behind him, and he can stand almost anything. The length of the pike means that several ranks of men can lower their weapons at once, butting the blunt end into the earth, the front ranks kneeling, supporting the haft of their pikes at an angle of around twenty degrees, presenting the enemy with an impenetrable mass of fierce steel blades, all pointed at their throats.[3a]
It is worse than madness to charge a square of pikemen, either on foot or on horseback. In fact, it is suicide. Two-handed swords and heavy blunt weapons like warhammers may be able to smash some of the shafts, but not enough of them, and most pikemen carry short swords to hack at the few who penetrate the wall of stakes. Any attacker weighed down by enough armour to be protected from the blades is slow enough to be an easy target for longbows, crossbows or the handgunners who often protect the ends of ranks of pikemen.[3a]
Moreover, the pike is not an entirely defensive weapon. With training, discipline and officers who know what they are doing, a well-organised force of pikemen can launch charges of their own against slower-moving groups of infantry. Even with the recent advances in warfare that the Empire has seen -- Steam Tanks; the machines of the Dwarfs; the Elves' magic and the weird devices of the Skaven -- one truth remains: about the only thing that can match a square of pikemen on the battlefield is another square of pikemen.[3a]
There are disadvantages to using a pike. Its wielders need space to manoeuvre and time to form up their ranks. Something as minor as uneven terrain can throw off the formation of a rank of pikemen and make them vulnerable; and if their flanks are not properly defended then they are vulnerable to attack from the side. If ambushed, surprised, or taken in small groups, they are useless. Pikes depend on quantity and density for their effectiveness, and they are not quick to respond to the changing flow of battle, or attacks from a different direction. While pikes can break a charge, they are in trouble if they come under concerted attack; once the square is breached, it falls apart, collapsing outwards around the breach like a cliff collapsing from the onslaught of the inrushing sea.[3a]