"One day, just before the great battle of Piza, Sandro, who was our general at the time, said to me 'Can you think of any way to use pikemen?' I said, 'Of course, I certainly can!' Then he said that he really wanted to know how he should deploy them in the battle on the following day. You see he had very many pikemen under his command and hardly any other troops, except some scruffy crossbowmen on the galleys who never showed no respect to anyone. I will tell you the advice which I gave to him I said `Make sure they eat up all of their rations and don't stay up drinking and playing dice with the bad boys from the galleys before the big battle tomorrow . Otherwise the boys will fall over their big long pikes because they are too tired to hold them up straight!' Then I said that in al the battles I have seen, and that is a lot I'll have you know, the pikemen always win when two regiments fight together side by side. First, one regiment marches forward while the other one stays still and the boys point their long pikes at the enemy. Then the other regiment stays still and points the pikes while their friends move forward. If the enemy fights one of the regiments, the other one will charge them in the flank. The enemy don't know what to do! It doesn't matter which one they charge, it's the worst for them! Naturally, Sandro followed my advice and won the battle."
- —Concerning the correct use of pikemen, The Art of Statecraft by Gossippa Lotta[1a]
Sandro was a Mercenary General who asked Gossippa Lotta for advice on the proper use of pikemen before the battle of Piza. Apart from the crossbowmen from the crew of his galleys, he had hardly any other troops. By following Gossippa's recommendations, he subsequently won the battle.[1a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 68