Pike Postures - Chargesp

The enemy's view of the charge! Aimed straight at their faces as the most vulnerable point of an armoured pikeman. (Although the pikeman pictured isn't wearing armour - it was progressively discarded through the seventeenth century as muskets became the greater threat rather than the cavalry pistols it was designed to deflect).

The charge posture isn't much different from the port except that the left hand is under the chin and the right hand is at shoulder height rather than waist height. Sometimes you need to rotate the pike to stop the point drooping.

The pikeman has sufficient control over his pike to be able to fence with the enemy and also to lunge and stab with the point. In general the preferred target point is the face as the torso and thighs are usually protected by armour. The face is unrpotected other than by the pikeman parrying with his pike or moving his head. This might account for the apparent lack of casualties in pike combats, most battle casualties in the wars appear to have been from fire (muskets, pistols and artillery) rather than melee weapons (i.e. swords, pikes and polearms). Although most casualties were from disease.

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last update 19:16 27 Aug 01