Early Modern Warfare (1500-1700)

Question 1

Why did the English government want to copy the swiss and replace english billmen with armoured pikemen?

Answer 1

From about 1470 onwards, Swiss pike units were unbeatable. They fought in very large units, sometimes thousands of men, packed close together in vast squares or columns. The evidence was that mass pike units would always beat the older style infantry.

Question 2

When was the arquebus replaced by the matchlock?

Answer 2

Around 1550

Question 3

Changes in society 1500-1700

Answer 3

Changes in farming methods - Tudor enclosures turned open farming land (which gave work to many labourers) into enclosed fields with much more land for grazing sheep. This both reduced the number of strong men available as archers and also the space in which they could practise.

The growth of towns - this meant fewer men worked in farming, where it was easier to practise archery.

Inflation - prices rose faster than wages for much of the century, which meant men had to work more to earn enough to live on, so had less time to practise archery.

Question 4

When was the pistol introduced for the cavalry and what how did it work?

Answer 4

The pistol was developed in the 1540s as a cavalry missile weapon. The pistol was a very short gun, 30-60 cm long, which could be fired from one hand. It was fired by a wheel-lock mechanism. However, it was less powerful than a musket and had a shorter range.

Question 5

Why did cavalry start using pistols?

Answer 5

The arquebus and the musket were too heavy to use on horseback; and riders couldn’t have lengths of lighted match dangling on their horses.

Question 6

How did the use of cavalry change 1500-1700

Answer 6

The use of cavalry changed during the period. From the 1540s onwards, cavalry were trained to ride close to the enemy; fire their pistols in complicated manoeuvres so that each rank fired when it got to the front; and then ride back out of range to reload. Armies rarely used the shock value of the charge and hand-to-hand fighting.

Question 7

What were Dragoons?

Answer 7

Dragoons were mounted infantry. They had arquebuses (and later, small muskets), cheap horses, no armour, and they dismounted to fight on foot.

Question 8

What was the role of arquebusiers?

Answer 8

They were usually used to skirmish in front of the army, and to attack the enemy’s flank during battle.

Question 9

How did the power of the cannon change?

Answer 9

Italian military engineers worked out how to make walls that cannon could not smash, and also how to use cannon for defence. Defenders were now stronger than attackers again, and sieges usually took months.

Question 10

Examples of English defensive victories (1500-1700)

Answer 10

The 1530-50 defences of Boulogne and Calais (which were English towns at the time)

The new defences of 1558-70 at Berwick, on the Scottish border

Question 11

How did the new style of the defenses and the cannon change warfare?

Answer 11

Meant comparatively small forces could hold up large armies for months (and fighting usually stopped for the winter).

Question 12

Why did pikemen and musketeers have to cooperate effictively?

Answer 12

Cavalry could ride down musketeers - because the muskets were so slow to load, they could only fire once in the time between the cavalry being out of range and the charge hitting them.

Pikemen could stop a cavalry charge - they formed tight ranks with a hedge of pikes sticking out, and horses could not get close enough to do much damage.

Pikemen could be slaughtered by the enemy’s musketeers or cavalry with pistols- Pikemen were slow to move, as they needed to keep in tight formations as they were an easy target. Musketeers could easily avoid attack from the pikemen and continue to fire at them.

Question 13

Disadvantages of the matchlock

Answer 13

• To have anything burning near gunpowder was obviously dangerous and a misfire could occur

• When it was raining, the burning match would often go out and the musketeer could not fire

• At night, you could see the glow from the lighted matches, so surprise attacks often failed

Question 14

Advantages of the flintlock

Answer 14

Doubled the rate of fire from the matchlock becuase it took half the time to load

Wasn’t dangerous around gunpowder

Question 15

Why was trying to make musketeers and pikemen woek together a problem?

Answer 15

It required lots of training and, whatever point you were at in a battle, you were wasting some of your troops.

When shooting, your pikemen were wasted. In hand-to-hand fighting, your musketeers were second-class troops at best.

Question 16

What was the solution for the problems of pikemen and musketeers working together?

Answer 16

The bayonet: a short sword or dagger that could be fixed to the end of a musket. It turned the musket into a short pike. With the bayonet, musketeers did not need pikemen to protect them: they could fix their bayonets and defend themselves.

Question 17

When was the plug bayonet developed and what were its disadvantages?

Answer 17

The plug bayonet first used in 1647, was the first one developed. It fitted down the barrel of the musket like a plug. This meant that the soldier could not fire with the bayonet fitted, and this caused problems. In the time it took a regiment to fix bayonets, they could be charged by cavalry.

Question 18

What was the ring bayonet and its disadvantages?

Answer 18

Second model of the bayonet, fixed to the outside of the barrel by two rings. This meant the soldier could fire when the bayonet was fitted, but the fitting was not very secure and the bayonet often slipped or broke off in fighting.

Question 19

What was the solution to the ring and plug bayonet and when was it used?

Answer 19

The socket bayonet, which fitted over the outside of the barrel and had a locking system. It was first used in the mid-1690s.

Question 20

Why did it take so long to adopt the bayonet?

Answer 20

Becuase the sleeve of the bayonet had to fit tightly around the musket barrel, they were only effective if the bayonet was an exact fit. This became easier with impoved technology, as the new flintlock muskets, were the product of improvements in manufacturing and all had the same dimensions.

Question 21

Key features of the militia system

Answer 21

all men from 16-60 were supposed to serve

they had to provide their own weapons (an Act of 1559 set out ten levels of income, and the different weapons and armour that men at each level had to provide)

in each county, there were general musters (usually every couple of years) where all the men had to attend, and show their arms and armour. There were fines for not attending musters, or for not bringing the right weapons and armour

The monarch appointed Lord Lieutenants in each county to run the militia

Question 22

Features of the cavalry in Cromwell’s new model army

Answer 22

all raised from existing armies, many from Cromwell’s forces.

They were well paid, 24 pence a day (but they had to buy food for themselves and their horses).

Cromwell’s cavalry were well trained and disciplined. They were able to charge, defeat the enemy cavalry, and remain under control, so they could be used to complete victory in a battle

Question 23

Features of the infantry in Cromwell’s new model army

Answer 23

Only half were raised from existing forces and over 7,000 had to be pressed.

During 1645, desertion from the New Model Army was such a problem that, from April to October 1645, a total of 14,500 men were pressed

Infantry soldiers were poorly paid, just 8 pence a day, the same as a labourer.

Question 24

What was the standing army and what were the reasons to have one?

Answer 24

A standing army is a full time, professional army, which exists permanently. The reasons to have one were:

• war was complicated and success depended on well-trained troops
• a standing army made the state, and its ruler, more powerful.

Question 25

What impact did recruitment have on civilians before and after civil war

Answer 25

Before - Those who did survive common war were demobilised (released from the army). They had to rely on charity for food and lodging. When they got home, they usually found their jobs were gone and they were unemployed

During - volunteers left their families and work, disrupting the lives of those around them, as well as the economy. Until the New Model Army became the only army, men were pressed to serve by both Parliament and the king. The lives of these men were probably most disrupted of all.

Question 26

How did requisitioning affect civilians before and during the civil war

Answer 26

Before - Merchant ships were requisitioned for the navy and to transport troops and supplies. Horses were requisitioned, and so were other essential war supplies, like shoes. This disrupted normal business and could create shortages.

During - was mainly plunder and free quarter, but ships and military supplies were often requisitioned as well. This had a serious impact on people’s lives.

Question 27

How did taxes affect civilians before and during the civil war

Answer 27

Before - Went up in time of war and trade slowed, so people were ‘squeezed’ by higher taxes and lower incomes. Linked with taxes was inflation, which went up in times of war, and caused real hardship to people

During - both sides spent a lot of money, and both sides collected high taxes from the land they controlled. For example, Oxfordshire increased tax by 1700%.

Question 28

How did damage to towns affect civilians before the civil war and during

Answer 28

Before- Damage was largely limited to the border with Scotland, and coastal towns and islands, where there was fighting

During - During sieges, houses in the suburbs were often pulled down by the defenders before a siege, in order to stop the enemy using them for cover. The best estimate is that over 11,000 houses were destroyed and 55,000 people made homeless during the Civil Wars.

Question 29

How did plunder affect civilians during the civil war

Answer 29

shortage of supplies

no money to pay the soldiers, and their pay being in arrears (late)

reward for good work - it was normal to grant plunder after a successful battle or siege

coercion - plundering the enemy’s supporters.

Question 30

How did free quarter affect civilians during the civil war

Answer 30

Armies would force communities to feed and house troops, and just leave a signed receipt for the value of what they had taken. These were almost never paid, but the New Model Army surprised people in 1645 by always paying when the receipts were presented.

Question 31

How many soldiers did the royalist and new model army have in the battle of naseby?

Answer 31

The Royalist army: about 12,500 men, of which about 6,700 were cavalry and 5,800 infantry.

The New Model Army: about 17,000 men, with about 8,500 cavalry and 8,500 infantry.

Question 32

Why did the new model army win the battle of naseby?

Answer 32

Royalist overconfidence: they thought the New Model Army was weak, so they attacked despite being outnumbered.

The New Model cavalry, trained by Cromwell, were as good as the Royalists and better disciplined.

The second line of the New Model infantry held out long enough for Cromwell to attack the Royalists in the flank and rear.

The strategic position of the two sides. The Royalists needed a quick victory before the New Model Army could join the Scots.

Question 33

How was Cromwell so important during the battle of naseby

Answer 33

As a politician, he was one of the key leaders in setting up the New Model Army, and in supporting the policy that its officers should be the best soldiers, not just well-born men.

As a general in 1643 and 1644, he recruited and trained the best cavalry in the war, and these units were the core of the New Model cavalry.

His arrival the night before the battle was a great boost to the morale of the New Model Army.

His leadership on the east wing of the battle, and in the cavalry attack on the centre, was vital in two of the pivotal incidents of the battle.

Question 34

When was the battle of Naseby?

Answer 34

14th June 1645