Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - IX. Reign of Gustavus Adolphus, 1611–1632 - C. Gustavus Adolphus and the Thirty Years’ War
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The Thirty Years’ War 159
"Be not dismayed, thou little flock,
Although the foe’s fierce battle shock
Loud on all sides assail thee,
Though o’er thy fall they laugh secure,
Their triumph can not long endure,
Let not thy courage fail thee."
Two methods of warfare were to be tested out that
day. Tilly’s army was formed in immense squares up
to fifty ranks heavy masses, whose attacks hitherto
had always crushed the opponents. Their muskets
were heavy and had to be supported, when fired, by
stays, which the gunner carried with him. They were
fired with a slow-match, and required for loading and
firing not less than ninety-nine hand movements. The
chief weapons for the imperial infantry were not the
muskets, but immense pikes, neary twenty feet long.
The artillery was composed of large siege cannons,
requiring up to fourteen pairs of horses to drag them
to their places.
Gustavus’ army, on the other hand, was composed
of small, flexible divisions, in which the musketeers
composed the greater part of the infantry. Their mus-
kets were light, needed no support, and were provided
with flint locks. Hence, with them, three shots could
be fired to the enemy’s one. The Swedish cannons had
the same advantage in speed. They were light, could
be drawn by one or two horses. These innovations
were Gustavus Adolphus’ own inventions and were to
revolutionize the art of war for the future.
When everything was ready, the king held in his
horse in front of the battle line, bared his head, and
raised his voice in prayer to the Most High for His
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