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| Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba |
The 16th century saw
many changes in world history. New continents found. New ideas spread. Era of
Henry VIII, Leonardo Da Vinci, and many more became well known during this
century. Along with new lands and new ideas, a new weapon was crafted that
would change the world forever – the gun. It revolutionized warfare, but during
the 16th century it was in its infancy. Many was still dumbfounded
of its capability. But one country managed to found its potential and used it,
the country of Spain.
Europe was at the height of the Renaissance. It brought new sciences and technology and culture to the world. The Reformation and the idea of Humanism shocked the foundations of the continent. It was also the peak of the age of exploration, led by the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain. The two countries redraw the map of the world. Spain, in particular, was on its path to glory.
Europe was at the height of the Renaissance. It brought new sciences and technology and culture to the world. The Reformation and the idea of Humanism shocked the foundations of the continent. It was also the peak of the age of exploration, led by the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain. The two countries redraw the map of the world. Spain, in particular, was on its path to glory.
Spain was a rising star in
Europe. In 1492, it ended the last vestige of Islamic states in the Iberian
Peninsula after it defeated the Muslims during the Granada War. King Ferdinand
of Aragon and Isabella de Castile rose to become the first monarchs of the
united Spain. From the Granada Wars, they funded explorations across the
Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to discover new lands and riches.
The Spanish military also saw a
rise to become one of the most formidable forces in Europe. Conscription was
introduced and led to the increase of soldiers in the army. New powerful
weapon, the arquebus, added firepower to the large manpower. Finally, veteran
generals from the Granada War, led the Spanish Army to greatness. Among these
great generals was Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba.
In 1494, when France marched to Italy and towards the Spanish controlled Naples, Cordoba and the rest of the Spanish army landed in Italy to push back the French. During the war, Cordoba suffered a defeat in the hands of the French and their Swiss mercenaries in Seminara. From the Battle of Seminara in 1495, Cordoba learned lessons from his lost. He began to experiment on a new formation which would create a good combination between the pike men and arquebusers.
In 1494, when France marched to Italy and towards the Spanish controlled Naples, Cordoba and the rest of the Spanish army landed in Italy to push back the French. During the war, Cordoba suffered a defeat in the hands of the French and their Swiss mercenaries in Seminara. From the Battle of Seminara in 1495, Cordoba learned lessons from his lost. He began to experiment on a new formation which would create a good combination between the pike men and arquebusers.
The tercio was introduced as a result of the Cordoba’s defeat. The tercio meant a third in Spanish. This name was because most of the Spanish tercios composed of 3,000 men. But some tercios could compose as low 1000 men. A usual tercio was composed of 12 companies, each having 250 men. Each company would be composed of 200 pike men and 20 – 250 arquebusers, later on by the end of the century, the arquebusers would be replaced by the musketeers. Each tercio were placed under the command of a Maestro de Campo or Colonel and a Sergento Mayor or Major. Each of the companies were placed under a command of a captain, an ensign, and other lower ranks such as sergeant and corporal.
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| Tercio in battle |
However, the
development of the tercio did not reach the first Italian war that ended in
1498. But the tercios would play a key role in the following war, a year after
the first Italian War. In 1499, the French allied with the Spanish marched to
Italy once again to take the riches of the peninsula, and began the Second
Italian War. But, interest of the two kingdoms collided with each other and in
1501, hostilities between the two kingdom resumed. Cordoba once again was sent
to Italy to fight the French and its Swiss mercenaries. He had his chance of
revenge against the French and the Swiss in the Battle of Cerignola in 1503. In
the battle, he used his tercios wisely and combined the strengths of the
tercios with other new tactics. To weaken the enemy, he sent cavalry units to
hunt down French or Swiss forgers of food in the countryside to cut the
supplies of his enemy. He besieged also small enemy garrisons. To maintain the
strength of his army, he tried to avoid skirmishes. To protect his troops from
any cavalry charge, parapets were placed in the middle of the field. The parapets
caused horses to be stopped and impaled in their tracks. Then when the heat of
the battle came, he positioned his tercios behind a trench, so that when the
advancing French and Swiss came, they would fall into the trenches and become
sitting ducks for the Spanish gunners.
His soldiers in the tercios were
discipline but also flexible. The pike men were trained like the best soldiers
in Europe, the Swiss. The tercios would form squares and keep it in the middle
of the battle. The pike men were ordered to advance forward to defend the
gunners once they fired a shot and had to reload. They also would step forward
to fend the gunners of from any cavalry charge. At the moment of advance, the
tercios can move into linear positions in order to crack the lines of the
enemy.
In the Battle of Cerignola, Cordoba stroked a major victory. He destroyed the 200 year invincibility of the Swiss. He dealt a blow to the French. And finally, he revolutionized warfare forever, introducing field obstructions, trenches, and guerrilla tactics. And his tercios would win the envy of Europe. He then once again demonstrated his new tactics in Garigliano River in 1503. He later became known as El Gran Capitan or the Grand Captain for his skills.
In the Battle of Cerignola, Cordoba stroked a major victory. He destroyed the 200 year invincibility of the Swiss. He dealt a blow to the French. And finally, he revolutionized warfare forever, introducing field obstructions, trenches, and guerrilla tactics. And his tercios would win the envy of Europe. He then once again demonstrated his new tactics in Garigliano River in 1503. He later became known as El Gran Capitan or the Grand Captain for his skills.
Cordoba’s tactics changed the face of battlefields forever. Many armies like the Swedish and Portuguese emulated Cordoba’s tercios. His idea of battlefield obstruction were also used and became well known in era of modern warfare. His trenches and parapets in the field became normal images of trench warfare during World War I. Without Cordoba, Spain would not become a European power, and without him, tactics with guns would not advance towards the future.
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