throÌ„g together for that the battailes go as you shall better vnderstande when I haue shewed you how thei are set together and incounteryng the one the other of necessitie thei thrust together after soche sorte that thei take the one thother by the bosome and though by the Pikes some bee slaine or ouerthrowen those that remain on their feete be so many that thei suffice to obtaine the victorie Hereof it grewe that Carminuola ouercame them with so greate slaughter of the Suizzers and with little losse of his Cosimo Consider that those of Carminuola were men of armes whom although thei wer on foote thei were couered all with stele and therefore thei wer able to make the profe thei did so that me thinkes that a power ought to be armed as thei mindyng to make the verie same profe Fabricio If you should remember how I tolde you the Romaines were armed you would not thynke soâ— for as moche as a manne that hath the hedde couered with Iron the breaste defended of a Corselet and of a Targaet the armes and the legges armed is moche more apt to defende hymself from the Pike and to enter emong them then a man of armes on foote I wil giue you a little of a late ensample There wer come out of Cicelie into the kyngdome of Naples a power of Spaniardes for to go to finde Consaluo who was besieged in Barlet of the Frenchemen there made against theim Mounsier de Vhigni with his menne of armes and with aboute fower thousande Duchemen on foote The Duchemen incountered with their Pikes lowe and thei opened the power of the Spaniardes but those beyng holp by meane of their bucklers and of the agiletie of their bodies mingled togethers with the Duchemen so that thei might reche the with the swearde whereby happened the death almoste of all theim and the victorie to the Spaniardes Euery man knoweth how many Duchemen were slaine in the battaile of Rauenna the whiche happened by the verie same occasion for that the Spanishe souldiours got them within a swerdes length of the Duche souldiours thei had destroied them all if of the Frenche horsemen the Duchemen on foote had not been succored notwithstandyng the Spaniardes close together brought themselues into a safe place I conclude therefore that a good power ought not onely to be able to withstande the horses but also not to haue fear of menne on foote the which as I haue many tymes saied procedeth of the armours and of the order Cosimo Tell therefore how you would arme theÌ„ Fabricio How to arme men and what weapons to appoincte theim after the Romaine maner and Duche taâ—ion I would take of the Romaine armours and of the Duchemennes weapons and I would that the one haulfe should bee appoincted like the Romaines and the other haulfe like the Duchemen for that if in sixe thousande footemen as I shall tell you a little hereafter I should haue thre thousande men with Targaettes after the Romain maner and two thousande Pikes and a thousand Harkebutters after the Duche facion thei should suffice me for that I would place the Pikes either in the fronte of the battaile or where I should feare moste the horses and those with the Targaetes and sweardes shall serue me to make a backe to the Pikes and to winne the battaile as I shall shew you so that I beleue that a power thus ordained should ouercum at this daie any other power Cosimo This whiche hath been saied suffiseth coÌ„cernyng footemen but concernyng horsemen we desire to vnderstande whiche you thinke more stronger armed either owers or the antiquitie Fabricio I beleue that in these daies hauing respect to the Saddelles bolstered and to the stiroppes not vsed of thantiquitie thei stande more strongly on horsebacke then in the olde tyme I thinke also thei arme them more sure so that at this daie a bande of men of armes paisyng very moche cometh to bee with more difficultie withstoode then were the horsemen of olde time notwithstanding for all this I iudge that there ought not to be made more accompt of horses then in old tyme was made for that as afore is said many times in our daies thei haue with the footemen receiued shame and shall receiue alwaies where thei incounter with a power of footemen armed and ordered as aboue hath been declared The victorie of Lucullo againste Tigrane kyng of Armenia Tigrane kyng of Armenia had againste the armie of the Romaines whereof was capitain Lucullo Cl. thousande horsemen emongeste the whiche were many armed like vnto our men of armes which thei called Catatratti and of the other part the Romaines were aboute sixe thousande with .xxv. thousande footemen so that Tigrane seyng the armie of the enemies saied these bee horses inough for an imbassage notwithstanding incounteryng together he was ouerthrowen and he that writeth of thesame fight dispraiseth those Catafratti declaryng them to bee vnprofitable for that he saieth bicause thei had their faces couered thei hadde moche adoe to see and to offende the enemie and thei fallyng beeyng laden with armour could not rise vp again nor welde theÌ„ selues in any maner to preuaile I saie therefore that those people or kingdomes whiche shall esteme more the power of horses then the power of footemen be alwaies weake and subiect to all ruine as by Italie hath been seen in our tyme the whiche hath been taken ruinated and ouer run with straungers through no other faulte then for hauyng taken little care of the seruise on foote and beeyng brought the souldiours thereof al on horsebacke Yet there ought to be had horses but for seconde and not for first foundation of an armie for that to make a discouery For what purpose horsemen be most requiâ—â—â—e to ouer run and to destroie the enemies countrie and to kepe troubled and disquieted the armie of thesame and in their armours alwaies to let them of their victualles thei are necessarie and moste profitable but concerning for the daie of battaile and for the faight in the fielde whiche is the importaunce of the warre and the ende for whiche the armies are ordeined thei are more meter to folowe the enemie beeyng discomfited then to doe any other thing whiche in the same is to bee doen and thei bee in comparison to the footemen moche inferiour Cosimo There is happened vnto me two doubtes the one where I knowe that the Parthians did not vse in the warre other theâ— horses and yet thei deuided the worlde with the Romaines the other is that I would that you should shewe how the horsemen caÌ„ be withstoode of footemen and whereof groweth the strength of these and the debilitie of those Fabritio Either I haue told you or I minded to tell you how that my reasoning of the affaires of warre ought not to passe the boundes of Europe when thus it is I am not bounde vnto you to make accoumpt of thesame whiche is vsed in Asia yet I muste saie vnto you
of theim hauyng onely a carte that carrieth after them their necessary thynges The Romaine horsemen were likewise a lone true it is that the Triarij lodged nere them whiche wer bound to minister helpe vnto theim in the kepyng of their horses the whiche maie easely be imitated of vs as in the distributyng of the lodgynges I shall shewe you Thesame then that the Romaines did and that whiche the Duchmen doe now a daies we maie doe also ye not doyng it we erre These horses ordained and appoincted together with a main battaile maie sometymes be put together when the battailes bee assembled and to cause that betwene theim bee made some fight of assault the whiche should be more to make thē acquainted together then for any other necessitie But now of this part there hath been spoken sufficiently wherefore let vs facion the armie to be able to come into the field against the enemie and hope to winne it whiche thyng is the ende for whiche the exercise of warre is ordeined and so moche studie therein bestowed The thirde Booke of the arte of warre of Nicholas Machiauell Citezeine and Secretarie of Florence vnto Laurence Philip Strozze Cosimo SEing that we chaunge reasonyng I will that the demaūder be chaunged bicause I would not be thought presumptuous the which I haue alwaies blamed ī other therfore I resigne the Dictatorship and giue this aucthoritie to hym that will haue it of these my other frendes Zanobi We would be moste glad that you should procede but seyng that you will not yet tell at leaste whiche of vs shall succede in your place Cosimo I will giue this charge to signor Fabricio Fabritio I am content to take it and I will that we folowe the Venecian custome that is that the youngeste speake firste bicause this beyng an exercise for yong men I perswade my self that yong menne bee moste apt to reason thereof as thei be moste readie to execute it Cosimo Then it falleth to you Luigi as I haue pleasure of soche a successour so you shal satisfie your self of soche a demaunder therefore I praie you let vs tourne to the matter and let vs lese no more tyme. Fabritio I am certain that to mynde to shewe wel how an armie is prepared to faight a fielde it should be necessarie to declare how the Grekes and the Romaines ordeined the bandes of their armies Notwithstandyng you your selues beeyng able to rede and to consider these thynges by meanes of the auncient writers I will passe ouer many particulars and I will onely bryng in those thynges whiche I thinke necessarie to imitate mindyng at this tyme to giue to our exercise of warre some parte of perfection The whiche shall make that in one instante I shall shewe you how an armie is prepared to the field and how it doeth incounter in the verie faight and how it maie be exercised in the fained The greatest disorder The greateste disorder that is vsed now a daies in pitching of a fielde that thei make whiche ordeine an armie to the fielde is in giuing them onely one fronte and to binde them to one brunt and to one fortune the whiche groweth of hauyng loste the waie that the antiquitie vsed to receiue one bande within an other bicause without this waie thei can neither succour the formoste nor defende them nor succede in the faight in their steede the whiche of the Romaines was moste excellently well obserued Therefore The order how a Romain Legion was appoincted to faight purposyng to shewe this waie I saie how that the Romaines deuided into .iij. partes euery Legion in Hastati Prencipi and Triarij of which the Hastati wer placed in the first front or forward of the armie with thorders thicke sure behinde whō wer the Prencipi but placed with their orders more thinne after these thei set the Triarij with so moche thinnes of orders that thei might if nede wer receiue betwene them the Prencipi and the Hastati Thei had besides these the Slingers and Crosbowshoters and the other lighte armed the whiche stoode not in these orders but thei placed them in the hed of th armie betwene the horses and the other bandes of footemen therefore these light armed began the faight if thei ouercame whiche happened seldom times thei folowed the victorie if thei were repulced thei retired by the flanckes of the armie or by the spaces ordained for soche purposes and thei brought thē selues emong the vnarmed after the departure of whō the Hastati incountered with the enemie the whiche if thei saw themselues to be ouercome thei retired by a little and little by the rarenesse of thorders betwene the Prencipi and together with those thei renued the faight if these also wer repulced thei retired al in the rarenesse of the orders of the Triarij and al together on a heape began againe the faight and then if thei were ouercome there was no more remeady bicause there remained no more waies to renue them again The horses stoode on the corners of the armie to the likenes of twoo winges to a bodie somewhiles thei fought with the enemies horses an other while thei rescued the fotmen according as nede required This waie of renuyng theim selues three tymes is almoste impossible to ouercome for that fortume muste three tymes forsake thee and the enemie to haue so moche strengthe that three tymes he maie ouercome thee The Grekes had not in their Falangi this maner of renuyng them selues and although in those wer many heddes and many orders notwithstandyng thei made one bodie The maner that the Grekes vsed in their Falangi whē thei fought against their enemies or els one hedde the maner that thei kepte in rescuyng the one the other was not to retire the one order within the other as the Romaines but to enter the one manne into the place of the other the which thei did in this maner Their Falāge brought into rankes and admit that thei put in a ranke fiftie menne commyng after with their hedde againste the enemie of all the rankes the foremoste sixe mighte faight Bicause their Launces the whiche thei called Sarisse were so long that the sixt ranke passed with the hedde of their Launces out of the first ranke then in faightyng if any of the first either through death or through woundes fell straight waie there entered into his place thesame man that was behinde in the second ranke and in the place that remained voide of the seconde thesame man entred whiche was behind hym in the thirde and thus successiuely in a sodaine the rankes behinde restored the faultes of those afore so that the rankes alwaies remained whole and no place of the faighters was voide except the laste rankes the whiche came to consume hauyng not menne behinde their backes whom might restore theim So that the hurte that the first rankes suffered consumed the laste and the firste remained alwaies whole and thus these Falangi by their order
to retire themselues thei maie enter into the voide places of the seconde battailes whiche thei haue behinde them and vnite their selues with them and makyng a newe force withstand the enemie and ouercome hym and when this sufficeth not thei maie in the verie same maner retire themselues the second tyme and the thirde faight so that in this order concernyng to faight there is to renue themselues bothe accordyng to the Greke maner and accordyng to the Romaine concernyng the strength of th armie there cannot be ordained a more stronger for as moche as the one and the other horne thereof is excedingly wel replenished bothe with heddes and weapoÌ„s nor there remaineth weake other then the parte behinde of the vnarmed and thesame also hath the flanckes impaled with the extraordinarie Pikes nor the enemie caÌ„not of any parte assaulte it where he shall not finde it well appoincted and the hinder part cannot be assaulted Bicause there cannot bee an enemie that hath so moche puisaunce whom equally maie assault thee on euery side for that he hauyng so greate a power thou oughtest not then to matche thy self in the fielde with hym but when he were three tymes more then thou and as well appoincted as thou he doeth weaken him self in assaultyng thee in diuers places one part that thou breakest will cause all the reste goe to nought concerning horses although he chaunce to haue more then thine thou nedest not to feare for that the orders of the Pikes whiche impale thee defende thee from all violence of them although thy horses were repulced The heddes besides this be disposed in soch place that thei maie easely commaunde and obeie the spaces that bee betwene the one battaile To what purpose the spaces that be betwen euery bande of men doe serue and the other and betwene the one order and the other not onely serue to bee able to receiue the one the other but also to giue place to the messengers whiche should go and come by order of the capitain And as I told you first how the Romaines had for an armie aboute fower and twentie thousande menne euen so this ought to bee and as the other souldiours tooke insample of the Legions for the maner of faightyng and the facion of th armie so those souldiors which you should ioyne to our twoo maine battailes ought to take the forme and order of them wherof hauyng put you an insample it is an easie matter to imitate it for that increasyng either twoo other maine battailes vnto the armie or as many other souldiours as thei bee there is no other to bee dooen then to double the orders and where was put tenne battailes on the lefte parte to put twentie either ingrossyng or distendyng the orders accordyng as the place or the enemie should compell thee Luigi Surely sir I imagine in soche wise of this armie that me thinkes I now se it and I burne with a desire to se it incounter and I would for nothing in the world that you should become Fabius Maximus intendyng to kepe the enemie at a baie and to deferre the daie of battaile bicause I would saie worse of you then the Romain people saied of hym Fabritio Doubt not The descriptâ—on of a battailâ— that is a faightyng Doe you not heare the artillerie Ours haue alredie shotte but little hurte the enemie and thextraordinarie Veliti issuyng out of their places together with the light horsemen moste speadely and with moste merueilous furie and greateste crie that maie be thei assaulte the enemie whose artillerie hath discharged ones and hath passed ouer the heddes of our footemen without doyng theÌ„ any hurt and bicause it cannot shoote the seconde tyme the Veliti and our horsemen haue nowe gotten it and the enemies for to defende it are come forewarde so that neither our ordinaunce nor thenemies can any more doe their office Se with how moche vertue stengthe and agilitie our men faighteth and with how moche knowledge through the exercise whiche hath made them to abide and by the confidence that thei haue in the armie the whiche see how with the pace therof and with the men of armes on the sides it marcheth in good order to giue the charge on the aduersarie See our artillerie whiche to giue theim place and to leaue them the space free is retired by thesame space from whens the Veliti issued See how the capitaine incourageth them sheweth them the victorie certain See how the Veliti and light horsemen bee inlarged and retourned on the flanckes of th armie to seke and view if thei maie by the flanck doe any iniurie to the aduersaries behold how the armies be affronted Se with how moche valiauÌ„tnesse thei haue withstode the violence of thenemies with how moche silence and how the capitain commaundeth the menne of armes that thei sustain and not charge and that thei breake not from the order of the footemen see how our light horsemen be gone to giue the charge on a band of the enemies Harkebutters whiche would haue hurt our men by flancke and how the enemies horse haue succoured them so that tourned betwene the one and the other horse thei cannot shoote but are faine to retire behinde their owne battaile see with what furie our Pikes doe also affront and how the footemen be now so nere together the one to the other that the Pikes caÌ„ no more be occupied so that according to the knowlege learned of vs our pikes do retire a little a little betwen the targaettes Se how in this while a great bande of men of armes of the enemies haue charged our men of armes on the lefte side and how ours accordyng to knowlege bee retired vnder the extraordinarie Pikes and with the help of those giuing again a freshe charge haue repulced the aduersaries slain a good part of them in so moche that thordinarie pikes of the first battailes be hidden betwene the raies of the Targaettes thei hauyng lefte the faight to the Targaet men whom you maie see with how moche vertue securitie and leasure thei kill the enemie see you not how moche by faightyng the orders be thrust together That thei can sease welde their sweardes Behold with how moche furie the enemies moue bicause beyng armed with the pike and with the swerd vnprofitable the one for beyng to long the other for findyng thenemie to well armed in part thei fall hurt or dedde in parte thei flie See thei flie on the righte corner thei flie also on the lefte behold the victorie is ours Haue not we wonne a field moste happely But with more happinesse it should bee wonne if it were graunted me to put it in acte And see how there neded not the helpe of the seconde nor of the third order for our first fronte hath sufficed to ouercome theim in this part I haue no other to saie vnto you then to resolue if any doubt be growen you Luigi You haue with so moche furie wonne this fielde
fled haue caused them to staie making them ashamed of running awaie as Lucius Silla did where alredy parte of his Legions beyng tourned to flight driuen awaie by the men of Mithridates he made afore them with a swearde in his hande criyng if any aske you where you left your capitaine saie we haue left hym in Boecia where he faighteth Attillius constrained his meÌ„ that ran awaie to tourne again and to faight Attillius a consull set againste those that ran awaie them that ranne not awaie and made theÌ„ to vnderstande that if thei would not tourne thei should be slaine of their frendes and of their enemies How Philipâ—â—ing of Macedonia made his men afraied to run awaie Philip of Macedonia vnderstanding how his men feared the Scithian Souldiours placed behinde his armie certaine of his moste trustie horsemen and gaue commission to theim that thei should kill whom so euer fledde wherfore his men mindyng rather to die faightyng then fliyng ouercame Many Romaines not so moche to staie a flight as for to giue occasioÌ„ to their men to make greater force haue whileste thei haue foughte taken an Ansigne out of their owne mennes handes and throwen it emongeste the enemies and appoincted rewardes to hym that could get it again I doe not beleue that it is out of purpose to ioyne to this reasonyng those thynges whiche chauÌ„ce after the faight in especially beyng brief thinges and not to be left behinde and to this reasonyng conformable inough Therefore I saie how the fielde is loste Victorie ought with all celeritie to bee folowed or els wonne when it is wonne the victorie ought with all celeritie to be folowed and in this case to imitate Cesar and not Aniball whom staiyng after that he had discomfited the Romaines at Canne loste the Empire of Rome The other neuer rested after the victorie but folowed the enemie beyng brokeÌ„ with greater violence and furie then when he assalted hym whole What a capitaine ought to dooe when he should chaunce to receiue an ouerthrowe but when a capitaine dooeth leese he ought to see iâ—oâ— the losse there maie growe any vtilite vnto hym inespecially if there remain any residue of th armie The commoditie maie growe of the small aduertisment of the enemie whom moste often times after the victorie becometh negligeÌ„t and giueth thee occasion to oppresse hym How Martius ouercame the armie of the Carthaginers as Marcius a Romaine oppressed the armie of the Carthaginers whom hauing slain the twoo Scipions and broken their armie not estemyng thesame remnaunt of menne whiche with Marcius remained aliue were of hym assaulted and ouerthrowen for that it is seen that there is no thing so moche to bee brought to passe as thesame whiche the enemie thinketh that thou canst not attempte bicause for the moste parte men bee hurte moste where thei doubt leaste therefore a capitain ought when he cannot doe this to deuise at least with diligence that the losse bee lesse hurtfull to dooe this it is necessarie for thee to vse meanes that the enemie maie not easely folowe thee or to giue him occasion to make delaie in the first case some after thei haue been sure to lese haue takeÌ„ order with their heddes that in diuers partes and by diuers waies thei should fite hauyng appoincted wher thei should after assemble together the which made that thenemie fearing to deuide the armie was faine to let go safe either all or the greatest part of theÌ„ In the seconde case many haue cast before the enemie their dearest thinges to the entent that he tariyng about the spoile might giue theÌ„ more laisure to flie A policie of Titus Dimius to hide a losse whiche he had receiued in a faight Titus Dimius vsed no small policie to hide the losse whiche he had receiued in the faight for asmoche as hauyng fought vntill night with great losse of his menne he made in the night to be buried the greatest part of them wherefore in the mornyng the enemies seyng so many slaine of theirs and so fewe of the Romaines beleuyng that thei had the disauauntage ran awaie I trust I haue thus confusedly as I saied satisfied in good part your demaunde in dede about the facions of the armies there resteth me to tell you how some tyme by some Capitaines it hath been vsed to make theim with the fronte like vnto a wedge iudgyng to bee able by soche meane more easely to open the enemies armie Against this facion thei haue vsed to make a facion like vnto a paire of sheres to be able betwene thesame voide place to receiue that wedge and to compasse it about and to faight with it on euery side A general rule whereupon I will that you take this generall rule that the greatest remedie that is vsed againste a deuise of the enemie is to dooe willingly thesame whiche he hath deuised that thou shalt dooe perforce bicause that doyng it willingly thou doest it with order and with thy aduauntage and his disaduauÌ„tage if thou shouldest doe it beyng inforced it should be thy vndoyng For the prouyng whereof I care not to reherse vnto you certain thynges alredy tolde The aduersary maketh the wedge to open thy bandes if thou gowest with them open thou disorderest hym and he disordereth not thee Aniball Aniball set the Elephantes in the fronte of his armie to open with theim the armie of Scipio Scipio went with it open Scipio and it was the occasion of his victorie Asdruball and of the ruine of hym Asdruball placed his strongest men in the middest of the fronte of his armie to ouerthrowe Scipios menne Scipio commaunded that by them selues thei should retire and he broke theim So that like deuises when thei are foreseen bee the causes of the victorie of him against whom thei be prepared There remaineth me also if I remember my self well to tell you what respectes a Capitaine ought to haue before he leade his men to faight A Capitaine ought not to faight without aduantage excepte he be constrained vpon whiche I haue to tell you firste how a capitaine ought neuer to faight a battaile except he haue aduauntage or be constrained The vantage groweth of the situacion of the order of hauyng more or better menne the necessitie groweth when thou seest how that not faightyng thou muste in any wise lese as should bee for lackyng of money and for this thy armie to bee ready all maner of waies to resolue where famishemente is ready to assaulte thee where the enemie looketh to bee ingrosed with newe men in these cases thou oughtest alwaies to faight although with thy disaduauntage for that it is moche better to attempte fortune where she maie fauour thee then not attemptyng to see thy certaine ruine and it is as greuous a faulte in this case in a capitain not to faight as to haue had occasioÌ„ to ouercome and not to haue either knowen it through ignoraunce
or lefte it through vilenesse How aduauntage maie bee taken of the enemies The aduauntages some tymes the enemie giueth thee and some tymes thy prudence Many in passyng Riuers haue been broken of their enemie that hath been aware thereof whō hath taried till the one halfe hath been of the one side and the other halfe on the other and then hath assaulted them as Cesar did to the Suizzers where he destroied the fowerth parte of theim through beyng halfe ouer a riuer Some tyme thy enemie is founde wearie for hauyng folowed thee to vndescritely so that findyng thy self freshe and lustie thou oughtest not to let passe soche an occasion besides this if the enemie offer vnto thee in the mornyng betymes to faight thou maiest a good while deferre to issue out of thy lodgyng and when he hath stoode long in armour and that he hath loste that same firste heate with the whiche he came thou maiest then faight with him This waie Scipio and Metellus vsed in Spaine the one against Asdruball the other against Sertorius If the enemie be deminished of power either for hauyng deuided the armie as the Scipions in Spain or for some other occasion thou oughteste to proue chaunce The greateste parte of prudent capitaines rather receiue the violēce of the enemies then go with violence to assalte them for that the furie is easely withstoode of sure and steddie menne and the furie beyng sustained Furie withstode cōuerteth into vilenesse conuerteth lightly into vilenesse Thus Fabius did againste the Sannites and against the Galles and was victorious and his felowe Decius remained slain Some fearing the power of their enemies haue begun the faight a little before night to the intent that their men chaunsyng to bee ouercome might then by the helpe of the darkenesse thereof saue theim selues Some hauyng knowen how the enemies armie beyng taken of certaine supersticion not to faight in soche a tyme haue chosen thesame tyme to faighte and ouercome The whiche Cesar obserued in Fraunce againste Ariouistus and Vespasian in Surrie againste the Iewes The greatest and moste importaunte aduertismente What maner of men a capitaine ought to haue about him continually to consult withall that a capitaine ought to haue is to haue aboute hym faithfull menne that are wise and moste expert in the warre with whom he must continually consulte and reason of his men and of those of the enemies whiche is the greater nomber whiche is beste armed or beste on horsebacke or best exercised whiche be moste apte to suffer necessitie in whom he trusteth moste either in the footemen or in the horsemen after thei ought to consider the place where thei be and whether it be more to the purpose for thenemie then for him which of theim hath victualles moste commodious whether it be good to deferre the battaile or to faight it what good might bee giuen hym or taken awaie by tyme for that many tymes souldiours seyng the warre to be delaied are greued and beyng wearie in the pain and in the tediousnesse therof The condiciōs of the capitain of the enemies of those that are about hym is moste requisite to bee knowen wil forsake thee It importeth aboue all thyng to knowe the capitain of the enemies and whom he hath aboute hym whether he be rashe or politike whether he be fearfull or hardie to see how thou maiest truste vpon the aidyng souldiours A timerous army is not to be conducted to faight And aboue all thyng thou oughtest to take hede not to conducte the armie to faight when it feareth or whē in any wise it mistrusteth of the victorie for that the greatest signe to lose is when thei beleue not to be able to winne How to auoide the faightyng of a fielde and therfore in this case thou oughtest to auoide the faightyng of the fielde either with doyng as Fabius Maximus whom incampyng in strong places gaue no courage to Aniball to goe to finde hym or whē thou shouldest thinke that the enemie also in strong places would come to finde thee to departe out of the fielde and to deuide the menne into thy tounes to th entent that tediousnesse of winnyng them maie wearie hym Zanobi Cannot the faightyng of the battaile be otherwise auoided then in deuidyng the armie in sunderie partes and placyng the men in tounes Fabritio I beleue that ones alreadie with some of you I haue reasoned how that he that is in the field cannot auoide to faight the battaile when he hath an enemie which will faight with hym in any wise and he hath not but one remedie and that is to place him self with his armie distant fiftie miles at leaste from his aduersarie to be able betymes to auoide him whē he should go to finde hym Fabius Maximus For Fabius Maximus neuer auoided to faight the battaile with Aniball but he would haue it with his aduauntage and Aniball did not presume to bee able to ouercome hym goyng to finde hym in the places where he incamped where if he had presupposed to haue been able to haue ouercome it had been conueniente for Fabius to haue fought the battails with hym or to haue auoided Philip Kyng of Macedonia Philip king of Macedonia ouercome by the Romaines thesame that was father to Perse cōmyng to warre with the Romaines pitched his campe vpon a verie high hill to the entent not to faight with theim but the Romaines wente to find hym on thesame hill and discomfaited hym How Cingentorige auoided the faightying of the fielde with Cesar Cingentorige capitain of the Frenche menne for that he would not faight the field with Cesar whom contrarie to his opinion had passed a riuer got awaie many miles with his men The Venecians in our tyme The ignorance of the Venecians if thei would not haue come to haue fought with the Frenche kyng thei ought not to haue taried till the Frenche armie had passed the Riuer Addus but to haue gotten from them as Cingentorige where thei hauyng taried knewe not how to take in the passyng of the men the occasion to faight the battaile nor to auoide it For that the Frenche men beyng nere vnto them as the Venecians went out of their Campe assaulted theim and discomfited theim so it is that the battaile cannot bee auoided when the enemie in any wise will faight nor let no man alledge Fabius for that so moche in thesame case he did flie the daie of battaile as Aniball It happeneth many tymes that thy souldiours be willyng to faight thou knoweste by the nomber and by the situacion or for some other occasion to haue disaduauntage and desirest to make them chaunge from this desire it happeneth also that necessitie or occasion constraineth thee to faight and that thy souldiours are euill to be trusted and smally disposed to faight where it is necessarie in th one case What is to be doen wher soldiours desire to faight contrary to their capitaines
minde to make theim afraied and in the other to incourage theim In the firste case when perswacions suffiseth not there is no better waie then to giue in praie a part of theÌ„ vnto thenemie to thintent those that haue and those that haue not fought maie beleue thee it may very wel be doen with art thesame which to Fabius Maximus hapned by chuÌ„ace Th armie of Fabius as you knowe desired to faight with Aniballs armie the very same desire had the master of his horses to Fabius it semed not good to attempte the faight so that through soche contrary opinions he was fain to deuide the armie Fabius kept his men in the caÌ„pe the other fought and commyng into great perill had been ouerthrowen if Fabius had not rescued him by the whiche insample the maister of the horse together with all the armie knewe how it was a wise waie to obeie Fabius How to incourage souldiers Concernyng to incourage theim to faight it should be well doen to make them to disdain the enemies shewyng how thei speake slaunderous woordes of them to declare to haue intelligence with them and to haue corrupted part of them to incampe in place where thei maie see the enemies and make some light skirmishe with theÌ„ for that the thyng that is dailie seen with more facilitie is despised to shewe theim to bee vnworthie and with an oracion for the purpose to reprehende them of their cowardnesse and for to make them ashamed to tell theim that you will faight alone when thei will not beare you companie And you ought aboue all thyng to haue this aduertismente An aduertismeÌ„t to make the soldiour most obstinately to faight mindyng to make the Souldiour obstinate to faight not to permitte that thei maie send home any of their substaunce or to leaue it in any place till the warre bee ended that thei maie vnderstande that although fliyng saue their life yet it saueth not theim their goodes the loue whereof is wonte no lesse then thesame to make men obstinate in defence Zanobi You haue tolde how the souldiours maie be tourned to faight with speakyng to theim doe you meane by this that all the armie must bee spoken vnto or to the heddes thereof Fabricio To perswade or to diswade a thyng vnto fewe is verie easie for that if woordes suffise not you maie then vse aucthoritie and force but the difficultie is to remoue from a multitude an euill opinion and that whiche is contrary either to the common profite or to thy opinion where cannot be vsed but woordes the whiche is meete that thei be heard of euery man mindyng to perswade them all Wherfore It is requisite for excelleâ— Câ—pitaines to bee good orators it was requisite that the excellente Capitaines were oratours for that without knowyng how to speake to al the army with difficultie maie be wrought any good thing the whiche altogether in this our tyme is laied aside Rede the life of Alexander Magnus Alexander Magnus vsed opeâ—ly to perswâ—dy his armie and you shall see how many tymes it was necessarie for hym to perswade and to speake publikly to his armie otherwise he should neuer haue brought theim beyng become riche and full of spoile through the desertes of Arabia and into India with so moche his disease and trouble for that infinite tymes there growe thynges wherby an armie ruinateth when the capitain either knoweth not or vseth not to speake vnto thesame The effecteousnes of speking for that this speakyng taketh awaie feare incourageth the mindes increaseth the obstinatenes to faight discouereth the deceiptes promiseth rewardes sheweth the perilles and the waie to auoide theim reprehendeth praieth threateneth filleth full of hope praise shame and doeth all those thynges by the whiche the humaine passions are extincte or kendled wherefore that prince or coÌ„mon weale whiche should appoincte to make a newe power and cause reputacion to their armie ought to accustome the Souldiours thereof Souldiours ought to be accustomed to heare their Capitaine speake to heare the capitain to speake and the capitain to know how to speake vnto theÌ„ In kepyng desposed the souldiours in old tyme to faight for their countrie the religion auailed moche How in olde time souldiers were threatened for their faltes and the othes whiche thei gaue them when thei led theim to warfare for as moche as in al their faultes thei threatned them not onely with those punishementes whiche might be feared of men but with those whiche of God might be looked for Enterprises maie the easeliâ—â— be brought to passe by meanes of religioÌ„ the whiche thyng mingled with the other Religious maners made many tymes easie to the auncient capitaines all enterprises and will doe alwaies where relâ—gion shall be feared Sertorius and obserued Sertorius preuailed by declaryng that he spake with a Stagge the whiche in Goddes parte promised hym the victorie Silla saied A policie oâ— Silla he spoke with an Image whiche he had taken out of the Temple of Apollo Many haue tolde how God hath appered vnto them in their slepe whoÌ„ hath admonished them to faight In our fathers time Charles the seuenth kyng of Fraunce A policie of Charles the seuenth king of FrauÌ„ce against the EnglishmeÌ„ in the warre whiche he made againste the Englishemen saied he counsailed with a maide sent froÌ„ God who was called euery where the Damosell of Fraunce the which was occacion of his victorie How souldiers maie bee made to esteme little their enemies There maie be also vsed meanes that maie make thy men to esteme little the enemie as Agesilao a Spartaine vsed whom shewed to his souldious certain Persians naked to the intent that seyng their delicate meÌ„bers thei should not haue cause to feare them The surest wai to make souldiouâ—s moste obstinat to faight Some haue constrained their meÌ„ to faight through necessitie takyng awaie from them all hope of sauyng theim selues sauyng in ouercommyng The whiche is the strongest and the beste prouision that is made to purpose to make the souldiour obstinate to faight By what meanes obstinatenesse to faighte is increased whiche obstinatenesse is increased by the confidence and loue of the Capitaine or of the countrie Confidence is caused through the armour the order the late victorie and the opinion of the Capitaine The loue of the countrie is caused of nature that of the Capitain through vertue more then by any other benefite the necessities maie be many but that is strongest whiche constraineth thee either to ouercome or to dye The fiueth Booke of the Arte of warre of Nicholas Machiauell Citezeine and Secretarie of Florence vnto Laurence Philip Strozze Fabritio I Haue shewed you how an armi is ordained to faight a fielde with an other armie which is seen pitched against it haue declared vnto you howe the same is ouercome and after many circumstaunces I haue likewise shewed you what diuers chaunces maie happen about
theim selues together to defende the passage but after that thei sawe those men ill apoincted accordyng to their facion euill horsed regardyng theim little enlarged the orders of their warde wherof so sone as the NumidiaÌ„s wer a ware giuyng the spurres to their horses and runnyng violently vpon theim passed before thei could prouide any remedy whom beyng passed destroied and spoiled the countrie after soche sorte that thei constrained the enemies to leaue the passage free to the armie of Lucius Some capitaine Howe some Capitaynes haue suffered them selues to be compassed aboute of their enemies whiche hath perceiued hymself to be assaulted of a greate multitude of enemies hath drawen together his men and hath giuen to the enemie commoditie to compasse hym all about and then on thesame part whiche he hath perceiued to be moste weake hath made force and by thesame waie hath caused to make waie and saued hymself Marcus Antonius retiryng before the armie of the Parthians A polecie of Marcus Antonius perceiued how the enemies euery daie before Sunne risyng when he remoued assaulted him and all the waie troubled hym in so moch that he determined not to departe the nexte daie before None so that the Parthians beleuing that he would not remoue that daie retourned to their tentes Whereby Marcus Antonius might then all the reste of the daie marche without any disquietnesse A defence for the sâ—otte of arrowes This self same maÌ„ for to auoide the arrowes of the Parthians commauÌ„ded his men that when the Parthians came to wardes them thei should knele and that the second ranke of the battailes should couer with their Targaettes the heddes of the firste the thirde the seconde the fowerth the third and so successiuely that all the armie came to be as it were vnder a pentehouse and defended from the shotte of the enemies This is as moche as is come into my remembraunce to tell you which maie happen vnto an armie marchyng therefore if you remember not any thyng els I will passe to an other parte The sixthe Booke of the Arte of warre of Nicholas Machiauell Citezeine and Secretarie of Florence vnto Laurence Philip Strozze Zanobi I Beleue that it is good seyng the reasonyng must be chaunged that Baptiste take his office and I to resigne myne and wee shall come in this case to imitate the good Capitaines accordyng as I haue nowe here vnderstoode of the gentilman who place the beste souldiours before and behinde the armie semyng vnto theim necessarie to haue before soche as maie lustely beginne the faight and soche as behinde maie lustely sustaine it Now seyng Cosimus began this reasonyng prudently Baptiste prudently shall ende it As for Luigi and I haue in this middeste intertained it and as euery one of vs hath takeÌ„ his part willingly so I beleue not that Baptiste wil refuse it Baptiste I haue let my self been gouerned hetherto so I minde to doe still Therfore be contente sir to folowe your reasonyng and if we interrupte you with this practise of ours haue vs excused Fabritio You dooe me as all readie I haue saied a moste greate pleasure for this your interrupting me taketh not awaie my fantasie but rather refresheth me But mindyng to followe our matter I saie how that it is now tyme that we lodge this our armie for that you knowe euery thyng desireth reste and saftie bicause to reste and not to reste safely is no perfecte reste I doubte moche whether it hath not been desired of you that I should firste haue lodged them after made theim to marche and laste of all to faight and we haue doen the contrary whereunto necessitie hath brought vs for that intendyng to shewe how an armie in going is reduced from the forme of marching to thesame maner of faightyng it was necessarie to haue firste shewed how thei ordered it to faight But tournyng to our matter I saie that minding to haue the Campe sure it is requisite that it be strong and in good order the industrie of the Capitaine maketh it in order the situacion or the arte maketh it stronge The Grekes sought strong situacioÌ„s How the Grekes incamped nor thei would neuer place theim selues where had not been either caue or bancke of a riuer or multitude of trees or other naturall fortificacion that might defende theim but the Romaines not so moche incaÌ„ped safe through the situacion Howe the Romaines incamped as through arte nor thei would neuer incampe in place where thei should not haue been able to haue raunged all their bandes of menne accordyng to their discipline Hereby grewe that the Romaines might kepe alwaies one forme of incamping for that thei would that the situacion should bee ruled by theÌ„ not thei by the situacion the which the Grekes could not obserue for that beyng ruled by the situacion and variyng the situacion and forme it was conueniente that also thei should varie the maner of incampyng and the facion of their lodgynges Therefore the Romaines where the situacion lacked streÌ„gth thei supplied thesame with arte and with industrie And for that I in this my declaracion haue willed to imitate the Romaines I will not departe froÌ„ the maner of their incamping yet not obseruyng altogether their order but takyng thesame parte whiche semeth vnto me to be mete for this present tyme. I haue told you many tymes how the Romaines had in their coÌ„sull armies twoo Legions of Romaine men whiche were aboute a leuen thousande footemen and sixe huÌ„dred horsemen and moreouer thei had an other leuen thousande footemen sente from their frendes in their aide nor in their armie thei had neuer more souldiers that were straungers then Romaines excepte horsemenne whom thei cared not though thei were more in nomber then theirs and in all their doynges thei did place their Legions in the middeste and the aiders on the sides the whiche maner thei obserued also in incampyng as by your self you maie rede in those aucthoures that write of their actes and therefore I purpose not to shewe you distinctly how thei incamped but to tell you onely with what order I at this presente would incampe my armie whereby you shall then knowe what parte I haue taken out of the Romaine maners You knowe that in stede of twoo Romaine Legions I haue taken twoo maine battailes of footemen of sixe thousande footemen and three hundred horsemen profitable for a maine battaile and into what battailes into what weapons into what names I haue deuided theim you knowe howe in orderyng th armie to marche and to faight I haue not made mencion of other men but onely haue shewed how that doublyng the men thei neded not but to double the orders but mindyng at this presente to shew you the maner of incampyng me thinketh good not to stande onely with twoo maine battailes but to bryng together a iuste armie made like vnto the Romaines of twoo maine battailes and of as many mo aidyng men the whiche I make to the
of the Campe a halfe circle of grouÌ„d from whens the artillerie might flancke whom so euer should seke to come ouer the Trenche In this practise in knowyng how to ordain a campe the souldiours ought also to be exercised to make with them the officers expert that are appoincted to marke it out and the Souldiours readie to knowe their places nor nothyng therein is difficulte as in the place thereof shall bee declared wherefore I will goe forewarde at this tyme to the warde of the campe bicause without distribucion of the watche all the other pain that hath been taken should be vain Baptiste Before you passe to the watche I desire that you would declare vnto me when one would pitche his campe nere the enemie what waie is vsed for that I knowe not how a man maie haue tyme to be able to ordaine it without perill Fabricio You shall vnderstande this that no Capitaine will lye nere the enemie except he that is desposed to faight the fielde when so euer his aduersarie will and when a capitaine is so disposed there is no perill but ordinarie for that the twoo partes of the armie stande alwaies in a redinesse to faight the battaile thother maketh the lodginges The Romaines in this case gaue this order of fortifiyng the Campe vnto the Triarij the Prencipj the Astatj stoode in armes This thei did for as moche as the Triarij beyng the last to faight might haue time inough if the enemie came to leaue the woorke to take their weapons to get them into their places Therfore accordyng vnto the Romaines maner you ought to cause the Campe to be made of those battailes whiche you will set in the hinder parte of the armie in the place of the Triarij But let vs tourne to reason of the watche I thinke I haue not founde The antiquitie vsed no Scoutes emongest the antiquitie that for to warde the campe in the night thei haue kepte watche without the Trenche distaunte as thei vse now a daies whom thei call Scoutes the whiche I beleue thei did thinkyng that the armie might easely bee deceiued through the difficultie that is in seeyng them againe for that thei might bee either corrupted or oppressed of the enemie So that to truste either in parte or altogether on them thei iudged it perillous And therefore all the streÌ„gth of the watche was with in the trenche whiche thei did withall diligence kepe and with moste greate order punished with death whom so euer obserued not thesame order the whiche how it was of them ordained I will tell you no other wise leaste I should bee tedious vnto you beyng able by your self to see it if as yet you haue not seen it I shall onely briefly tell that whiche shall make for my purpose I wold cause to staÌ„d ordinately euery night The watche and warde of the Campe. the thirde parte of the armie armed and of thesame the fowerth parte alwaies on foote whom I would make to bee destributed throughout all the banckes and throughout all the places of the armie with double warde placed in euery quadrante of thesame Of whiche parte should stande still parte continually should go from the one corner of the Campe to the other and this order I would obserue also in the daie when I should haue the enemie nere Concernyng the giuyng of the watche worde and renuyng thesame euery euening and to doe the other thynges whiche in like watches is vsed bicause thei are thynges well inough knowen I will speake no further of them onely I shall remeÌ„ber one thyng for that it is of greate importaunce and whiche causeth great saulfgarde obseruyng it and not obseruyng it moche harme The whiche is Dilligence ought to be vsed to knowe who lieth oute of the Campe and who they be that cometh of newe that there be obserued greate diligence to knowe at night who lodgeth not in the Campe and who commeth a newe and this is an easie thing to see who lodgeth with thesame order that wee haue appoincted for as moche as euery lodgyng hauyng the determined nomber of menne it is an easie matter to see if thei lacke or if there be more menne and when thei come to be absente without lisence to punishe them as Fugetiues and if there bee more to vnderstande what thei be what they make there of their other condicioÌ„s This diligeÌ„ce maketh that the enemie cannot but with difficultie practise with thy capitaines and haue knowlege of thy counsailes which thing if of the Romaines had not been diligently obserued Claudius Nero. Claudius Nero could not hauyng Aniball nere hym departed from his Campe whiche he had in Lucania and to go and to retourne from Marca without Aniball should haue firste heard thereof some thyng But it suffiseth not to make these orders good excepte thei bee caused to bee obserued with a greate seuertie for that there is nothyng that would haue more obseruacion then is requisite in an armie therefore the lawes for the maintenaunce of thesame The iustice that ought to be in a campe ought to be sharpe and harde and the executour therof moste harde The fauts that the antiquitie punisshed with â—eath The Romaines punished with death him that lacked in the watch he that forsoke the place that was giuen hym to faight in he that caried any thynge hidde out of the Campe if any manne should saie that he had doen some worthy thing in the faight and had not doen it if any had fought without the coÌ„maundemente of the Capitaine if any had for feare caste awaie his weapons and when it happened that a Cohorte or a whole Legion had coÌ„mitted like fault bicause thei would not put to death all thei yet tooke al their names and did put them in a bagge and then by lotte thei drue oute the tenthe parte and so those were put to death the whiche punishemente was in soche wise made that though euery man did not feele it euery man notwithstandyng feared it and bicause where be greate punishementes there ought to be also rewardes mindyng to haue menne at one instant Where greate punishementes be there oughte likewise to bee great rewardes to feare and to hope thei had appoincted rewardes to euery worthie acte as he that faighting saued the life of one of his Citezeins to hym that firste leapte vpon the walle of the enemies Tounc to hym that entered firste into the Campe of the enemies to hym that had in faightyng hurte or slaine the enemie he that had stroken him from his horse and so euery vertuous act was of the Consulles knowen and rewarded and openly of euery manne praised and soche as obtained giftes for any of these thynges besides the glorie and fame whiche thei got emongest the souldiours after when thei returned into their countrie with solemne pompe and with greate demonstracion emong their frendes and kinsfolkes thei shewed them It was
common vse and enterlined it as I haue saied aboue and the same haue made to be hanged on the gates of the Temples the whiche by countersignes beyng knowen of those vnto whome they haue been sente were taken of and redde the whiche way is moste politique bicause he that carrieth them maie bee beguiled and there shall happen hym no perill There be moste infinite other waies whiche euery manne maie by himself rede and finde but with more facilitie the besieged maie bee written vnto then the besieged to their freÌ„des without for that soche letters cannot be sent but by one vnder colour of a fugetiue that commeth out of a toune the whiche is a daungerous and perilous thing when thenemie is any whit craftie But those that sende in he that is sente maie vnder many colours goe into the Campe that besiegeth and from thens takyng conueniente occasion maie leape into the toune but lette vs come to speake of the present winnyng of tounes I saie that if it happen that thou bee besieged in thy citee whiche is noâ— ordained with diches within as a little before we shewed to mynde that thenemie shall not enter through the breach of the walle whiche the artillerie maketh bicause there is no remedie to lette thesame from makyng of a breache it is therefore necessarie for thee Tâ— defence against a breach whileste the ordinance battereth to caste a diche within the wall which is battered and that it be in bredth at leaste twoo and twentie yardes and a halfe and to throwe all thesame that is digged towardes the toun whiche maie make a banke and the diche more deper and it is conuenient for thee to sollicitate this worke in soche wise that when the walle falleth the Diche maie be digged at least fower or fiue yardes in depth the whiche diche is necessarie while it is a digging to shutte it on euery side with a slaughter house and when the wall is so strong that it giueth thee time to make the diche and the slaughter houses that battered parte commeth to be moche stronger then the rest of the citee for that soche fortificacion cometh to haue the forme of the diches which we deuised within but when the walle is weake and that it giueth thee not tyme to make like fortificacions then strengthe and valiauntnesse muste bee shewed settyng againste the enemies armed menne with all thy force This maner of fortificacion was obserued of the Pisans wheÌ„ you besieged theim and thei might doe it bicause thei had strong walles whiche gaue them time the yearth beyng softe and moste meete to raise vp banckes and to make fortificacions where if thei had lacked this commoditie thei should haue loste the toune Therefore it shall bee alwaies prudently doen to prouide afore hand makyng diches within the citee through out all the circuite thereof as a little before wee deuised for that in this case the enemie maie safely be taried for at laisure the fortificacions beyng redy made The antiquitie many tymes gotte tounes How the antiquitie got tounes by muining vnder grounde with muinyng vnder ground in twoo maners eithei thei made a waie vnder grounde secretely whiche risse in the toune and by thesame entered in whiche maner the Romaines toke the citee of Veienti or with the muinyng thei ouerthrewe a walle and made it ruinate this laste waie is now a daies moste stronge and maketh that the citees placed high be most weake bicause thei maie better bee vnder muined puttyng after in a Caue of this Gunne pouder whiche in a momente kindelyng not onely ruinateth a wall but it openeth the hilles and vtterly dissolueth the strength of them The reamedie against Caues or vndermuinynges The remedie for this is to builde in the plain and to make the diche that compasseth thy citee so deepe that the enemie maie not digge lower then thesame where he shall not finde water whiche onely is enemie to the caues for if thou be in a toune which thou defendest on a high ground thou canst not remedie it otherwise then to make within thy walles many deepe Welles the whiche be as drouners to thesame Caues that the enemie is able to ordain against thee An other remedie there is to make a caue againste it when thou shouldeste bee aware where he muineth the whiche waie easely hindereth hym but difficultly it is foreseen beyng besieged of a craftie enemie He that is besieged ought aboue al thinges to haue care What cate the besieged ought to haue not to bee oppressed in the tyme of reste as is after a battaile fought after the watche made whiche is in the Mornyng at breake of daie and in the Euenyng betwen daie and night and aboue al at meale times in whiche tyme many tounes haue been wonne and armies haue been of them within ruinated therefore it is requisite with diligence on all partes to stande alwaies garded and in a good part armed What maketh a citee or campe difficulte to bee defended I will not lacke to tell you how that whiche maketh a citee or a campe difficult to be defended is to be driuen to kepe sundred all the force that thou haste in theim for that the enemie beyng able to assaulte thee at his pleasure altogether it is conueniente for thee on euery side to garde euery place and so be assaulteth thee with all his force and thou with parte of thine defendest thee Also the besieged maie bee ouercome altogether he without cannot bee but repulced wherefore many whom haue been besieged either in a Campe or in a Toune although thei haue been inferiour of power haue issued out with their men at a sodaine and haue ouercome the enemie This Marcellus of Nola did this did Cesar in Fraunce where his Campe beeyng assaulted of a moste great nomber of Frenchmen and seeyng hymself not able to defende it beyng constrained to deuide his force into many partes and not to bee able standyng within the Listes with violence to repulce thenemie he opened the campe on th one side and turning towardes thesame parte with all his power made so moche violence against them and with so moche valiantnes that he vanquisshed ouercame theÌ„ The constancie also of the besieged By what 〈◊〉 thei tâ—â—t besiege 〈…〉 causeth many tymes displeasure and maketh afraied them that doe besiege Pompei beyng against Cesar and Cesars armie beeyng in greate distresse through famine there was brought of his bredde to Pompei whom seyng it made of grasse commaunded that it should not bee shewed vnto his armie least it shoulde make them afraide Honour got by constancie seyng what enemies they had against theim Nothyng caused so muche honour to the Romaines in the warre of Aniball as their constancie for as muche as in what so euer enuious and aduerse fortune thei were troubled they neuer demauÌ„ded peace thei neuer made anie signe of feare but rather when Aniball was aboute Rome thei solde those
a horse this order I vnder stande hath beene deuised of certaine princes in our tâ—â—e whome in short space haue therby brought into their countrey an excellente numbre of good horses Aboute the other thynges as much as might be looked for concernynge horse I remit to as much as I haue saied to daie and to that whiche they vse Peraduenture also you woulde desire to vnderstand what condicions a Capitaine ought to haue wherof I shal satisfie you moste breeflie The knowledge that a capitaine oughte to haue for that I cannot tell how to chose anie other man then the same who shoulde know howe to doe all those thynges whiche this daie hath ben reasoned of by vs the which also should not suffise when he should not knowe howe to deuise of him selfe for that no man wtout inuencion was euer excellent in anie science and if inuencion causeth honour in other thynges in this about all it maketh a maÌ„ honorable for euerie inuention is seen although it were but simple to be of writers celebrated as it is seen where Alexander Magnus is praised who for to remoue his Campe moste secretely gaue not warnyng with the Trumpette but with a hatte vpon a Launce And was praised also for hauyng taken order that his souldiours in buckelynge with the enemies shoulde kneele with the lefte legge to bee able more strongly to withstande their violence the whiche hauyng geuen him the victorie it got him also so muche praise that all the Images whiche were erected in his honour stoode after the same facion But because it is tyme to finishe this reasonyng I wil turne againe to my first purpose partly I shall auoide the same reproche wherin they vse to condempne in this towne such as knoweth not when to make an ende The auctor retorneth to his first purpose maketh a littell discorse to make an ende of his reasonyng If you remembre Cosimus you tolde me that I beyng of one side an exalter of the antiquitie and a dispraiser of those which in waightie matters imitated them not and of the other side I hauynge not in the affaires of war wherin I haue takeÌ„ paine imitated them you coulde not perceiue the occasion whervnto I answered how that men which wil doo any thing muste firste prepare to knowe how to doe it for to be able after to vse it when occasion permitteth whether I doe know how to bryng the seruis of warre to the auncient manners or no I will be iudged by you whiche haue hearde me vpon this matter longe dispute wherby you may know how much time I haue consumed in these studies and also I beleeue that you maie imagen how much desire is in me to brynge it to effecte the whiche whether I haue been able to haue doen or that euer occasion hath been geuen me most easely you maie coniecture yet for to make you more certaine and for my better iustificacion I will also aledge the occasions and as much as I haue promised I will partely performe to shew you the difficultie and the facelitie whiche bee at this presente in suche imitacions Therfore I saie A prince may easelie bâ—ynge to inciâ—â—e perfection the seâ—uis of warre how that no deede that is doen now a daies emong men is more easie to be reduced into the aunciente maners then the seruice of Warre but by them onely that be Princes of so moche state who can at least gather together of their owne subiectes xv or twentie thousande yong menne otherwise no thyng is more difficulte then this to them whiche haue not soche commoditie and for that you maie the better vnderstande this parte you haue to knowe howe that there bee of twoo condicions Capitaines to bee praised The one are those Two sortes of Capitaines worthie to beâ— praysed that with an armie ordained through the naturalle discipline thereof haue dooen greate thynges as were the greater parte of the Romaine Citezeins and suche as haue ledde armies the which haue had no other paine then to maintaine them good and to se them guided safely the other are they whiche not onely haue had to ouercome the enemie but before they come to the same haue been constrained to make good and well ordered their armie who without doubte deserue muche more praise then those haue deserued which with olde armies good haue valiantely wrought Of these such wer Pelopida and Epaminonda Tullus Hostillius Phillip of Macedony father of Alexander Cirus kyng of the Percians Graccus a Romaine they all were driuen first to make their armies good and after to faighte with them they all coulde doe it as well throughe their prudence as also for hauynge subiectes whome thei might in like exercises instruct nor it shuld neuer haue ben otherwise possible that anie of theim though they had ben neuer so good ful of al excelleÌ„cie should haue been able in a straunge countrey full of men corrupted not vsed to anie honest obedience to haue brought to passe anie laudable worke It suffiseth not then in Italie to know how to gouerne an army made but first it is necessarie to know how to make it after to know how to coÌ„mauÌ„de it to do these thin-it is requisit they bee those princes whome hauyng much dominion subiectes inoughe maie haue commoditie to doe it of whiche I can not bee who neuer commaunded nor cannot commaunde but to armies of straungers and to men bounde to other and not to me in whiche if it be possible or no to introduce anie of those thynges that this daie of me hath ben reasoned I will leaue it to your iudgement Albeit when coulde I make one of these souldiours which now a daies practise to weare more armur theÌ„ the ordinarie and besides the armur to beare their owne meate for two or three daies with a mattocke When coulde I make theim to digge or keepe theim euery daie manie howers armed in fained exercises for to bee able after in the verie thyng in deede to preuaile When woulde thei abstaine from plaie from laciuiousnesse from swearynge from the insolence whiche euerie daie they committe when would they be reduced into so muche dissepline into so much obedience and reuerence that a tree full of appels in the middest of their Campe shoulde be founde there and lefte vntouched As is redde that in the auncient armies manie times hapned What thynge maye I promis them by meane wherof thei may haue me in reuerence to loue or to feare when the warre beyng ended they haue not anie more to doe with me wher of maie I make them ashamed whiche be borne and brought vp without shame whie shoulde thei be ruled by me who knowe me not By what God or by what sainctes may I make them to sweare By those that thei worship or by those that they blaspheme Who they worship I knowe not anie but I knowe well they blaspheme all How shoulde I beleeue that thei will keepe
to tourne backwarde or whiche waie to tourne the weapons and the face so that knowyng how to kepe well the araie after soche sorte that neither place nor mouyng maie disorder them vnderstandyng well the commaundementes of their heddes by meanes of the sounde and knowyng quickly how to retourne into their place these battailes maie after easly as I haue said beyng brought many together learne to do that whiche all the body together with the other battailes in a iuste armie is bounde to dooe And bicause soche vniuersall practise is also not to bee estemed a little ones or twise a yere when there is peace all the main battaile maie be brought together to giue it the facioÌ„ of an whole armie some daies exercisyng theim as though thei should faight a fielde settyng the fronte and the sides with their succours in their places And bicause a capitaine ordeineth his hoste to the fielde either for coumpte of the enemie he seeth or for that of whiche without seyng he doubteth he ought to exercise his armie in the one maner and in the other and to instructe theim in soche sorte How a captain muste instâ—â—â—â— his souldiours how thei ought to gouerne theÌ„ selues in 〈◊〉 battaile that thei maie knowe how to marche to faight wheÌ„ nede should require shewyng to his souldiours how thei should gouerne theim selues when thei should happen to be assaulted of this or of that side and where he ought to instructe theim how to faight againste the enemie whom thei should see he must shewe them also how the faight is begun where thei ought to retire being ouerthrowen who hath to succeade in their places to what signes to what soundes to what voices thei ought to obeie and to practise theÌ„ in soche wise in the battaile and with fained assaultes that thei may desire the verie thyng in deede For that an armie is not made coragious bicause in thesame be hardie menne but by reason the orders thereof bee well appoincted For as moche as if I be one of the first faighters do knowe beyng ouercome where I maie retire and who hath to succeade in my place I shall alwaies faight with boldnes seing my succour at hand If I shall be one of the seconde faighters the first being driuen backe and ouerthrowen I shall not bee afraied for that I shall haue presuposed that I maie bee and I shall haue desire to be thesame whiche maie giue the victory to my maister and not to bee any of the other These exercises bee moste necessarie where an armie is made of newe and where the old armie is thei bee also necessarie â–ª for that it is also seen how the Romaines knew from their infancie thorder of their armies notwithstandyng those capitaines before thei should come to thenemie continually did exercise them in those And Iosephus in his historie saieth that the coÌ„tinuall exercises of the Romaine armies made that all thesame multitude whiche folowe the campe for gain was in the daie of battaile profitable bicause thei all knewe how to stande in the orders and to faight kepyng the same but in the armies of newe men whether thou haue putte theim together to faight straight waie or that thou make a power to faight when neede requires without these exercises as well of the battailes seuerally by themselues as of all the armie is made nothing wherefore the orders beyng necessarie it is conueniente with double industrie and laboure to shewe them vnto soche as knoweth theÌ„ not and for to teache it many excellent capitaines haue trauailed without any respecte Cosimo My thinkes that this reasoning hath sumwhat transported you for asmoche as hauyng not yet declared the waies with the whiche the battailes bee exercised you haue reasoned of the whole armie and of the daie of battaile Fabricio You saie truth but surely thoccasion hath been the affection whiche I beare to these orders and the grief that I feele seyng thei be not put in vre notwithstanding doubt not but that I will tourne to the purpose as I haue saied The chiâ—f importance in the exercisyng of bandes of mâ—n the chief importaunce that is in thexercise of the battailes is to knowe how to kepe well the arraies and bicause I tolde you that one of these battailes ought to bee made of fower hundred men heauie armed I wil staie my self vpon this nomber Thei ought then to be brought into .lxxx. rankes and fiue to a ranke afterward goyng fast or softly to knit them together and to lose them the whiche how it is dooen maie bee shewed better with deedes then with wordes Which nedeth not gretly to be taught for that euery manne whom is practised in seruise of warre knoweth how this order procedeth whiche is good for no other then to vse the souldiours to keepe the raie but let vs come to putte together one of these battailes I saie Three principall facions for thorderyng of menne into battaile â—aâ—e that there is giuen them three facioÌ„s principally the firste and the moste profitablest is to make al massiue to giue it the facion of two squares the second is to make it square with the front horned the thirde is to make it with a voide space in the middest the maner to put men together in the first facion maie be of twoo sortes th one is to double the rankes The maner how to bryng a hande of mâ—n into battaâ—lâ—â—eâ—e afte◠〈◊〉 square fâ—câ—â—â—â— that is to make the seconde ranke enter into the first the .iiij. into the third the sixt into the fift so foorth so that where there was .lxxx. rankes fiue â—o a ranke thei maie become .xl. rankes .x. to a ranke Afterward cause theim to double ones more in thesame maner settyng the one ranke into an other and so there shall remain twentie rankes twentie men to a ranke this maketh twoo squares aboute for as moche as albeit that there bee as many men the one waie as in the other notwithstandyng towardes the hedde thei ioine together that the one side toucheth the other but by the other waie thei be distant the one from the other at least a yarde and a haulfe after soche sorte that the square is moche longer from the backe to the fronte then from the one side to thother and bicause we haue at this presente to speake often of the partes afore of behinde and of the sides of these battailes and of all the armie together knowe you that when I saie either hedde or fronte I meane the parte afore when I shall saie backe the part behind when I shall saie flaÌ„kes the partes on the sides The fiftie ordinarie veliti of the battaile muste not mingle with the other rankes but so sone as the battaile is facioned thei shal be set a long by the flankes therof The other waie to set together the battaile is this and bicause it is better then the firste I will set it before your iyes iuste how it ought
scilence to go faire and softely this laste waie serueth to kepe the order more sure and to vnderstande better the coÌ„maundementes of the Capitaine the firste serueth to incourage more the mindes of men and for that I beleue that respecte ought to bee had to the one and to the other of these twoo thynges I made the one goe with rumour and thother with scilence nor me thinkes not in any wise that the continuall rumours bee to purpose bicause thei lette the commaundementes the whiche is a thyng moste pernicious The cries and rumours wherwith the firste charge is giue vnto the enemies and the silence that ought to bee vsâ—d â—fter when the faight is ones begunne nor it standeth not with reason that the Romaines vsed except at the firste assaulte to make rumour for that in their histories is seen many tymes to haue happened that through the wordes and comfortinges of the capitain the souldiours that ranne awaie were made to stande to it and in sundrie wise by his commaundemente to haue varied the orders the whiche should not haue followed if the rumoures had been louder then his voyce The fowerth booke of the arte of warre of Nicholas Machiauell Citezeine and Secretarie of Florence vnto Laurence Philip Strozze Luigi SEng that vnder my gouernement a field hath been wonne so honourably I suppose that it is good that I tempt not fortune any more knowyng how variable and vnstable she is and therefore I desire to giue vp my gouernement and that Zanobi do execute now this office of demaundyng mindyng to followe the order whiche concerneth the youngeste and I knowe he will not refuse this honoure or as we would saie this labour as well for to doe me pleasure as also for beyng naturally of more stomack thaÌ„ I nor it shall not make hym afraied to haue to enter into these trauailes where he maie bee as well ouercome as able to conquere Zanobi I am readie to do what soeuer shall please you to appoincte me although that I desire more willingly to heare for as moche as hetherto your questions haue satisfied me more then those should haue pleased me whiche in harkenyng to your reasonyng hath chaunced to come into my remembraunce But sir I beleue that it is good that you lese no tyme and that you haue pacience if with these our Ceremonies we trouble you Fabricio You doe me rather pleasure for that this variacion of demaunders maketh me to knowe the sundrie wittes and sunderie appetites of yours But remaineth there any thyng whiche seemeth vnto you good to bee ioyned to the matter that alreadie hath been reasoned of Zanobi Twoo thinges I desire before you passe to an other parte the one is to haue you to shewe if in orderyng armies there needeth to bee vsed any other facion the other what respectes a capitaine ought to haue before he conducte his men to the faight and in thesame any accidente risyng or growyng what reamedie maie be had Fabricio I will inforce my self to satisfie you I will not answere now distinctly to your questions for that whileste I shall aunswere to one many tymes it will come to passe that I muste aunswere to an other I haue tolde you how I haue shewed you a facion of an armie to the intent that accordyng to thesame there maie bee giuen all those facions that the enemie and the situation requireth For as moche as in this case bothe accordyng to the power thereof and accordyng to the enemie it proceadeth but note this To destende moche the froÌ„te of an armie is most perillous that there is not a more perillous facion then to destende moche the front of th armie if then thou haue not a most puisant and moste great hoste otherwise thou oughtest to make it rather grosse and of small largenesse then of moche largenes thin What is beste for a capitaine to dooe where his power is moche lesse theÌ„ thenemies power for when thou hast fewe meÌ„ in coÌ„parison to thenemie thou oughtest to seke other remedies as is to ordain thine army in soche a place wher thou maiest be fortefied either through riuers or by meanes of fennes after soch sort that thou canst not bee compassed aboute or to inclose thy self on the flaÌ„ckes with diches as Cesar did in FrauÌ„ce You haue to take in this cace this generall rule A general rule to inlarge your self or to draw in your self with the froÌ„t according to your nomber thesame of the enemie For thenemies being of lesse nomber thou oughtest to seke large places hauyng in especially thy men well instructed to the intent thou maiest not onely compasse aboute the enemie but to destende thy orders for that in placâ—s rough and difficulte beyng not able to preuaile of thy orders thou commeste not to haue any aduauntage hereby grewe that the Romaines almoste alwaies sought the open fieldes and aduoided the straightes To the contrarie as I haue said thou oughtest to do if thou hast fewe menne or ill instructed for that then thou oughteste to seeke places either where the little nomber maie be saued and where the small experieÌ„ce dooe not hurte thee The higher grounde ought to be chosen Thou oughtest also to chuse the higher grounde to be able more easely to infest them notwithstandyng An aduertismeÌ„t not to place an armie wher the enemie maie se what the same doeth this aduertisment ought to be had not to ordaine thy armie where the enemie maie spie what thou doest and in place nere to the rootes of the same where the enemies armie maie come For that in this case hauyng respecte vnto the artillerie the higher place shall gette thee disaduauntage Bicause that alwaies and commodiously thou mightest of the enemies artillerie bee hurte without beyng able to make any remedy and thou couldest not commodiously hurte thesame beyng hindered by thine owne meÌ„ Also Respectes for the Sonne and Winde he that prepareth an armie to faight a battaile ought to haue respecte bothe to the Sunne and to the Winde that the one and the other doe not hurte the fronte for that the one and the other will let thee the sight the one with the beames and the other with the duste and moreouer the Winde hindereth the weapons whiche are stroken at the enemie and maketh their blowes more feable and concerning the Sunne it sufficeth not to haue care that at the firste it shine not in the face but it is requisite to consider that increasyng the daie it hurte thee not and for this it should bee requsite in orderyng the men to haue it all on the backe to the entente it should haue to passe moche tyme to come to lye on the fronte This waie was obserued of Aniball at Canne and of Mario againg the Cimbrians If thou happen to be moche inferiour of horses ordaine thine armie emongeste Vines and trees and like impedimentes as in our time the Spaniardes did when thei ouerthrewe the
FreÌ„ch menne at Cirignuola And it hath been seen many times with all one Souldiours The variyng of ordâ—â—â— pâ—â—â—ce maie câ—usâ— the conqueâ—ed to be come viâ—â—orâ—â—â— variyng onely the order and the place that thei haue become of losers victorers as it happened to the Carthageners whom hauyng been ouercome of Marcus Regolus diuers tymes were after by the counsaill of Santippo a Lacedemonian victorious whom made thâ—m to go doune into the plaine where by vertue of the horses and of Eliphantes thei were able to ouercome the Romaines It semes vnto me accordyng to the auncient insamples that almoste all the excellente Capitaines when thei haue knowen that the enemie hath made stroÌ„g one side of his battaile thei haue not set against it the moste strongest parte but the moste weakest thother moste strongest thei haue set against the most weakest after in the beginning the faighte thei haue commaunded to their strongest parte that onely thei sustaine the enemie and not to preace vpon hym and to the weaker that thei suffer them selues to be ouercome and to retire into the hindermoste bandes of the armie This breadeth twoo greate disorders to the enemie the firste that he findeth his strongest parte compassed about the second is that semyng vnto him to haue the victorie seldome tymes it happeneth that thei disorder not theim selues whereof groweth his sodain losse Cornelius Scipio beyng in Spain A policie in the ordering of meÌ„ and pitchyng of a fielde againste Asdruball of Carthage and vnderstanding how to Asdruball it was knowen that he in the orderyng the armie placed his Legions in the middest the whiche was the strongest parte of his armie and for this how Asdruball with like order ought to procede after when he came to faighte the battaile he chaunged order and put his Legions on the hornes of the armie and in the middest placed all his weakeste men then commyng to the handes in a sodain those men placed in the middeste he made to marche softly and the hornes of the armie with celeritie to make forwarde so that onely the hornes of bothe the armies fought and the bandes in the middest through beyng distaunt the one from the other ioyned not together and thus the stroÌ„gest parte of Scipio came to faight with the weakest of Asdruball and ouercame hym The whiche waie was then profitable but now hauyng respect to the artillerie it cannot be vsed bicause thesame space whiche should remain in the middest betwene the one armie and the other should giue tyme to thesame to shoote The whiche is moste pernicious as aboue is saied Therefore it is requisite to laie this waie aside and to vse as a little afore we saied makyng all the armie to incounter the weakest parte to giue place When a capitaine perceiueth that he hath a greater armie then his enemie How to compasse about the enemies power mindyng to compasse hym aboute before he be aware let hym ordaine his fronte equall to thesame of his aduersaries after so sone as the faight is begun let hym make the fronte by a little and little to retire and the flanckes to destende and alwaies it shall happen that the enemie shal find hymself How a capitaine maie faight and bee as it were sure not to be ouercome before he be aware compassed about When a capitain will faight as it wer sure not to be broken let hym ordaine his armie in place where he hath refuge nere safe either betwene Fennes or betwene hilles or by some strong citee for that in this case he cannot bee followed of the enemie where the enemie maie be pursued of him this poincte was vsed of Aniball when fortune began to become his aduersarie and that he doubted of the valiauntnesse of Marcus Marcello How to trouble the orders of the enemie Some to trouble the orders of the enemie haue commaunded those that were light armed to begin the faight and that beyng begunne to retire betwene the orders and when the armies were after buckled together and that the fronte of either of them were occupied in faightyng thei haue made theim to issue out by the flanckes of the battaile and thesame haue troubled and broken What a capitaine oughte to dooe when he hath not so many horsmen as the enemie If any perceiue hymself to bee inferiour of horse he maie besides the waies that are alredie shewed place behinde his horsemen a battaile of Pikes and in faightyng take order that thei giue waie to the Pikes and he shall remain alwaies superiour A greate â—ide for horsemen Many haue accustomed to vse certain fotemenne lighte armed to faighte emong horsemen the whiche hath been to the chiualrie moste greate helpe Of all those which haue prepared armies to the field be moste praised Aniball and Scipio wheÌ„ thei fought in Africk The policies vsed betwene Aniball and Scipio and for that Aniball had his armie made of Carthaginers and of straungers of diuers nacions he placed in the first fronte thereof .lxxx. Elephantes after he placed the straungers behinde whom he sette his Carthaginers in the hindermoste place he putte the Italians in whoÌ„ he trusted little the whiche thing he ordained so for that the straungers hauyng before theim the enemie and behinde beyng inclosed of his men could not â—lie so that being constrained to faight thei should ouercome or wearie the Romaines supposyng after with his freshe and valiaunte men to be then able easely to ouercome the Romaines beeyng wearied Against this order Scipio set the Astati the Prencipi and the Triarij in the accustomed maner to bee able to receiue the one the other and to rescue the one the other he made the fronte of the armie full of voide spaces and bicause it should not be perceiued but rather should seme vnited he filled them ful of veliti to whom he commaunded that so sone as the Eliphantes came thei should auoide and by the ordinarie spaces should enter betwene the Legins and leaue open the waie to the Eliphauntes and so it came to passe that it made vaine the violence of theim so that commyng to handes he was superiour Zanobi You haue made me to remember â–ª in alledging me this battaile how Scipio in faighting made not the Astati to retire into thorders of the Prencipi but he deuided theim and made theim to retire in the hornes of the armie to thintent thei might giue place to the Prencipi when he would force forwarde therfore I would you should tell me what occasion moued hym not to obserue the accustomed order Fabritio I will tell you Aniball had putte all the strengthe of his armie in the seconde bande wherefore Scipio for to set againste thesame like strengthe gathered the Prencipi and the Triarij together So that the distaunces of the Prencipt beyng occupied of the Triarij there was no place to bee able to receiue the Astati and therefore he made the Astati to deuide and to go
thesame so that me thinkes tyme to shewe you now how an armie is ordered againste thesame enemie whiche otherwise is not seen but coÌ„tinually feared that he assaulte thee this happeneth when an armie marcheth through the enemies countrie or through suspected places Firste How the Romaines marched with their armies you must vnderstande how a Romaine armie sent alwaies ordinarely afore certaine bandes of horsemen as spies of the waie after followed the right horne after this came all the carriages whiche to thesame apperteined after this came a Legion after it the carriages therof after that an other legion and next to it their carriages after whiche came the left horne with the carriages thereof at their backe and in the laste part folowed the remnaunte of the chiualrie this was in effecte the maner with whiche ordinarily thei marched and if it happened that the armie were assaulted in the waie on the fronte How the Romaines ordered their armie when it happened to be assaulted on the waie or on the backe thei made straight waie all the carriages to bee drawen either on the right or on the lefte side accordyng as chaunsed or as thei could beste hauyng respecte to the situacion and all the men together free from their impedimentes made hedde on that parte where the enemie came If thei were assaulted on the flancke thei drue the carriages towardes thesame parte that was safe and of the other thei made hedde This waie beyng well and prudently gouerned I haue thought meete to imitate sending afore the light horsemen as exploratours of the Countrie Then hauyng fower maine battailes How the main battailes ought to marche I would make them to marche in araie and euery one with their carriages folowyng theim And for that there be twoo sortes of carriages that is partainyng to particulare souldiours and partainyng to the publike vse of all the Campe I would deuide the publike Carriages into fower partes and to euery maine battaile I would appoinct his parte deuiding also the artillerie into fower partes and all the vnarmed so that euery nomber of armed menne should equally haue their impedimentes But bicause it happeneth some times that thei marche through the couÌ„trie not onely suspected but so daungerous that thou fearest euery hâ— wer to be assaulted thou art constrained for to go more sure to chaunge the forme of marchyng and to goe in soche wise prepared that neither the countrie menne nor any armie maie hurte thee findyng thee in any parte vnprouided In soche case the aunciente capitaines were wont to marche with the armie quadrante whiche so thei called this forme not for that it was altogether quadrante but for that it was apte to faight of fower partes and thei saied that thei wente prepared bothe for the waie and for the faight from whiche waie I will not digresse and I will ordaine my twoo maine battailes whiche I haue takeÌ„ for to make an armie of to this effect Mindyng therefore The orderyng of an armie after soche sorte that it maie maâ—che safelie through the enemies couÌ„trie and be alwaies in a redines to faight to marche safely through the enemies Countrie and to bee able to aunswere hym on euery side when at vnwares the armie might chaunce to be assaulted and intendyng therefore accordyng to the antiquitie to bryng thesame into a square I would deuise to make a quadraÌ„t that the rome therof should be of space on euery part Clix yardes in this maner First I would put the flanckes distant the one flanck from the other Clix yardes and I would place fiue battailes for a flancke in a raie in length and distant the one from the other twoo yardes and a quarter the whiche shall occupie with their spaces euery battaile occupiyng thirtie yardes Clix yardes Then betwen the hedde and the taile of these two flanckes I would place the other tenne battailes in euery parte fiue orderyng them after soche sorte that fower should ioyne to the hedde of the right flanck and fower to the taile of the lefte flancke leauing betwene euery one of theÌ„ a distance of thre yardes one should after ioyne to the hedde of the lefte flancke one to the taile of the right flancke and for that the space that is betwene the one flancke and the other is Clix yardes and these battailes whiche are set the one to the side of the other by breadth and not by length will come to occupie with the distaunces one hundred yardes and a halfe yarde there shall come betwene theim fower battailes placed in the fronte on the right flancke and the one placed in thesame on the lefte to remaine a space of fiftie and eighte yardes and a halfe and the verie same space will come to remaine in the battailes placed in the hinder parte nor there shall bee no difference sauing that the one space shall come on the parte behind towardes the right horne thother shall come on the parte afore towardes the lefte horne The place in the armie 〈…〉 the boâ—◠〈…〉 â—ppoincted In the space of the .lviij. yardes and a halfe before I would place all the ordinarie Veliti in thesame behinde the extraordinarie which wil come to be a thousande for a space and mindyng to haue the space that ought to be within the armie to be euery waie Clix yardes it is mete that the fiue battailes whiche are placed in the hedde and those whiche are placed in the taile occupie not any parte of the space whiche the flanckes keepe and therefore it shall be conuenient that the fiue battailes behinde doe touche with the fronte the taile of their flanckes and those afore with the taile to touche the hedde after soche sorte that vpon euery corner of the same armie there maie remaine a space to receiue an other battaile The place in the armie whâ—â— thextraordinarie Pikes are appoincted and for that there bee fower spaces I would take fower baÌ„des of the extraordinarie Pikes and in euery corner I would place one and the twoo Ansignes of the foresaied Pikes whiche shall remain ouerplus I would sette in the middest of the rome of this armie The place in the armie wher the generall capitain must be in a square battaile on the hedde whereof should stande the generall capitaine with his menne about him And for that these battailes ordeined thus marche all one waie but faight not all one waie in puttyng them together thâ—se sides ought to be ordained to faight whiche are not defended of thother battailes And therfore it ought to be considered that the fiue battailes that be in the front haue all their other partes defended excepte the fronte and therfore these ought to bee put together in good order and with the Pikes afore The fiue battailes whiche are behinde haue all their sides defended except the parte behinde and therefore those ought to bee put together in soche wise that the Pikes come behind as in the place therof we shall shewe
An other thing the antiquetie did vpon good consideration that of the wages whiche they gaue to euery souldiour the thirde parte they woulde shoulde be laied vp nexte to him whome carried the ansigne of their bande whiche neuer gaue it them againe before the warre was ended this thei did beyng moued of twoo reasons the first was to thintente that the souldiour should thriue by his wages because the greatest parte of them beyng yonge men and carelesse the more thei haue so muche the more without neede thei spende the other cause was for that knowyng that their mouabâ—lles were nexte to the ansigne thei should be constrained to haue more care thereof and with more obstinatenesse to defende it and this made them stronge and to holde together all which thynges is necessarie to obserue purposinge to reduce the exercise of armes vnto the intier perfection therof Zanobi I beleeue that it is not possible that to an armie that marcheth from place to place there fal not perrilous accidentes where the industerie of the capitaine is needefull and the worthinesse of the souldiours mindyng to auoyde them Therefore I woulde be glad that you remembring any would shew them Fabritio I shall contente you with a good will beyng inespetially necessarie intendyng to make of this exercise a perfecte science Captaines â—ai incurre the dauÌ„ger of ambusshes twoo maner of wayes The Capitaines ought aboue all other thynges whileste thei marche with an armie to take heede of ambusshes wherein they incurre daunger twoo waies either marchynge thou entrest into them or thoroughe crafte of the enemie thou arte trained in before thou arte aware How to auoide the perill of ambusshes In the first case mindyng to avoide suche perill it is necessarie to sende afore double warde whome may discouer the countrey and so muche the more dilligence ought to be vsed the more that the countrey is apte for ambusshes as be the woddie or hilly countries for that alwaies thei be layd either in a wodde or behind a hille and as the ambusshe not forseene doeth ruin thee so forseyng the same it cannot hurte thee Howe ambusshes haue ben perceiued â–ª Manie tymes birdes or muche duste haue discouered the enemie for that alwayes where the enemie cometh to finde thee he shall make great duste whiche shall signifie vnto thee his comyng so often tymes a Capitaine seyng in the places where he ought to passe Doues to rise or other of those birdes that flie in flockes to tourne aboute and not to light hath knowen by the same the ambusshe of the enemies to be there and sendynge before his men and sertainely vnderstandyng it hath saued him selfe and hurte his enemie Concernyng the seconde case to be trained in which these our men cal to be draweÌ„ to the shot you ought to take heede not straight way to beleue those thinges which are nothyng reasonable that thei be as they seeme as shoulde be if the enemie should set afore thee a praie thou oughtest to beleeue that in the same is the hooke and that therin is hid the deceipte If many enemies be driuen away by a fewe of thine if a fewe enemies assaulte manie of thine if the enemies make a sodeine flight and not standynge with reason alwaies thou oughtest in suche cases to feare deceipte oughtest neuer to beleeue that the enemie knoweth not how to doe his businesse Howe the Capitaine of the enemies ought to be esteemed but rather intendyng that he may begile thee the lesse mindyng to stand in lesse peril the weaker that he is the lesse craftier that the enemie is so muche the more thou oughtest to esteeme him and thou muste in this case vse twoo sundrie poinctes for that thou oughtest to feare him in thy minde and with the order but with wordes and with other outewarde demonstracion to seeme to dispyse him because this laste way maketh that thi souldiours hope the more to haue the victorie the other maketh thee more warie lesse apte to be begyled Where meÌ„ be in greatest perill And thou hast to vnderstand that when men marche thoroughe the enemies countrey they ar in muche more and greater perils then in fayghtyng the fielde and therefore the Capitaine in marchyng ought to vse double diligence The descriptioÌ„ of the countrey where an army muste marche is most requiset for a Capitaine to haue and the first thyng that he ought to doo is to get described and payncted oute all the countrie thorough the which he must marche so that he maye know the places the number the distances the waies the hilles the riuers the fennes and all the quallites of them and to cause this to bee knowen it is conuenient to haue with him diuersly in sundrie maners such men as know the places and to aske them with diligence and to se whether their talke agree and accordyng to the agreyng therof to note he oughte also to sende afore the horsemen and with them prudente heddes not so muche to discouer the enemie as to viewe the countrey to se whether it agree with the description and with the knowledge that they haue of the same Also the guydes that are sente ought to be kepte with hope of rewarde feare of paine A most profitable thyng it is for a capitayne to be secrete in al his affaires And aboue all thynges it ought to be prouided that the armie knowe not to what businesse he leadeth them for that there is nothyng in the warre more profitable then to keepe secret the thynges that is to be dooen and to thintente a suddeine assaulte dooe not trouble thy soldiours thou oughteste to see them to stande reddie with their weapons because the thynges that ar prouided for offendlesse Manie for to auoyde the confusion of marchyng haue placed vnder the standerde the carriages and the vnarmed and haue commaunded them to folow the same to the intente that in marchyng needyng to staye or to retire they might dooe it more easely which thyng as profitable I alowe very muche Also in marchyng An aduertismeÌ„t concernyng the marchyng of an armie aduertismente ought to be had that the one parte of the armie goe not a sunder from the other or that thoroughe some goyng fast and some softe the armie become not slender the whiche thynges be occation of dissorder The marching of an armie ought to be ruled by the stroke of the Drumme therfore the heddes muste be placed in suche wise that they may maintaine the pace euen causing to goe softe those that goe to fast and to haste forward the other that goe to sloe the whiche pace can not bee better ruled then by the stroke of the drumme The waies ought to be caused to be inlarged so that alwaies at least a bande of .iiij. hundred men may marche in order of battaile The condicion of the enemie ought to be coÌ„sidered The custome and the qualitie of the enemie ought to
be considered whether that he wil assaulte thee either in the mornyng or at none or in the euenynge whether he be more puisante with fotemen or horsemen accordyng as thou vnderstandest to ordeine and to prouide for thy self But let vs come to some particular accidente It hapneth sometime that thou gettyng from the enemie because thou iudgest thy selfe inferiour and therfore mindynge not to faight with him and he comyng at thy backe thou ariuest at the banke of a riuer passyng ouer the which asketh time so that the enemie is redie to ouertake thee and to fayght with thee Some which chauÌ„sing to bee in suche perill haue inclosed their armie on the hinder parte with a diche and fillyng the same full of towe and firyng it haue then passed with the armie without beyng able to be letted of the enemie he beyng by the same fire that was betwene them held backe Zanobi I am harde of beliefe that this fyre coulde stay theim in especially because I remember that I haue harde Annone of Carthage howe Annone of Carthage beyng besieged of enemies inclosed him selfe on the same parte with wodde which he did set on fire where he purposed to make eruption Wherfore the enemies beyng not intentiue on the same parte to looke to him he made his armie to passe ouer the same flame causing euery man to holde his Target before his face for to defend them from the fire and smoke Fabricio You saye well but consider you howe I haue saied and howe Annone did for as muche as I saied that they made a diche and filled it with towe so that he that woulde passe ouer the same should be constrained to contende with the diche and with fire Annone made the fire without the diche and because he intended to passe ouer it he made it not great for the otherwise wtout the diche it shoulde haue letted him Dooe you not knowe Nabide a spartayne that Nabide a Spartan beyng besieged in Sparta of the Romaines set fire on parte of his towne to let the way to the Romaines who alredie wer entred in And by meane of the same flame not onely hindered their way but draue them oute but let vs turne to our matter Quintus Luttatius a Romaine hauyng at his backe the Cimbri and commyng to a riuer Quintus Luttatius poâ—â—â—câ—â— to passe ouer a riuer to thentente the enemie should giue him time to passe ouer semed to geue time to them to faight with him and therfore he fained that he would lodge there and caused trenches to be made and certaine pauilions to be erected and sent certayne horsemen into the countrie for forredge so that the Cimbrise beleeuyng that he incamped they also incamped and deuided them selues into sundrie partes to prouide for victuals wherof Luttatius being aware passed the riuer they beyng not able to let him Some for to passe a riuer hauynge no bridge How to passe a ryuer without a bridge haue deuided it and one parte they haue turned behynde their backes the other then becomynge shalower with ease they haue passed it when the riuers be swift purposyng to haue their footemen to passe safely they place their strongest horses on the higher side that thei may sustain the water and an other parte be lowe that may succour the men if any of the riuer in passyng should be ouercome with the water They passe also riuers that be verie deepe with bridges with botes with barrelles therfore it is good to haue in a redinesse in an armie wherewith to be able to make all these thynges It fortuneth sometime that in passyng a riuer the enemie standynge agaynst thee on the other banke doeth let thee to minde to ouercome this difficultie I know not a better insample to folow A polecie of Cesar to haâ—â—â— riuer where his enemie beyng on the other side therof sought to lette hym then the same of Cesar whome hauynge his armie on the banke of a riuer in Fraunce and his passage beynge letted of Vergintorige a Frenche man the whiche on the other side of the riuer had his men marched many daies a longe the riuer and the like did the enemie wherfore Cesar incamping in a woddie place apte to hide men he tooke out of euery legion three cohortes and made them to tarie in the same place commaundynge theim that so soone as he was departed they shoulde caste ouer a bridge and should fortefie it and he with his other menne folowed on the waye wherfore Vergintorige seyng the number of the legions thinkyng that there was not left anie parte of theim behinde folowed also his way but Cesar when he supposed that the bridge was made tourned backewarde and findynge all thynges in order passed the riuer without difficultee Zanobi Haue ye any rule to know the foordes Fabritio How to know the Foordes of a riuer Yea we haue alwaies the riuer in that parte whiche is betwene the water that is stilleste and the water that runneth fastest there is least depth and it is a place more meete to be looked on then any other where For that alwaies in thesame place the riuer is moste shallowest The whiche thyng bicause it hath been proued many tymes is moste true Zanobi If it chaunce that the Riuer haue marde the Foorde so that the horses sincke what reamedy haue you Fabricio The remedie is to make hardels of roddes whiche must be placed in the bottome of the riuer so to passe vpoÌ„ those but let vs folowe our reasonyng If it happeÌ„ that a capitain be led with his armie betwen two hilles that he haue not but twoo waies to saue hymself either that before or that behinde those beyng beset of thenemies he hath for remidie to doe the same Howe to escape oute of a straight where the same is besette with enemies which some haue doen heretofore that which haue made on their hinder parte a greate trenche difficult to passe ouer and semed to the enemie to mynde to kepe him of for to be able with al his power without neding to feare behinde to make force that waie whiche before remaineth open The whiche the enemies beleuyng haue made theim selues stronge towardes the open parte and haue forsaken the inclosed and he then castyng a bridge of woode ouer the Trenche for soche an effect prepared bothe on thesame parte with out any impedimente hath passed and also deliuered hymself out of the handes of the enemie Howe Lutius Minutius escaped out of a strayght wherin he was inclosed of his enemies Lucius Minutus a Consul of Rome was in Liguria with an armie and was of the enemies inclosed betwene certaine hilles whereby he could not go out therefore he sente certaine souldiours of Numidia on horsebacke whiche he had in his armie whom were euill armed and vpon little leane horses towardes the places that were kepte of the enemies whoÌ„ at the first sight made the enemies to order
How to order the campe that the enemie shal not perceiue whether the same bee demiâ—â—shed or increased If thou shouldest intende as Claudius Nero did to deminishe thy armie sendynge helpe to some freende and that the enemie shoulde not bee aware therof it is necessarie not to deminishe the lodgynges but to maintayne the signes and the orders whole makyng the verie same fires the verye same wardes throughout all the campe as wer wont to be afore Lykewise if with thy armie there should ioigne new men and wouldest that the enemie shoulde not know that thou werte ingrosed it is necessarie not to increase the lodgynges Because keepyng secrete doynges and deuises hath alwaies been moste profitable A saiyng of Metellus Wherfore Metellus beyng with an armie in Hispayne to one who asked him what he would doe the nexte daie answered that if his sherte knew therof Marcus Crassus he would bourne it Marcus Craussus vnto one whome asked him when the armie shoulde remoue saied beleeuest thou to be alone not to here the trumpet How to vnderstand the secretes of thy enemie If thou shouldest desire to vnderstande the secretes of thy enemie and to know his orders some haue vsed to sende embassadours and with theim in seruauntes aparel moste expertest men in warre whom hauynge taken occasion to se the enemies armie and to consider his strengthe and weakenesse it hath geuen them oportunitie to ouercome him Some haue sente into exile one of their familiars and by meanes of the same hath knowen the deuises of his aduersarie Also like secrettes are vnderstoode of the enemies when for this effecte there were taken any prisoners Marius whiche in the warre that he made with the Cimbrie A policie of Marius to vnderstande howe he might truste the FrenchmeÌ„ for to know the faieth of those Frenchmen who then inhabited Lombardie and were in leage with the Romaine people sent them letters open sealed and in the open he wrote that they shoulde not open the sealed but at a certaine time and before the same time demaundyng them againe and finding them opened knew thereby that their faithe was not to be trusted Some Capitaines being inuaded What some Capitaines haue doen wheÌ„ their countrie haue been inuaded of enemies â–ª haue not desired to goe to meete the enemie but haue gone to assaulte his countrey and constrained him to retorne to defende his owne home The whiche manie times hath come wel to passe for that those soldiours beginnyng to fil them selues with booties and confidence to ouercome shall sone make the enemies souldiours to wexe afraide when they supposynge theim selues conquerours shal vnderstand to become losers So that to him that hath made this diuersion manie times it hath proued well But onely it may be doen by him whiche hath his countrey stronger then that of the enemies because when it were otherwise he should goe to leese To make the enemie necligente in his doynges It hath been often a profitable thyng to a capitaine that hath been besieged in his lodgynges by the enemie to moue an intreatie of agreemente and to make truse with him for certaine daies the which is wonte to make the enemies more necligente in all doynges so that auaylynge thee of their necligence thou maiest easely haue occacion to get thee oute of their handes Silla By this way Silla deliuered him selfe twise from the enemies and with this verie same deceipte Asdruball Asdruball in Hispayne got oute of the force of Claudious Nero whome had besieged him It helpeth also to deliuer a man out of the dauÌ„ger of the enemie to do some thyng beside the forsaied that may keepe him at a baye this is dooen in two maners either to assaulte him with parte of thy power so that he beyng attentiue to the same faight may geue commoditie to the reste of thy men to bee able to saue theim selues or to cause to rise some newe accidente which for the strayngenesse of the thynge maie make him to maruell and for this occasion to stande doubtefull The policie of Aniball where by he escaped out of the danger of Fabius Maximus and still as you knowe howe Anniball dyd who beynge inclosed of Fabius Maximus tied in the nighte small Bauens kindeled beetweene the hornes of manie Oxen so that Fabius astonied at the strangenesse of the same sight thought not to lette him at all the passage A Capitayne muste deuise how to deuide the force of his enemies A Capitayne oughte amonge all other of his affaires with al subtiltie to deuise to deuide the force of the enemie either with makyng him to suspecte his owne menne in whome he trusteth or to giue him occasion that he maye seperate his menne and therby to be come more weake How to cause the enemie to haue in suspect his most trusty men The fyrste way is dooen with keepyng saulfe the thynges of some of those whiche he hath aboute him as to saue in the warre their menne and their possessions renderynge theim their children or other their necessaries withoute raunsome You know that Anniball hauynge burned all the fieldes aboute Rome Aniball he made onely to bee reserued saulfe those of Fabius Maximus Coriolanus You know how Coriolanus comyng with an armie to Rome preserued the possessions of the nobilitie and those of the comminaltie he bourned Metellus against Iugurte and sacked Metellus hauinge an armie againste Iugurte all the oratours whiche of Iugurte were sente him were required of him that they woulde geue him Iugurte prisoner and after to the verie same men writyng letters of the verie same matter wrought in suche wise that in shorte tyme Iugurte hauyng in suspecte all his counsellours in diuerse maners put them to death A practis of the Romayne oratours to bryng Aniball out of Credit with Antiochus Anniball beynge fled to Antiochus the Romaine oratours practised with him so familiarly that Antiochus beyng in susspecte of him trusted not anie more after to his counselles Concernyng to deuide the enemies men there is no more certainer waie Howe to cause the enemie to diuide his power then to cause their countrie to be assaulted to the intente that being constrained to goe to defende the same they maie forsake the warre This way Fabius vsed hauynge agaynst his armie the power of the Frenchemen of the Tuscans Vmbries and Sannites Howe Titus Didius staieâ— his enemies that wer going to incounter a legion of men that were commyng in his ayde Titus Didius hauyng a few men in respecte to those of the enemies and lookynge for a legion from Rome and the enemies purposinge to goe to incounter it to the intentente that they should not goe caused to bee noised through all his armie that he intended the nexte daie to faighte the field with the enemies after he vsed means that certaine of the prisoners that he had taken afore had occasâ—ion to runne awaie Who declaryng the order
the enemie hath been cause of the ruin of him that set him there for that manie times it hath hapned that he beyng taken hath been made perforce to tell theim the token whereby they might call his felowes who commyng to the token haue been slaine or taken How to beguile the enemie It helpeth to beguile the enemie sometime to varie a custome of thine wherevpon he hauing grounded him self remaineth ruinated as a Capitaine did once whome vsinge to cause to be made signes to his men for comynge of the enemies in the night with fire in the daie with smoke commaunded that withoute anie intermission they shoulde make smoke and fire and after commynge vpon them the enemie they should reste whome beleeuyng to come without beynge seen perceiuyng no signe to be made of beyng discouered caused through goeyng disordered more easie the victorie to his aduersarie Howe Mennonus trained his enemies oute of stronge places to bee the better able to ouercom theÌ„ Mennonus a Rodian mindynge to drawe from stronge places the enemies armie sente one vnder colour of a fugitiue the whiche affirmed howe his armie was in discorde and that the greater parte of them wente awaie and for to make the thynge to be credited he caused to make in sporte certaine tumultes amonge the lodgynges whereby the enemie thynkyng thereby to be able to discomfaighte them assaultynge theim were ouerthrowen Besides the saied thynges The enemie ought not to be brought into extreme desperacion regarde ought to be had not to brynge the enemie into extreme desperacion whereunto Cesar had regarde faightyng with the Duchemen who opened them the waie seyng howe thei beyng not able to flie necessitie made them stroÌ„g and would rather take paine to followe theim when thei fled then the perill to ouercome them when thei defended them selues Lucullus seyng How Lucullus constrained certaine â—eÌ„ that â—all aâ—â—ie from him to hâ—â— enemies to fayght whether they wold or not how certaine Macedonian horsemenne whiche were with hym went to the enemies parte straight waie made to sounde to battaile and commaunded that the other men should folowe hym whereby the enemies beleuing that Lucullus would begin the faight went to incounter thesame Macedonians with soche violence that thei were constrained to defende themselues and so thei became against their willes of fugetiues faighters It importeth also to knowe how to be assured of a toune when thou doubteste of the fidelitie thereof so sone as thou haste wonne the fielde or before the whiche certain old insamples maie teache thee Pompei doubtyng of the Catinensians A policie wherby Pompey got a towne praied theÌ„ that thei would bee contente to receiue certaine sicke menne that he had in his armie and sendyng vnder the habite of sicke persones most lustie menne gotte the toune Publius Valerius How Publius Valerius â—ssured him seâ—â— oâ— a towne fearyng the fidelitie of the Epidannians caused to come as who saieth a Pardon to a churche without the toune and when al the people wer gone for Pardon he shutte the gates receiuyng after none in but those whom he trusted Alexander Magnus mindyng to goe into Asia A policie that AlexaÌ„der Magnus vsed to be assured of all Tracia which Philip kynge of Spaine did practise to be a sured of England when he wente to sainct Quintens and to assure himself of Thracia toke with him all the principall of thesame Prouince giuyng theim prouision and he set ouer the common people of Thracia men of lowe degree and so he made the Princes contented with paiyng theim and the people quiete hauyng no heddes that should disquiete them But emong all the thynges Examples for Capitaines to winne the hartes of the people with the whiche the Capitaines winne the hartes of the people be the insamples of chastitie and iustice as was thesame of Scipio in Spaine when he rendered that yong woman moste faire of personage to her father and to her housebande the whiche made him more then with force of armes to winne Spain Cesar hauing caused that woodde to bee paied for whiche he had occupied for to make the Listes about his armie in Fraunce got so moche a name of iustice that he made easier the conquest of thesame prouince I cannot tell what remaineth me to speake more vpoÌ„ these accideÌ„tes for that concerning this matter there is not lefte any parte that hath not been of vs disputed Onely there lacketh to tell of the maner of winnyng and defendyng a toune the whiche I am readie to doe willingly if you be not now wearie Baptiste Your humanitie is so moche that it maketh vs to followe our desires without beyng afraied to be reputed presumptuous seyng that you liberally offer thesame whiche we should haue been ashamed to haue asked you Therefore we saie vnto you onely this that to vs you cannot dooe a greater nor a more gratefuller benefite then to finishe this reasonyng But before that you passe to that other matter declare vs a doubte whether it bee better to continewe the warre as well in the Winter as thei vse now adaies or to make it onely in the Sommer and to goe home in the Winter as the antiquitie did Fabritio See that if the prudence of the demaunder were not there had remained behinde a speciall part that deserueth consideracion I answere you againe that the antiquitie did all thynges better and with more prudence then wee and if wee in other thynges commit some errour in the affaires of warre wee coÌ„mit all errour There is nothyng more vndescrete Warre ought not to bee made in Winter or more perillous to a Capitaine then to make warre in the Winter and moche more perill beareth he that maketh it then he that abideth it the reason is this All the industrie that is vsed in the discipline of war is vsed for to bee prepared to faight a fielde with thy enemie bicause this is the ende whereunto a Capitaine ought to goe or endeuour hymself For that the foughten field giueth thee the warre wonne or loste then he that knoweth best how to order it and he that hath his armie beste instructed hath moste aduauntage in this and maie beste hope to ouercome Rought situacioÌ„s cold a watrie times are enemies to the order of warre â–ª On the other side there is nothyng more enemie to thorders then the rough situacions or the cold waterie tyme for that the rough situacions suffereth thee not to destende thy handes according to the discipline the cold and waterie times suffereth thee not to kepe thy men together nor thou canste not bryng theim in good order to thenemie but it is conuenient for thee to lodge them a sunder of necessitie and without order beyng constrained to obeie to Castelles to Boroughes and to the Villages that maie receiue thee in maner that all thy laboure of thee vsed to instructe the armie is vain Nor maruaile you not though now a daies thei warre
and the impotente be made to keepe within doores that the towne maie be left free to yonge lustie men whom beyng armed must be destributed for the defeÌ„ce of the same appoinctyng parte of them to the wall parte to the gates part to the principal places of the Citie for to remedie those incoÌ„ueniences that might grow within an other parte muste not be bounde to any place but be reddie to succour all neede requiryng the thinge beeynge ordeined thus with difficultie tumulte can growe whiche maie disorder thee Also I will that you note this in the besiegyng defendynge of a Citie that nothyng giueth so muche hope to the aduer-to be able to winne a towne as when he knoweth that the same What incorageth the enemie moste that besigeth a town is not accustomed to se the enemie for that manie times for feare only with out other experience of force Cities haue been loste Therefore a man ought What he that besiegeth and he that defendeth ought to doe when he assaulteth a like Citie to make all his ostentacions terribell On the other parte he that is assaulted ought to apoincte to the same parte whiche the enemie faighteth againste stronge men such as opinion maketh not afraide but weapons only for that if the first proofe tourne vaine it increaseth boldenesse to the besieged and then the enemie is constrained to ouercome them within with vertue and reputacion The instrumentes wherwith the antiquitie defended townes where manie as balistes onagris scorpions Arcubalistes Fustibals Slinges and also those were manie with which thei gaue assaultes As Arrieti Towets Musculi Plutei Viney Falci testudeni in steede of which thynges be now a daies the ordinance the whiche serue him that bessegeth and him that defendeth and therfore I will speake no forther of theim But let vs retourne to our reasonyng and let vs come to particular offences Aduertisementes for a besieged towne They ought to haue care not to be taken by famine and not to be ouercome through assaultes concernyng famin it hath ben tolde that it is requiset before the siege come to be well prouided of vitualles But when a towne throughe longe sige lacketh victuals some times hath ben seen vsed certaine extraordinarie waies to be prouided of their friendes whome woulde saue them inespeciall if through the middest of the besieged Citie there runne a riuer Howe the Romaines vitâ—leâ— Casalino besieged of Aniball as the Romaines vittelled their castell called Casalino besieged of Anibal whom being not able by the riuer to sende them other victual then Nuttes wherof castyng in the same great quantitie the which carried of the riuer without beyng abel to be letted fedde longe time the Casalinians Some besieged A policie for the besieged for to shew vnto the enemie that they haue graine more then inough and for to make him to dispaire that he cannot by famin ouercome theim haue caste breade oute of the gates or geuen a Bullocke graine to eate and after haue suffered the same to be taken to the intent that kilde and founde full of graine might shewe that aboundance whiche they had not On the other parte excellent Capitaines haue vsed sundrie waies to werie the enemie Fabius suffered them whome he besieged A poâ—â—câ—◠〈…〉 â—â—â—â—ging of 〈◊〉 to sowe their fieldes to the entente that thei should lacke the same corne whiche they sowed A policie of Dionisius in besiegynge of a towne Dionisius beynge in Campe at Regio fained to minde to make an agreement with them and duryng the practise therof he caused him selfe to be prouided of their victuales and then when he had by this mean got froÌ„ them their graine he kepte them straight and famished them Howe Alexander wanne Leucadia Alexander Magnus mindyng to winne Leucadia ouercame all the Castels aboute it by that means driuyng into the same citie a great multitude of their owne countrie men famished them The besieged ought to take heed of the first 〈◊〉 Concernynge the assaultes there hath been tolde that chiefely thei ought to beware of the firste bronte with whiche the Romaines gotte often times manie townes assaultyng them sodainly and on euery side and thei called it Aggredi vâ—bem corona As Scipio did when he wanne newe Carthage in Hispayne the which brunte if of a towne it be withstoode with difficultie after will bee ouercome and yet thoughe it should happen that the enemie were entred into the citie by ouercomynge the wall yet the townes men haue some remedie so thei forsake it not for as much as manie armies through entring into a toune haue ben repulced or slaine The remedie that townes men haue wheÌ„ the enemies aâ— entred into the towne the remedie is that the townes men doe keepe them selues in highe places and from the houses and from the towers to faight with them the whiche thynge they that haue entered into the citie haue deuised to ouercome in twoo manners How to make the townes meÌ„ yeelde the one with openyng the gates of the citie and to make the waie for the townes meÌ„ that thei might safely flie the other with sendynge foorthe a proclamacion that signifieth that none shall be hurte but the armed and to them that caste their weapons on the grounde pardon shall be graunted the whiche thynge hath made easie the victorie of manie cities Besides this the Citees are easie to bee wonne if thou come vpon them vnawares How townes or cities are easelie wonne whiche is dooen beyng with thy armie farre of after soche sort that it be not beleued either that thou wilte assaulte theim or that thou canst dooe it without commyng openly bicause of the distance of the place wherefore if thou secretely and spedely assaulte theim almoste alwaies it shall followe that thou shalte gette the victorie I reason vnwillingly of the thynges succeded in our tyme for that to me and to mine it should be a burthen and to reason of other I cannot tel what to saie notwithstandyng I cannot to this purpose but declare the insample of Cesar Borgia called duke Valentine How duke Valentine got the citie of Vrbine who beyng at Nocera with his menne vnder colour of goyng to besiege Camerino tourned towardes the state of Vrbin and gotte a state in a daie and without any paine the whiche an other with moche time and cost should scante haue gotten The besieged ought to take heede of the deciptâ—s â—nd policies of the enemie It is conueniente also to those that be besieged to take heede of the deceiptes and of the policies of the enemie and therefore the besieged ought not to truste to any thyng whiche thei see the enemie dooe continually but let theim beleue alwaies that it is vnder deceipte and that he can to their hurte varie it How Domitio Caluino 〈◊〉 a towne Domitio Caluino besiegyng a toune vsed for a custome to coÌ„passe aboute euery daie with a good parte of his
reste purged of all doubte for as muche as I see manie Lordes and gentelmen to finde them selues in time of peace thorough the studies of warre as your matches bee who haue prouision of there princes and of the cominaltie I see also almost al the gentelmen of armes remaine with their prouision I see manie souldiours lie in garison of Cities and fortresses so that my thinkes that there is place in time of peace for euerie one Fabritio I doe not beleue that you beleue this that in time of peace euerie man may haue place bicause put case that there coulde not be brought other reason the small number that all they make whiche remaine in the places alledged of you would answer you What proporcion haue the souldiours whiche are requiset to bee in the warre with those whiche in the peace are occupied For as much as the fortreses and the cities that be warded in time of peace in the warre are warded muche more vnto whome are ioyned the souldiours whiche kepe in the fielde whiche are a great number all whiche in the peace be putte awaie And concerning the garde of states whiche are a small number Pope Iuly and you haue shewed to euerie man how muche are to be feared those who will not learne to exercise any other art then the warre and you haue for there insolence depriued them from your garde and haue placed therin Swisers as men borne brought vp vnder lawes and chosen of the cominaltie according to the true election so that saie no more that in peace is place for euerie man CoÌ„cerning men at armes thei al remaining in peace with their wages maketh this resolution to seme more difficulte notwithstandyng who considereth well all shall finde the answere easie bicause this manner of keping men of armes is a corrupted manner and not good the occasion is for that they be men who make thereof an arte and of them their should grow euery daie a thousande inconueniencies in the states where thei should be if thei were accompanied of sufficient company but beyng fewe and not able by them selues to make an armie they cannot often doe suche greuous hurtes neuerthelesse they haue done ofteÌ„times as I haue said of Frances and of Sforza his father and of Braccio of Perugia so that this vse of keping men of armes I doe not alowe for it is a corrupte maner it may make great inconueniencies Cosimo Woulde you liue without them or keping them how would you kepe them Fabritio By waie of ordinaunce not like to those of the king of FrauÌ„ce for as muche as they be perilous and insolent like vnto ours but I would kepe theÌ„ like vnto those of the auncient Romaines whom created their chiualry of their own subiectes in peace time thei sente theÌ„ home vnto their houses to liue of their owne trades as more largely before this reasoning ende I shal dispute So that if now this part of an armie can liue in such exercise as wel when it is peace it groweth of the corrupt order CoÌ„cerning the prouisions which are reserued to me to other capitaines I saie vnto you that this likewise is an order moste corrupted for as much as a wise coÌ„mon weale ought not to giue such stipeÌ„des to any but rather thei ought to vse for Capitaines in the warre their Citezeins and in time of peace to will that thei returne to their occupations Likewise also a wise king either ought not to giue to suche or giuing any the occasion ought to be either for rewarde of some worthy dede or else for the desire to kepe suche a kinde of man as well in peace as in watre And bicause you alledged me I will make ensample vpon my self saie that I neuer vsed the warre as an arte for as muche as my arte is to gouerne my subiectes and to defende them to be able to defende them to loue peace to know how to make warre and my kinge not so muche to rewarde and esteeme me for my knowledge in the warre as for the knowledge that I haue to couÌ„cel him in peace Then a king ought not to desire to haue about him A kinge that â—atâ— about him any that are to much souere of waâ—â—e or to much â—ouere of peace 〈…〉 him to eâ—te any that is not of this coÌ„dicion if he be wise and prudently minde to gouerne for that that if he shal haue about him either to muche louers of peace or to much louers of warre they shall make him to erre I cannot in this my firste reasoning and according to my purpose saie more and when this suffiseth you not it is mete you seke of them that may satisfie you better You maie now verie well vnderstand how difficulte it is to bringe in vre the auncient maners in the presente warres and what preparations are mete for a wise man to make and what occasioÌ„s ought to be loked for to be able to execute it But by by you shall know these things better if this reasoning make you not werie conferring what so euer partes of the auncient orders hath ben to the maners nowe presente Cosimo If we desired at the first to here your reason of these thinges truly the same whiche hetherto you haue spoken hath doubled our desire wherefore we thanke you for the we haue hard the rest we craue of you to here â–ª Fabritio Seyng that it is so your pleasure I will begin to intreate of this matter from the beginning to the intent it maye be better vnderstode being able by thesame meane more largely to declare it The ende of him that wil make warre is to be able to fight with euery enemy in the fielde to be able to ouercum an armie To purpose to doe this it is coÌ„uenient to ordeine an hoost To ordein an hoost their must be found menne armed ordered and as well in the small as in the great orders exercised to knowe howe to kepe araie and to incampe so that after bringing them vnto the enemie either standing or marching they maie know how to behaue theÌ„selues valiantly In this thing consisteth all the industrie of the warre on the lande whiche is the most necessarie and the most honorablest for he that can wel order a fielde against the enemie the other faultes that he should make in the affaires of warre wil be borne with but he that lacketh this knowledge although that in other particulars he be verie good he shal neuer bring a warre to honor for as muche as a fielde that thou winnest doeth cancell all other thy euill actes so like wise lesing it all thinges well done of thee before remaine vaine Therfore beyng necessarie first to finde the menne it is requiset to come to the choise of them They whiche vnto the warre haue giuen rule will that the menne be chosen out of temperate countries to the intente they may haue hardines and prudence for as muche as the hote
name of veliti Vnder this name were vnderstode all those that threwe with Slinges shotte with Crossebowes caste Dartes and thei vsed the moste parte of them for their defence to weare on their hedde a Murion How the Romaines armed their souldiers and what weapons thei vsed with a Targaet on their arme thei fought out of thorders and farre of from the heauie armed whiche did weare a hedde pece that came doune to their shoulders a Corselet whiche with the tases came doune to the knees and thei had the legges and the armes couered with greaues and vambraces with a targaet on the left arme a yarde and a halfe long and three quarters of a yarde brode which had a hoope of Iron vpon it to bee able to sustaine a blowe and an other vnder to the intent that it being driueÌ„ to the yearth it should not breake for to offende thei had girte on their left flancke a swerde the leÌ„gth of a yarde and a naile on their right side a Dagger thei had a darte in euery one of their haÌ„des the which thei called Pilo and in the beginnyng of the fight thei threwe those at the enemie This was the orderyng and importaunce of tharmoures of the Romaines by the whiche thei possessed al the worlde And although some of these auncient writers gaue them besides the forsaid weapoÌ„s a staffe in their hand like vnto a Partesen I caÌ„not tel how a heuie staffe maie of hym that holdeth a Targaet hee occupied for that to handell it with bothe handes the Targaet should be an impediment to occupy thesame with one hand ther can be doen no good therwith by reason of the weightinesse therof besides this to faight in the throÌ„g in thorders with soche long kynde of weapon it is vnprofitable except in the first front where thei haue space inough to thrust out all the staffe whiche in thorders within cannot bee doen for that the nature of the battaile as in the order of thesame I shall tell you is continually to throng together which although it be an incoÌ„uenience yet in so doing thei feare lesse theÌ„ to stand wide where the perill is moste euident so that all the weapons which passe in length a yarde and a halfe in the throng be vnprofitable for that if a manne haue the Partesan and will occupie it with bothe handes put case that the Targaet lette hym not he cannot hurte with the same an enemie whoÌ„ is vpon hym if he take it with one hand to thintent to occupie also the Targaet being not able to take it but in the middest there remaineth so moche of the staffe behinde that those whiche are behinde him shall let him to welde it And whether it wer true either that the Romaines had not this PartaseÌ„ or that hauing it did little good withal reade all the battailes in the historie thereof celebrated of Titus Liuius and you shall se in thesame most seldome tymes made mencion of Partasens but rather alwaies he saieth that the Dartes beyng throwen thei laied their handes on their sweardes Therfore I will leaue this staffe and obserue concernyng the Romaines the swerde for to hurt and for defence the Targaet with the other armours aforesaied How the Grekes did arme theim selues and what weapons thei vsed against their enemies The Grekes did not arme theim selues so heauily for their defence as the Romaines did but for to offend the enemies thei grounded more on their staues then on their swerdes and in especially the Fallangy of Macedonia whiche vsed staues that thei called Sarisse seuen yardes and a halfe longe with the whiche thei opened the rankes of their enemies and thei kept thorders in their Fallange And although some writers saie that thei had also the Targaet I cannot tell by the reasons aforesaied how the Sarrisse and thei could stande together Besides this in the battaile that Paulus Emilius made with Persa kyng of Macedonia I doe not remember that there is made any mencion of Targaettes but onely of the Sarisse of the difficultie that the Romaine armie had to ouercome theim so that I coniecture that a Macedonicall Fallange was no otherwise then is now a daies a battaile of Suizzers the whiche in their pikes haue al their force and all their power The Romaines did garnishe besides the armours the footmen with feathers A braue and a terrible thyng to the enemies the which thynges makes the sight of an armie to the frendes goodly to the enemies terrible Howe the Romaines armed their horsemen in old tyme. The armour of the horsemen in thesame first Romaine antiquitie was a rounde Targaette and thei had their hedde armed and the reste vnarmed Thei had a swearde and a staffe with an Iron hedde onely before long and small whereby it happened that thei were not able to staie the Targaette and the staffe in the incountryng broke and thei through beyng vnarmed were subiect to hurtes after in processe of time thei armed theim as the footemen albeit thei vsed the Targaette moche shorter square and the staffe more stiffe and with twoo heddes to the entent that breakyng one of the heddes thei might preuaile with the other With these armours as well on foote as on horsebacke the Romaines conquered all the worlde and it is to be beleued by the fruict thereof whiche is seen that thei were the beste appoincted armies that euer were and Titus Liuius in his historie doeth testifie very often where comming to comparison with the enemies armies he saieth But the Romaines by vertue by the kinde of their armours and practise in the seruice of warre were superiours and therfore I haue more particularly reasoned of the armoures of conquerours then of the coÌ„quered But now me thinkes good to reason onely of the maner of armyng meÌ„ at this presente Footemen haue for their defence The maner of armyng menne now a daies a breaste plate and for to offende a Launce sixe yardes and thre quarters long whiche is called a Pike with a sweard on their side rather round at the poinct then sharpe This is the ordinarie armyng of foote menne now a daies for that fewe there be whiche haue their legges armed and their armes the hedde none and those fewe heare in stede of a Pike a Halberde the staffe whereof as you knowe is twoo yardes and a quarter longe and it hath the Iron made like an axe Betwene theim thei haue Harkebutters the whiche with the violence of the fire doe thesame office which in olde tyme the stingers did and the Crossebowe â—â—â—ters This maner of armyng The inuention of Pikes was founde out by the Duchemenne in especially of Suizzers whom beyng poore and desirous to liue free thei were and be constrained to faighte with the ambition of the Princes of Almain who beyng riche were able to kepe hâ—â—se the whiche thesame people could not doe for pouertie Whereby it grewe that beyng on foote mynding to defende theim selues
from the enemies that were on horsebacke it behoueth theim to seke of the aunciente orders and to finde weapons whiche from the furie of horses should defende theim This necessitie hath made either to be mainteined or to be founde of them the aunciente orders without whiche as euery prudente man affirmeth the footemen is altogether vnprofitable Therefore thei tooke for their weapon the Pike a mooste profitable weapon not onely to withstande horses but to ouercome them and the Duchemenne haue by vertue of these weapons and of these orders taken soche boldnesse that .xv. or .xx. thousand of them will assault the greatest nomber of horse that maie bee and of this there hath been seen experience inough within this .xxv. yeres And the insamples of their vertue hath been so mightie grounded vpon these weapons and these orders that sence kyng Charles passed into Italie euery nacion hath imitated them so that the Spanishe armies are become into moste greate reparacion Cosimo Whiche maner of armyng doe you praise moste either these Duchmennes or the auncient Romaines Fabricio Whether the Romaines maner in armyng of men be better then the armyng of men that is vsed now a daies The Romain without doubte and I will tell you the commoditie and the discommoditie of the one and the other The Dâ—che foote men are able to withstande and ouercome the horses thei bee mooste spedie to marche and to bee set in araie beyng not laden with armours â–ª of the other part thei be subiect to all blowes bothe farre of and 〈◊〉 hande bicause thei be vnarmed thei be vnprofitable vnto the battaile on the lande and to euery faighte where is strong resistaunce But the Romaines withstode and ouercame the horses as well as the Duchemen ther were safe from blowes 〈◊〉 hande farrâ— of beyng â—â—uereâ— with armours thei wâ—â— also better able to charge and better able to sustain charges hauyng Targaettes thei might more aptly in the â—reâ—e might with the swerd then these with the Pâ—â—e and though the Duchemen 〈◊〉 likewise swâ—â—â—des 〈…〉 Targaettes thei became in soche â—ase vnprofitable â–ª The Romaines might safely assault toâ—nes hauyng their bodies cleane couered with armour beyng better able to coueâ— theim selues with their Targaettes So that thei had aâ— other incoâ—â—â—â—â—tie the 〈◊〉 waights 〈◊〉 of their armours and the pain to cary theÌ„ the whiche thinges thei ouercame with accustomyng the body to diseases and with hardenyng it to bee able to indure labour And you knowe how that in thinges accustomed men suffer no grief And you haue to vnderstand this that the footemen maie be constrained to faight with footemen and with horse and alwaies those be vnprofitable whiche cannot either sustain the horses or beyng able to sustain them haue notwithstandyng neede to feare the footemen whiche be better armed and better ordeined then thei Now if you consider the Duchemen and the Romaines you shall finde in the Duchemen actiuitie as we haue said to ouercome the horses but greate dissauauntage when thei faighte with menne ordeined as thei them selues are and armed as the Romaines were so that there shall be this aduauntage more of the one then of thother that the Romaines could ouercome the men and the horses the Duchemen onely the horses Cosimo I would desire that you would come to some more particulare insample whereby wee maie better vnderstande Fabricio I saie thus that you shall finde in many places of our histories the Romain footemen to haue ouercome innumerable horses and you shall neuer finde that thei haue been ouercome of men on foote for default that thei haue had in their armour or thorowe the vantage that the enemie hath had in the armours For that if the maner of their armyng should haue had defaulte it had been necessarie that there should folowe the one of these twoo thynges either that findyng soche as should arme theim better then thei thei should not haue gone still forwardes with their conquestes or that thei should haue taken the straungers maners and should haue left their owne and for that it folowed not in the one thing nor in the other there groweth that ther maie be easely coÌ„iectured that the maner of their armyng was better then thesame of any other It is not yet thus happened to the Duchemen for that naughtie profe hath ben seen made them when soeuer thei haue chaunsed to faight with men on foote prepared and as obstinate as thei the whiche is growen of the vauÌ„tage whiche thesame haue incountred in thenemies armours An ensample whiche proueth that horsemen with staues caÌ„not preuaile against footemeÌ„ with Pikes what great aduauntage the armed haue againste the vnarmed Philip Vicecounte of Milaine being assaulted of .xviij. thousande Suizzers sent against theim the Counte Carminuola whiche then was his capitaine He with sixe thousande horse and a fewe footemen went to mete with them and incounteryng theim he was repulsed with his moste greate losse wherby Carminuola as a prudente man knewe straight waie the puisaunce of the enemies weapons and how moche against the horses thei preuailed and the debilitie of the horses againste those on foote so appoincted and gatheryng his men together again he went to finde the Suizzers and so sone as he was nere them he made his men of armes to a light from their horse The victory of Carminuola against the Duchemen in thesame maner faightyng with them he slue theim all excepte three thousande the whiche seyng them selues to consume with out hauyng reamedy castyng their weapons to the grounde yelded Cosimo Whereof cometh so moche disauauntage Fabricio I haue a little afore tolde you but seyng that you haue not vnderstoode it I will rehearse it againe The Duchemen as a little before I saied vnto you as it were vnarmed to defende themselues haue to offende the Pike and the swearde thei come with these weapons and with their orders to finde the enemies whom if thei bee well armed to defende theim selues as were the menne of armes of Carminuola whiche made theim a lighte on foote thei come with the sweard and in their orders to find them and haue no other difficultie then to come nere to the Suizzers so that thei maie reche them with the sweard for that so sone as thei haue gotten vnto theÌ„ thei faight safely for asmoche as the Duch man cannot strike thenemie with the Pike whoÌ„ is vpon him for the length of the staffe wherefore it is conueniente for hym to put the hande to the sweard the whiche to hym is vnprofitable he beyng vnarmed and hauyng against hym an enemie that is all armed Whereby he that considereth the vantage and the disauantage of the one and of the other shall see how the vnarmed shall haue no maner of remeady and the ouercommyng of the firste faight and to passe the firste poinctes of the Pikes is not moche difficulte he that faighteth beyng well armed The battailes when thei â—â—e a faightyng doe
might soner be coÌ„sumed then broken for that the grosse bodie made it more immouable The Romaines vsed at the beginnyng the Falangi did set in order their LegioÌ„s like vnto them after this order pleased them not and thei deuided the Legions into many bodies that is in baÌ„des and companies Bicause thei iudged as a little afore I saied that thesame bodie should haue neede of many capitaines and that it should be made of sunderie partes so that euery one by it self might be gouerned The maine battailes of the Suizzers The order that the Suizzers vse in their main battaâ—les wheÌ„ thei faight vse at this present all the maners of the Falangi as well in ordryng it grosse and whole as in rescuyng the one the other and in pitchyng the field thei set the main battailes th one to the sides of the other and though thei set them the one behinde the other thei haue no waie that the firste retiryng it self maie bee receiued of the seconde but thei vse this order to the entent to bee able to succour the one thother where thei put a maine battaile before and an other behinde thesame on the right hande so that if the first haue nede of helpe that then the other maie make forewarde and succour it the third main battaile thei put behind these but distant from theÌ„ a Harkebus shot this thei doe for that the said two main battailes being repulced this maie make forwarde and haue space for theim selues and for the repulced and thesame that marcheth forward to auoide the iustling of the one the other for asmoche as a grosse multitude cannot bee receiued as a little bodie and therefore the little bodies beyng destincts whiche were in a Romaine Legion might be placed in soche wise that thei might receiue betwene theim and rescue the one the other And to proue this order of the Suizzers not to be so good as the auncient Romaines many insamples of the Romain Legions doe declare when thei fought with the Grekes Falangi where alwaies thei were consumed of theim for that the kinde of their weapons as I haue said afore and this waie of renuyng themselues could do more then the massiuenesse of the Falangi Hauyng therefore with these insamples to ordaine an armie I haue thought good partly to retaine the maner of armyng and the orders of the Grekes Falangi and partely of the Romain Legions Howe to appoincte a main battaile with armour weapons and to order thesame after the Greke Romain maner and therfore I haue saied that I would haue in a main battaile twoo thousande pikes whiche be the weapons of the Macedonicall Falangi and three thousande Targaettes with sweardes whiche be the Romain weapons I haue deuided the main battaile into .x. battailes as the Romaines their Legion into ten Cohortes I haue ordeined the Veliti that is the light armed to begin the faight as the Romaines vsed and like as the weapons beyng mingled doe participate of th one and of the other nacion so the orders also doe participate I haue ordained that euery battaile shall haue v. rankes of Pikes in the fronte and the rest of Targaettes to bee able with the front to withstande the horses and to enter easely into the battaile of the enemies on foot hauing in the firste fronte or vawarde Pikes as well as the enemie the whiche shall suffice me to withstande theÌ„ the Targaettes after to ouercome theim And if you note the vertue of this order you shal se al these weapons to doe fully their office for that the Pikes bee profitable against the horses wheÌ„ thei come against the footemenne thei dooe their office well before the faight throng together bicause so sone as thei presse together thei become vnprofitable wherefore the Suizzers to auoide this inconuenience put after euery three rankes of Pikes a ranke of Halberdes the whiche thei doe to make rome to the Pikes whiche is not yet so moche as suffiseth Then putting our pikes afore and the Targaettes behinde thei come to with stande the horses and in the beginnyng of the faight thei opon the raies and moleste the footemenne But when the faight is thruste together and that thei become vnprofitable the Targaettes and swerdes succede whiche maie in euery narowe place be handled Luigi We loke now with desire to vnderstande how you would ordein the armie to faight the fielde with these weapons and with these ordere Fabricio And I will not now shewe you other then this you haue to vnderstande how that in an ordinarie Romaine armie whiche thei call a Consull armie The nomber of men that was in a Consulles armie there were no more then twoo Legions of Romaine Citezeins whiche were sixe hundred horse and about a leuen thousande footemen thei had besides as many mo footemen and horsemen whiche were sente them from their friendes and confiderates whom thei diuided into twoo partes called the one the right horne and the other the left horne nor thei neuer permitted that these aidyng footemen should passe the nomber of the footemen of their Legions thei were well contented that the nomber of those horse should be more then theirs with this armie which was of .xxij. thousande footemen and about two thousande good horse a Consull executed all affaires and went to all enterprises yet when it was nedefull to set against a greater force twoo Consulles ioined together with twoo armies You ought also to note in especially that in all the three principall actes whiche an armie doeth that is to marche to incampe and to faight Howe the Romainies plâ—â—â— their LegioÌ„s in the fielde the Romaines vsed to put their Legions in the middeste for that thei would that thesame power wherein thei moste trusted should be moste vntied as in the reasonyng of these three actes shall be shewed you those aidyng footemen through the practise thei had with the Legion Souldious were as profitable as thei bicause thei were instructed accordyng as the souldiors of the Legions were and therefore in like maner in pitching the field thei pitched Then he that knoweth how the Romaines disposed a Legion in their armie to faight a fielde knoweth how thei disposed all therfore hauyng tolde you how thei deuided a Legion into three bandes and how the one bande receiued the other I haue then told you how al th armie in a field was ordained Wherfore I minding to ordain a field like vnto the Romaines as thei had twoo Legions I will take .ij. main battailes these beyng disposed the disposicion of all an armie shal be vnderstode therby bicause in ioynyng more men there is no other to be doen then to ingrosse thorders I think I nede not to rehearse how many men a main battaile hath and how it hath tenne battailes and what heddes bee in a battaile and what weapons thei haue and whiche be the ordinarie Pikes and Veliti and whiche the extraordinarie for that a little afore I tolde you
it destinctly and I willed you to kepe it in memorie as a necessarie thing to purpose to vnderstande all the other orders How to order an army in the fielde to faight a battaile accordyng to the mynde of the aucthour and therefore I will come to the demonstracion of the order without repeatyng it any more Me thinkes good that the ten battailes of one main battaile be set on the left flancke and the tenne other of the other main battaile on the right these that are placed on the left flancke be ordeined in this maner there is put fiue battaile the one to the side of the other in the fronte after soche sorte that betwene the one and the other there remaine a space of three yardes whiche come to occupie for largenesse Cvi yardes of ground and for length thirtie behinde these fiue battailes I would put three other distante by right line from the firste thirtie yardes twoo of the whiche should come behinde by right line to the vttermoste of the fiue and the other should kepe the space in the middeste and so these three shall come to occupie for bredth and leÌ„gth as moche space as the fiue doeth But where the fiue haue betwene the one and the other a distaunce of three yardes these shall haue a distance of .xxv. yardes After these I would place the twoo last battailes in like maner behinde the three by right line and distaunte from those three thirtie yardes and I would place eche of theim behinde the vttermoste part of the three so that the space whiche should remain betwen the one and the other should be .lxviij. yardes then al these battailes thus ordered will take in bredth Cvi yardes and in length CL. Thextraordinarie Pikes How the extraordinary pikes bee placed in the set battaile I would destende a long the flanckes of these battailes on the left side distante from them fiftene yardes makyng Cxliij rankes seuen to a ranke after soche sorte that thei maie impale with their length all the left side of the tenne battailes in thesame wise declared of me to be ordained and there shall remain fourtie rankes to keepe the carriages and the vnarmed whiche ought to remaine in the taile of the armie distributyng the Peticapitaines and the Centurions in their places and of the three Conestables I would place one in the hedde the other in the middeste the third in the laste ranke the whiche should execute the office of a Tergiductore whom the antiquitie so called hym that was appoincted to the backe of the armie But retournyng to the hedde of the armie The place where thextraordinarie archars and harkabutters and the men of armes and lightâ— horsmen ought to stande when the field is pitched and goeth to faighte the battaile I saie how that I would place nere to the extraordinarie pikes the Veliti extraordinarie whiche you knowe to be fiue hundred and I would giue them a space of .xxx yardes on the side of these likewise on the left hande I would place the menne of armes and I would thei should haue a space of a Cxij yardes after these the light horsemen to whom I would appoinct as moche ground to stande in as the menne of armes haue the ordinarie veliti The ordinarie aâ—chars harkebutters are placed aboute their owne battailes I would leaue about their owne battailes who should stand in those spaces whiche I appoincte betwene th one battaile thother whoÌ„ should be as their ministers if sometyme I thought not good to place them vnder the extraordinarie Pikes in dooyng or not doyng whereof I would proceade accordyng as should tourne best to my purpose The place where the generall hedde of a maine battaile muste stande when thesame power of men is appoincted to faight The generall hedde of all the maine battaile I would place in thesame space that were betwene the first and the seconde order of the battailes or els in the hedde and in thesame space that is betwene the laste battaile of the firste fiue and the extraordinarie Pikes accordyng as beste should serue my purpose with thirtie or fourtie chosen men about hym What menne a general capiâ—ain of a maine â—attaile oughte to haue aboute hym that knewe by prudence how to execute a commission and by force to withstande a violence and thei to be also betwen the Drumme and the Ansigne this is thorder with the whiche I would dispose a maine battaile whiche should bee the disposyng of halfe the armie and it should take in breadth three hundred fourscore and twoo yardes in length as moche as aboue is saied not accomptyng the space that thesame parte of the extraordinarie Pikes will take whiche muste make a defence for the vnarmed whiche will bee aboute .lxxv. yardes the other maine battaile I would dispose on the righte side after the same maner iuste as I haue disposed that on the lefte leauyng betwene the one main battaile and thother a space of .xxij. yardes in the hedde of whiche space I would set some little carriages of artillerie The place wher a general capitain of all the armie must stand when the battaile is ready to be fought and what nomber of chosen men oughte to be aboute hym behynde the whiche should stande the generall capitaine of all the armie and should haue about hym with the TruÌ„pet and with the Capitaine standerde twoo hundred menne at least chosen to be on foote the moste parte emongest whiche there should be tenne or more mete to execute all commaundementes and should bee in soche wise a horsebacke and armed that thei mighte bee on horsebacke and on foote accordyng as needs should require The artillerie of the armie How many canons is requisite for an army and of what â—se thei ought to bee suffiseth tenne Cannons for the winnyng of Tounes whose shotte should not passe fiftie pounde the whiche in the fielde should serue me more for defence of the campe then for to faight the battaile The other artillerie should bee rather of tenne then of fiftene pounde the shotte Where the artillerie oughtâ— to bee placed wheÌ„ tharmy is redie to faight this I would place afore on the fronte of al the armie if sometyme the countrie should not stande in soche wise that I mighte place it by the flancke in a sure place where it might not of the enemie be in dauÌ„ger this facioÌ„ of an armie thus ordred An armie that wer ordered an aboue is declared maie in faightyng vse the Grekes maner and the Romaine facion maie in faighting vse the order of the Falangi and the order of the Romain Legions for that in the fronte be Pikes all the menne bee set in the rankes after soche sorte that incounteryng with the enemie withstandyng him maie after the vse of the Falangi restore the first rankes with those behinde on the other parte if thei bee charged so sore that thei be constrained to breake the orders and
that I so moche meruaile and am so astonied that I beleue that I am not able to expresse if any doubt remain in my mynde yet trustyng in your prudence I will be so bolde to tell thesame that I vnderstande Tell me firste why made you not your ordinaunce to shoote more then ones Questions coÌ„cerning the shotyng of ordinaunce And why straighte waie you made them to retire into th armie nor after made no mension of them Me thought also that you leueled the artillerie of the enemie high appoincted it after your owne deuise the whiche might very well bee yet when it should happen as I beleue it chaunseth often that thei strike the rankes what reamedie haue you And seyng that I haue begun of the artillerie I will finishe all this question to the intente I nede not to reason therof any more I haue heard many dispraise the armours and the orders of the aunciente armies arguyng how now a daies thei can doe little but rather should bee altogether vnprofitable hauyng respecte to the furie of the artillerie bicause this breaketh the orders and passeth the armours in soche wise that it semeth vnto them a foolishenesse to make an order whiche cannot bee kepte and to take pain to beare a harneis that cannot defende a man Fabricio This question of yours bicause it hath many heddes hath neede of a long aunswere It is true An aunswere to the questions that weâ—e demaunded concernyng the shoting of ordinaunce that I made not thartillery to shoote more then ones and also of thesame ones I stoode in doubte the occasion was for asmoche as it importeth more for one to take hede not to be striken then it importeth to strike the enemie You haue to vnderstande that to purpose that a pece of ordinaunce hurte you not it is necessarie either to stande where it cannot reche you or to get behinde a wall or behinde a bankt other thing there is not that can witholde it and it is nedefull also that the one and the other be moste strong Those capitaines whiche come to faight a field cannot stand behind a wal or behind bankes nor where thei maie not be reached therfore it is mete for them seyng thei cannot finde awaie to defende theÌ„ to finde some mean by the whiche thei maie be least hurte nor thei cannot finde any other waie then to preuente it quickly the waie to preuent it is to go to finde it out of hande and hastely not at leasure and in a heape for that through spede the blowe is not suffered to bee redoubled and by the thinnesse lesse nomber of menne maie be hurt This a bande of menne ordered cannot dooe bicause if the same marche hastely it goweth out of order if it go scattered the enemie shall haue no paine to breake it for that it breaketh by it self and therfore I ordered the armie after soche sorte that it might dooe the one thyng and the other for as moche as hauyng set in the corners thereof a thousande Veliti I appoincted that after that our ordinaunce had shotte thei should issue out together with the light horsemen to get the enemies artillerie and therfore I made not my ordinaÌ„ce to shoote again to the intente to giue no tyme to the enemie to shoote Bicause space could not be giuen to me and taken from other men and for thesame occasion where I made my ordinaunce not to shoote the seconde tyme was for that I would not haue suffered the enemie to haue shot at al The best remedie to auoide the hurte that the enemie in the fielde maie doe with his ordinaunce if I had could seyng that to mynde that the enemies artillerie be vnprofitable there is no other remedie but to assaulte it spedely for as moche as if the enemies forsake it thou takeste it if thei will defende it it is requisite that thei leaue it behind so that being possessed of enemies and of frendes it cannot shoote I would beleue that with out insamples these reasons should suffice you yet beyng able to shewe olde ensamples to proue my saiynges true I will Ventidio commyng to faight a field with the Parthians A policie against bowes and dartes whose streÌ„gth for the moste part consisted in bowes and arrowes he suffered theim almoste to come harde to his campe before he drewe out his armie the whiche onely he did to be able quickly to preuent them and not to giue them space to shoote Cesar when he was in Fraunce maketh mencion that in faighting a battaile with the enemies he was with so moche furie assaulted of them that his menne had no time to whorle their Dartes accordyng to the custome of the Romaines wherfore it is seen that to intende that a thyng that shooteth farre of beyng in the field doe not hurte thee there is no other remedy then with as moche celeritie as maie bee to preuente it An other cause moued me to procede without shotyng the ordinaunce whereat peraduenture you will laugh yet I iudge not that it is to be dispraised Nothyng causeth greater coÌ„fusion in an armie thaÌ„ to hinder mennes sightes Ther is nothyng that causeth greater confusioÌ„ in an armie then to hinder mennes sightes whereby many moste puisaunte armies haue been broken by meanes their sighte hath been letted either with duste or with the Sunne yet there is nothyng Nothing more blindeth the sight of men in an armie then the smoke oâ— ordinaunce that more letteth the sight then the smoke that the artillerie maketh in shotyng therfore I would thinke that it wer more wisedome to suffer the enemie to blinde hymself then to purpose thou beyng blind to go to finde hym for this cause either I would not shote or for that this should not be proued considering the reputacion that the artillerie hath I would place it on the corners of the armie so that shootyng it should not with the smoke thereof blinde the front of thesame whiche is the importaunce of my men A policie to trouble the enemies sight And to proue that it is a profitable thyng to let the sight of the enemie there maie be brought for insample Epaminondas whoÌ„ to blind the enemies armie whiche came to faight with hym he caused his light horsemen to run before the fronte of the enemies to raise vp the duste and to lette their sight whereby he gotte the victorie And where it semeth vnto you that I haue guided the shot of the artillerie after my owne deuise The shotte of greate ordinaunce in the fielde is not moche to bee feared of fotemenne making it to passe ouer the heddes of my men I answer you that most often tymes and without coÌ„parison the greate ordinaunce misse the footemen moche soner then hitte theim for that the footemen are so lowe and those so difficult to shoote that euery little that thou raisest theim thei passe ouer the heddes of men and if thei be leueled neuer
so little to lowe thei strike in the yearth and the blowe cometh not to theim also the vneuenesse of the grounde saueth them for that euery little hillocke or high place that is betwene the men and thordinance letteth the shot therof Bicause menne of armes stand closer together then light horsmen thei ought to remaine behinde the armie till the enemies ordinaūce haue doen shootyng And concernyng horsmen and in especially men of armes bicause thei ought to stand more close together then the light horsemen and for that thei are moche higher maie the better be strokē thei maie vntill the artillerie haue shotte be kepte in the taile of the armie True it is that the Harkebutters doe moche more hurt and the field peces then the greate ordinance for the whiche the greatest remedy is to come to hande strokes quickly and if in the firste assaulte there be slaine some alwaies there shall bee slaine but a good capitaine and a good armie ought not to make a coumpte of a hurte that is particulare but of a generall and to imitate the Suizzers whom neuer eschue to faight beyng made afraied of the artillerie but rather punishe with death those whiche for feare thereof either should go out of the ranke or should make with his body any signe of feare I made them so sone as thei had shotte to bee retired into the armie that thei might leaue the waie free for the battaile I made no more mencion of theim as of a thyng vnprofitable the faight beyng begun You haue also saied that consideryng the violence of this instrumēt many iudge the armours and the auncient orders to be to no purpose and it semeth by this your talke that men now a daies haue founde orders and armours whiche are able to defend them against the artillerie if you knowe this I would bee glad that you would teache it me for that hetherto I neuer sawe any nor I beleue that there can any be founde so that I would vnderstande of soche men for what cause the souldiours on foote in these daies weare the breastplate or the corselet of steele and thei on horsebacke go all armed bicause seyng that thei blame the aunciente armyng of men as vnprofitable considryng the artillery thei ought to despise also this I would vnderstāde moreouer for what occasion the Suizzers like vnto the auncient orders make a battaile close together of sixe or eight thousande menne and for what occasion all other haue imitated theim this order bearyng the verie same perill concernyng the artillerie that those other should beare whiche should imitate the antiquitie I beleue thei should not knowe what to answere but if you should aske soche Souldiours as had some iudgement thei would aunswere first that thei go armed for that though thesame armoure defende theim not from the artillerie it defendeth them from crossebowes from Pikes from sweardes from stones and from all other hurt that commeth from the enemies thei would answere also that thei wēt close together like the Suizzers to be able more easely to ouerthrow the footemen to be able to withstand better the horse and to giue more difficultie to the enemie to breake thē so that it is seen that the souldiours haue to feare many other thynges besides the ordinance frō which thynges with the armours and with the orders thei are defended whereof foloweth that the better that an armie is armed and the closer that it hath the orders and stronger so moche the surer it is so that he that is of the same opinion that you saie it behoueth either that he bee of smalle wisedome or that in this thyng he hath studied verie little for as moche as if we see that so little a parte of the aunciente maner of armyng whiche is vsed now a daies that is the pike and so little a parte of those orders as are the maine battailes of the Suizzers dooe vs so moche good and cause our armies to bee so strong why ought not we to beleue that the other armours and thother orders whiche are lefte be profitable Seyng that if we haue no regard to the artillerie in puttyng our selues close together as the Suizzers what other orders maie make vs more to feare thesame For as moche as no order can cause vs so moche to feare thesame as those whiche bryng men together Besides this if the artillerie of the enemies should not make me afraied in besiegyng a Toune where it hurteth me with more safegarde beyng defended of a wall I beyng not able to preuente it but onely with tyme with my artillerie to lette it after soche sorte that it maie double the blowe as it liste why should I feare thesame in the field The artillerie is no let why the auncient orders of warfar ought not to be vsed in these daies where I maie quickly preuent it So that I conclude thus that the artillerie according to my opiniō doeth not let that the aunciente maners cannot be vsed and to shewe the auncient vertue and if I had not talked alreadie with you of this instrument I would of thesame declare vnto you more at lēgth but I will remit my self to that whiche then I saied Luigi Wee maie now vnderstande verie well how moche you haue aboute the artillerie discoursed and in conclusion my thinkes you haue shewed that the preuētyng it quickly is the greatest remedie that maie be had for thesame beyng in the fielde and hauyng an armie againste you Vpon the whiche there groweth in me a doubte bicause me thinkes that the enemie might place his ordinaunce in soche wise in his armie that it should hurt you and should be after soche sort garded of the footemen that it could not be preuēted You haue if you remēber your self well in the orderyng of your armie to faight made distaunces of three yardes betwene the one battaile the other makyng those distaunces fiftene whiche is from the battailes to thextraordinarie pikes if thenemie shuld order his armie like vnto yours and should putte the artillerie a good waie within those spaces I beleue that from thens it should hurte you with their moste greate safegard bicause menne can not enter into the force of their enemies to preuent it Fabricio You doubt moste prudently and I will deuise with my self either to resolue you the doubte or shewe you the remedie I haue tolde you that continually these battailes either through goyng or thorowe faightyng are mouyng and alwaies naturally thei come to drawe harde together so that if you make the distaunces of a small breadth where you set the artillerie in a little tyme thei be shootte vp after soche sort that the artillerie cannot any more shoote if you make theim large to auoide this perill you incurre into a greater where you through those distances not onely giue commoditie to the enemie to take frō you the artillerie but to breake you but you haue to vnderstande that it is impossible to keepe the artillerie
betwene the bandes and in especially those whiche go on carriages For that the artillerie goeth one waie and shooteth an other waie So that hauyng to go and to shoote it is necessary before their shote that thei tourne and for to tourne theim thei will haue so moche space that fiftie cartes of artillerie would disorder any armie therfore it is mete to kepe theÌ„ out of the baÌ„des where thei may be ouercome in the maner as a little afore we haue shewed but admit thei might be kept and that there might be found a waie betwen bothe of soche condicion that the presyng together of men should not hinder the artillerie and were not so open that it should giue waie to the enemie I saie that it is remedied moste easely with makyng distances in thy armie against it whiche maie giue free passage to the shot of those so the violence thereof shall come to be vain the which maie be doen moste easely for asmoche as the enemie mindyng to haue his artillerie stand safe it behoueth that he put them behinde in the furthest part of the distances so that the shot of the same be purposyng that thei hurt not his owne men ought to passe by right line and by that very same alwaies and therefore with giuyng theim place easely thei maie bee auoided A generall rule againste soche thynges as caÌ„not bee withstoode for that this is a generall rule that to those thynges whiche cannot be withstoode there must bee giuen waie as the antiquitie made to the Eliphantes and to the carres full of hookes I beleue ye I am more then certaine that it semeth vnto you that I haue ordered and wonne a battaile after my own maner notwithstaÌ„ding I answeer vnto you this when so moche as I haue saied hetherto should not suffice that it should be impossible that an armie thus ordered and armed should not ouercome at the first incounter any other armie that should bee ordained as their order the armies now adaies whom most often tymes make not but one front hauyng no targaettes and are in soche wise vnarmed that thei cannot defende themselues from the enemie at hand and thei order theim after soche sorte that if thei set their battailes by flanck the one to the other thei make the armie thinne if thei put the one behind the other hauyng no waie to receiue the one the other thei doe it confusedly and apt to be easly troubled and although thei giue three names to their armies and deuide theÌ„ into thre companies vaward battaile and rereward notwithstandyng it serueth to no other purpose then to marche and to distinguis the lodgynges but in the daie of battaile thei binde them all to the first brunte and to the first fortune Luigi I haue noted also in the faightyng of your fielde how your horsemen were repulced of the enemies horsemen for whiche cause thei retired to the extraordinarie Pikes whereby grewe that with the aide of theim thei withstode and draue the enemies backe I beleue that the Pikes maie withstande the horses as you saie but in a grosse and thicke maine battaile as the Suizzers make but you in your army haue for the hedde fiue rankes of Pikes and for the flancke seuen so that I cannot tell how thei maie bee able to withstande them Fabritio Yet I haue told you how sixe rankes of pikes wer occupied at ones in the Macedonicall Falangi albeit you ought to vnderstande A battaile how â—â—eâ—te so â—uer â—t bee cannot 〈◊〉 occupâ— aboue .v. raâ—kâ—s of yâ—râ—â—s that a maine battaile of Suizzers if it were made of a thousande rankes it cannot occupie more then fower or at the most fiue bicause the Pikes be sixe yardes and three quarters longe one yarde and halfe a quarter is occupied of the handes wherefore to the firste ranke there remaineth free fiue yardes and a half and a halfe quarter of Pike the seconde ranke besides that whiche is occupied with the hande consumeth a yarde and half a quarter in the space whiche remaineth betwene the one ranke and thother so that there is not left of pike profitable more then fower yardes and a halfe to the thirde ranke by this verie same reason there remaineth three yardes and a quarter and a halfe to the fowerth twoo yardes and a quarter to the fift one yard and halfe a quarter the other rankes for to hurte be vnprofitable but thei serue to restore these firste rankes as we haue declared and to bee a fortificacion to those .v. Then if fiue of their rankes can withstande the horse why cannot fiue of ours withstande theim to the whiche also there lacketh not rankes behinde that doeth sustain and make them the very same staie although thei haue no pikes as the other And when the raÌ„kes of thextraordinarie pikes which are placed on the flaÌ„ckes should seme vnto you thinne thei maie bee brought into a quadrante and put on the flancke nere the twoo battailes whiche I set in the laste companie of the armie From the whiche place their maie easely altogether succour the fronte and the backe of the armie and minister helpe to the horses accordyng as nede shall require Luigi Would you alwaies vse this forme of order when you would pitche a fielde Fabritio No in no wise for that you ought to varie the facion of the armie according to the qualitie of the situacion and the condicion and quantitie of the enemie as before this reasonyng dooe ende shall bee shewed certaine insamples but this forme is giuen vnto you not so moche as moste strongeste of all where in deede it is verie strong as to the intente that thereby you maie take a rule and an order to learne to knowe the waies to ordeine the other for as moche as euery science hath his generalitie vpon the whiche a good part of it is grounded An aduertismeÌ„t concernyng the pitchyng of a fielde One thing onely I aduise you that you neuer order an armie after soche sorte that those that faight afore cannot bee sucoured of theim whiche be set behind bicause he that committeth this errour maketh the greateste parte of his armie to bee vnprofitable and if it incounter any strength it cannot ouercome Luigi There is growen in me vpon this parte a doubte I haue seen that in the placyng of the battailes you make the fronte of fiue on a side the middeste of three and the last partes of twoo and I beleue that it were better to ordain them contrariwise for that I thinke that an armie should with more difficultie bee broken when he that should charge vpon it the more that he should entre into thesame so moche the stronger he should finde it and the order deuised of you me thinkes maketh that the more it is entered into so moche the weaker it is founde Fabricio If you should remember how to the Triarij whom were the thirde order of the Romain Legions there were not assigned more then sixe
hundred men you would doubt lesse hauyng vnderstode how thei were placed in the laste companie For that you should see how I moued of this insample haue placed in the last companie twoo battailes whiche are nine hundred men so that I come rather folowyng the insample of the Romaine people to erre for hauyng taken to many then to fewe and although this insample should suffice I will tell you the reason the which is this The first fronte of the armie How the froâ—â— of the armie ought to beâ— made is made perfectly whole and thicke bicause it must withstande the bruÌ„t of the enemies and it hath not to receiue in it any of their felowes and for this it is fitte that it bee full of menne bicause a fewe menne should make it weake either for thinnesse or for lacke of sufficiente nomber but the seconde companie for as moche as it must first receiue their frendes to sustain the enemie How the middell part of the armie ought to be ordered it is mete that it haue greate spaces and for this it behoueth that it be of lesse nomber then the first for that if it wer of greater nomber or equall it should bee conueniente either not to leaue the distaunces the whiche should be disorder or leauyng theim to passe the boundes of those afore the whiche should make the facion of the armie vnperfecte and it is not true that you saie that the enemie the more that he entereth into the maine battaile so moche the weaker he findeth it for that the enemie can neuer faight with the seconde order except the first be ioined with thesame so that he cometh to finde the middest of the maine battaile more stronger and not more weaker hauyng to faight with the first and with the seconde order altogether the verie same happeneth when the enemie should come to the thirde companie for that there not with twoo battailes whiche is founde freshe but with all the maine battaile he must faight The orderyng of the hinder part of thaâ—â—y and for that this last part hath to receiue moste men the spaces therof is requisite to be greatest and that whiche receiueth them to be the leste nomber Luigi It pleaseth me thesame that you haue told but answere me also this if the fiue first battailes doe retire betwene the three seconde battailes and after the eight betwene the twoo thirde it semeth not possible that the eight beyng brought together and then the tenne together maie bee receiued when thei bee eight or when thei be tenne in the verie same space whiche receiued the fiue Fabricio The first thyng that I aunswere is that it is not the verie same space For that the fiue haue fower spaces in the middeste whiche retiryng betwene the thre or betwene the twoo thei occupie then there remaineth thesame space that is betwene the one maine battaile and the other and thesame that is betwene the battailes and the extraordinarie Pikes al the whiche spaces makes largenesse besides this it is to bee considered that the battailes kepe other maner of spaces when thei bee in the orders without beyng altered then when thei be altered for that in the alteracion either thei throng together or thei inlarge the orders thei inlarge theim when thei feare so moche that thei fall to fliyng thei thrust them together wheÌ„ thei feare in soche wise that thei seke to saue them selues not with runnyng awaie but with defence So that in this case thei should come to be destingueshed and not to be inlarged The â—etire of the Pikes to place the Targaet men Moreouer the fiue rankes of the Pikes that are before so sone as thei haue begun the faighte thei ought betwene their battailes to retire into the taile of the armie for to giue place to the Targaet men that thei maie faighte and thei goyng into the taile of the armie maie dooe soche seruice as the capitain should iudge were good to occupie theim aboute where in the forward the faight beyng mingled thei should otherwise bee altogether vnprofitable And for this the spaces ordained come to bee for the remnaunte of the menne wide inough to receiue them yet when these spaces should not suffice the flaÌ„kes on the sides be men and not walles whoÌ„ giuyng place and inlargyng theÌ„ selues maie make the space to containe so moche that it maie bee sufficient to receiue theim Luigi The rankes of the extraordinarie Pikes whiche you place on the flanckes of the armie when the first battailes retire into the second will you haue them to stande still and remain with twoo hornes to the armie Or will you that thei also retire together with the battailes The whiche when thei should do I see not how thei can hauyng no battailes behinde with distaunces that maie receiue them Fabritio If the enemie ouercome theim not How the pikes that are placed on the flankes of the armie ought to gouerne them selues when the rest of the â—â—uiâ—e is driuen to retire when he inforceth the battailes to retire thei maie stande still in their order and hurte the enemie on the flanck after that the firste battailes were retired but if he should also ouercome theim as semeth reason beyng so puisaunte that he is able to repulce the other thei also ought to retire whiche thei maie dooe excellently well although thei haue not behinde any to receiue them bicause from the middest thei maie redouble by right line entring the one ranke into the other in the maner whereof wee reasoned when it was spoken of the order of redoublyng True it is that to mynde redoublyng to retire backe it behoueth to take an other waie then thesame that I shewed you for that I told you that the second raÌ„ke ought to enter into the first the fowerth into the thirde and so foorth in this case thei ought not to begin before but behinde so that redoublyng the rankes thei maie come to retire backewarde not to tourne forward but to aunswere to all thesame that vpon this foughten field by me shewed might of you bee replied I saie vnto you again that I haue ordained you this armie shewed this foughten field for two causes th one for to declare vnto you how it is ordered the other to shewe you how it is exercised thorder I beleue you vnderstande moste well and concernyng the exersice I saie vnto you Thexercise of the army in generall that thei ought to be put together in this forme as often times as maie be for as moche as the heddes learne therby to kepe their battailes in these orders for that to particulare souldiours it appertaineth to keepe well the orders of euery battaile to the heddes of the battailes it appertaineth to keepe theim well in euery order of the armie and that thei knowe how to obeie at the commaundement of the generall capitain therefore it is conueniente that thei knowe how to ioyne the one battaile with thother that thei maie
in the hornes of the armie and he drewe theÌ„ not betwene the Prencipi But note that this waie of openyng the first hande for to giue place to the seconde cannot bee vsed but when a man is superiour to his enemie for that then there is commoditie to bee able to dooe it as Scipio was able but beyng vnder and repulced it cannot be doen but with thy manifest ruine and therefore it is conuenient to haue behinde orders that maie receiue thee but let vs tourne to our reasonyng Cartes full of hookes made to destroie the enemies The auncient Asiaticans emongest other thynges deuised of them to hurt the enemies vsed carres The whiche had on the sides certaine hookes so that not onely thei serued to open with their violence the bandes but also to kill with the hookes the aduersaries The remedy that was vsed against Cartes full oâ— hookes against the violeÌ„ce of those in thre maners thei prouided either thei sustained theim with the thickenesse of the raies or thei receiued theim betwene the bandes as the Eliphantes were receiued or els thei made with arte some strong resistence As Silla a Romaine made againste Archelaus whom had many of these cartes whiche thei called hooked who for to sustaine theim draue many stakes into the grounde behinde his first bandes of men whereby the cartes beyng stopped lost their violence The straunge maner that â—â—â—â—a vsed in orderyng his army against Archelâ—uâ— And the newe maner that Silla vsed against hym in orderyng the armie is to bee noted for that he put the Veliti and the horse behinde and all the heauie armed afore leauyng many distaunces to be able to sende before those behinde when necessite required whereby the fight beyng begun with the helpe of the horsemen to the whiche he gaue the waie he got the victorie How to trouble 〈◊〉 the faighte the armie of the enemies To intende to trouble in the faight the enemies armie it is conueniente to make some thyng to growe that maie make theim afraied either with showyng of newe helpe that commeth or with showyng thynges whiche maie represente a terrour vnto theim after soche sorte that the enemies begiled of that sight maie be afraied being made afraied thei maie easely bee ouercome the whiche waies Minutio Rufo vsed and Aecilio Glabrione Consults of Rome A policie of Caius Sulpicius to make his enemies afraied Caius Sulpitius also set a greate many of sackes vpon Mules and other beastes vnprofitable for the warre but in soche wise ordained that thei semed men of armes and he commaunded that thei should appere vpon a hill while he were a faightyng with the Frenchemen whereby grewe his victorie The verie same did Marius A policie of Marius againste the Duchmenne when he foughte against the Duchemen Then the fained assaultes auailyng moche whilest the faight continueth it is coÌ„ueniente that the very assaultes in deede dooe helpe moche inespecially if at vnwares in the middest of the faight the enemie might bee assaulted behinde or on the side the whiche hardely maie be doen if the countrie helpe thee not for that when it is open parte of thy men cannot bee hid as is mete to bee doen in like enterprises but in woddie or hille places and for this apt for ambusshes parte of thy men maie be well hidden to be able in a sodain and contrary to thenemies opinion to assaut him whiche thyng alwaies shall be occasion to giue thee the victorie It hath been sometyme of greate importaunce A policie of greate importaunce while a battaile is a faightyng whilest the faighte continueth to sowe voices whiche doe pronounce the capitaine of thenemies to be dedde or to haue ouercome on the other side of the armie the whiche many times to them that haue vsed it hath giuen the victorie The chiualrie of the enemies maie bee easely troubled How horsemen maie bee disordered either with sightes or with rumours not vsed as Creso did whom put Camelles againste the horses of the aduersaries and Pirrus sette againste the Romaine horsemen Eliphantes the sighte of whiche troubled and disordered them How the turke gaue the Sophie an ouerthrowe In our time the Turke discomfited the Sophi in Persia and the Soldane in Surria with no other then with the noise of Harkabuses the whiche in soche wise with their straunge rumours disturbed the horses of those that the Turke mighte easely ouercome them How the Spaniardes ouercame the armie of Amilcare The Spaniardes to ouercome the armie of Amilcare put in the firste fronte Cartes full of towe drawen of oxen and comming to handes thei kindeled fire to thesame wherfore the oxen to flie from the fire thrust into the armie of Amilcar and opened it How to traine the enemie to his destruccion Thei are wonte as we haue saied to begile the enemie in the faight drawyng him into their ambusshes where the Countrie is commodious for the same purpose but where it were open and large many haue vsed to make diches and after haue couered them lightly with bowes and yearth and lefte certain spaces whole to be able betwene those to retire after so sone as the faight hath been begunne retiryng by those and the enemie folowing theÌ„ hath fallen in the pittes If in the faight there happen thee any accident that maie feare thy souldiours it is a moste prudente thyng to knowe how to desemble it and to peruert it to good A policie of Tullo Hostilio and Lucius Silla in dessemblyng of a mischaunce as Tullo Hostilio did and Lucius Silla whoÌ„ seyng while thei fought how a parte of his men wer gone to the enemies side and how thesame thing had verie moche made afraied his men he made straighte waie throughout all the armie to be vndestoode how all thing proceded accordyng to his order the whiche not onely did not trouble the armie but it increased in them so moche stomack that he remained victorious It happened also to Silla that hauyng sente certaine souldiours to doe some businesse and thei beyng slain he saied to the intent his armie should not be made afraied thereby that he had with crafte sent theim into the bandes of the enemies for that he had found them nothyng faithfull Sertorius sine a man for telling him of the death of one of his capitaines Sertorius faightyng a battaile in Spaine slue one whom signified vnto hym the death of one of his capitaines for feare that tellyng the very same to other he should make theim afraied It is a moste difficult thyng an armie beyng now moued to flie to staie it and make it to faight And you haue to make this distinccion either that it is all moued and then to be impossible to tourne it or there is moued a parte thereof and then there is some remedie Howe certaine captaines haue staied their meÌ„ that hath been running awaie Many Romain capitaines with making afore those whiche
haue theim to make a backe to the front of th armie therfore it behoueth either to make theÌ„ to tourne battaile after battaile as a whole body or to make theÌ„ quickly to enter betwen thorders of targettes conduct them afore the whiche waie is more spedy of lesse disorder then to make theÌ„ to turn al togethe and so thou oughtest to doe of all those whiche remain behind in euery condicion of assault The orderyng of th armie wheÌ„ thenemie commes to assaulte it behinde as I shal shewe you If it appere that thenemie come on the part behinde the first thyng that ought to bee dooen is to cause that euery man tourne his face where his backe stode and straight waie th armie cometh to haue made of taile hed of hed taile then al those waies ought to be kept in orderyng thesame fronte as I tolde afore If the enemie come to incounter the right flancke How the armie is ordered wheÌ„ it is assaulted of any of the sides the face of thy armie ought to bee made to tourne towardes thesame side after make all those thynges in fortificacion of thesame hedde whiche aboue is saied so that the horsemen the Veliti and the artillerie maie be in places conformable to the hed thereof onely you haue this difference that in variyng the hed of those which are transposed some haue to go more and some lesse In deede makyng hedde of the right flancke the Veliti ought to enter in the spaces that bee betwene the horne of the armie and those horse whiche were nerest to the lefte flancke in whose place ought to enter the twoo Ansignes of the extraordinarie Pikes placed in the middest But firste the carriages and the vnarmed shall goe out by the open place auoidyng the rome in the middest and retiryng themselues behinde the lefte flancke whiche shall come to bee then the taile of the armie the other Veliti that were placed in the taile accordyng to the principall orderyng of the armie in this case shall not moue Bicause the same place should not remaine open whiche of taile shall come to be flancke all other thyng ought to bee dooen as in orderyng of the firste hedde is saied this that is told about the makyng hed of the right flanck must be vnderstode to be told hauyng nede to make it of the left flanck for that the very same order ought to bee obserued If the enemie should come grose What is to be bâ—â—n when the army to assaulted on twoo sides and in order to assaulte thee on twoo sides thâ—se twoo sides whiche he commeth to assaulte thee on ought to bee made stronge with the other twoo sides that are not assaulted doublyng the orders in eche of theim and deuidyng for bothe partes the artillerie the Veliti and the horse If he come on three or on fower sides it is necessarie that either thou or he lacke prudence for that if thou shalt bee wise thou wilte neuer putte thy self in place that the enemie on three or fower sides with a greate nomber of men and in order maie assault thee for that mindyng safely to hurte thee it is requisit that he be so great that on euery side he maie assault thee with as many men as thou haste almoste in al thy army and if thou be so vnwise that thou put thy self in the daunger and force of an enemie whom hath three tymes more menne ordained then thou if thou catche hurte thou canste blame no man but thy self if it happen not through thy faulte but throughe some mischaunce the hurt shall be without the shame and it shal chaunce vnto thee as vnto the Scipions in Spaine and to Asdruball in Italie but if the enemie haue not many more men then thou and intende for to disorder thee to assaulte thee on diuers sides it shal be his foolishnesse and thy good fortune for as moche as to doe so it is conuenient that he become so thinne in soche wise that then easely thou maiste ouerthrow one bande and withstande an other and in short time ruinate him this maner of ordering an armie against an enemie whiche is not seen but whiche is feâ—red is a necessarie and a profitable thing to accustome thy souldiours to put themselues together and to march with soche order and in marchyng to order theimselues to faight accordyng to the first hedde and after to retourne in the forme that thei marched in then to make hedde of the taile after of the flanckes from these to retourne into the first facion the whiche exercises and vses bee necessarie mindyng to haue an armie throughly instructed practised in whiche thyng the Princes and the capitaines ought to take paine Nor the discipline of warre is no other then to knowe how to commauÌ„de and to execute these thynges Nor an instructed armie is no other then an armie that is wel practised in these orders nor it cannot be possible that who so euer in this time should vse like disciplin shall euer bee broken And if this quadrante forme whiche I haue shewed you is somewhat difficulte soche difficultnesse is necessarie takyng it for an exercise for as moche as knowyng well how to set theim selues in order and to maintaine theim selues in the same thei shall knowe after more easely how to stand in those whiche should not haue so moche difficultie Zanobi I beleue as you saie that these orders bee verie necessarie and I for my parte knowe not what to adde or take from it true it is that I desire to know of you twoo thynges the one if when you will make of the taile or of the flancke hedde and would make them to tourne whether this be commaunded by the voice or with the â—ounde thâ—ther whether those that you sende afore to make plain the waie for the armie to marche ought to be of the verie same souldiours of your battailes or other vile menne appoincted to like exercise Fabritio Commaundementes of Capitaines being not wel vnderstoode maie be the destruccion of an armie Your firste question importeth moche for that many tymes the commaundementes of Capitaines beyng not â—elâ— vnderstoode or euill interpreted haue disorderâ—â— their armie therfore the voices with the whiche the commaunde in perilles ought to bee cleare Respect that is to be had in coÌ„maundementes made with the founde of the Trompet and noâ—e And if thou commaunde with the founde it is conuenient to make that bewene the one waie and the other there be so moche difference that the one cannot be chaunged for the other and if thou commaundest with the voice In commaundmentes made with the voice what respect is to be had thou oughteste to take heede that thou flie the general voices and to vse the particulares of the particulars to flie those whiche maie be interpreted sinisterly Many tymes the saiyng backe backe hath made to ruinate an armie therfore this voice ought not to be vsed but in steede
therof to vse retire you If you will make theim to tourne for to chaunge the hedde either to flanck or to backe vse neuer to saie tourne you but saie to the lefte to the right to the backe to the front thus all the other voices ought to be simple and nete as thrust on march stande stronge forwarde retourne you and all those thynges whiche maie bee dooen with the voice thei doe the other is dooen with the sounde Of Pâ—anare Concernyng those menne that must make the waies plaine for the armie to marche whiche is your seconde question I would cause my owne souldiours to dooe this office as well bicause in the aunciente warfare thei did so as also for that there should be in the armie lesser noÌ„ber of vnarmed men and lesse impedimentes and I would choose out of euery battaile thesame nomber that should nede and I would make theim to take the instrumentes meete to plaine the grounde withall and their weapons to leaue with those rankes that should bee nereste them who should carrie them and the enemie commyng thei shall haue no other to doe then to take theÌ„ again to retourne into their araie Zanobi Who shall carrie thinstrumentes to make the waie plaine withall Fabricio The Cartes that are appoincted to carrie the like instrumentes Zanobi I doubte whether you should euer brynge these our souldiours to labour with Shouell or Mattocke after soche sorte Fabritio All these thynges shall bee reasoned in the place thereof but now I will let alone this parte and reason of the maner of the victualing of the armie for that me thinketh hauyng so moche traiuailed theim it is tyme to refreshe them and to comfort them with meate You haue to vnderstande that a Prince ought to ordaine his armie as expedite as is possible take from thesame all those thynges whiche maie cause any trouble or burthen vnto it and make vnto hym any enterprise difficulte Emongest those thynges that causeth moste difficultie is to be constrained to keepe the armie prouided of wine and baked bread The antiquitie cared not for Wine for that lackyng it thei dranke water mingeled with a little vinegre to giue it a taste For whiche cause emong the municions of victualles for the hoste vineger was one not wine Thei baked not the breade in Ouens as thei vse for Citees but thei prouided the Meale and of thesame euery Souldiour after his owne maner satisfied hym self hauyng for condimente Larde and Baken the whiche made the breade sauerie that thei made and maintained theim strong The victualles that thantiquitie made prouision of for their armies so that the prouision of victualles for the armie was Meale Vineger Larde and Bacon and for the horses Barley Thei had ordinarely heardes of greate beastes and small whiche folowed the armie the whiche hauyng no nede to bee carried caused not moche impedimente Of this order there grewe that an armie in old time marched somtymes many daies through solitarie places and difficulte without sufferyng disease of victualles for that thei liued of thyngs whiche easely thei might conuey after them To the contrarie it happeneth in the armies that are now a daies whiche mindyng not to lacke wine and to eate baked breade in thesame maner as when thei are at home whereof beyng not able to make prouision long thei remaine often tymes famished or though thei be prouided it is dooen with disease and with moste greate coste therfore I would reduce my armie to this maner of liuing and I would not that thei should eate other bread then that which by themselues thei should bake Concernyng wine I would not prohihite the drinkyng thereof nor yet the commyng of it into the armie but I would not vse indeuour nor any labour for to haue it in the other prouisions I would gouerne my self altogether like vnto the antiquitie the whiche thing if you consider well you shall see how moche difficultie is taken awaie and how moche trouble and disease an armie and a capitaine is auoided of and how moche commoditie shall bee giuen to what so euer enterprise is to bee dooen Zanobi We haue ouercome thenemie in the field marched afterward vpon his countrie reason would that spoiles be made tounes sacked prisoners taken therefore I would knowe how the antiquitie in these thynges gouerned them selues Fabritio Beholde I will satisfie you I beleue you haue considered for that once alredie with some of you I haue reasoned howe these present warres impouerishe as well those lordes that ouercome as those that leese for that if the one leese his estate the other leeseth his money and his mouables the whiche in olde time was not for that the conquerour of the warre waxed ritche The occasionâ— why the warres made nowe adaies doe impouerishe the conquerors as well as the coÌ„quered This groweth of keepyng no compte in these daies of the spoiles as in olde tyme thei did but thei leaue it to the discreacion of the souldiours This manner maketh twoo moste great disorders the one that whiche I haue tolde the other that the souldiour becometh more couetous to spoyle and lesse obserueth the orders and manie times it hath been seen howe the couetousnesse of the praye hath made those to leese whome were victorious The order that the Romaines toke coÌ„cerning the spoile and the booties that their souldiours gotte Therefore the Romaines whiche were princes of armies prouided to the one and to the other of these inconuenienses ordainyng that all the spoyle should apertaine to the publicke and that the publicke after should bestowe it as shoulde be thought good and therfore thei had in th armie the questours whoÌ„ were as we would say the chamberlaines to whose charge all the spoyle and booties were committed whereof the consull was serued to geue the ordinarie pay to the souldiours to succour the wounded and the sicke and for the other businesse of the armie The consull might well and he vsed it often to graunte a spoyle to soldiours but this grauntyng made no disorder for that the armie beyng broken all the pray was put in the middest and distributed by hedde accordyng to the qualitee of euerie man the which maner thei constituted to thintente that the soldiours should attend to ouercome and not to robbe and the Romaine Legions ouercame the enemies and folowed them not for that thei neuer departed from their orders onely there folowed them the horsemenne with those that were light armed and if there were any other souldiours then those of the legions they likewyse pursued the chase Where if the spoyle shoulde haue ben his that gotte it it had not ben possible nor reasonable to haue kepte the legions steddie and to withstonde manie perils hereby grewe therefore that the common weale inritched and euery Consulâ— carried with his triumphe into the treasurie muche treasure whiche all was of booties and spoiles An order that the antiquitie tooke concernyng their soldiours wages
no maruel that the Romaines became mightie Princes Therefore it was no marueile though thesame people gotte so moche dominion hauing so moche obseruacion in punishemente and rewarde towardes theim whom either for their well doyng or for their ill doyng should deserue either praise or blame Of whiche thynges it were conuenient to obserue the greater parte Nor I thinke not good to kepe secrete one maner of punishmente of theim obserued whiche was that so sone as the offendour was before the Tribune or Consulle conuicted he was of the same lightely stroken with a rodde after the whiche strikyng it was lawfull for the offendour to flie and to all the Souldiours to kill hym so that straight waie euery man threwe at hym either stones or dartes or with other weapons stroke hym in soche wise that he went but little waie a liue and moste fewe escaped and to those that so escaped it was not lawfull for theÌ„ to retourne home but with so many incommodities and soche greate shame and ignomie that it should haue ben moche better for him to haue died This maner is seen to be almoste obserued of the Suizzers who make the condempned to be put to death openly of thother souldiours the whiche is well considered A meane to punishe and execute Iustice without raising tumultes and excellently dooen for that intendyng that one be not a defendour of an euill doer the greateste reamedie that is founde is to make hym punisher of thesame bicause otherwise with other respecte he fauoureth hym where when he hymself is made execucioner with other desire he desireth his punishemente then when the execucion commeth to an other Therefore mindyng not to haue one fauored in his faulte of the people a greate remedie it is to make that the people maie haue hym to iudge For the greater proofe of this Manlius Capitolinus thinsample of Manlius Capitolinus might be brought who being accused of the Scenate was defended of the people so longe as thei were not Iudge but becommyng arbitratours in his cause thei condempned hym to death This is then a waie to punishe without raisyng tumultes and to make iustise to be kepte and for as moche as to bridell armed menne neither the feare of the Lawes nor of menne suffise not the antiquitie ioined thereunto the aucthoritie of God Souldiours sworen to kepe the discipline of warre and therefore with moste greate Ceremonies thei made their souldiours to sweare to kepe the discipline of warre so that doyng contrariewise â–ª thei should not onely haue to feare the Lawes and menne but God and thei vsed all diligence to fill them with Religion Baptiste Did the Romaines permitte that women might bee in their armies or that there might be vsed these idell plaies whiche thei vse now a daies Fabritio Women and idell games were not suffered by the antiquitie to bee in their armies Thei prohibited the one and thother and this prohibicion was not moche difficulte For that there were so many exercises in the whiche thei kept euery daie the souldiours some whiles particularely somewhiles generally occupied that thei had no time to thinke either on Venus or on plaies nor on any other thyng whiche sedicious and vnproffitable soulours doe Baptiste I am herein satisfied but tell me wheÌ„ the armie had to remoue what order kepte thei Fabricio The chief Trumpet sounded three tymes Ordre in the remouing the armie by the soundes of a Trumpet at the firste sound thei toke vp the Tentes and made the packes at the seconde thei laded the carriage at the thirde thei remoued in thesame maner aforsaied with the impedimentes after euery parte of armed men placyng the Legions in the middeste and therefore you ought to cause after thesame sorte an extraordinarie maine battaile to remoue and after that the particulare impedimentes therof and with those the fowerth part of the publike impedimentes which should bee all those that were lodged in one of those partes whiche a little afore we declared and therfore it is conueniente to haue euery one of them appointed to a maine battaile to the entente that the armie remouyng euery one might knowe his place in marchyng and thus euery maine battaile ought to goe awaie with their owne impedimentes and with the fowerth parte of the publike impedimentes followyng after in soche maner as wee shewed that the Romaines marched Baptiste In pitchyng the Campe had thei other respectes then those you haue tolde Fabricio I tell you again that the Romaines when thei encamped would be able to kepe the accustomed fashion of their maner the whiche to obserue thei had no other respecte but concernyng for other consideracions thei had twoo principall the one to incampe theim selues in a wholesome place the other Respectes to be had for incampyng to place themselues where thenemie could not besiege theim nor take from them the waie to the water or victualles Then for to auoide infirmitie thei did â—ie from places Fennie or subiecte to hurtfull windes whiche thei knewe not so well by the qualitie of the situacioÌ„ as by the face of the inhabitours â–ª for when thei sawe theim euill coloured or swollen How to choose a place to incampe or full of other infeccion thei would not lodge there concernyng thother respecte to prouide not to be besieged it is requisite to consider the nature of the place where the friendes lye and where thenemies and of this to make a coniecture if thou maiest be besieged or no and therefore it is meete that the Capitaine be moste experte in the knowlege of situacions of countries and haue aboute him diuers men that haue the verie same expertenes Thei auoide also diseases How to auoide diseases from the armie and famishment with causyng the armie to kepe no misrule for that to purpose to maintain it in health it is nedefull to prouide that the souldiours maie slepe vnder tentes that thei maie lodge where bee Trees that make shadowe where woodde is for to dresse their meate that thei go not in the heate and therefore thei muste bee drawen out of the campe before daie in Summer and in Winter to take hede that thei marche not in the Snowe and in the Froste without hauyng comoditie to make fire and not to lack necessarie aparel nor to drink naughtie water those that fall sicke by chaunce make them to bee cured of Phisicions bicause a capitain hath no reamedie when he hath to faight with sicknesse and with an enemie but nothing is so profitable to maintaine the armie in health as is the exercise and therfore the antiquitie euery daie made them to exercise wherby is seen how muche exercise auaileth The wonderfull commoditie of exercise for that in the CaÌ„pe it kepeth thee in health and in the faight victorious Concernyng famishemente it is necessarie to see that the enemie hinder thee not of thy victualles but to prouide where thou maieste haue it and to see that thesame whiche thou
haste bee not loste and therefore it is requisite The prouision of victualles that ought alwaies to bee in a readinesse in an armie that thou haue alwaies in prouision with the armie sufficiente victuall for a monethe and then remouyng into some strong place thou muste take order with thy nexte frendes that daily thei maie prouide for thee and aboue al thinges bestowe the victual with diligence giuyng euery daie to euery manne a reasonable measure and obserue after soche sorte this poincte that it disorder thee not bicause all other thyng in the warre maie with tyme be ouercome this onely with tyme ouercometh thee nor there shall neuer any enemie of thyne who maie ouercome thee with famishemente that will seeke to ouercome thee with yron For that though the victory be not so honourable yet it is more sure and more certaine Then thesame armie cannot auoide famishemente that is not an obseruer of iustice whiche licenciously consumeth what it liste bicause the one disorder maketh that the victualls commeth not vnto you the other that soche victuall as commeth is vnprofitably consumed therefore thantiquitie ordained that thei should spende thesame whiche thei gaue and in thesame tyme when thei appoincted for that no souldiour did eate but when the Capitaine did eate The whiche how moche it is obserued of the armies nowe adaies euery manne knoweth and worthely thei can not bee called menne of good order and sober as the antiquitie but lasiuious and drunkardes Baptiste You saied in the beginnyng of orderynge the Campe that you woulde not stande onely vppon twoo maine battailes but woulde take fower for to shewe how a iuste armie incamped therfore I would you shoulde tell me twoo thynges the one when I shoulde haue more or lesse men howe I ought to incampe them the other what numbre of souldiours should suffice you to faight against what so euer enemie that were Fabritio To the first question I answer you Howe to lodge in the Campeâ— more or lesse menne then the ordinarie that if the armie be more or lesse then fower or sixe thousande souldiours the orders of lodgynges may bee taken awaie or ioined so many as suffiseth and with this way a man may goe in more and in lesse into infinite Notwithstandynge the Romaines when thei ioigned together twoo consull armies thei made twoo campes and thei tourned the partes of the vnarmed th one against thother Concernyng the second question I say vnto you that the Romaines ordinary armie was about .xxiiij. M. souldiours but when thei were driuen to faight against the greatest power that might be the moste that thei put together wer .l. M. With this number thei did set against two hundred thousand Frenchemen whome assaulted them after the first warre that thei had with the Carthageners With this verie same numbre thei fought againste Anniball And you muste note that the Romaines and the Grekes haue made warre with fewe fortefiyng themselues thorough order and thorough arte the west and the easte haue made it with multitude But the one of these nacions doeth serue with naturall furie as doe the men of the west partes the other through the great obedience whiche those men haue to their kyng But in Grece in Italy beyng no naturall furie nor the naturall reuereÌ„ce towardes their king it hath been necessary for them to learne the discipline of warre the whiche is of so muche force that it hath made that a fewe hath been able to ouercome the furie The nombre of men that an army ought to be made of to bee able to faighte with the puisantest enemie that is and the naturall obstinatenesse of manie Therefore I saie that mindyng to imitate the Romaines the Grekes the number of .l. M. souldiers ought not to bee passed but rather to take lesse because manie make confucion nor suffer not the discipline to be obserued and the orders learned and Pirrus vsed to saie Pirrus that with .xv. thousande men he woulde assaile the worlde but let vs pas to an other parte We haue made this our armie to winne a field and shewed the trauailes that in the same fight may happeÌ„ we haue made it to marche declared of what impedimentes in marchyng it may be disturbed and finally we haue lodged it where not only it ought to take a littell reste of the labours passed but also to thinke howe the warre ought to be ended for that in the lodgynges is handeled many thynges inespecially thy enemies as yet remainyng in the fielde and in suspected townes of whome it is good to be assured and those that be enemies to ouercome them therfore it is necessarie to come to this demonstracion to passe this difficultie with the same glorie as hither to we haue warred Howe to cause men to do soche a thing as shold bee profitable for thee hurtfull to them selues Therfore comynge to particular matters I saie that if it shoulde happen that thou wouldest haue manie men or many people to dooe a thyng whiche were to thee profittable and to theim greate hurte as should be to breake downe the wall of their citie or to sende into exile many of them it is necessarie for thee either to beguile them in such wise that euerie one beleeue not that it toucheth him so that succouryng not the one the other thei may finde them selues al to be oppressed without remedie or els vnto all to commaunde the same whiche they ought to dooe in one selfe daie to the intente that euery maÌ„ beleuyng to be alone to whome the commaundemeÌ„t is made maie thinke to obey and not to remedie it so withoute tumulte thy commaundement to be of euerie man executed If thou shouldest suspecte the fidelitie of anie people and woulde assure thee Howe to euercome 〈…〉 vnwaâ—es and ouercome them at vnawares for to colour thy intente more easelie thou canst not doe better then to counsel with them of some purpose of thine desiryng their aide and to seeme to intende to make an other enterprise and to haue thy minde farre from thinkyng on them the whiche will make that thei shall not think on their owne defence beleeuyng not that thou purposest to hurte them and thei shal geue thee commoditie to be able easely to satisfiie thy desire How to 〈◊〉 to commoditie the doynges of soche as vse to aduertise thy enemie of thy proceedynges â–ª When thou shouldest perceiue that there were in thine armie some that vsed to aduertise thy enemie of thy deuises thou canst not doe better myndynge to take coÌ„moditie by their traiterous mindes then to commen with them of those thynges that thou wilte not doe and those that thou wilt doe to kepe secret and to say to doubte of thynges that thou doubtest not those of whiche thou doubtest to hide the which shall make thenemie to take some enterprise in hand beleuing to know thy deuises where by easly thou maiest beguile opresse hym
that the Consull had taken to faighte the nexte daie by reason wherof the enemies beyng afraide to deminishe their owne strength went not to incounter the same legion and by this way thei wer conducted safe The which means serueth not to deuide the force of the enemies but to augmente a mans owne Howe some haue caused the enemie to deuide his force Some haue vsed to deuide the enemies force by lettyng him to enter into their countrie and in profe haue let him take manie townes to the intente that puttynge in the same garrisons he might thereby deminishe his power and by this waie hauynge made him weake haue assaulted and ouercomen him A policie to winne the enemies countrie before he be aware Some other mindyng to goe into one prouince haue made as though they woulde haue inuaded an other and vsed so much diligence that sodenly entryng into the same where it was not doubted that they woulde enter they haue first wonne it before the ennemie coulde haue time to succour it for that thy enemie beynge not sure whether thou purposest to tourne backe to the place fyrste of thee threatned is constrained not to forsake the one place to succour the other and so many times he defendeth neither the one nor the other It importeth besides the sayde thynges to a Capitaine if there growe sedicion or discorde amonge the souldiours to knowe with arte howe to extynguishe it Howe to deforme sedicion and discorde â–ª The beste waie is to chastise the headdes of the faultes but it muste be doen in such wise that thou maiest first haue oppressed them before they be able to be aware The way is if they be distante from thee not onely to call the offenders but together with theim all the other to the entente that not beleeuynge that it is for any cause to punishe them they become not contumelius but geue commoditie to the execution of the punishemente when thei be present thou oughtest to make thy selfe stronge with those that be not in faulte and by meane of their helpe to punishe the other When there hapneth discorde amonge them the beste waye is The benefitte that the reputacion of the Capitaine causeth which is only gotten by vertue to bryng them to the perill the feare whereof is wonte alwaies to make them agree But that which aboue all other thynge kepeth the armie in vnitee is the reputacion of the Capitaine the whiche onely groweth of his vertue because neither bloud nor authoritie gaue it euer without vertue And the chiefe thyng The chiefe thyng that a capitayne ought to doe whiche of a Capitain is looked for to be doen is to keepe his souldiours punished and paied for that when so euer the paie lacketh it is conueniente that the punisshement lacke When paie wanteth punishement is not to be executed because thou canst not correcte a souldiour that robbeth if thou doest not paie him nor the same mindynge to liue cannot abstaine from robbynge but if thou paiest him and punisshest him not he beecometh in euerie condicion insolente The inconuenience of not punisshynge For that thou becomest of small estimacion where thou chaunsest not to bee able to maintaine the dignitie of thy degree and not mainetainyng it there foloweth of necessitee tumulte discorde whiche is the ruine of an armie Olde Capitaines had a troubell of the which the presente be almoste free whiche was to interprete to their purpose the sinister auguries because if there fell a thunderbolte in an armie if the sunne were darkened or the Moone if there came an erthequake if the Capitaine either in gettyng vp or in lightynge of his horse fell it was of the souldiours interpreted sinisterously And it ingendred in them so moche feare that comynge to faight the fielde easely they should haue lost it and therefore the aunciente Capitaines so sone as a lyke accidente grewe either they shewed the cause of the same and redused it to a naturall cause or they interpreted it to their purpose Cesar fallyng in Africa Cesar chaunsynge to â—all â–ª made the same to be supposed to signifi good lucke in comyng of the sea saied Africa I haue taken thee Moreouer manie haue declared the cause of the obscuryng of the Moone and of earthquakes which thing in our time cannot happen as well because our men be not so supersticious Religion taketh away â—aâ—tasticall opinions as also for that our religion taketh away altogether such opinions al be it when they should chaunse the orders of the antiquitie ought to be imitated When either famishement In what cases a Câ—pitaine ought not to faight with his enemie iâ— he may otherwyse choose or other naturall necessitie or humaine passion hath broughte thy enemie to an vtter desperation and he driuen of the same cometh to faight with thee thou oughtest to stande within thy campe and as muche as lieth in thy power to flie the faight So the Lacedemonians did against the Masonians so Cesar did against Afranio and Petreio Fuluius beyng Consul A policie of Fuluius â—â—â—â—by he got and and spoyled his enemies Campe â–ª against the Cimbrians made his horsemen manie daies continually to assaulte the enemies and considered how thei issued out of their campe for to folow them wherfore he sette an ambusshe behinde the Campe of the CimbriaÌ„s and made them to be assaulted of his horsmen and the Cimbrians issuyng ouâ—e of their campe for to follow them Fuluio gotte it and sacked it A policie to 〈◊〉 order the enemie It hath ben of great vtilitie to a Capitaine hauyng his armie nere to the enemies armie to sende his menne with the enemies ansignes to robbe and to burne his owne countrey whereby the enemies beleeuynge those to bee menne whiche are come in their aide haue also runne to helpe to make them the pray and for this disorderyng them selues hathe therby giuen oportunitie to the aduersary to ouercome them This waie Alexander of Epirus vsed againste the Illirans and Leptenus of Siracusa against the Carthaginers and bothe to the one and to the other the deuise came to passe most happely A policie to ouercome the enemie Manie haue ouercome the enemie geuyng him occasion to eate and to drinke oute of measure fayning to haue feared and leauing their Campes full of wyne herdes of cattell wherof the enemie beyng filled aboue all naturall vse haue then assaulted him and with his destruction ouerthrowen him So Tamirus did against Cirus and Tiberius Graccus agaynst the Spaniardes A policie Some haue poysoned the wine and other thynges to feede on for to be able more easely to ouercome them I saied a littel afore how I founde not that the antiquetie kepte in the night Scoutes abroade and supposed that they did it for to auoide the hurte whiche might growe therby because it is founde that through no other meane then throughe the watche man whiche was set in the daie to watche
menne the wall of thesame whereby the Tounes menne beleuyng that he did it for exercise slacked the Ward whereof Domicius beyng aware assaulted and ouercame them Certaine Capitaines vnderstandyng A policie to get a towne that there should come aide to the besieged haue apareled their Souldiours vnder the Ansigne of those that should come and beyng let in haue gotte the Toune Simon of Athens set fire in a night on a Temple How Simon of Athens wan a towne whiche was out of the toune wherefore the tounes menne goyng to succour it lefte the toune in praie to the enemie Some haue slaine those A policie to get a towne whiche from the besieged Castle haue gone a foragyng and haue appareled their souldiours with the apparell of the forragers whom after haue gotte the toune The aunciente Capitaines haue also vsed diuers waies to destroie the Garison of the Toune whiche thei haue sought to take How Scipio gâ—â—te ceâ—taine ceâ—â—elo in Afrike Scipio beyng in Africa and desiring to gette certaine Castles in whiche were putte the Garrisons of Carthage he made many tymes as though he would assaulte theim albeit he fained after not onely to abstaine but to goe awaie from them for feare the whiche Aniball beleuyng to bee true for to pursue hym with greater force and for to bee able more easely to oppresse him drewe out all the garrisons of theim The whiche Scipio knowyng sente Massinissa his Capitaine to ouercome them Howe Pirrus wan the chiefe Citie of Sclauonie Pirrus makyng warre in Sclauonie to the chiefe citee of thesame countrie where were brought many menne in Garrison fained to dispaire to bee able to winne it and tourning to other places made that the same for to succour them emptied it self of the warde and became easie to bee wonne A policie to get a towne Many haue corrupted the water and haue tourned the riuers an other waie to take Tounes How the besieged are made to yelde Also the besieged are easely made to yelde them selues makyng theim afraied with signifiyng vnto them a victorie gotten or with new aides whiche come in their disfauour The old Capitaines haue sought to gette Tounes by treason corruptyng some within but thei haue vsed diuers meanes Sum haue sente a manne of theirs Howe to get a towne by treason whiche vnder the name of a fugetiue might take aucthoritie and truste with the enemies who after haue vsed it to their profite Some by this meanes haue vnderstode the maner of the watche and by meanes of thesame knowledge haue taken the Toune Some with a Carte or with Beames vnder some colour haue letted the gate that it could not bee shutte and with this waie made the entrie easie to the enemie A policie of Anâ—ball for the â—â—â—â—yng of a Castell Aniball perswaded one to giue him a castle of the Romaines and that he should fain to go a huntyng in the night makyng as though he could not goe by daie for feare of the enemies and tournyng after with the Venison should put in with hym certaine of his menne and so killyng the watchmen should giue hym the gate How the besieged maie be begiled Also the besieged are beguiled with drawyng them out of the Toune and goyng awaie from them faining to flie when thei assault thee And many emong whoÌ„ was Anibal haue for no other intente let their Campe to be taken but to haue occasion to get betwene theim and home and to take their Toune Also How Formâ—on ouercame the Calcidensians â–ª thei are beguiled with fainyng to departe from theÌ„ as Formion of Athens did who hauyng spoiled the countrie of the CalcidensiaÌ„s receiued after their ambassadours fillyng their Cites with faire promises hope of safetie vnder the which as simple menne thei were a little after of Formione oppressed The besieged ought to beware of the men What the besieged muste take heede of whiche thei haue in suspecte emong them but some times thei are wont as well to assure them selues with deserte as with punishemente Liberalitie maketh enemies frendes Marcellus knoweyng how Lucius Bancius a Nolane was tourned to fauour Aniball so moche humanitie and liberalitie he vsed towardes him that of an enemie he made him moste frendely The besieged ought to vse more diligence in the warde The diligences that the besieged ought to vse in their watche ward when the enemie is gone from theim then when he is at hande And thei ought to warde those places whiche thei thinke that maie bee hurt least for that many tounes haue been loste wheÌ„ thenemie assaulteth it on thesame part where thei beleue not possible to be assaulted And this deceipt groweth of twoo causes either for the place being strong and to beleue that it is inuinsible or through craft beyng vsed of the enemie in assaltyng theim on one side with fained laroms and on the other without noise and with verie assaltes in deede and therefore the besieged ought to haue greate aduertisment and aboue all thynges at all times and in especially in the night to make good watche to bee kepte on the walles and not onely to appoincte menne but Dogges and soche fiearse Mastiues and liuely the whiche by their sente maie descrie the enemie and with barkyng discouer him and not Dogges onely but Geâ—se haue ben seen to haue saued a citee as it happened to Roome when the Frenchemen besieged the Capitoll An order of Alcibiades for the â—ew keping of watch warde Alcibiades for to see whether the warde watched Athense beeyng besieged of the Spartaines ordained that when in the night he should lifte vp a light all the ward should lift vp likewise constitutyng punishmente to hym that obserued it not Isicrates of AtheÌ„s killed a watchman which slept saiyng that he lefte him as he found him Those that haue been besieged haue vsed diuers meanes to sende aduise to their frendes and mindyng not to send their message by mouth thei haue writteÌ„ letters in Cifers and hidden them in sundrie wise the Cifers be according as pleaseth him that ordaineth them the maner of hidyng them is diuers The secrete conueighyng of Letters Some haue written within the scaberde of a sweard Other haue put the Letters in an vnbaked lofe and after haue baked the same and giuen it for meate to hym that caried theim Certaine haue hidden theÌ„ in the secreteste place of their bodies other haue hidden them in the collor of a Dogge that is familiare with hym whiche carrieth theim Some haue written in a letter ordinarie thinges after betwene th one line and thother haue also written with water that wetyng it or warning it after the letters should appere This waie hath been moste politikely obserued in our time where some myndyng to signifie to their freendes inhabityng within a towne thinges to be kept secret and mindynge not to truste any person haue sente common matters written accordyng to the
fieldes where he had pitched his campe dearer then ordinarie in other times shoulde haue been solde and they stoode in so much obstinacie in their enterprises that for to defende Rome thei would not raise their campe from Capua the whiche in the verie same time that Roome was besieged the Romaines did besiege I knowe that I haue tolde you of manie thynges the whiche by your selfe you might haue vnderstoode and considered notwithstandyng I haue doen it as to daie also I haue tolde you for to be abell to shewe you better by meane therof the qualitie of this armie and also for to satisfie thâ—se if there be anie whome haue not had the same commoditie to vnderstand them as you Nor me thinkes that there resteth other to tell you then certaine generall rules the whiche you shal haue moste familiar which be these Geâ—all rules of warre The same that helpeth the enemie hurteth thee and the same that helpeth thee hurteth the enemie He that shall be in the warre moste vigilant to obserue the deuises of the enemie and shall take moste payne to exercise his armie shall iucurre least perilles and maie hope moste of the victorie Neuer conductte thy men to faight the field if first thou hast not confirmed their mindes knowest them to be without feare and to be in good order for thou oughteste neuer to enterprise any dangerous thyng with thy souldiours but when thou seest that they hope to ouercome It is better to conquere the enemie with faminne then with yron in the victorie of which fortune maie doe much more then valiantnesse No purpose is better then that whiche is hidde from the enemie vntill thou haue executed it To know in the warre how to vnderstande occasion and to take it helpeth more then anie other thynge Nature breedeth few stronge menne the industrie and the exercise maketh manie Discipline maie doe more in warre then furie When anie departe from the enemies side for to come to serue thee when thei be faithfull thei shal be vnto thee alwaies great gaines for that the power of thaduersaries are more deminisshed with the losse of them that runne awaie then of those that be slaine although that the name of a fugetiue be to new frendes suspected to olde odius Better it is in pitchyng the fielde to reserue behynde the first fronte aide inoughe then to make the fronte bigger to disperse the souldiours He is difficultely ouercome whiche can know his owne power and the same of the enemie The valiantenesse of the souldiours auaileth more then the multitude Some times the situacion helpeth more then the valiantenesse New and sudden thynges make armies afrayde Slowe and accustomed thinges be littell regarded of them Therfore make thy armie to pactise and to know with small faightes a new enemie before thou come to faight the fielde with him He that with disorder foloweth the enemie after that he is broken will doe no other then to become of a conquerour a loser He that prepareth not necessarie victualles to liue vpon is ouercome without yron He that trusteth more in horsemen then in foetemen or more in footemen then in horsemen must accommodate him selfe with the situacion When thou wilte see if in the daie there be comen anie spie into the Campe cause euerie man to goe to his lodgynge Chaunge purpose when thou perceiuest that the enemie hath forseene it How to consulte Consulte with many of those thinges which thou oughtest to dooe the same that thou wilt after dooe conferre with fewe Souldiours when thei abide at home are mainteined with feare and punishemente after when thei ar led to the warre with hope and with rewarde Good Capitaines come neuer to faight the fielde excepte necessitie constraine theim and occasion call them Cause that thenemies know not how thou wilte order thy armie to faight and in what so euer maner that thou ordainest it make that the firste bande may be receiued of the seconde and of the thirde In the faight neuer occupie a battell to any other thyng then to the same for whiche thou haste apoincted it if thou wilt make no disorder The sodene accidentes with difficultie are reamedied those that are thought vpon with facilitie What thynges are the strength of the warre Men yron money and bread be the strengthe of the warre but of these fower the first twoo be moste necessarie because men and yron finde money and breade but breade and money fynde not men yron The vnarmed riche man is a bootie to the poore souldiour Accustome thy souldiours to dispise delicate liuyng and laciuius aparell This is as muche as hapneth me generally to remember you and I know that there might haue ben saied manie other thynges in all this my reasonynge as should be how and in howe manie kinde of waies the antiquitie ordered their bandes how thei appareled them and how in manie other thynges they exercised them and to haue ioygned herevnto manie other particulars the whiche I haue not iudged necessarie to shew as wel for that you your self may se them as also for that my intente hath not been to shew iuste how the olde seruis of warre was apoincted but howe in these daies a seruis of warre might be ordained whiche should haue more vertue then the same that is vsed Wherfore I haue not thought good of the auncient thynges to reason other then that which I haue iudged to suche introduction necessarie I know also that I might haue delated more vpon the seruice on horsebacke and after haue reasoned of the warre on the Sea for as muche as he that destinguissheth the seruis of warre saieth how there is an armie on the sea and of the lande on foote and on horsebacke Of that on the sea I will not presume to speake for that I haue no knowledge therof but I will let the Genoues and the Venecians speake therof whome with like studies haue heretofore doen great thinges Also of horses I wil speake no other then as afore I haue saied this parte beynge as I haue declared least corrupted Besides this the footemen being wel ordained which is the puissance of the armie good horses of necessitie will come to be made Onely I counsel him that would ordayne the exercise of armes in his owne couÌ„trey Prouisions that maie bee made to fill a Realme full of good horse desireth to fill the same with good horses that he make two prouisions the one is that he destribute Mares of a good race throughe his dominion and accustome his menne to make choise of coltes as you in this countrie make of Calues Mules the other is that to thentente the excepted might finde a byer I woulde prohibet that no man should kepe a Mule excepte he woulde keepe a horse so that he that woulde kepe but one beaste to ride on shoulde be constrained to keepe a horse and moreouer that no man should weare fine cloathe except he which doeth keepe
due tymes in fauour of your Princes helpe theim and counsaâ—le them wherein I would haue you not to bee afraied or mistrustfull bicause this Prouince seemes to bee altogether giuen to raise vp againe the thynges dedde as is seen by the perfeccion that poesie paintyng and writing is now brought vnto Albeit as moche as is looked for of me beyng strooken in yeres I do mistruste Where surely if Fortune had heretofore graunted me so moche state as suffiseth for a like enterprise I would not haue doubted but in moste shorte tyme to haue shewed to the worlde how moche the aunciente orders auaile and without peraduenture either I would haue increased it with glory or loste it without shame ¶ The ende of the seuenth and laste booke of the arte of warre of Nicholas Machiauell Citezein and Secretarie of Florence translated out of Italian into Englishe By Peter Whitehorne felow of Graise Inne Nicholas Machiauel citezein and Secretarie of Florence to the Readers TO thentente that such as rede this booke maie without difficultie vnderstande the order of the battailes or bandes of men and of the armies and lodgynges in the Campe accordynge as they in the discription of theim are apoincted I thinke it necessarie to shewe you the figure of euerie one of them wherefore it is requiset firste to declare vnto you by what poinctes letters the footemen the horsemen and euerie other particuler membre are set foorthe Know therfore that Target men ‘ Pike men a Capitaine of ten men v Veliti ordinarie which at those meÌ„ that shoote with harcâ—â—uses or bowes r Veliti extraordinari which at those meÌ„ that shoote with harcâ—â—uses or bowes C a Centutrion or captaine of a hundred men which ar those meÌ„ that shoote with harcâ—â—uses or bowes k Singnifieth a Constable or a captaine of a band of fower hundred and fiftie men H Singnifieth The hed captain of a maine battel G Singnifieth The general Captaine of the whole armie t The Trompet d The Drum b The Ansigne s The Standerde m Men of Armes l Light horsemen A Artillerie or ordinance In the first figure nexte folowyng is discribed the forme of an ordinarie battaile or bande of fower hundred and fiftie men in what maner it is redoubled by flanke And also how with the verie same order of lxxx rankes by chaungyng onely to the hinder parte the fiue rankes of Pikes which were the formost of euerie Centurie thei maye likewise in bringyng them in battaile raie come to bee placed behinde whiche may be doen when in marchyng the enemies should come to assaulte them at their backes accordynge as the orderyng therof is before declared Fol. xxxij fol. xxxv In the seconde figure is shewed how a battaile or bande of men is ordered whiche in marchyng should be driuen to faight on the flanke accordyng as in the booke is declared fol. xxxv In the thirde figure is shewed how a battaile or bande of men is ordered with two hornes Fol. xxxv and after is shewed how the same maie be made with a voide place in the middest accordynge as the orderyng therof in the booke moste plainely is declared fol. xxxvj In the fowerth figure is shewed the forme or facion of an armie apoincted to faight the battaile with the enemies and for the better vnderstandynge thereof the verie same is plainlier set foorthe in the figure next vnto it wherby the other two figures next folowyng maie the easier be vnderstoode accordynge as in the booke is expressed Fol. xliiij In the fiifte figure is shewed the forme of a fower square armie as in the booke is discribed Fol. lxvij In the sixte figure is shewed howe an Armie is brought from a fowersquare facion to the ordinarie forme to faight a fielde accordyng as afore is declared Fol. lxix In the seuenth figure is discribed the maner of incamping according as the same in the booke is declared Fol. lxxviij The firste Figure This is the maner of ordering of CCCC men into .lxxx. rankes fiue to a ranke to bring them into a .iiii square battaile with the Pikes on the front as after foloweth This is the foresaied .lxxx. rankes of .iiii. C. men brought into a fower square battaile with the Pikes on the fronte And the fiftie Veliti on the sides on the backe The seconde Figure This is the maner of ordering of CCCC men into .lxxx. rankes fiue to a ranke to bring them into a .iiii square battaile wiâ—â— the Pikes on the side as after foloweth This is the foresaied .lxxx. rankes of .iiii. C. men brought into a fower square battaile with the Pikes on the side The thyrde figure These are the noÌ„bers of rankes appoincted to make the horned battaile of the square battaile with the voide space in the middest as aâ—â—er foloweth The seuenth figure Capitaine waie Ouerthwart waie The Market place Market waie The midde waie Prouision of Victualles Prouision of Armour Priuate and publike Artificers A place for cattell ¶ The table of certain principall thinges contained in this woorke of Machiauel In the firste booke WHy a good maÌ„ ought not to exersise warfare as his arte Fol. vi Deedes of armes ought to be vsed priuatly in time of peace for exersise in time of warre for necessetie and renoume Fol. viii The strength of an armie is the footemen Fol. ix The Romaines renued their Legions and had men in the flower of their age Fol. ix Whether men of armes ought to be kept Fol. x. What is requisete for the preparyng of an armie Fol. xi Out of what coÌ„trie souldiers ought to be chose Fol. xi xii Souldiers ought to bee chosen by thaucthoritie of the Prince of suche men as be his oune subiectes Fol. xii The difference of ages that is to be taken in the chosinge of souldiours for the restoring of an olde power and for the making of a newe Fol. xij The weapons or power that is prepared of the naturall subiectes of a common weale bringeth profit and not hurte Fol. xiiii What cause letted the Venetians that they made not a Monarchi of the worlde Fol. xiiii How an armie maye bee prepared in the countrie where were no exersise of warre Fol. xv The custome that the Romaines vsed in the chosyng of their souldiours Fol. xvi The greater number of men is best Fol. xvii Whether the multitude of armed men ar occation of confusion and of dissorder Fol. xviii How to prohibite that the Capitaines make no discension Fol. xix In the Seconde booke WHat armour the antiquetie vsed Fol. xx The occation of the boldenes of the duchemen Fol. xxij Whiche maner of armyng menne is better either the Duche or Romaine fasion Fol. xxij Diuerse examples of late dayes Fol. xxiij An example of Tigran Fol. xxv Whether the footemen or the horsemen ought to bee estemed moste Fol. xxv The cause whie the Romaines were ouercome of the parthians Fol. xxvi What order or what vertue maketh that footemen ouercum horsemen Fol. xxvi Howe the
antiquitie exersised their men to learne thē to handle their weapons Fol. xxvij What the antiquitie estemed moste happie in a common weale Fol. xxviij The maner of maintainyng the order Fol. xxix What a legion is of Grekes called a Falange and of Frenchemen Catterua Fol. xxix The deuision of a legion and the diuers names of orders Fol. xxx The order of batellraye and the manner of appoincting the battels Fol. xxxij How to order CCCC L. men to doo some seuerall feate Fol. xxxv The fation of a battaile that the Suisers make like a crosse Fol. xxxvi What carriages the Capitaines ought to haue and the number of carriages requisite to euery band of men Fol. xxxvij Diuerse effectes caused of diuerse soundes Fol. xxxviij Whereof cometh the vtilitie and the dissorder of the armies that are now a daies Fol. xxxviii The manner of arminge men Fol. xl The number of carriages that men of armes and lighte horsemen ought to haue Fol. xli In the thirde booke THe greatest dissorder that is vsed now a dayes in the orderinge of an armie Fol. xlij How the Romaines deuided their armie in Hastati Principi and Triarij Fol. xlij The manner that the Romaines vsed to order them selues agayne in the ouerthrow Fol. xlij The custom of the Greekes Fol. xlij A maine battaile of Suissers Fol. xliij How manie legions of Romaine Citesens was in an ordinarie armie Fol. xliiij The manner how to pitche a fielde to faighte a battaile Fol. xliiij Of what number of faighting men an armie oughte to be Fol. xlvi The descriptiō of a battaile that is a faighting Fol. xlvij An exsample of Ventidio faighting against the Parthians Fol. xlviij An example of Epaminondas Fol. xlix How the Artillerie is vnproffitable Fol. xlix How that a maine battaile of Suissers cannot ocupie more then fower pikes Fol. lij How the battailes when thei cum to be eight or ten maye be receyued in the verie same space that receiued the fyue Fol. liiij The armes that the Standarde of all th armie ought to haue Fol. lv Diuers examples of the antiquetie Fol. lv In the fowerth booke WHether the fronte of the armie ought to bee made large Fol. lvij To how many thinges respecte ought to be had in the ordringe of an armie Fol. lvij An example of Scipio Fol. lviij In what place a Capitain maie order his armie with sauegarde not to be clene ouerthorwen Fol. lviij Aniball and Scipio praised for the orderynge of their armies Fol. lix Cartes vsed of the Asiaticans Fol. lix Diuerse examples of the antiquitie Fol. lx The prudence which the Capitaine ought to vse in the accidence that chaunse in faightinge Fol. lx What a Capitaine ought to doo that is the conqueror or that is conquered Fol. lxi A Capitaine ought not to faighte the battaile but with aduauntage excepte he be constrained Fol. lxij How to auoide the faightinge of the fielde Fol. lxiij Aduertismentes that the Capitaine ought to haue Fol. lxiiij Speakyng to souldiers helpeth muche to make them to be curagious and bolde Fol. lxiiij Whether all the armie ought to bee spoken vnto or onely to the heddes therof Fol. lxv In the fyueth booke THe manner how to leade an armie gowinge thorough suspected places or to incounter the enemie Fol. lxvij An example of Aniball Fol. lxviij Wether any thing oughte to bee commaunded with the voise or with the trompet Fol. lxx The occations why the warres made now a dayes doo impouerish the conquerors as well as the conquered Fol. lxxij Credite ought not to be giuen to thinges which stand nothinge with reason Fol. lxxiij The armie ought not to knowe what the Capitaine purposeth to doo Fol. lxxiiij Diuerse examples Fol. lxxv In the sixte booke THe manner how to incampe an armie Fol. lxxviij How brode the spaces and the wayes ought to be within the campe Fol. lxxxij What waye ought to be vsed when it is requiset to incampe nere the enemie Fol. lxxxiij How the watche and warde ought to be apoincted in the campe and what punishmente they ought to haue that doo not their dutie Fol. lxxxiiij How the Romaines prohibited women to be in their armies and idell games to be vsed Fol. lxxxv How to incampe accordinge to the nomber of men and what nomber of menne maie suffise againste what so euer enemie that wer Fol. lxxxvij How to doo to be assured of the fideletie of those that are had in suspition Fol. lxxxviij What a Capitaine ought to doo beinge beseged of his enemies Fol. lxxxix Example of Coriliano and others Fol. lxxxix It is requiset chiefly for a Capitain to kepe his souldiers punished and payed Fol. xc Of aguries Fol. xc Moste excellent aduertismentes and pollicies Fol. xcj. The occation of the ouerthrowe of the Frenchmen at Garigliano Fol. xciij In the seuenth booke CIties are strong either by nature or by industrie Fol. xciiij The maner of fortificacion Fol. xciiij Bulwarkes ought not to be made oute of a towne distante from the same Fol. xcv Example of Genoa Fol. xcv Of the Countes Catherin Fol. xcv The fation of percullesies vsed in Almaine Fol. xcvi Howe the battelmentes of walles were made at the first and how thei are made now adaies Fol. xcvij. The prouisions that is mete to bee made for the defence of a towne Fol. xcviij Diuers pollicies for the beseginge and defendinge of a toune or fortres Fol. xcix Secrete conueing of letters Fol. Cj. The defence againste a breache Fol. cij Generall rules of warre Fol. ciij. The ende ARMIPOTENTI ANGLIAE Certain waies for the orderyng of Souldiers in battelray settyng of battailes after diuers fashions with their maner of marchyng And also Fygures of certaine new plattes for fortificacion of Townes And more ouer howe to make Saltpeter Gunpoulder and diuers sortes of Fireworkes or wilde Fyre with other thynges a pertaining to the warres Gathered and set foorthe by Peter VVhitehorne A PERFECTE RVLE TO BRINGE men into a square battell of vvhat number so euer they be Cap. 1. FOr to make a square Battell of a number of men or of an Armie the fowersquare roote or quadrant nūber of them must be taken and so many as the same roote conteynes so many ought to be set in araye As for example in a littel number for the better vnderstandyng therof Admit there be a .100 men the fouresquare roote of a .100 ought to be taken out which is ten Then puttyng ten of these men in a ranke there will be tenne rankes ten to a ranke Whiche ten rankes placynge them ordinarely the one behinde the other so that al the distances that shal be between man and man as well on the sides as before and behynde be equall suche .100 men will make a fouersquare battayle as by the figure here folowyng apereth Head Flanke Flanke But for that men ordered in battelraye stande not nor marche not as aboue is supposed I meane in equall distance for that euerie man as Vegetius affirmeth would
square battell shall be .63 rankes of men and for as much as this roote which is .63 may be deuided into .3 equall partes the thirde parte therof is to be taken for a generall rule that is .21 therfore .21 men in a ranke would be made to march togethers by the way And alwaies there shall be as manie rankes in al after .21 to a ranke as are three times so many as the roote is of which is three times 63. which comes to .189 so the .189 rankes of men shall be the number therof after .21 to a ranke And by the roote that is .63 you may vnderstande that suche deuision is to be made betwene .63 and .63 so that the firste parte shal be as well .63 as also the seconde and the thirde In which deuisions the twoo double rankes of Harkabutters are to be placed for the redier knowledge to brynge them into a square battell But if in deuyding the roote into three there shoulde remayne .1 ouerplus as should happen if the presuposed men were .5776 the roote wherof beynge .76 whiche roote deuided into .3 shall come vnto .25 and one to remayne ouerplus Now I saye that all the rankes that riseth of these men shal be not withstandynge three times so many as the roote that is three times .76 which makes .228 And for as muche as all these orders of rankes are deuided â—uermore into .3 partes as before hath been declared .76 rankes to a parte that is so many as the roote is of therefore it is to be vnderstande that the first and the last of these three partes muste be made to marche .25 menne in a ranke whiche is as muche as is the thirde parte of the roote and for that there remaineth one ouerplus as aboue appereth I say that the same one must be put alwaies in the seconde part which is in the middest I meane causynge those of the saied seconde parte to march .26 men in a ranke so that the fyrst the last part of the great rewe of rankes be .25 men in a ranke the seconde parte to bee .26 men in a ranke and the verie same ought to be doen of euery other roote that may be deuided into three where onely remaineth ouerplus one but when there remayneth ouerplus .2 it foloweth cleane contrarie For that the firste and the laste parte would be of one man more then the same that the thirde parte of the roote is of As for example if the saied men were .2809 the roote whereof is .53 which deuided into there comes to .71 and .2 remainyng ouerplus therfore of so many men ther shall be made .159 rankes that is three times .53 whiche .159 rankes deuidynge them also into three partes cometh vnto .53 to a parte that is the number of the roote And the firste and thirde part would be of one man more then the thirde parte of the roote that is it woulde be of .18 men to a ranke and the seconde parte whiche is the parte in the middest would be the very thyrde parte of the roote that is 17. men to a ranke so that of all the .159 rankes as wel the fyrst .53 rankes as likewise the laste .53 rankes ought to be of .18 men to a ranke the .53 rankes in the middest woulde be onely of .17 men to a ranke And wherin partyng the roote into .3 there remaineth ouerplus only one it goeth cleane contrarie to this For that the fyrste and the thirde parte of the saied great rew of rankes wil alwaies be of as many men to a ranke as shal be the whole third parte of the roote and the middell parte which is the second will be of one man more then the thirde part of the roote And for as much as there can neuer remaine ouerplus aboue one or twoo in deuidyng the roote into .3 therfore this foresaied rule shall serue in what number of men so euer it bee as well Quadrante as not Quadrant for that lyke as before is saied in numbers not Quadrante alwaies ther is taken the roote which goeth nerest to such a number and therwith to doo accordyngly as aboue hath ben saied And as for the residue of the men that cometh to be ouerplus of the Quadrante of such a roote may be placed some other where as shall be thought moste best For example if there were .4000 men whiche number is not Quadrante yet notwithstandynge of the same number there ought to bee taken oute the neerest roote therof whiche is .63 so that there shall remayne ouerplus .31 men whome mindynge in a sudden to brynge into a fowersquare battell there ought to be put in a ranke .63 men and such a battell shal come to be fowersquare as in the beginning hath ben said and where there remaines ouerplus those .31 men the Sergiant may place them as he shal thinke good Likewise myndynge to cause those .4000 men to marche there ought also to be taken the nerest roote therof which as aforesaied is .63 whiche deuidyng into three comes vnto three times .21 and nothing remaynyng ouerplus And therfore the saied menne ought to be caused to marche .21 in a ranke and the sayed ranke to be deuided into three partes .63 to a ranke accordynge to the foresaied rule in suche sorte that the last parte shall be .64 rankes and also .10 men more because of those .31 men that were ouerplus in the beginnyng the whiche as hath been saied remained out of the aray And after the same maner it is to be doen when the roote of such a number that is not quadrante doeth not agree with the perfect deuision by three which is if there be ouerplus one to procede as aboue hath been declared I meane to put a man more in a ranke to the middel parte and to the other twoo partes the fyrst and the thirde to put only so manie men in a ranke as the thirde parte of the roote shal conteine and when there remayneth ouer plus twoo to procede cleane contrarie that is to put a man more in a ranke to the firste and to the thyrde parte and to the seconde to put onely so many men in a ranke as the thirde parte of the roote shall be of and those men that are remainynge ouerplus in takyng out the roote in the beginning to place them as aboue I haue saied How to ordeine a number of men or an armie into a battell lyke vnto a vvedge or three square so that it may be apte to marche vvith the poincte thereof tovvarde the enemies Cap. 3. THis fashion of battell is made after this maner fyrst placyng one man and after three and nexte fiue and after seuen and then .9 after a .11 and so to increase alwaies twoo men more till suche time as there be no more men to place Albeit there may be suche a number of men that at the laste they can not or there shall not be sufficient to make vp the last ranke
these partes ther ought to be fashioned a Triangell accordynge to the order geuen in the foresaied thirde Chapiter And these .4 Triangles to ioigne them straight together as here folowing appereth in figure and this is in as muche as in makyng the teeth onely but if peraduenture there woulde be put an other order behinde the saied fower teeth it is needefull firste to determine of howe manie men such a raie is to be made and those to take oute by theim selues and of the reste to make the teethe and behinde the saied teethe to plase those number of men which fyrste were taken oute and to ordein them so many men in a ranke as shall be fouÌ„d directly in lengthe in all the hinder partes of the teeth that are made as for example admit there bee 244. men and that with a hundred men therof ther muste he made fower teeth of a Sawe and the other 144. to be made certaine rankes to sustaine the saied fower teeth Therfore the hundred menne beeynge brought into fower teâ—th as aboue is declared consequently behinde those there ought to bee placed those .144 men 36. men to a ranke for as muche as in all the fower lower partes of the said fower teethe there be .36 men as in the figure next folowyng appereth And after this maner and order if there were a hundred thousande men thei might be set in a raye placyng them as aboue is done with that littell number Fronte To fashion a battell of a number of men or an armie lyke vnto tvvo Triangels ioygned together so that they may be apte to marche vvith a corner therof tovvarde the enemies Cap. 7. WIth the rule whereby the single Triangle is made with the verie same almost this fashion battell is also made for as much as deuidyng all those men or that Armie wherewith this fashion battell is to be made into twoo equall partes and of the one halfe therof to make a Triangell and that doen vpon the verie last syde of the same there ought to be placed the other halfe number of men in raÌ„kes which continually goe decresyng by twoo men lesse I mean cleane contrarie to that was doen at the beginnynge with one where beginnynge to make the poincte of the Triangell the rankes were continually increased with twoo men more But it is to be vnderstand that if in makyng the firste Triangell there happen to remaine ouerplus any men that are not sufficient to make vp an other ranke yet the verie same ranke ought to be finisshed vp with some of the other halfe number of men for that one of these twoo Triangels ioigned together cometh to be of one ranke more then the other As for example admit the men wherwith this fasshion battell is to bee made be .320 whiche muste be deuided into twoo equall partes so that by suche deuision there will be .160 men for a parte and of the one of these partes there woulde be made a Triangle accordyng to the order declared in the thirde Chapiter which doen there shal be founde to remayne ouerplus .16 by the reason aledged in the saied thirde Chapiter so that there shall lacke .9 men to finishe the saied laste ranke of the firste Triangell Therfore the saied ranke must be made vp with the men of the other halfe as takyng those .19 men which lackes so that in the saied first Triangel may be .169 men and in the other parte only .151 men wherwith the other Triangel ought to be made vpon the laste ranke of the fyrste whiche laste ranke shall be of .25 men wherfore vpon the same there must be placed an other ranke of two men lesse that is .23 and vpon the same saied .23 men to place an other of .21 men and vpon the .21 men to place an other of .19 men and vpon those .19 men to place an other of .17 men and so to procede alwaies with twoo men lesse til such time as it cometh to the ranke of one man onely as here folowynge appereth in figure Trew it is that there shall be founde in the ende to remaine ouerplus .7 men the whiche the Sergiant may place where he shall thinke good And thus with this maner of order there may be brought into like araye anie armie how great so euer it be they may turne them selues and in marching make of the Rerewarde the Forwarde and likewyse of what so euer syde thei liste Front The ouerplus VVhat is best to be doen vvhere the ordinance of the enemies beyng shotte into the Armie hath slayne many men Cap. 8. AN armie of men that hapneth to haue certaine rankes therof to be striken downe and kilde with the enemies ordinance and marchynge after suche sorte leauyng voyde the places of those menne which are slaine with the Artillerie or els drawynge them selues close together to fill such empty places the one of these waies is very euill the other much worse for as much as leauing those places after such sorte open inespecially in the Foreward there is geuen therby great faciletie vnto the enemies to enter into the saied raies and to ouerthrowe theim And likewise causing after such misfortune the saied raies to drawe together to fill the saied places those raies muste needes altogether be disordered and shall bee brought almost into coÌ„fusion for that it is to be thought that the saied artillerie doeth not destroie any ranke of men wholy from on ende to an an other in length but only a parte of some and a parte of other some to remaine vntouched or vnhurte In whiche case beyng minded to cause theÌ„ to draw together to fill vp the saied voied places it must needes folow that the whole ranke do disorder in lengthing those that lacke so that some of the rankes shall remaine with a greater number of rankes of men in length in the Rerewarde then in the Forwarde wherby if suche a battell woulde marche of necessitee it will imediatlye runne into confusion because of those rankes that ar vnperfecte in length Wherfore that Capitaine is to be praised whiche instructeth his menne that in lyke chaunces they neuer remaine without a compaignion before them excepte it be in the Fronte as to aduertise euery one of them that if it fortune to happen anie of them to lacke the same man which was wonte to marche before them or els mo that then incontinente and with seleretie they doo marche forwarde vntill thei finde an other compaignion in the accustomed distance before them and where it fortuneth no man to be founde to aduertise them how thei should then procede till they come to the head or Fronte and in such place to stande still or els to march according as the other rankes in the headde or in the Fronte shall doo And this beynge a generall rule that euery man muste take the measure of his marchyng softely or fast of his compaignions that goeth before him and not of anie that be of their sides All those
men therefore that shall be founde in the verie same ranke behinde such a man that doeth lacke his compaignion or compaignions before him shall bee constrained to runne or go a pase accordyng as that man shall marche whiche shal bee nexte before him which thing beyng obserued of euery man in the battell alwaies the Forwarde or Fronte thereof shall come therby to be whole and sounde and those emptie places of the dead to be transformed into the Rerewarde in whiche places there shall not almost be any perrill As for example admitte that in a battel of 144. men in fashion fowersquare the enemies hath slayne .12 men as by the voyde places in the figure folowyng appereth I say that hauyng aduertised euery man to doo as much as before I haue declared which is that euery time that he lacketh his felow or moe men that marched before him he doo straight way make haste and with all speede possible not to seace goyng forwarde til he finde an other compaignion in the accustomed distance that goth before him Fronte And if it fortune in suche a ranke that in the ende he finde no man yet he ought to procede so muche till he come to the last ranke in the Fronte there to stande styll or els to marche accordynge to the order of the saied ranke And lykewyse euery man ought to take heede that in his marchynge faste or softely he doâ— rule him selfe by his compaignion that goeth before him not of any of those that be on his sides whiche thing being obserued as in the figured rayes aboue Fronte written the same battelles shall bee transformed in this other maner like vnto the laste figure that is those .12 voide places shal be transelated into the rerewarde as plainly maie be seen Hovve to change vvith spede an Army that is in battell raie fovversquare into a triangell fation vvithout dissordering the firste rankes and vvithout perrill of confusion Cap. 19. LIke as the Capitain with sound of the trompete or with voice shall cause the soldiers to bee aduertised and taughte to knowe how to turne that waie which is betwene the fronte and the righte side or the lefte and likewyse that waye that is betwene the righte or lefte syde and the backe and after that they shall bee well informed therein euen so I would also haue theÌ„ to be well aduertised of thesame that was declared in the laste chapiter whiche is to shewe teache euery man that alwayes wheÌ„ he shall be caused to turne towardes any of the forsaide sides and shall not finde to haue his fellowe in the accustomed distance before him that then the same maÌ„ with all spede doe procede or marche so farre right forthe till he finde a companioÌ„ before him in the acustomed distaÌ„ce Of whiche thinge euerie soudier beinge well informed and instructed with the twinkling of an iye an Army that is in fasion .iiij. square maye be transeformed into a triaÌ„gle As for exaÌ„ple minding to make the righte corner the poincte of the sayd triaÌ„gell with sownde of Trumpet or with voice causing euerie man in the army to tourne them selues with their faces that waye whiche is betwene the fronte and the righte flancke and incontinente so sone as they are turned euerie maÌ„ obseruinge the forsaide order that is that all those whiche shall perceiue not to haue his felowe before him in the accustomed distance doe procede streight foorthe vntill he haue one whiche doen the saied fowersquare fation shal be founde to bee changed into a triangell fation and the poinct of the same triangell figure shall come to bee the right corner of the fronte of the firste figure Whiche thing is as easie to be doen as is possible for the triall whereof let there be for example .25 men standing in fation fower square as hereafter appereth in figure and to cause it to be better vnderstand I haue thought good to make this figure with the 25. letters of the abc Now mindyng to chaunge this fower square figure into a triaÌ„gell figure it is nedeful to cause them all to turne Fronte with their faces that waie which is betwen the hed thesame side where I haue thought good to make the poinctt of the wedge or triaÌ„gle as for example purposing to make the corner E. the poinct hed of the triaÌ„gle I shall cause that euery man doe tourne with his face that waie betwene the front the right flancke towardes the corner E. whiche thinge doen the forsaide figure shall cum to stande as here apereth in whiche figure maye be seen manie men that hath no felow in the acustome distaÌ„ce befor him although thei haue a felowe straighte before him muche more farther Frnot of then the ordinary whiche is double so muche as the ordinarie as appereth by F. who hath righte before him B. but the distaunce that is betwene the saied F. and the said B. is double so muche as the ordinary distaunce wherfore if F. shall obcerue the preceptes aboue declared immediatly so sone as he shall haue turned his face that waie he should incontinent goe to come nerer to the said B. in the accustomed distaunce which doyng he shall bring himself betwene A. and. G. Albeit the saied G. shall not remain in his firste place but shall go nerer vnto C. to the accoustomed distaunce and in the place where G. was firste L. muste cume So that F. shall stande betwene A. and. L. and likewise if all the other shall procede forwarde accordyng to the saied order vntill euery man finde a felowe in the accustomed distaunce before him H. shall goe nerer vnto D. and. M. shall followe the saide H and. Q. shall followe after the saied M. euery one of theim vntill thei come to their accustomed distaunce And in like maner I. shall goe nerer vnto E. and. N. shall folowe I. and. R. shall folowe N. and. X. shall folowe the saide R. euery one of them vntill thei come to their accustomed distaunce Likewise O. shall goe nerer to K. and. S. shall folowe O. and. Y. shal folowe S. also to the ordinary distance and likewise shall also goe nerer to V. to the accustomed distaunce whiche thing beyng obserued suche a fower square battell shall be transformed into a triangle battell as here folowing appereth in figure the poinct whereof shall come to bee the corner E. with this order a Capitaine maie chaunge an armie with tournyng of a hande though it wer of .100000 men from the fasion of a fower square to the fation of threesquare So that Fronte the saied men be aduertised and taught as afore hath been declared bothe as wel to knowe how thei ought 〈…〉 to turne as to marche Whiche is of wunderfull importance for as muche as at a sudden to reduse an army after this sorte into a triangell fation it is almoste impossibell that the enemies shal be abell or shall knowe howe to make theyr army like the Sheres to â—et
vp he that is within hath muche more dissaduātage then he shoulde haue had in times passe And therfore as afore is sayde those instrumentes helpeth muche more him that besigeth a toune then he that is besiged Concerning the thirde thing to lye in campe within a trenche to the intēte not to faighte the fielde but at thy cōmoditie or aduauntage I say that in this parte thou hast no more remedy ordinarelie to defende thee from faighting then they had in olde time And sumtimes considering the artillerie thou haste greater disaduauntage for that if the enemie meete with thee and haue a littell aduauntage of the country as may easely chaunce and finde him selfe higher thē thou or that in his coming thou hast not yet made thie bankes or rampiers and keuered thee well with those strayghte waye and before thou haste enie remedie he vnlodgeth thee and thou arte constrained to issue oute of thy fortresse come to faighte the which happened to the Spaniardes in the battaile of Rauēna who being fortefied betwene the ryuer of Ronco and a banke because they lay not so highe as sufficed and for that the Frenchmen had a littell the aduauntage of the grounde they wer constrained of the artillerie to issue oute of their fortresse and cum to faight But admit that the place which thou hast taken with the campe wer muche higher then the other againste it as for the moste parte it ought to be that the bankes or rampiers wer good and sure so that by meanse of the situation and thy other preparations the enemy durste not assaulte thee it shall cum in this case to those maners which in olde time it cam when one was with his army in place not possible to be hurte the which ar to ouerun the countrie to take or besege the tounes that ar thy friendes to stoppe thee thy vitualls so that thou shalte bee constrayned of sum necessetie to vnlodge and cum to fayghte the fielde where the artillerie as herafter shal be sayde doeth not muche hurte Considering then what kynde of warres the Romaines made seing how they made almoste all their warre to inuade other men and not for to defended them selues it shal be seen when the thinges sayde afore be trew how they shuld haue had more aduaūtage and muche souner shuld haue made their conquestes if ordinaūce had ben in those dayes Concerning the seconde thing that men cannot shew their strenght as they mighte in olde time because of the artillerie I saye that it is trew that where men scattered doe shewe it they stonde in more perrill then in those dayes when they had to scale a toune or to make lyke assaltes where men not thronged together but seuerally the one frō the other did apeare It is also trewe that the Capitaines and heddes of armies stande more subiecte to the perrill of deathe thē in those times because they may be reached with artillerie in all places nor it helpeth not them to bee in the rerewardes garded with moste strong men Notwithstāding it is seen that the one and the other of these twoo perrills doo seldom times extraordinarie hurtes for that the tounes well appoincted and furneshed with munition ar not scaled nor they gow not with weake assaltes to assalte them but mynding to winne them the matter is broughte to a sege as in old time they did And in those which neuerthelesse ar won by assalte the perrills ar not muche greater then they wer in those dayes for that also in those times they which defended a toune lacked not thinges to throw and shute the which though they wer not so furius they did concerning the killing of men the lyke effecte Concerning the death of Capitaines and conducters there hathe ben in .xxiiij. yeres that the warre was of late dayes in Italy lesse examples then there was in x. yeres with the antiquetie for that excepte Count Lodouike of Mirandola who died at Ferare when the Venetians a few yeres agon assalted the same state and the Duke of Nemors which died a Cirignuola there hathe not hapned of the artillerie enie to be slaine for as muche as Mounsier de Fois at Rauenna died of yrō and not of fier So that if men shewe not particularly their strenghthes it groweth not of the artillerie but of the naughthie orders and of the weaknes of the armies the which altogether lacking strenghth cannot show it in parte Concerning the thirde thing sayde of them that men cannot cum to hande strokes that the warre shal be broughte to stande alltogether vpon artillerie I saye that this opinion is alltogether false and so allwayes shal be taken of those who according to the aunciente vertue will occupie their armies for that he that will make a good armie it behoueth him with exersises eyther fained or trew to accustome his men to giue the charge on the enemy and to cum to the swerdes poincte with him and to the graspine by the bosom he ought to groūde him self more vpon the footemen then vpon the horsemen And when he shall grounde him selfe vpon the footemen and vpon the forsayde maners the artillerie becummeth alltogether vnproffittable For that with more facelety the footemen in aproching nere the enemie may auoyde the shot of the artillerie then they wer abell in olde time to auoide the violence of Elifantes of cartes full of hookes and of other straunge incoūters which the Romaine footemen incountered withall against which allwayes they founde the remedie and so muche more easelie they should haue found againste this the shorter that the time is in the which the artillerie maye hurte thee then the same was in the which the elifantes the cartes wer abell to hurte for as muche as they in the middest of the faighte disordered men these only before the fayghte doe troble men the which impedimente the footemen easely auoide eyther with gowing keuered by the nature of the situation or with falling doune vpon the grounde when they shoote the which also by experience hathe ben seen not to bee nedefull in espetially to be defended from greate ordinaunce the which cannot in suche wyse bee leuelled because yf they gowe highe they touche thee not and if they gow lowe they will not cum nere thee Then the armies being come to handestrokes this is more clear then the lighte that neyther the greate nor the littell can after hurte thee for that if the same which hathe the artillerie be before it becumeth thy prisoner if it behynde it hurteth the friende before thee Againe on the backe it cannot hurte thee after suche sorte that thou arte not abell to gow to winne it and it cumeth to followe the sayde effecte Nor this nede not muche disputation for that there hathe ben seen the example of the Suizers who at nauara in the yere of our lorde 1513. withoute artillerie and withoute horse wente to incounter the Frenche armie furnesshed with artillerie within their fortresse and they
man lyste To the Reders WHen the Britons the aunciente inhabitauntes of this yle for lacke of skilfull mē of warre of their owne being afrayde of the Franki Burgūdi which were certaine Barberous nations who at the time ouerrā spoyled possessed Fraūce caused the Germayne people called Angly to come to ayde defende theim by whose procurement the Angly vnder Vortiger their King taking vpon theim the same enterprise after they had ones defended theim did then incontinence dryue theim oute of this ylande remainnig here theim selues to inhabit after their name called it Englande euen as also of later dayes the lyke chaūce hapned to the Grekes by calling in the Turkes to helpe theim againste their enemies Which examples with innumerable lyke being well considered doe moste manifestly shew how daungerous and pernitius it is for a Prince his Realme to be driuē to truste to the seruis of straungers for lacke of sufficiente skilfull men of their owne for their defence Wherefor sithens my intente in setting fourth this boke of Martiall affaires hath been onely to the ende to declare my good will to haue my naturall coūtriemen not to be inferior to any in warlyke knowledge but rather to excell in the same whereby withoute ayde or helpe of any forein nation we may alwayes be most renoumed and famous I shall beseche all gentill readers for this my labor doen for their comodeties to iudge reporte therof accordingly And although my doynges herin be not correspōdente to my desire nor to the satisfactiō of euery mās mynde which were impossible yet my truste is the som neuerthelesse by dilligente reding therof imitating the example of Lucullus who chefelie by studie of lyke bokes in very shorte space became one of the valiantest worthiest warrior of all the Romaynes may if they liste take comodity and profit whereby the knowledge in warres may of suche as neuer haue ben trayned in theim be the more easely gotten and attayned For which cause my indeuour and trauaile taken herein for to profit this our cōmon weale deserueth not vtterly to be despysed seing that the most verteous lyfe and gouernment of Alexander Seuerus Emperour of Rome with manie other Princes and Comō weales coulde not being necligent in this kynde of studie and practis therof saue or defende theim selues from moste shamefull endes and miserable deathes wherin fortune was not to be blamed but only their folly and ignoraunce for hauing neuer thoughte in tyme of tranquillity and pease that it could chaunge in to aduersitie and trouble the which is a comon faulte of men not to make accompre in fayre weather of the tempest to come A Perfecte rule to bring men into a square battell of what number so euer they bee Fol. ij To know how many mē may marche in a ranke and at a suddein to bryng them into a fowersquare battell so that their Ansigne may come to be in the middest Fol. iij. How to ordeine a number of men or an armie into a battell lyke vnto a wedge or three square so that it may be apte to marche with the poincte therof towarde the enemies Fol. vi To make the battell called the sheeres which in olde time they vsed to set against the Triangell Fol. vij What auantage it is to order men in a triangell battell against the enemie that knoweth not how to make the battell called the Sheeres to set against it inespecially where there is as many men of the one parte as of the other Fol. viij To bryng a number of men or an armie into a battell whiche in olde time was called a Sawe Fol. ix To fashion a battell of a number of men or an armie lyke vnto twoo Triangels ioygned together so that they may be apte to marche with a corner ther of towarde the enemies Fol. x. What is best to be doen where the ordinance of the enemies beinge shotte into the Armie hath slayne many men Fol. xi Howe to chaūge with spede an Army that is in battellraye fowersquare into a triangel fation without dissordering the firste rankes and without perrill of confusion Fol. xiij Of the perfecte forme or fation of strong places Fol. xvi The strongest and perfectes fation of all other for the building of the cortin or wal of a toun or fortres Fol. xviij An example of the quadrant forme to proue that it causeth debilletie and wealines Fol. xxij Of the nature of Saltpeter and the maner howe to make and refine it Fol. xxiij The maner howe to make all sortes of Gunpoulder Fol. xxvij The maner that is vsed of charging and shooting of ordinaunce Fol. xxxiij How to get oute quickly the nailes that shuld happen by treason or otherwyse to be driuen into the toucheholes of ordinaunce Fol. xxxiiij How much the artillery ought to bee estemed of the armies now adayes and whether the same opiniō of them which is had vniuersally be trew Fol. xxxiiij Of Muynes and placing of poulder vndergrounde wherewith inuinsible fortresses by fire maye bee ruignated when ordinaunce cannot bee broughte vnto them Fol. xxxviij The maner how to make trombes or trūkes of fyre as well to assaulte as to defende a breache or gate and to sette a fyre a toune or Campe or enie thing els Fol. xxxix How to make bottells or pottes of fyrworke to throw into shippes or emonge men that are in battellray Fol. xl An other composition of fyre worke Fol. xl Balles of mettel to throwe among men in battelraye or otherwyse which breaking shall doo wonderful hurte Fol. xli The maner howe to prepare pottes and balles of fyre worke to throwe with hande Fol. xli Howe to make balles of wilde fyre to shoote in ordinaunce or to throwe with handes Fol. xlij To trim Targettes with fyreworke to assaulte or to defende a breache Fol. xliij To make an other kyude of fyreworke Fol. xliij Howe to make a mixture in stone that shall kendell fyre with water or spittell Fol. xliij To make an other kynd of stone to kendell fyre with water or spittell Fol. xliiij Howe to make lutum sapientia Fol. xliiij How to make certayn fireworke to tye at the poincts of pykes or horsemenstaues Fol. xlv Howe to make diuerse compositions of fyreworkes Howe to make a girdell for Souldiers or Fisshers wherby they may goe in the water and passe ouer a riuer withoute eyther bridge or bote Fol. xlviij Howe to write and cause the same that is written to bee red a far of withoute sendinge enie message Fol. xlviij The Ende ¶ Imprinted at London By Ihon Kingston for Nicolas Englande Anno salutis M.D.LXII Mense Aprilis