than the infantry, who at last were reduced to support themselves by reaping the scanty remains left by the horsemen. Undoubtedly the cavalry also became worse, the want of good horses was at last more sensibly felt than that of men, and the heavy cavalry could not be kept up, whilst in the last year the service of the scouts and foraging parties for the commissariat was brought to great perfection. Nevertheless the cavalry were the most effective, for it was their task to decide the battle by their charge. The last army with skilled infantry and Dutch discipline was that of Bavaria under Mercy, from 1643 to 1645. The tactics of armies had slowly altered in the course of the century. The old Landsknecht army advanced to battle in three great squares,--the advanced guard, the main body, and the rear guard--disregarding roads and corn-fields; before it went pioneers, who filled in ditches and cut down hedges to clear the way for the bulky mass. For battle, the deep square masses of infantry placed themselves side by side, each square mass consisted of many companies, sometimes of many regiments; the cavalry formed in a similar deep position at the wings. There was no regular reserve, only sometimes one of the three masses was kept back for the final decision; a select body of men, the forlorn hope, was formed for dangerous service, such as forcing the passage of a river, covering an important point, or turning the enemy's flank. Since fire-arms had prevailed over pikes, these great battalions were surrounded by files of sharpshooters, and at last special bodies of sharpshooters were formed and attached to them. In the war in the Netherlands, the unwieldiness of these heavy squares led to breaking the order of battle into smaller tactical bodies. But it was only slowly, that formation in line and a system of reserve were organized. Much of the old method continued in the Imperial army in the beginning of the war. Still the companies of infantry were united in deep squares--in battalions. To take firm positions and assume defensive warfare had become too much the custom in inglorious campaigns against the wild storming Turks. The weight and tenacity of deep masses might certainly be effective, but if the enemy succeeded in bringing his guns to bear upon them, they suffered fearfully, and were very unwieldy in all their movements. Gustavus Adolphus adopted the tactical innovations of the Netherlanders in an enlightened way; when in battle he placed the infantry six, and the cavalry only three deep; he distributed the great masses into small divisions, which firmly connected together, formed the unity of the Swedish brigade; he strengthened the cavalry, placing between them companies of sharpshooters, and introduced light artillery regiments besides those that were in reserve and position, and accustomed his soldiers to rapid offensive movements and daring advances. His infantry fired quicker than the Imperial, and at the battle of Breitenfeld the old Walloon regiments of Tilly were routed by their close platoon firing; he also laid down for his cavalry, those very rules by which a century later Frederick the Great made his, the first in the world; viz., not to stop in order to fire, but at the quickest pace to rush upon the enemy. During the battle the soldiers recognized one another by their war-cries and distinguishing marks, the officers by their scarfs. For example, at Breitenfeld Tilly's army wore white bands on their hats and helmets, and white lace round the arm, and the Swedes had green branches. The Imperial colour in the field was red, therefore Gustavus Adolphus prohibited his Swedes from wearing that colour,^[6] the scarfs of the Swedish officers at the battle of Lützen were green, those of Electoral Saxony during the war were black and yellow, and later, after the acquisition of the Polish crown, red and white. The soldiers were formed in troops or companies, and these were combined in regiments which had administrative unity. The German infantry regiments consisted of three thousand men, in ten companies of three hundred men; they seldom reached their normal strength, and lost their men in the war with frightful rapidity, so that there were frequently regiments of from a thousand to three hundred, and companies of seventy to thirty men. Cavalry regiments were required to be from five hundred to a thousand men strong; the numbers of the troops were different, and their effective war strength was still more variable. The titles and duties of officers had already much similarity to the modern German organization. He who had raised a regiment for his Sovereign, was called the colonel of the regiment, even if he had the rank of General; under him were the Lieutenant-colonel and Major. More important for the object of these pages were the officers of companies; the Captain of infantry or cavalry, with his Lieutenant, an Ensign, and sergeant, or troop sergeant-major, non-commissioned officers and lance-corporals, and finally the provost-marshal. When an officer at the mustering of his company in a circle, was installed as chief captain and father, he begged his dear soldiers, in a friendly manner, to be true and obedient to him, recounted to them their duties, promised to stand by them in every emergency, and as an honest man, devote himself to them in life or death, and leave them whatever he had. Unfortunately the captain's first duty was to be faithful in money concerns, both towards the colonel and his own soldiers, to procure clever good soldiers for the reviewing officer, not to charge for more mercenaries than was right, and to give the soldiers their full pay; but this seldom happened. The temptation to a system of fraudulent gain was great, and conscientiousness in the uncertain life of war was a virtue which quickly disappeared; even the most honourable fell upon dangerous rocks when the pay had been long in arrear, or not fully given. Besides this, it was necessary for him to be an energetic experienced man, just and kind in disposition, but strict in maintaining rights. During the week, he was, according to the old proverb, to look severe, and not to smile upon the soldiers before Sunday; when there was preaching in the camp, the soldiers sat on the ground, but stood up, taking their hats off, before the captain, but he who wore a morion kept it on. On the march, the captain rode, but before the enemy he went on foot, carrying either the pike or the musket of his company.^[7] The banner of the infantry, which was held sacred by the company, had a standard about the size of ours, but the silken flag, like an enormous sail, reached almost to the end of the standard; it was of heavy material, according to the taste of that time, with allegorical pictures painted on it, and short Latin sentences beautifully illuminated. The "cornete" of the cavalry, sometimes vandyked, were smaller, and fixed to the standard like our banners. The regiments were sometimes called after the colours of the banners; for example, in Electoral Saxony, where the ground of the banners was always of two colours, they were called the black and yellow, blue and white, red and yellow, regiments; each of the ten banners of the regiment also had its especial emblem and motto, and different combinations of the regimental colours, grained, striped and in squares, yet the chief standard showed the regimental colours only on the border. The "cornete" of the cavalry had a ground of only one colour: the corps of cavalry were denoted according to the colours of their banners, and not by their uniforms, which they hardly ever wore; for example:--"two corps of orange-coloured cornet cuirassiers," "five corps of steel-green cornet arquebussiers." The Swedes also distinguished their brigades, which were in Germany frequently called regiments, by the colour of their banners; thus, besides the yellow (Body Guard) there were the green, blue, white, and red. The colours of regiments were often chosen from the armorial bearings of the colonel, especially if he had raised the regiment. Gradually, however, it became the custom in all the armies to call the regiments after the names of the officers. The flag was attached to the standard and erected in the midst of the circle of enlisted soldiers; then the Colonel delivered the banner to the Ensign, and thus gave it into his charge:--"As your bride or your own daughter, from the right hand to the left; and if both your arms should be shot or cut off, you should take it with your mouth; and if you cannot preserve it thus, wrap yourself therein, commit yourself to God so to be slain, and die as an honourable man." As long as the colours were flying, and a piece of the standard left, the soldiers were to follow the Ensign to the death, till all should lie in a heap on the battle-field, that no evildoer or blameworthy person should be sheltered by the flag; if any one should transgress against the banner oath, the Ensign was to furl the banner, and forbid the transgressor to march under it or mount guard, and he was obliged to go among the bad women and children with the baggage till the affair was arranged: the Ensign was not to leave the colours a single night without permission; when he slept he was to have them by him, and never to separate himself from them; if they should be torn from the standard by treachery or some roguish attendant, the Ensign should be delivered over to the common soldiers to be judged for life or death, according to their will. It was necessary for him to be tall, powerful, manly, and valiant, and a cheerful companion, friendly to every one, a mediator and peace-maker; he was not to inflict punishment on any one, that he might incur no hatred. In the open field under the unfurled colours appointments were declared and the articles of war read. A trooper was not, without permission, to be out of sight of the colours when the army was marching or encamped; whoever fled from the colours in battle was to die for it, and whoever killed him was to be unpunished: if an Ensign should abandon a fort or redoubt before he had held out against three assaults without relief, he transgressed the rules of war; a regiment lost its colours if from cowardice it yielded a fortress before the time. It was not long since pike-law was given up, the severe tribunal of the Landsknechte, where, before the circle of common soldiers, the provost-marshal accused the evil-doer, and forty chosen men, officers and soldiers, pronounced judgment: at the beginning of the trial the Ensigns furled their colours, and reversed them with the iron point in the ground, and demanded a sentence, because the colours could not fly over an evil-doer. If the transgressor was condemned to the spear, or to be shot by the arquebussiers, then the Ensign thanked them for their judgment on the offender, unfurled the colours, and caused them to fly towards the east, comforted the poor sinner, and promised to meet him halfway, and thereby to deliver him by taking him under the protection of the colours. When the line of pikes was formed they went to the end of it with their backs towards the sun; but the transgressor had to bless the soldiers and pray for a speedy death, then the provost gave him three strokes with his staff on the right shoulder and pushed him into the lane. Whoever had disgraced himself, if the colours were waved three times over him, was freed from his disgrace. The Ensign received every three years, money for a new flag or dress (from eighty to a hundred gulden), and for that he was to make a present to the company of two casks of beer or wine. The office of Cornet of cavalry was less responsible. It was his duty to rush vigorously upon the enemy, and after the attack to raise his standard on high, that his people might collect round him. In the Hungarian war the Cornet passed sometimes into the rank of Lieutenant, and in some regiments (the Wallenstein army for instance) this custom was kept up. The most important man of the company next to the Captain was the Sergeant; he was the drill-master and spokesman for the soldiers, and had to mark out with flags the position to be taken up by the troops of the Imperial batons, or Swedish brigades, to arrange the men, placing in the front and rear ranks and at the sides, the best armed and most efficient men, to mingle the halberds and short weapons, to lead and keep with the arquebussiers; he was the instructor of the company, and knew the proper and warlike use of his weapons. As the "mob" who came together from for and near under a banner were difficult to keep in order, the greater part of them not to be depended on, and unskilled in the exercise of their weapons, the number of non-commissioned officers was necessarily very great, frequently indeed they formed more than a third of the troop. Any one who had military capacity or could be depended upon, was marked out by the subordinate commander for higher pay and posts of confidence. Amongst the numerous functions and manifold designations of the subalterns, some are particularly characteristic. In the beginning of the war every company had, according to the old Landsknecht custom, their "leader," who, in the first instance at least, was chosen by the soldiers. He was the tribune of the company, their spokesman, who had to lay their grievances and wishes before the Captain, and to represent the interests of the soldiery. It may easily be understood that such an arrangement did not strengthen the discipline of the army; it was done away with in time of war. Even the thankless office of quartermaster was of greater importance than now; the complaints of the soldiers, who quarrelled about the bad quarters he had provided for them, he met with defiance, and inspired them with fear of his usurious practices. When a company came to a deserted village, the serjeants threw their knives into the hat of the quartermaster; he then went from house to house, sticking the blades as they came to his hand in the door-posts, and every band (of six or eight men) followed their leader's knife. When poor members of the nobility, candidates for commission, of whom the number was often great, presented themselves, their names were inscribed on the list of lance-corporals. Old vagabonds full of pretension were designated in the military kitchen Latin by the title of "Ambesaten," and afterwards "Landspassaten;" they were orderlies and messengers receiving higher pay, representatives and assistants of the Corporals. There was a general endeavour to add a deputy to every office, as the Lieutenant to the Captain, an under Ensign to the Ensign, to the Serjeant an under Serjeant, and frequently with the infantry a vidette for the sentinels at out-posts; in the same way serjeants were deputies to the officers, and the "Landspassaten" to the Corporal, and the provost to the provost-general, &c., &c. The army consisted, with few exceptions, of enlisted soldiers. The Sovereign empowered an experienced leader by patent to raise for him an army, a regiment, or a company; recruiting places were sought for and a muster place established where the recruits were collected. The recruits were paid their travelling expenses or bounty; at the beginning of the war this was insignificant, and sometimes deducted from their pay, but later the bounty increased, and was given to the soldiers. At the beginning of the war negotiations were carried on with every mercenary, about the pay, at the muster-place. The soldier in quarters received nothing but his pay, which in 1600, for the common foot soldier, amounted to from fifteen to sixteen gulden a month.^[8] With this they had to procure for themselves weapons, clothing, and food. Garrisons were provided