Dutch, to pike or not to pike

[J Anderson]

Hi
Just got my first LoA figures to paint and want to include some dutch troops. However as being new to the period wasn`t sure if the dutch still used pikes or had all musketeer units or was there a mix of units .

cheers
Jim.

[Charles XII]

Hello,

for the time of the League of Augsburg I am quite shure that the Durch had no pikes.

[Captain of Dragoons]

See 'Forging a Colition Army: William III, The Grand Aliance, and the Confederate Army in the Netherlands, 1688-1697' by John M. Stapleton.

Chapter 7 William III and the Command of the Confederate Army
sections;
-The Army's Building Blocks: The Regiment and the Organization of the Conferate Army...Page 321
and
-New technology and Allied Infantry Organization

for example
Printed muster roll for Mauregnault's company of Noyelle's Regiment
11 Feb 1689
-33 musketeers, 24 pikemen, 11 officers and 3 drummers
A hand-written muster roll
18 Feb 1689
-37 musketeers, 17 pikemen, 7 officers and 3 drummers

Also in
'Interview held by Heinsius, Dijkvelt, and Schurman, their High Mightiness' Deputy, at the army under the Prince van Waldeck shortly after the battle of Fleury presented at the 15 July 1695 meeting'

The above report provides the strenghts of the armys battalions before and after the battle - including numbers of Pikemen and Musketeers. Although several regiments were so decimated that it is impossibe to provide an accurate estimate of the ratio of muskets to pike, nine of the regiments listed mustered more than 50% of their original number.

So I would think it would be alright for you to provide pike with your Dutch Regiments.

cheers
Edward

[Chad]

Does this help? It was posted on another forum recently (not by me I hasten to add)

"For the Dutch army Olaf Van Nimwegen (Armamentaria issue 30 1995 p47-60, in Dutch) writes that the socket bayonet was introduced from1693 and that it was complete by the start of the WSS, thus renderingthe pike obsolete. (By that time also the conversion from muskets toflintlocks was completed).However, a faction in the Dutch army argued its retention, which wasreconfirmed in the order of March 2 1706, stipulating that companiesof over 50 rank and file should have 10 pikes, smaller companies 9.This suggests a pike:musket ratio of 1:4. By order of 18th October1708, under pressure from the Prince of Orange and Marlborough, thepike was consigned to the stores and finally abolished on 31 Januarythe following year.According to Van Nimwegen's new book on the Dutch Army 1588-1688 (Alsoin Dutch) the pike:musket ratio by the middle of the century was still1:1, in the 1660s and 1670s it was 1:2."

Chad

[Ronan the Librarian]

At the risk of sounding naive (which I am in the context of this period), why did the introduction of the socket bayonet necessarily require the removal of the pike?

Would not the extra reach of the pike still be useful against cavalry (eg in protecting the colours)?

[J Anderson]

I presume that it gave a unit more fire power if the pike men were converted to musketeers and a bayonet made every musketeer a pike man anyway.

[barr7430]

Pretty much the thinking. The obvious anomaly is the length of a musket + bayonet versus a pike but as was proven in later years a horse would be no more included to charge into a line of short pointy things than a line of long pointy things

[janbruinen]

I think there were various reasons.
The first, alreay given is, that a pikeman is a one purpose infantrymen, just defend/attack with pike. A man with a bayonet/musket is in fact a pikeman (although shorter reach) but can also fire.
The second reason I think is that formation change is easier, a line of pikes is more difficult to turn then if they have the shorter musket/bayonet.
Thirdly, formation of a unit is easier as no longer pikes need to be in a specific part of the line (centre or on the flanks etc). Also a company is just formed from one type of infantrymen, not two. And also doesn't need to be split at the beginning of the battle in a group of pike and one or more groups of musketeers. In addition to this, order giving is easier.

[Mats]

Dear Jim,

Pike!

Mats

Hi
Just got my first LoA figures to paint and want to include some dutch troops. However as being new to the period wasn`t sure if the dutch still used pikes or had all musketeer units or was there a mix of units .

cheers
Jim.

[Captain of Dragoons]

During this period the Dutch began replacing the pike. From above it seems it was completed over a period time. So I think it would be ok to have some regiments with pike and some without.

This is just a guess.

What I think I would do is maybe have the Anglo-Dutch Brigade with all muskets - it being a standing elite formation in Europe - and have a second brigade maybe with lower grade troops (regiments rasied for the campagin) with pike.

cheers

Edward