Humanity has been obsessed with wars since ancient times. From the bloody mud of the Colosseum to the sacrificial murders of the Aztec land, it would be quite difficult to find a culture, even in modern times, that was not involved in warfare in some way.

Admit it, this list caught your eye, didn’t it? That's okay, because right now we're going to introduce you to the 25 most fearless and deadliest warriors in human history!

25. Gladiators

"Bearers of the Sword" in Latin, most of these Roman warriors were slaves and survived not only by fighting each other, but also by engaging in combat with wild animals and convicted criminals in huge arenas.

Rarely did any of these warriors, whose fate was decided by the assembled crowd of spectators, survive more than 10 battles and live longer than 30 years.

24. Apache

Known for their bravery and ferocity in battle, Apache warriors were undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. By the time the Apaches surrendered to the United States in 1886, only about 50 warriors remained, including their fearless leader, the now famous Geronimo.

23. Vikings


The Vikings were terrifying, especially to their European neighbors, because they were very aggressive and used unconventional fighting styles, particularly the use of battle axes.

22. French Musketeers


Combining chic with real lethality, the Musketeers were a group of elite bodyguards for the King of France. Capable of both piercing an enemy at close range and killing from afar, they did their job, and did it well.

21. Spartans

As the Greek historian Thucydides once wrote, when a Spartan went to war, his wife gave him his shield and said: “With the shield or on the shield.”

Trained from the age of 7, boys were taken from their mothers and sent to military training camps. There they faced a number of difficulties, including a lack of food and clothing, which often forced them to turn to the path of thieves. If they were caught, they were severely punished - however, not for theft, but for the fact that they were caught.

20. Medieval knights


The equivalent of a modern tank, the medieval knight was covered in armor and could sneak through enemy lines with ease. However, not everyone could achieve the status of knight, and it was often quite expensive to hold a knighthood. A good war horse could cost as much as a small plane.

19. Russian special forces

Short for "special forces", very little is known about these warriors due to the extreme secrecy of their training and operations. However, they managed to build a formidable reputation for themselves as one of the most elite special forces units in the world.

18. French Foreign Legion

Founded in 1831, the French Foreign Legion is a unit that allows foreign mercenaries to enlist and fight for French interests around the world.

Having achieved its reputation in pop culture as a place where wronged men go to serve in order to start their lives anew, it is in fact an elite fighting force whose members are repeatedly recruited by other armies.

17. Ming Warriors

As one of the first military men to use gunpowder in their ranks, the Ming warriors were a formidable force to be reckoned with and managed to expand the borders of China.

They were not only ruthless, but also very effective warriors, since each division of the Ming army had to support itself and produce its own food.

16. Mongol horsemen


The Mongols had only one mission they were focused on - destruction. Their ruthless mentality led them to conquer more of the world than any other empire in human history. And this is not just because they were skilled riders - they could pierce the enemy’s heart with an arrow while galloping.

15. "Immortals"

According to Herodotus, the "Immortals" were a group of heavy infantry, consisting of 10,000 of the strongest... always. It didn't matter how many of them you killed. As soon as one died, another took his place. Ten thousand - no more, no less. This is how they supposedly got their name. They just seemed to never die.

14. US Army Rangers

Dating back to the days of the colonial army, when American generals combined European technology with Indian warfare tactics, the Rangers are well known for their fearlessness as the world's first light infantry strike force.

13. Rajputs

The word Rajput literally means "son of the king" (or "son of the raj"), so you couldn't just wake up one day and decide to become a Rajput warrior - they had to be born.

These legendary harbingers of death are still active in the Indian Army. It is speculated that their prowess is due to the fact that their homeland, Rajasthan, was located right on the Indian border, making them the first line of defense against enemy invaders.

12. Comanche

As Jay Redhawk, a Comanche Indian, once said, “We are warriors from birth.” Having an almost legendary status, they are often referred to as the "Lords of the Plains". In fact, it is rumored that Comanches could shoot arrows at their enemy while hanging from the neck of their horse.

11. Centurions

The concept of centurions was revolutionary for its time, as it was the first time in history that a person could lead a legitimate life based entirely on warfare and killing. Although in order to earn such a position, a Roman soldier must work his way up the career ladder of the most powerful military force on the planet and prove that there is no one better.

10. Zande Warriors

The Zande were a tribe that struck fear throughout Central Africa with their brutality on the battlefield. They could even polish their teeth to make their appearance even more terrifying; they constantly repeated “yum-yum,” which is why neighboring tribes gave them the nickname “great eaters.”

9. Israeli commandos


Charged with defending one of the smallest nations on the planet from almost every military force within thousands of miles, the Israel Defense Force has no choice - it just has to be good.

Naturally, the best of the best emerge from among the best. Known as Sayret or Commandos for short, this elite group of fighters never rests when engaging the enemy.

8. Aztec Warriors

The Aztecs had two targets to attack. Firstly, they needed land to collect tribute, and secondly, they needed captives to sacrifice during religious ceremonies.

War was such an integral part of their culture that when a new leader was elected, he had to immediately organize a military campaign to prove his strength.

7. Maori warriors

With a reputation for eating their enemies to earn their "Mana", their respect, the Maori were fierce warriors who would perform a "Peruperu", or war dance, before attacking their enemies to intimidate them and provide insight into the carnage that followed.

6. Samurai

These Japanese swordsmen lived their lives according to the code of Bushido, which means "the way of the warrior." Although their image has been romanticized in recent years, they were strongly bound by honor.

One notable result of this was seppuku (more commonly known as harakiki), a form of ritual murder in which a warrior rips open his own abdomen to restore his honor.

5. "Green Berets"

Members of the U.S. Army Special Forces, Green Berets are experts in unconventional warfare. As dangerous as they are on the battlefield, they must also be very smart.

Depending on their assignment, they must be fluent in a specific foreign language, which they learn over several months while undergoing military training.

4. Ninja

These secret agents of feudal Japan specialized in the unorthodox art of war. Often their "anything goes" mentality was contrasted with the samurai, who followed a strict code of honor and combat. At their core, being spies,

Military affairs in the Middle Ages almost completely ignored the heritage of Rome. Nevertheless, in the new conditions, talented commanders were able to create armies that instilled fear in their opponents.

Of all the troops convened throughout the history of the Middle Ages, we can single out the ten most formidable.

Byzantine army during the time of Justinian the Great

The regular Byzantine army consisted of several provincial armies, and for offensive operations a separate detachment was formed, reinforced by mercenaries.

Knights of France

The armored mounted knights who formed the core of the French army can easily be called the super-powerful weapon of the Middle Ages.

The tactics of the French army in the era of the heyday of chivalry were simple and effective. A powerful cavalry strike into the center of enemy formations ensured a breakthrough of the front, followed by encirclement and destruction of the enemy.

The only way to defeat such a formidable force was to use the terrain and weather conditions. In heavy rain, the cavalry was most vulnerable, as the knights and their horses simply got stuck in the mud.

Frankish army of Charlemagne

Charlemagne was an innovator in the art of war in the Middle Ages. His name is associated with a departure from the barbaric traditions of warfare. We can say that the legendary emperor created the classic army of the Middle Ages.

The basis of Charles's army were feudal lords. Each landowner had to come to war fully equipped and with a certain number of warriors. In this way, the professional core of the army was formed.

Army of Saladin

The winner of the crusaders, Saladin, created one of the best armies of the Middle Ages. Unlike Western European armies, the basis of his army was light cavalry, consisting of archers and spearmen.

The tactics were maximally adapted to the natural conditions of the Middle Eastern deserts. Saladin launched surprise attacks on the flanks, after which he went back into the desert, luring the enemy troops with him. The heavy cavalry of the crusaders could not withstand the long pursuit of the light horsemen of the Muslims.

Slavic-Varangian army of Oleg's time

Prince Oleg went down in history by hanging his shield on the gates of Constantinople. His army helped him in this, the main advantage of which was its numbers and mobility. For the Middle Ages, the military power of the army of the Kyiv prince was impressive. No one could muster the several tens of thousands of people that Oleg put up against Byzantium.

Equally impressive was the mobility of so many soldiers. The prince's army skillfully used the fleet, with the help of which it quickly moved across the Black Sea and down the Volga to the Caspian Sea.

Crusader army during the First Crusade

The military art of medieval Europe reached its peak in the 12th century. Europeans began to actively use siege engines. Now the city walls are no longer an obstacle to a well-armed army. Taking advantage of the quality of their armor and weapons, the Crusaders easily crushed the Seljuks and conquered the Middle East.

Army of Tamerlane

The great conqueror Tamerlane created one of the strongest armies of the late Middle Ages. He took all the best from ancient, European and Mongolian military traditions.

The core of the army consisted of horse archers, but heavily armed infantry played an important role. Tamerlane actively used long-forgotten formations of troops in several lines. In defensive battles, the depth of his army was 8-9 echelons.

In addition, Tamerlane deepened the specialization of troops. He formed separate detachments of engineers, slingers, archers, spearmen, pontooners, etc. He also used artillery and war elephants.

Army of the Righteous Caliphate

The strength of the Arab army is evidenced by its conquests. Warriors who came from the Arabian desert conquered the Middle East, North Africa and Spain. In the early Middle Ages, most former barbarian armies fought on foot.

The Arabs practically did not use infantry, preferring cavalry armed with long-range bows. This made it possible to move quickly from one battle to another. The enemy could not gather all his forces into a fist and was forced to fight back in small detachments, which became easy prey for the army of the Righteous Caliphate.

Slavic-Varangian army of the times of Svyatoslav

Unlike Prince Oleg, Svyatoslav could not boast of the size of his army. His strength lay not in the number of warriors, but in their quality. The small squad of the Kyiv prince lived in battles and campaigns since Svyatoslav’s childhood. As a result, by the time the prince matured, he was surrounded by the best fighters in Eastern Europe.

Svyatoslav’s professional warriors crushed Khazaria, conquered the Yasses, Kasogs and captured Bulgaria. A small Russian detachment successfully fought against countless Byzantine legions for a long time.

Svyatoslav's army was so strong that it terrified with its very mention. For example, the Pechenegs lifted the siege of Kyiv as soon as they heard that Svyatoslav’s squad was approaching the city.

Mongol horde of Genghis Khan and Batu

The Mongols became the most invincible warriors of the Middle Ages. Unprecedented cruelty, iron discipline, and the use of slaves as human shields allowed the Mongols to conquer most of Eurasia.

War was a normal state of the Middle Ages, but the weak development of the economy, and therefore the small number of heavily armed combatants (full knightly weapons were very expensive) led to the fact that wars were protracted and mostly came down to the devastation of enemy areas or to long sieges. Wars in general, as a rule, they did not provide a solution to the controversial issues that caused them, and military force served only as one of the arguments in the negotiations.

Big battles were very rare. During Charlemagne's wars with the Saxons, which lasted more than 30 years (772-804), there were only two battles; his campaigns in Italy (773 and 774) and against Duke Thassilon of Bavaria (778) ended without any battles at all .Major battles were viewed as “God’s judgment,” and therefore defeat was understood as the condemnation of the wrong and led to the end of the war.

Conscious strategy and tactics did not exist in the Middle Ages. Writings on the topic of organization and tactics had little relation to reality. The authors either accurately retell Vegetius, or state something that has absolutely nothing to do with reality at all. The Treatise on War, compiled around 1260 by order of King Alfonso X the Wise of Castile, states without any irony that infantrymen should have their legs tied before battle so that they cannot flee from the battlefield; then, however, they will be unable to pursue the enemy, but this will only demonstrate contempt for him. The teacher of the King of France Philip IV the Fair, a student of Thomas Aquinas, a prominent church figure, Egidio Colonna, in his treatise “On the Principles of Government” (late 13th century) addressed to his royal student, seriously describes the “round” and “triangular” formation of the legions. Characteristic of the Roman army formation in dense groups was revived again only in modern times. The barbarian troops fought not in formation, but as a gang. The “wedge” formation, repeatedly mentioned in medieval sources, also called the “boar’s head”, “pig”, dates back to barbarian times and does not carry any tactical intent: the leader is in front of the detachment, a little behind him are his close comrades, then - the rest of the warriors. The appearance of heavy cavalry does not change the tactical principles at all. The description of the wedge-shaped formation of knights riding so closely that, as one poem said, “a glove thrown into the air could not fall to the ground,” refers only to the marching formation.

Since the battle is “God’s judgment” between 2 overlords, it was they who, ideally, should have fought in front of the line, and the outcome of the duel would decide the matter. In reality, the fights that were often proclaimed almost never took place. Fights between warriors were not uncommon. Sometimes the battle itself was replaced by something like a tournament: in 1351, near the town of Ploermel in Brittany, the converging French and English detachments selected 30 people from among themselves, whose fight, which took place according to stricter tournament rules, was supposed to replace the battle; the battle was called the “Battle of the Thirty.” With the transition from knightly wars to state wars, the value of such a tradition is questioned, although it itself was preserved until the beginning of the 17th century. If you believe the text of the 12th century, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold, was on the eve of the fatal Battle of Hastings for the Saxons (1066) refused to his opponent Duke of Normandy Guillaume the Illegitimate (who soon became King of England William the Conqueror) in the decisive duel, saying that the fate of the country cannot be made dependent on the accidents of a fight between 2 people. In XVIII. the French leader rejected the proposal of the English commander-in-chief to allocate 12 people from each army so that their fight would decide the issue of supremacy, saying: “We came to drive you out of here, and that’s enough for us.” Then the French military leader Jean de Buey forbade one of his subordinates to participate in the duel before the fight, adding that the combatant “desires to cause damage to the enemy, namely, to take away his honor, in order to ascribe to himself empty glory, which is worth little, but in fact neglects the service of the king and the public good (bien public).

The battle began with an attack by heavily armed horsemen, during which the marching formation crumbled, turning into a disorderly chain of cavalry, galloping at a not very fast gait; The battle ended with the same attack. The reserve, which was rarely used, was used to direct it to the most dangerous places in the battle, to places where the enemy was pressing especially hard, and almost never for a surprise attack from the flanks or, even more so, for an ambush, because all this was considered a military stratagem unworthy of a knight.

Controlling the battle was almost impossible. The knight's armor included a blind helmet, the slot in which (or in its visor) gave very little visibility, its design did not allow turning the head, so the knight saw only the one who was in front of him, and the battle turned into a series of duels. A blind helmet made it impossible to hear commands, cavalry vaulting, i.e. training horses and riders to stay in line during an attack arose only in modern times. In addition, it is more than difficult to control a barbarian warrior in the ecstasy of battle, or a knight fighting for personal glory. The only command that Roland gives in “The Song of Roland” is “Gentlemen Barons, slow down!”

Each strove to be the first to fight the enemy, not paying attention to the fact that by exposing himself, as befits a knight, to increased danger, he weakened the chain of horsemen as far as it could exist. The right to begin the battle was a privilege first attested in Germany in 1075, where was assigned to a certain clan, and in the Holy Land during the era of the Crusades in 1119, under which the chronicler mentions a special detachment of St. Peter, which had such a right.

The knightly army is a collection of individuals, where everyone has given a personal oath of allegiance to the military leader, and not a structure welded together by discipline. The goal of the knight is an individual fight in the name of honor and glory and to obtain a ransom, and not the victory of his army. The knight fights without regard for his comrades and commander.

The battle ended with flight, which marked the defeat of the enemy; long pursuit was very rare, and a symbol of victory was spending the night at the battle site. As a rule, there were few killed. Heavy weapons protected the knight well, and the purpose of the battle, as noted, was to capture the enemy, and not to kill him.

In the Battle of Buvin, only two knights died, but either 130 or 300 noble captives were captured.

In the descriptions of the battles, most of the talk was about the knights, although, as can be seen from the calculations, other combatants took part in them. However, until the end of the Middle Ages, it was the heavily armed cavalry that formed the basis of the army, it was they who determined the nature of the battle, and only the knighthood was considered the “fighting” class (bellatores). Among the fighters there were also lightly armed horsemen of ignoble origin, servants of knights or ignoble captives (in France they were called sergeants). It was believed that war was an activity exclusively for the noble, therefore the opportunity to engage in battle with a commoner was rejected with contempt.

When the sergeants-sergeants of the Abbey of Saint-Denis began the Battle of Bouvines, their opponents - the Flemish knights - considered this an insult and mercilessly killed horses and riders. Heavy weapons, as noted, were expensive, so the fighting non-knights, who did not have sufficient income, were easily vulnerable in battle. Their main weapons were weapons that struck from afar - a bow and (from the 12th century) a crossbow. The use of such weapons was contrary to the traditions of martial arts and was not used by knights. In 1139, the bow and crossbow were generally prohibited by the Church in battles between Christians - another example of the combination of Christian and knightly ethics. However, by the end of the 13th century. this weapon began to be widely used, especially by the British, who used it initially in wars in Wales and Scotland, where the hilly or mountainous terrain did not leave room for large horse battles. The dispute between the fighting qualities of the bow and crossbow continued throughout the Middle Ages (bow was faster-firing, the crossbow was longer-range) and did not come to a resolution. In any case, in the battles of Crecy and Agincourt (1415), English archers proved their superiority over French crossbowmen, and it was the powerful flow of English arrows that caused the attacks of the French knights to choke in both battles and enabled the British to successfully counterattack.
The foot soldiers were the servants of the knights, they helped them mount their horses if they were knocked to the ground, they guarded the camp and the convoy. One of the forms of infantry participation was that the foot soldiers used sharpened hooks to pull the knights off their horses and kill or capture them. This was first recorded in 1126 in Palestine, but soon appeared in Europe. A chronicler telling about the Battle of Buvin, a witness to this battle, considers the weapon used - a hook - as “unworthy” and says that it can only be used by supporters of evil , followers of the devil, because it violates the hierarchy and allows the commoner to be thrown down - down! - a noble horseman. The main function of foot soldiers was to create a formation bristling with spears, tightly closed, from the ranks of a relatively wide formation, sometimes in the shape of a square, behind which or inside which retreating knights could hide from pursuit. At the Battle of Legnano in 1176 between the army of the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, on the one hand, and the Italian knights and the militia of northern Italian cities, on the other, the Milanese infantry, after the flight of their horsemen, held off the attack of the German knights until the fugitives regrouped, again attacked the German knights and defeated them. Until the 14th century. nevertheless, the infantry performed only defensive functions.

On June 11, 1302, the first battle in the Middle Ages took place, where the attacking infantry played the main role. The foot militia of the Flemish cities - 13 thousand people - won the Battle of Courtrai against 5-7 thousand French knights, quickly attacking them when they crossed the stream and climbed the clay bank - i.e. in violation of all the rules of knightly combat. However, a two-time attempt by the Flemings to repeat a similar success - in 1328 under Kassel and in 1382 under Roosebeek - was unsuccessful, and the knights defeated the infantrymen. The spread of infantry in the XIV-XV centuries. is explained by the transition from knightly wars to national-state wars mentioned above. The centralized state needed significant armed forces, not excessively expensive and more or less controllable. Infantry required less expense than cavalry, commoners were more accustomed to submission than nobles, and less obsessed with the thirst for glory. The foot army could gather in dense ranks, it was easier to control the mass of people, and this gave an advantage over the better armed, but uncontrollable cavalry. Knightly combat (not tournament) weapons were, contrary to general opinion, not so heavy (12-16 kg; for comparison: the full equipment of a modern special forces soldier is 24 kg), so that it is impossible to fight on foot. The knights first fought dismounted in the battle between the English and the Scots at Northallerton in 1.138; The English knights repulsed the attack of their northern neighbors, but did not launch a counteroffensive. At the Battle of Crecy, the English king Edward III forced his knights to dismount and distributed them among the archers. This measure had not so much a tactical as a psychological significance. The infantrymen were afraid to let the enemy's cavalry get close to them, because, having encountered it, they could neither defend nor flee; the defeated knights relied on the speed of their horses, that is, the noble ones abandoned the commoners to their fate. By placing knights between the foot riflemen, Edward III strengthened the moral factor: it was believed that a sense of honor would not allow the knights to escape and they would help the foot soldiers to the end; the nobles supported the courage of the commoners, sharing with them all the dangers. Thus, the English king for the first time demonstrated the unity of the army, not divided into privileged and unprivileged, but united by the single task of victory and the single will of the monarch.

The army consisted of detachments brought by the direct vassals of the monarch - such an army was called a “ban”; in exceptional cases, an army ban was convened, which included vassals (arrier-vassals). In some places, especially in England, the principle of a general militia was preserved, by virtue of which Every free person, even if ignoble, was required, in accordance with his income, to possess certain weapons and to come to war at the call of the king. But in reality, such a militia was practically not used, and participation in it was replaced by contributions to the treasury. From the 8th century the basis of the army were vassals, but already at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century. Mercenaries appear. In accordance with the vassal agreement, the vassals had to serve the overlord on campaigns only a certain number of days a year, and if the time of hostilities expired, the overlord had to support the vassal and pay for his military services. Here was already the germ of mercenaryism, although the warring vassal , unlike the later mercenary, bound by a contract, may not have agreed to such an extension of service. In the 12th century, mercenary detachments appeared, formed by their commanders. The creation of a military force directly subordinate to the sovereign caused discontent among influential social groups, and, for example, the English Magna Carta (1215) prohibited mercenarism, but in general such opposition was unsuccessful. Early (XII-XIII centuries) mercenaryism was not considered shameful ,if the mercenary was a person of noble birth. It was quite consistent with the norms of knightly honor, and, moreover, it was considered quite honorable for a situation in which a poor knight, in search of glory and food, entered the service of a large lord. Payment was considered as a gift from the master to his comrade-in-arms, although since 1108 we have known of mercenary agreements , where the remuneration is clearly stated. The craft of the mercenary became condemned only in the late Middle Ages, when the number of ignoble among the mercenaries increased, when in general the border between the noble and the ignoble in the army was erased. People who lived exclusively by war were condemned, because it was believed that their morals were very different from truly knightly ones. The Battle of the Thirty was a clash of mercenary detachments, but it was carried out according to all knightly rules (the leaders of the detachments declared that they would fight in the name of glory). The best warrior of the losing English side (the election of the most valiant separately among the winners and losers was typical for tournaments) was declared to be the commoner Crokar ( this may not even be a name, but a nickname), a former household servant, and the king of France offered him nobility and a noble bride if he left the service of England.

The spread of mercenaries in the late Middle Ages is explained by their independence from the feudal structure. As for non-knightly morals, this is generally characteristic of the transition from knightly wars to national-state wars, from feudal civil strife to civil conflicts, for a period of changing values ​​and priorities. However, only a professional regular army could become a reliable military support for the monarchs, which did not provide for an agreement of equals, like a vassal union, or a mercenary contract (in Italy, mercenaries were called condottieri, from the Italian condotta “agreement”) and subordination to the commander was assumed by the very fact of admission for service. For the first time such an army arose in France after, in 1439, the States General established a permanent tax intended to maintain such an army. This ARMY, created in 1445, was a heavily armed cavalry, mainly from nobles, but it was no longer a knightly army. The soldiers of this army were called “gendarmes” (French homme d "armes - “armed man”, plural gens d armes - “armed people”). Formally, the ban and arrière-ban were not abolished, but they lost all meaning. In 1448, the Dauphin Louis first tried to organize something like a conscription system in his domain, and in 1461, when he became King Louis XI of France, he extended this principle to the entire country. One person per 80 families from non-noble groups of the population was conscripted. At first, the mandatory weapons of the peasants were bows and arrows, then they became more varied - pikes, halberds, and firearms. The recruits retained the name “free shooters” due to the original weapons and due to the fact that the state exempted their families from paying taxes. However, they were combat-ready. , in this way it was not possible to create, and in 1480 the king disbanded them. Real armies from recruits arose only in modern times.

In modern times, the modern division of the army into formations, units and subunits was also realized - detachments of soldiers of equal size, led by officers, and into branches of the military. In the Middle Ages, the branches of the army - cavalry, riflemen - turned out to be such not according to the organizational, but according to the functional, during the campaign, principle of division. The division of large detachments into units - the so-called “spears” (Iances), approximately 10 people each - occurred in the 11th century. among mercenaries.

The composition of these initial "COPIES" is unknown, but it can be assumed that it was not too different from the composition of the later "copies" created by the standing troops. The French "gendarmes" were divided into companies, or "companies", of approximately 60 people, and those into 10 "spears" of 6 people each. The "spear" included: 1 heavily armed cavalry, 1 lightly armed, 3 riflemen equipped with transport horses, a page .sometimes, instead of one of the shooters, a servant. In 1471, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, made, like his overlord and main opponent, King Louis XI of France, but less successfully than him, an attempt to create a permanent army. It was very small, only 1000 people, divided the axis into 4 “squadrons”, a “squadron” into 4 “chambers”, a “chamber” into 6 “spears” of 10 people each; in addition, each “squadron” had one additional “spear” of its commander. The “spear” included: 1 heavily armed cavalry, 1 lightly armed, page, servant, 3 archers, crossbowman, arquebusier and pikeman. It should be noted, however, that The "spear" was not a military unit in the modern sense, and the heavily armed cavalry was not its commander, like a modern officer. Homme d'arme is the main fighter, and the remaining members of the “spear” are auxiliary.

There is information that at the Battle of Crecy the British used 6 cannons in a salvo, which caused panic among the French. If this is true, then the impact was purely psychological; nothing is reported about the dead. Hand-held firearms - arquebuses - were first mentioned in 1347, and by the end of the XVI century. it became widespread, however, despite its relative range - 230-250 steps versus 110-135 for a crossbow, it was used mainly by the besieged in the defense of fortresses, because this weapon was inferior to the crossbow in rate of fire and ease of handling.

The effect of the use of firearms was not so much tactical or strategic as sociocultural: as already noted, in order to hit the enemy, neither courage, nor strength, nor nobility was required, but only certain professional skills.

Losses from the use of artillery were small: in Orleans, which was besieged for more than six months in 1428-1429. those killed and wounded by the cannonballs were no more than 50 people out of 5-6 thousand, the garrison and about 30 thousand of the city’s population. The situation changed only at the turn of the 15-16th centuries. with the advent of field artillery. As for hand-held firearms, they completely replaced cold weapons - the pike, the bayonet. sword, saber - only in the twentieth century.

D.E. Kharitonovich “War in the Middle Ages” // MAN AND WAR: War as a cultural phenomenon

1. Bilmen

Source: bucks-retinue.org.uk

In medieval Europe, the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons often used in battles numerous detachments of billmen - infantry warriors, whose main weapon was a battle sickle (halberd). Derived from a simple peasant sickle for harvesting. The battle sickle was an effective bladed weapon with a combined tip of a needle-shaped spear point and a curved blade, similar to a battle ax, with a sharp butt. During battles it was effective against well-armored cavalry. With the advent of firearms, detachments of billmen (halberdiers) lost their importance, becoming part of beautiful parades and ceremonies.

2. Armored boyars

Category of service people in Eastern Europe during the period of the X-XVI centuries. This military class was widespread in Kievan Rus, the Muscovite state, Bulgaria, Wallachia, the Moldavian principalities, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The armored boyars come from the “armored servants” who served on horseback wearing heavy (“armored”) weapons. Unlike servants, who were exempt from other duties only in wartime, the armored boyars did not bear the duties of the peasants at all. Socially, the armored boyars occupied an intermediate level between peasants and nobles. They owned land with peasants, but their civil capacity was limited. After the annexation of Eastern Belarus to the Russian Empire, the armored boyars became close in their position to the Ukrainian Cossacks.

3. Templars

Source: kdbarto.org

This was the name given to professional warrior monks - members of the “order of mendicant knights of the Temple of Solomon.” It existed for almost two centuries (1114-1312), emerging after the First Crusade of the Catholic army to Palestine. The Order often performed the functions of military protection of the states created by the Crusaders in the East, although the main purpose of its establishment was the protection of pilgrims visiting the “Holy Land”. The Knights Templar were famous for their military training, mastery of weapons, clear organization of their units and fearlessness, bordering on madness. However, along with these positive qualities, the Templars became known to the world as tight-fisted moneylenders, drunkards and debauchees, who took with them their many secrets and legends into the depths of centuries.

4. Crossbowmen

Source: deviantart.net

In the Middle Ages, instead of a combat bow, many armies began to use mechanical bows - crossbows. A crossbow, as a rule, was superior to a regular bow in terms of shooting accuracy and destructive power, but, with rare exceptions, it was significantly inferior in rate of fire. This weapon received real recognition only in Europe from the 14th century, when numerous squads of crossbowmen became an indispensable part of knightly armies. A decisive role in raising the popularity of crossbows was played by the fact that from the 14th century their bowstring began to be pulled by a collar. Thus, the restrictions imposed on the pulling force by the physical capabilities of the shooter were removed, and the light crossbow became heavy. Its advantage in penetrating power over the bow became overwhelming - bolts (shortened crossbow arrows) began to pierce even solid armor.

The composition of the dry rations of European armies now resembles the menu of a good restaurant. In the Middle Ages, a fighter’s diet was much more brutal.

“Evil War” is what winter campaigns were called in the Middle Ages. The army was critically dependent on weather and food supplies. If the enemy captured a food train, the soldiers were doomed in enemy territory. Therefore, large campaigns began after the harvest, but before heavy rains - otherwise the carts and siege engines would get stuck in the mud.

“An army marches while its stomach is full” - Napoleon Bonaparte.

French engraving from the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). Source: Wikipedia

During World War II, the daily allowance of Red Army soldiers should have included 800 g of rye bread (from October to March - 900 g), 500 g of potatoes, 320 g of other vegetables, 170 g of cereals and pasta, 150 g of meat, 100 g of fish, 30 g of shortening or lard, 20 g of vegetable oil, 35 g of sugar. Total according to documents - 3450 calories. At the forefront, the diet could change significantly.

Wartime ration

For a soldier on a campaign to be able to remove and hang packs on a horse, push a cart, swing an ax, carry stakes and pitch tents, he needed up to 5,000 calories. No food - no army. Therefore, if the campaign progressed successfully, the soldiers ate better than most of the medieval classes.

Today, 3,000 calories is considered the norm for a man with an active lifestyle.

Each day, everyone was allocated up to 1 kilogram of good bread and 400 grams of salted or smoked meat. A supply of “live canned goods”—several dozen heads of cattle—was slaughtered in a critical situation or to boost morale before an important battle. In this case, they ate everything, right down to the entrails and tails, from which they made porridge and soups. Constant consumption of crackers causes diarrhea, so the dried bread was thrown there, into a common cauldron.

Pepper, saffron, dried fruits and honey were given to the sick and wounded. The rest seasoned their food with onions, garlic, vinegar, and less often with mustard. In northern Europe, fighters were also given lard or ghee, and in the south - olive oil. There was almost always cheese on the table.

The medieval soldier's diet was supplemented with salted herring or cod, and dried river fish. All this was washed down with beer or cheap wine.

Medieval military train with provisions and equipment. Illustration from the book "Hausbuch" of 1480. Source: Wikipedia

drunken sea

In the galleys, even slaves and convicts ate better than commoners on land. The rowers were fed bean soup, bean stew, and breadcrumbs. About 100 grams of meat and cheese were given out per day. In the late Middle Ages, the standard of meat increased and lard appeared in the diet. Those at the rows had the most nutritious food - this is how the sailors were motivated to fight for this place.

Food on ships was generously served with wine - from 1 liter per day for officers, 0.5 for sailors. At a signal from the squadron admiral, all rowers could be given a bonus glass for good work. Beer supplemented the calorie requirement. In total, the sailor drank a liter or two of alcohol per day. It is not surprising that fights and riots were frequent.