How Greatswords Beat Pikes in Battle - Or Did They?

Part 1 (Yes, Giant Swords Existed, BUT...) https://youtu.be/sAcCJM3Lupk The Landsknecht ("servant of the country", a German mercenary) is mostly known for his flamboyant outfits and the iconic Zweihander, AKA greatsword, a large two-handed sword. On the battlefield they supposedly used those to chop pikes and break up enemy formations. The evidence we have for this is surprisingly limited though. So let's take a closer look at some historical depictions and written reports from the 16th and 17th centuries. I also added some personal speculation and an improvised demonstration for visual reference. Take it with a grain of salt, as I'm not an expert on military tactics of the time. I did as much research as time permitted, (which is linked below) but there may be things I've missed. More thoughts on cutting polearms https://youtu.be/_Fa-3gUhxC0 The foam greatsword I used as a prop is the Doppelsoldner by Calimacil http://calimacil.com?aff=55 *** Time Stamps *** 00:00 - 01:02 Introduction 01:02 - 01:48 The Pike Square 01:48 - 02:38 What is a pike? 02:38 - 03:55 "Academic" fencing masters & skill vs. battlefield chaos 03:55 - 04:41 Spadone vs. polearms 04:41 - 08:10 Evidence for chopping pikes with greatswords 08:10 - 09:36 Shock troops, discipline, unit cohesion 09:36 - 10:17 More realistic movie battle: Alatriste (2006) 10:17 - 11:42 Pike squares: Not homogenous! - Mixed weapons 11:42 - 13:02 How pikemen might keep themselves safe 13:02 - 19:30 Practical demonstration (sword charge / binding pikes / cutting in confined space) 19:30 - 21:21 Conclusion / outro *** Sources / Links *** The article on The Spadone Project https://thespadoneproject.com/2020/03/14/greatswords-against-pikes-formations-legend-or-truth/ Landsknecht: The ‘Garishly’ Effective Footsoldier Of 16th Century https://www.realmofhistory.com/2019/12/09/landsknecht-history-pikeman-facts/ Pikes: A Versatile and Deadly Weapon https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2015/12/09/pikes-a-versatile-and-deadly-weapon/ Alatriste: Battle of Rocroi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAcoekA2Zs8 HEMA group doing 20 vs 20 pikemen fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ILV0wKgAU High res picture of "Bad War" by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Bad-war.jpg *** Music *** Outro: "Highland Storm" by The Slanted Room Records https://theslantedroom.github.io/steve.yee/ Used with artist's permission *** Support the channel *** Help fund future videos, get bonus content and other rewards: http://www.patreon.com/skallagrim https://www.subscribestar.com/skallagrim https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3WIohkLkH4GFoMrrWVZZFA/join Books about history and/or martial arts, swords, knives, video/audio equipment, and other stuff I recommend (as an Amazon Affiliate I earn commission through these links): US - https://www.amazon.com/shop/skallagrimnilsson Canada - https://amzn.to/2HeOCMA Other ways to support the channel by shopping through affiliate links: Kult of Athena, my favorite online store for reproductions of historical arms and armor, fantasy swords, etc: https://www.kultofathena.com/?koa=259 Where to get HEMA gear and practice swords: http://www.woodenswords.com/?Click=1799 *** Social media & merch *** How to contact me (can't always reply, since I get too many messages): https://www.youtube.com/user/SkallagrimNilsson/about See a list of my video uploads: https://twitter.com/_Skallagrim_ https://www.facebook.com/SkallagrimYT Channel-related shirts and other merch: http://skallagrim.spreadshirt.com/ https://teespring.com/stores/skallagrim