The
Tercio (Also known as
Tercio Español, literally "
Spanish tercio", and from
tercio meaning "one-third") was a
Renaissance era military formation similar to and derivative of the Swiss
Pike square and was a term used to describe a mixed
infantry formation of about 3,000
pikemen,
swordsmen and
arquebusiers in a mutually supportive formation; it was also sometimes referred to by other nations as a
Spanish Square after its introduction by the
Spanish army,
[1] and was widely adopted across international lines and dominated formalized field warfare for several centuries.
The Tercio Español was a formalisation of the organization and fighting techniques that had been developed principally by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, during the Italian Wars[2] (a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559). It marked the transformation of medieval military institutions into the early modern combined-arms[2] army with a focus on infantry. (See Pike and Shot for an excellent description of the eventual formation.) Gonzalo Fernández, also known to historians as "The Father of Trench Warfare," developed it gradually[2] out of the need driven by the Spanish expeditionary forces' composition when entering the fray in Italy, where he faced excellent cavalry. At first the army consisted of units of around 6000 men, which by 1534 had been reduced into the tercios of 3000 for better mobility.[3]
Tercios, consisting largely of professional soldiers with superior discipline and fighting spirit, were well known on the European battlefield for their nigh-invincibility in combat during the 16th and 17th centuries. The formation was often feared by enemy troops because of the legendary determination of its soldiers in combat – its reputation was fully established at the Battle of Pavia (1525), in which the French king was captured; the prospect of being thrown into battle against the Spanish tercios was even known to lead to desertions in opposing forces. The 3000 men of a tercio were armed with an assortment of weapons to deal with any enemy they faced on the battlefield - 1500 of them were equipped with pikes, 1000 kept the ancient short sword and javelin armament, and the remaining 500 were armed with arquebuses. In battle the pikemen formed squares with the sword-and-javelin men inside, and the arquebusiers, together with field artillery, assumed positions to fire on any enemies approaching the pike square. In front of the square formations they would dig ditches or other fortifications to further disrupt a cavalry charge, against which they were essentially invulnerable. Even in battle against an opposing force of pikemen, the tercio had the upper hand in terms of ranged firepower (the arquebusiers) and the fact that a pikeman, needing both hands to wield his pike, was essentially defenseless against a swordsman. This organization served them well against both the German [[Landsknecht]] swordsmen and Swiss pikemen from which their formation was derived.[4]
Although other major powers adopted the formation, their armies fell short of the fearsome reputation of the Spanish, who possessed a core of professional, volunteer career soldiers, which gave their officers and men an edge that was hard for other nations to match.[5] That army was further supplemented by "an army of different nations", many of the troops being mercenaries (Landsknecht) from Germany, Italy and the Walloon territories of the Spanish Netherlands, as was a characteristic of European warfare of the 13th centuries–18th centuries before the revolutionary levies in the Napoleonic Wars along with its concurrent influences leading to a rise of Nationalism. In the 16th centuries–17th centuries however, the Spanish armies formed the core with Spanish subjects, and were consequently noted by others for their cohesiveness, superiority in discipline and overall professionalism.
