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Author Topic: War of Polish Succession 1733. The Battle of Sobieszewo  (Read 4701 times)

Offline AdamPHayes

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 604
    • Wargame Warrior
Re: War of Polish Succession 1733. The Battle of Sobieszewo
« Reply #45 on: August 22, 2019, 09:19:24 PM »
Quote
, was stopped by artificial obstacles (Spanish goats).

They sound fun, I wonder what   they looked like?

Offline DintheDin

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 6228
Re: War of Polish Succession 1733. The Battle of Sobieszewo
« Reply #46 on: August 22, 2019, 09:34:00 PM »
They sound fun, I wonder what   they looked like?

They must have been like chevaux de frise.
Please look at this article:
https://about-history.com/the-tactics-of-the-hussars-and-their-weaknesses/

Opposition to hussars
Given the widespread Hussars on the battlefields of Europe for several centuries, the opponents of the Commonwealth had to develop various tactics to counter attack the hussar mouths and banners. Basically, opponents of the Hussars used various engineering structures:
“Pig feathers” – short rams, driven into the ground at an angle a few steps ahead of the infantry front and directed towards the enemy; chains stretched between stakes;
” Spanish goats ” – horizontal beams installed in front of and parallel to the infantry front, in which (forming goats) sharpened poles of the same length are inserted, at an angle of 90 degrees between each other. Other names for this design are “Spanish Horseman”, “Spancaster”, “ Slingshot ”, “Ostrost”, “Sharp Outpost”. The constructions were light and easily carried by infantry from place to place;
“Mare” is a construction made of wood, in the style of “Spanish goats”, however, a whole tree was used, the branches of which were shortened to an equal length and sharpened.
Carts interconnected by chains;
trenches , redoubts , ditches and wolf holes – were dug out secretly on the night before the battle;
“ Garlic ” – forged iron “hedgehogs”, which were pushed against the ground by three spikes, and the fourth spike stuck up vertically. This design was not visible to riders. Each infantryman could have a few garlics and secretly scatter them ahead of the ranks.
Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. – Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi