Landsknecht (Civ4)/Civilopedia

The Landsknecht were a Renaissance style of German mercenary (although the individual members came from all over Europe) which were renowned for employing a tactic known as the "pike square." In the pike square, each soldier would be equipped with an eighteen foot long pike, and would stand in a tight, and sometimes hollow, box formation. If attacked from any side, the pikemen would simply lower their weapons and brace their pikes into the ground. This tactic was devastating to enemy cavalry and infantry. Surpassing the Swiss mercenaries organizations on which they based their tactics, the Landsknecht eventually became one of the most successful style of mercenary in Europe due to their willingness to integrate newer technology such as arquebuses and gunpowder artillery into their military formations.