08-09-2013, 09:31 PM
Some great cavalry vs tercios (Spanish-style pike-shot infantry) actions:
In the battle of Turnhuot (1597) 800 Dutch and English cavalry defeated Spanish cavalry and then charging from the front and from the rear simultaneously, destroyed 4 tercios (one Spanish, two Walloon and one German) under count Varas.
In the battle of Nieuwpoort (1600) a charge of few squadrons of Dutch cuirassiers (which also included units consisting of soldiers from England, Scotland, France and Germany) destroyed the tercio of the Spanish right wing.
In the battle of White Mountain (1620) two cavalry squadrons under Anhalt destroyed one tercio under Breuner-Tefrenbach.
In the battle of Rocroi (1643) some Spanish tercios were also defeated by French cavalry charges.
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When it comes to examples of other-than-tercio infantry defeating tercios:
- battle of Heiligerlee (1568) - tercio lured into ambush by Dutch cavalry and defeated in an ambush by Dutch infantry
- battle of Breitenfeld (1631) - tercios defeated by Swedish combined arms tactics (artillery, infantry, cavalry)
- some battles of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), when Dutch infantry used checkered formations and superior firepower
- Rocroi (1643) again, in case of some of Spanish tercios, defeated by French infantry
In the battle of Turnhuot (1597) 800 Dutch and English cavalry defeated Spanish cavalry and then charging from the front and from the rear simultaneously, destroyed 4 tercios (one Spanish, two Walloon and one German) under count Varas.
In the battle of Nieuwpoort (1600) a charge of few squadrons of Dutch cuirassiers (which also included units consisting of soldiers from England, Scotland, France and Germany) destroyed the tercio of the Spanish right wing.
In the battle of White Mountain (1620) two cavalry squadrons under Anhalt destroyed one tercio under Breuner-Tefrenbach.
In the battle of Rocroi (1643) some Spanish tercios were also defeated by French cavalry charges.
=========================================
When it comes to examples of other-than-tercio infantry defeating tercios:
- battle of Heiligerlee (1568) - tercio lured into ambush by Dutch cavalry and defeated in an ambush by Dutch infantry
- battle of Breitenfeld (1631) - tercios defeated by Swedish combined arms tactics (artillery, infantry, cavalry)
- some battles of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), when Dutch infantry used checkered formations and superior firepower
- Rocroi (1643) again, in case of some of Spanish tercios, defeated by French infantry
