"Spanish Colounella " Topic

Nice work here…

From here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Clearly post 1519, with all the Imperial and Burgundian insignia. Somewhere between Bicocca and Pavia.

Fine brushwork! Mine are still plainly based :-(

Nice brush work, but I'm not sure about the deployment or flags.

Colunellas were generally thought to be on a pike, shot, swordsmen ratio of 2:2:1. Swords might have become pike later. I'm not sure how much the colunella was used post Ravenna 1512, and there isn't a specific mention of them after that (in the books I have, at any rate).

My book list.
link

How they fought is also open to speculation. They probably didn't form up 17th century 'pike and shot' fashion with shot to the flanks. Arquebusier would probably have fought as a line, in a single body, in front of the pike and swordsmen would have probably been behind or on the flanks of the pike (deploying after the initial rush to melee). Swordsmen would be sword and buckler types.

For want of a better deployment, mine look like this. But, what the hell do I know?

Apart from Ravenna I am not aware of any major battle fought with Spanish pikeblocks. Usually the Spanish provided the arquebus and light infantry, just like the Italians or French aventuriers, while the Swiss and German provided usualy the heavy infantry.

I always assumed that the introduction of the Tercios with its core of pike was an attempt to get a battleworthy Spanish infantry without relying on Germans. In the era between Ravenna and the introduction of the Tercios I would expect the Spanish to have mainly mixed formations, with a core of arquebus backed up by sword & buckler and polearms.

Thus, regarding historical authenticity, I think Olicana has them spot on. The units from the OP look good for Ravenna (if not in the core&sleeve formation), but the flags are clearly post 1516 for the Burgundian and 1519 for the Imperial designs.

Glad you like them boys.

Amicalement
Armand