Tercio "Duque de Alba" No. 2 of the Legion
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A ''tercio'' (; Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the
Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...
during the reign of the
Spanish Habsburgs Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...
in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the elite military units of the Spanish Monarchy. They were the essential pieces of the powerful land forces of the Spanish Empire, sometimes also fighting with the navy. The Spanish tercios were a crucial step in the formation of modern European armies, understood as made up of professional volunteers, instead of levies raised for a campaign or hired
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
typically used in other European countries of the time. The tercios' internal administrative organization, and their battlefield formations and tactics, grew out of the innovations of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba during the
conquest of Granada The Granada War ( es, Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1491 during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It e ...
and the Italian Wars in the 1490s and 1500s. The tercios marked a rebirth of battlefield infantry comparable to the Macedonian phalanxes and the Roman legions. Such formations distinguished themselves in famous battles such as the Battle of Bicocca (1522) and the Battle of Pavia (1525). Following their formal establishment in 1534, and on to a period of over a century of fighting in the
European wars of religion The European wars of religion were a series of wars waged in Europe during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. Fought after the Protestant Reformation began in 1517, the wars disrupted the religious and political order in the Catholic Chu ...
, their position as the finest professional infantry in Europe was built upon their effective training and high proportion of "old soldiers" (''veteranos''), in conjunction with the particular elan imparted by the
lower nobility The petty nobility is the lower nobility classes. Finland Petty nobility in Finland is dated at least back to 13th century and was formed by nobles around their strategic interests. The idea was more capable peasants with leader roles in local c ...
who commanded them. In addition, they were among the first to effectively mix pikes and firearms ( arquebuses). The tercios were replaced by regiments in the early eighteenth century. From 1920, the name of ''tercio'' was given to the formations of the newly created Spanish Legion; professional units then created to fight colonial wars in North Africa, similar to the French Foreign Legion. These formations are actually regiments bearing the name of ''tercio'' as an honorary title.


History

During the Granada War (1482-1491), the soldiers of the
Catholic Monarchs of Spain The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...
were divided into three classes: pikemen (modelled after the
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
),
sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
smen with
shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...
s, and crossbowmen supplemented with the first portable
firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s. As shields disappeared and firearms replaced crossbows, Spain won victory after victory in Italy against powerful French armies, beginning under the leadership of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (b. 1453 – d. 1515) nicknamed ''El Gran Capitán'' (''The Great Captain''). The military organizational and tactical changes made by Córdoba to the armies of Spanish monarchs are seen as the precursors of the tercios and their methods of warfare. The combat effectiveness of the Spanish pike and shot armies pioneered by Córdoba was based on an armament system that effectively united the pike with the compact firepower of the arquebus. An advantage of the Spanish pike and shot formation over the Swiss compact frame that had inspired it was in its ability to divide into mobile units and even individual melee without the loss of cohesion. Initially, the term ''tercio'' denoted not a combat unit, but an administrative unit under a general staff, commanding garrisons throughout Italy for battles on various distant fronts. This peculiar character was maintained when it mobilized to fight the Protestant rebels in Flanders. Command of a tercio and its companies of soldiers was granted directly by the king, and companies could easily be added or removed and moved to and from other tercios. By the middle of the 17th century, the tercios began to be raised by nobles at their own expense, patrons who appointed the captains and were effective owners of the units, as in other contemporaneous European armies. From the conquest of Granada in 1492 to the campaigns of ''El Gran Capitán'' in the kingdom of Naples in 1495, three ordinances laid the foundations of Spanish military administration. In 1503, the ''Great Ordinance'' reflected the adoption of the long pike and the distribution of infantry in specialized companies. In 1534, the first official tercio was created, that of
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, and a year later it helped in the conquest of the
Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...
. The tercios of Naples and Sicily were created in 1536, thanks to the Genoa ordinance of Charles V. At the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547, the imperial troops of Charles V defeated a league of Protestant princes in Germany thanks, above all, to the action of the Spanish tercios. In 1557, the Spanish army completely defeated the French at the Battle of San Quentin, and again in 1558 at Gravelines, which led to a peace greatly favoring Spain. In all these battles, the effectiveness of the tercio units stood out. The origin of the term ''tercio'' is doubtful. Some historians believe the name was inspired by the ''tercía'', a Roman Legion of Hispania. Some think that it designated the threefold division of the Spanish forces in Italy. Others trace it to the three types of combatants (pikemen, harquebusiers, musketeers). According to an ordinance for "people of war" of 1497, where the formation of the infantry is changed into three parts.
The pawns he infantrywere divided into three parts. The one tercio with spears, as the Germans brought them, which they called pikes; and the other had the name of shields eople of swords and the other, of crossbowmen and spit bearers.
ater replaced by arquebusiers Ater (Hebrew אֲתַר) is an Old Testament male name. #A descendant of Hezekiah, who returned from Babylon ; #An Israelite, who subscribed to Nehemiah Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in reb ...
/blockquote> Yet others derive the name from the three thousand men mustered in the first units. This last explanation is supported by the field master Sancho de Londoño in a report to the Duke of Alba in the 16th century:
The tercios, although they were instituted in imitation of the omanlegions, in few things can be compared to them, that the number is half, and although formerly there were three thousand soldiers, for which they were called tercios and not legions, already it is said like this even if they do not have more than a thousand men.


Composition and characteristics

Although other powers adopted the battle formations and tactics perfected by the tercios, their armies fell short of the fearsome reputation of the Spanish army, which possessed a core of experienced professional soldiers. This army was further supplemented by "an army of different nations", a reference to the varied origins of the troops from the German and Italian states and the Spanish Netherlands and smaller units from other countries such as Ireland. In 1621, for example, of the 47 military units of the Spanish army, counting together the larger Spanish, Spanish Netherlands and Italian tercios, and the much smaller German,
Burgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following: *Someone or something from Burgundy. *Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...
and Irish regiments, only seven were manned by troops of Spanish origin.Such international musters were characteristic of European warfare before the levies of the Napoleonic Wars. However, the core Spanish troops were Spanish subjects, admired for their cohesiveness, superior discipline and overall professionalism.


Organization

Initially, each tercio that served in Italy and the Spanish Netherlands was organized into: * 10 companies of 300 soldiers each led by captains, in which ** 8 were pikemen's companies and ** 2 were of arquebusier companies The companies were later reduced to 250 men and the ratio of arquebusiers (later musketmen) to pikemen steadily increased. During the early actions in the Netherlands, the tercios were reorganized into three ''coronelias'' ("colonelcies"), led by ''coronels'' ("colonels") each composed of a headquarters unit and four companies each (the predecessor of today's battalions), but as a whole continued to be subdivided into the same 10 companies of 250 personnel each: two of arquebusiers and 8 of pikemen. Colonels were also of royal appointment.


Staff

* ''Maestre de Campo'' - colonel * ''Coronel'' - colonel/
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
* '' Sargento mayor'' -
major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
* ''Furriel mayor'' - quartermaster * ''Capellán mayor'' -
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
* ''Pifano mayor'' - fife major * ''Tambor mayor'' - drum major


Company

* 1 ''Capitán'' -
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
* 1 ''Alférez'' - ensign * ''Abanderado'' - standard-bearer * ''Sargento'' -
sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
* ''Capellán'' - chaplain * ''Furriel'' - quartermaster * ''Tambor'' - drummer * ''Pifano'' - fifer * ''Barbero'' -
barber surgeon The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barbers ...
* ''Cabos de escuadra'' - corporals * 150 ''piqueros'' - pikemen * 100 ''arcabuceros'' - arquebusiers (later musketeers) * 40 ''coseletes'' - sword-and-buckler men


Leadership of the tercio

Similar to military organization today, a tercio was led by a
maestre de campo ''Maestre de campo'' was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the ''captain general, capitán general'' and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council o ...
(commanding officer) appointed by the king, with a guard of eight halberdiers. Assisting the maestre was the sergeant major and a
furir Furir (from French '' fourrier'', a person responsible for the feed) is a Swedish military rank (OR5) reintroduced in 2019, after having been abolished in 2009. Duties The ''Furir'' is a Squad Leader at Skill Level B (Intermediate). Promotion fr ...
major in charge of logistics and armaments. Companies were led by a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
(also royally appointed), with an ensign in charge of the company color. The company non-commissioned officers were
sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
s, furrieles (furirs) and corporals. A sergeant served as second-in-command of a company and transmitted the captain's orders; furrieles provided weapons and munitions, as well as additional manpower; corporals led groups of 25 (similar to today's platoons), watching for disorder in the unit. Each company had corps of drums made up of drummers and fifers, sounding duty calls in battle, with the drum major and fife major being provided by the ''tercio'' headquarters. The tercio staff included a medical component (made up of a professional medic, a barber, and surgeons), chaplains and preachers, and a judicial unit, plus military
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
s enforcing order. They all reported to the Maestre de campo directly.


Battle formations

Within a tercio's squares, ranks of pikemen assembled into a hollow pike square (''cuadro'') containing swordsmen – typically with short sword, buckler, and javelins. As firearms rose in prominence, the swordsmen were phased out. The arquebusiers (later, musketeers) were usually split up in several mobile groups called "sleeves" (''mangas''), typically deployed with one ''manga'' at each corner of the ''cuadro''. By virtue of this combined-arms approach, the formation simultaneously enjoyed the staying power of its pike-armed infantry, the ranged firepower of its arquebusiers, and the striking power of its sword-and-buckler men. However, as the formation matured in practice, the number of swordsmen was reduced and then eliminated and the ratio of gunmen to pikemen increased over time. In addition to its defensive ability to repulse
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
and other forces along its front, the long-range fire of its arquebusiers could be easily shifted to the flanks, making it versatile in both attack and defense. Groups of squares were typically arrayed in dragon-toothed formation, staggered, with the leading edge of one unit level with the trailing edge of the preceding, similar to hedgehog defence. This enabled enfilade lines of fire and somewhat defiladed the army units themselves. Odd units stood forward, alternating with even units stepped back, providing gaps for an unwary enemy to enter and expose its flanks to raking crossfire from the guns of three separate squares. Tercio companies also conducted particular operations independently of the main formations.


Tercios and the Spanish Empire

Tercios were deployed all over Europe under the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
rulers. They were made up of volunteers and built up around a core of professional soldiers and were highly trained. Sometimes later ''tercios'' did not stick to the all-volunteer model of the regular Imperial Spanish army – when the Habsburg king Philip II found himself in need of more troops, he raised a tercio of
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
criminals to fight in Flanders, a trend he continued with mostly Catalan criminals for the rest of his reign. A large proportion of the Spanish army (which by the later half of the 16th century was entirely composed of tercio units: The Tercio of Savoy and the Tercio of Sicily were deployed in the Netherlands to quell the increasingly difficult
rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
against the Habsburgs. Ironically, many units of the Spanish tercios became part of the problem rather than the solution when the time came to pay them: with the Spanish coffers depleted by constant warfare, unpaid units often mutinied. For example, in April 1576, just after winning a major victory, unpaid tercios mutinied and occupied the friendly town of
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, in the so-called
Spanish Fury at Antwerp The Sack of Antwerp, often known as the Spanish Fury at Antwerp, was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. It is the greatest massacre in the history of the Low Countries. On 4 November 1576, mutinying Spain, Spanish tercios of the Army of Flande ...
, and sacked it for three days. Completely reliant on his troops, the Spanish commander could only comply.


Specialized tercios

On 24 February 1537 the ''Tercio de Galeras'' (''Tercio'' of Galleys) was created. Today, the ''Real Infantería de Marina'' ( Spanish Marine Infantry) consider themselves successors of the legacy and heritage of the Galleys Tercios making it the oldest currently operating marines unit in the world. There were other units of naval ''tercios'' such as ''Tercio Viejo de Armada'' (Old Navy Tercio) or ''Tercio Fijo de la Mar de Nápoles'' (Permanent Sea Tercio of Naples). Such specialized units were needed for the protracted war with the Ottoman Empire over the entire Mediterranean.


Naming conventions

Most tercios were named according to the place where they were raised or first deployed: thus they were ''Tercio de Sicilia'', ''de Lombardía'', ''de Nápoles'' (Tercio of Sicily, of Lombardy, of Naples) and so on. Other tercios were named for their commanding officer, such as ''Tercio de Moncada'' for its commander Miguel de Moncada (whose most famous soldier was Miguel de Cervantes). Some tercios were named by their main function, such as ''Galeras'' or ''Viejo de Armada''.


Colours

File:Cross of Burgundy (Template).svg, The Cross of Burgundy was adopted as the symbol of the Tercios and the Spanish Empire. File:Tercio - Liga.svg, ''Tercio de la Liga'' (1571) File:Tercio - Spínola.svg, ''Unknown Tercio flag (appears near commander Ambrogio Spinola in the painting "The Surrender of Breda" of Diego Velázquez)'' (1621) File:Tercio - Alburquerque.svg, ''Tercio de Alburquerque'' (1643) File:Tercio - Morados Viejos.svg, ''Tercio Morados Viejos'' (1670) File:Tercio - Amarillos Viejos.svg, ''Tercio Amarillos Viejos'' (1680)


The Portuguese ''terços''

Portugal adopted the Spanish model of ''tercio'' in the 16th century, calling it ''terço''. In 1578, under the reorganization of the
Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...
conducted by King
Sebastian Sebastian may refer to: People * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons with the name Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * ''Sebastian'' (1968 film), British spy film * ''Sebastian'' (1995 film), Swedish drama film ...
, four ''terços'' were established: the ''Terço'' of
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, the ''Terço'' of Estremadura, the Terço of
Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...
, and the Terço of Algarve. Each had about 2,000 men, formed into eight companies. The infantry of the army organized for the expedition to Morocco in 1578 was made up of these four terços together with the Terço of the Adventurers (totally made up of young nobles), three mercenary terços (the German, the Italian, and the Castilian), and a unit of elite sharpshooters of the Portuguese garrison of Tangier. This was the Portuguese force which fought the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. While united with the Spanish Crown, from 1580 to 1640, Portugal kept the organization of ''terços'', although the Army had declined. Several Spanish ''tercios'' were sent to Portugal; the principal of them, the Spanish infantry ''Tercio'' of the City of Lisbon, occupied the main fortresses of the Portuguese capital. The ''Terço'' of the Navy of the Crown of Portugal, the ancestor of the modern Portuguese Marines, was created in this period. After the restoration of Portuguese sovereignty in 1640, the Army was reorganized by King John IV of Portugal. The terços remained the basic units of the Portuguese infantry. Two types of terços were organized: the paid terços (first line permanent units) and the auxiliary terços (second line militia units). Portugal won the Restoration War with these terços. At the end of the 17th century, the terços were already organized as modern regiments. However, the first line terços were only transformed into regiments in 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession – after the Spanish tercios were transformed into regiments in 1704. The second line terços were only transformed into militia regiments in 1796. Some of the old terços are direct ancestors of modern regiments of the Portuguese Army.


Evolution and replacement

The first real challenge to the dominance of the Spanish tercios on the open battlefield came at the Battle of Nieuwpoort (1600). The victor of Nieuwpoort, the Dutch stadtholder
Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...
, believed he could improve on the ''tercio'' by combining its methods with the organisation of the Roman legion. These shallower linear formations brought a greater proportion of available guns to bear on the enemy simultaneously. The result was that the tercio squares at Nieuwpoort were badly damaged by the weight of Dutch firepower. Yet the Spanish army very nearly succeeded in spite of internal dissensions that had compromised its regular command. The
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
(1568–1648) in the Low Countries continued to be characterized by sieges of cities and forts, while field battles were of secondary importance. Maurice's reforms did not lead to a revolution in warfare, but he had created an army that could meet the tercios' battle formations on an even basis and that pointed the way to future developments. During the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) tercio style battle formations of the Holy Roman Empire suffered major defeats at the hands of more linear formations created and led by the Swedish soldier-king
Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
. However, the tried-and-true tactics and professionalism of the Spanish tercios played a decisive role in defeating the Swedish army at the Battle of Nördlingen. Throughout its history, the tercios' composition and battlefield formations and tactics evolved to meet new challenges. The classic pike and shot square formations fielded by the Spanish tercios and good cavalry support, continued to win major battles in the 17th century such as
Wimpfen Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar. Geography Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the Riv ...
(1622), Fleurus (1622),
Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
(1624), Nördlingen (1634), Thionville (1639), and Honnecourt (1641). It was not until Rocroi (1643) that the Spanish tercio's reputation of invincibility in open battle was shattered. Still, the Rocroi defeat was precipitated by the collapse of the supporting cavalry rather than the failure of the tercios' infantry. Even then, the tercios continued to win battles after Rocroi, such as at Valenciennes (1656) but their composition and battlefield style had continued to evolve. In this period steady improvements in firearms and field artillery were increasingly favoring the linear style. By the late 17th century the tercios had adopted so much of the linear style that their battlefield formations and tactics often had little resemblance to the battle formations and tactics a century earlier. In 1704, the regular Spanish tercios were transformed into regiments and the pikeman as an infantry type was dropped. Those of the reserves and the militia would later be transformed into similar organisations.


Famous battles


Victories

* Cerignola (1503) * Garigliano (1503) *
La Motta LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
(1513) * Noáin (1521) * Bicocca (1522) * Sesia (1524) * Pavia (1525) * Sack of Rome (1527) *
Landriano Landriano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about northeast of Pavia. Landriano borders the following municipalities: Bascapè, Carpiano, Siziano, Torrev ...
(1529) * Vienna (1529) * Serravalle (1544) * Muhlberg (1547) *
St. Quentin Saint Quentin ( la, Quintinus; died 287 AD) also known as Quentin of Amiens, was an early Christian saint. Hagiography Martyrdom The legend of his life has him as a Roman citizen who was martyred in Gaul. He is said to have been the son of a ...
(1557) *
Great Siege of Malta The Great Siege of Malta ( Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May to 13 September ...
(1565) * Oosterweel (1567) * Jemmingen (1568) * Lepanto (1571) * Goes (1572) *
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
(1573) * Leiden (1574) * Mook (1574) * Terceira (1582) *
Empel Empel is a village and former municipality, which is now a quarter of 's-Hertogenbosch in the Dutch province of North Brabant. History Archaeological evidence shows Celtic and Roman traces in the area. The site of a Roman temple was of special ...
(1585) *
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
(1585) * Neuss (1586) * Rheinberg (1590) * Relief of Paris (1590) * Craon (1592) *
Doullens Doullens (; pcd, Dourlin; former nl, Dorland) is a commune in the Somme department, Hauts-de-France, France. Its inhabitants are called ''Doullennais'' and ''Doullennaises''. Geography Doullens is situated on the N25 road, in the northern ...
(1595) *
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
(1596) * White Mountain (1620) * Fleurus (1622) *
Wimpfen Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar. Geography Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the Riv ...
(1622) *
Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
(1625) * Genoa (1625) * Salvador de Bahia (1625) * Nordlingen (1634) * Kallo (1638) * Thionville (1639) * Honnecourt (1642) *
Tuttlingen Tuttlingen (Alemannic: ''Duttlinga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Tuttlingen. Nendingen, ''Möhringen'' and ''Eßlingen'' are three former municipalities that belong to Tuttlingen. Tuttlingen is located in Swabia eas ...
(1643) * Valenciennes (1656)


Defeats

* Ravenna (1512) * Castelnuovo (1539) * Ceresole (1544) * Alcácer Quibir (1578) * Arques (1589) * Ivry (1590) *
Fontaine-française Fontaine-Française () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The comm ...
(1595) * Amiens (1597) * Turnhout (1597) * Zaltbommel (1599) * Nieuwpoort (1600) * Kinsale (1601) *
Sluis Sluis (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Sluus ; french: Écluse) is a town and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 January ...
(1604) * Montjuïc (1641) *
Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...
(1642) * Rocroi (1643) * Lens (1648) *
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
(1654) *
The Dunes ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
(1658)


See also

* Pike and shot *
Musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...
* '' Captain Alatriste'' *
Military history Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...
*
Spanish Navy Marines The Spanish Naval Infantry ( es, Infantería de Marina) is the naval infantry unit of the Spanish Navy () responsible for conducting amphibious warfare by utilizing naval platforms and resources. The Marine Corps is fully integrated into the ...
units are called ''tercios'' * The units of the modern Spanish Legion are also called ''tercios''.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Christon I. Archer, John R. Ferris, Holger H. Herwig, Timothy H. E. Travers – For a history of Spanish arms in the 16th and 17th centuries. * Davies, T. R. (1961). ''The Golden Century of Spain 1501-1621''. London: Macmillan & Co. – Brief description of the birth of the Spanish ''tercio''. * López, Ignacio J.N. ''The Spanish Tercios 1536–1704''. Osprey Publishing - The history of the ''tercio'' from its antecedents to its decline and ultimate realignment into a regimental system in 1704.
Spanish Tercio Tactics


(myArmoury.com article)
Spanish web site
Honors Alonso ''
Pita da Veiga Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, also ...
'' the most heroic Spaniard at the Battle of Pavia (Italy) 1525.

Non-Official Web siteof the Modern "Spanish Marines" (in existence since 1537 few years after '' Battle of Pavia'' (Italy) 1525 and well before the '' Battle of Lepanto (1571), Battle of Lepanto'' (Greece) 1571).
The Spanish Army of the Thirty Years’ WarList of Tercios
* Lorraine White
The Experience of Spain’s Early Modern Soldiers: Combat, Welfare and Violence
* Pierre de Bourdeille, ''Gentilezas y bravuconadas de los españoles'' (r/p Mosand, Madrid, 1996) * Marcos de Isaba, ''Cuerpo enfermo de la milicia española'' Ministry of Defence, Madrid(Brussels, 1589) * Sancho de Londoño, ''El discurso sobre la forma de reducir la disciplina militar a mejor y antiguo estado'' Ministry of Defence, Madrid(Brussels, 1589) * Bernardino de Escalante, ''Diálogos del arte militar'' Ministry of Defence, Madrid(1583) * Martín de Eguiluz, Milicia, ''Discurso y Regla militar'' Ministry of Defence, Madrid(pre-1591) * Diego de Salazar, ''Tratado de Re Militari'' Ministry of Defence, Madrid(1590) * Serafín María de Soto, ''Conde de Clonard, Album de la infantería española'' (1861) * Rene Quatrefages, ''Los Tercios'' (Madrid, ediciones Ejército, 1983) * Inspección de Infantería, ''La infantería en torno al siglo del oro'' (Madrid, ediciones Ejército, 1993) * Julio Albi de la Cuesta, ''De Pavia a Rocroi: los Tercios de Infantería española en los siglos XVI y XVII'' (Madrid, Balkan, 1999) * Enrique Martínez Ruiz, ''Los soldados del Rey'' (Madrid, Actas, 2008) * Pierre Picouet, ''Les Tercios Espagnols 1600–1660'' (in French – Auzielle, LRT, 2010) {{Spanish Empire Infantry units and formations Military units and formations of the Early Modern period Military units and formations of Spain Military strategy Military tactics Spanish Empire House of Habsburg Military units and formations of the Italian Wars Spanish inventions