Tercio
Tercio (Also known as "Spanish Tercios") was a term used by the
Spanish army to describe a mixed
infantry formation of about 3,000
pikemen and
musketeers, sometimes referred to by other nations as a
Spanish Square. It was a formalization of the organization and fighting techniques that had been developed principally by the brilliant general,
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, during the
Italian Wars. It marked the transformation of medieval military institutions into the
early modern combined-arms army with a focus on infantry. This completed a process that was already underway in the time of the
100 Years War. Tercios, consisting largely of professional soldiers with superior discipline and fighting spirit, were well known on the
European battlefield for their nigh-invincibility in combat during the 16th and 17th centuries. The formation was often feared by enemy troops because of the legendary determination of its soldiers in combat – its reputation was fully established at the
Battle of Pavia (1525), in which the French king was captured; the prospect of being thrown into battle against the Spanish tercios was even known to lead to desertions in opposing forces.
Although other major powers adopted the formation, their armies fell short of the fearsome reputation of the Spanish. That army, however, was not made up entirely of Spaniards, but was "an army of different nations", many of the troops being mercenaries (
landsknecht) from Germany, Italy and the
Walloon territories of the Spanish Netherlands. But the Spanish formed the core, noted by others for their superiority in discipline and professionalism. Their professionalism was displayed in the
Battle of Rocroi (1643), when the German and Walloon tercios fled from the battlefield, while the Spanish stayed on the field with their commander, absorbing three cavalry charges by the French, before the fourth finally broke their formation with the assistance of artillery.
Within the tercio, ranks of pikemen arrayed themselves together into one large block (
carré). The musketeers were usually split up in several mobile groups (
mangas) and deployed relative to the
carré, typically with one
manga at each corner. By virtue of this combined-arms approach, the formation simultaneously enjoyed both the rigidity of its heavy infantry and the long-range firepower of its musketeers, making it an ideal defense and offense formation.
The end of the dominance of the tercio came with the Spanish defeat by the French at the previously-mentioned
Rocroi in
1643. In the late 17th century, the Spanish army abandoned the then-obsolete tercio in favour of the more flexible system of
battalions and
regiments, based on the
French model. This new system of fighting in linear formation was promoted by the famous Swede
Gustavus Adolphus, and would dominate the 18th century battlefield. The linear formation relied on shock force more than any other element: soldiers would fire their muskets simultaneously, demoralizing the enemy force. The tercios proved inadequate to withstand this new formation, which was more organized and sustained fewer casualties by cannon fire.
Today, the
Spanish Legion and the Spanish Marine Corps still uses the
tercio as its largest unit designation.
*
El Ferrol City and Naval Station in North-western
Spain*The Spanish Tercios: http://www.geocities.com/ao1617/TercioUK.html
*Renaissance Armies: The Spanish http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_armies_spanish.html
*
Alonso Pita da Veiga the most heroic Spaniard at the Battle of Pavia (Italy) 1525*
Non-Official Web of the Modern "Spanish Marines" in existence since 1537 few years after Battle of Pavia (Italy) 1525 and well before the Battle of Lepanto (Greece) 1571*
Non-Official Web of the Modern "Spanish Tercios" inheritors of those who fought in the Battle of Pavia (Italy) 1525 and the Battle of Lepanto (Greece) 1571
