Landsknechts with Two-Handed Swords by Warlord Games

Landsknechts with two-handed swords

Europe in the late 15th and early 16th centuries was a place of almost constant warfare. Since there were no organized national armies, the battlefields were the domain of the mercenary companies of the time – above all the colorfully dressed Landsknechts.

They were found in most armies of Western Europe at that time; they even appeared in the British Isles in the service of Henry VIII. The clashes between rival Landsknecht regiments, known as the "Bad War", were particularly bloody.

The toughest of this rough bunch were the veteran double-pay soldiers – soldiers with double pay. Their extra pay was for their voluntary participation in the front and the associated risks. The trick was to survive in order to receive the extra pay!

Doppelsöldner (double-pay mercenaries) were usually armed with the arquebus or crossbow and positioned in front of the main pike blocks. Alternatively, they could also be armed with vicious two-handed swords, the Zweihänder, or halberds of equal length. Two-handed Landsknechts were generally found in the front ranks of the pike blocks or were occasionally detached to form a separate unit for special tasks and to protect the unit's color group. The famous German mercenary force, the Black Band, included 2,000 two-handed swordsmen.

The figures in this box can represent Landsknechts who grew up in Germany or other nations of that time and can be armed with either halberds or two-handed swords.

This box contains plastic and metal parts to make 12 Landsknechts with two-handed swords and 12 with halberds.

Miniatures are unpainted.