From my site : bog about infantry

While the chivalry of France was being taught by the English that it was best to fight on foot and to await attack, and that well-equipped men-at-arms, with the help of archers, could hold their ground against great odds, the Swiss were giving the knights of Germany still stranger lessons. Few in number, with scanty armour, and with little use of missiles, they charged and overthrew them whether mounted or on foot. At Morgarten (1315) the success of the Swiss might be explained by the ground; they caught the Austrians at advantage between lake and mountain. But at Laupen (1339) the country was fairly open and fit for cavalry. Yet 900 men of the forest cantons held their own against three times their number of heavy horsemen, until the men of Berne, after routing the Burgundian foot, came to their assistance.

When Leopold of Austria encountered the Swiss at Sempach (1386) he made his knights dismount and await attack, according to the approved English practice. The Swiss were outnumbered (by three to one, according to their own account), but they charged down upon the Austrian Hne in a single deep column. They were repulsed, but the Austrians made no counterattack. The Swiss tried again and again, each of the four cantonal contingents taking the head of the column in turn, and at length Arnold of Winkelried broke the Austrian array. When once intermingled, lances were no match for halberds ; Leopold and half his men were killed.

Having won freedom at home, the Swiss soon sought to win money abroad. Following the example of the free companies, bands of them descended into Italy. A body of 1000 was met and worsted at Arbedo (1422) by Milanese troops under Carmagnola, one of the best of the condottieri. Finding that his horse could make no impression on them, he caused them to dismount, ” and engaging them (the Swiss) smartly in that posture, he put them all to the rout and most of them to the sword.” This led the Council of Lucerne to decree ” that as things had not gone altogether well with the Confederates,” there should be a larger proportion of pikes in future.

The league of the three forest cantons, formed in 1315, had become a league of eight cantons by the middle of the fourteenth century, and included two important towns, Berne and Zurich. The combination of townsfolk with peasantry added to their strength. The halberd which had the edge of an axe, the spike of a spear, and usually a hook at the back, with a six-foot staff was at first the principal weapon ; but some of the men, chiefly townsmen, had pikes ten feet long. The forces of the urban cantons were made up of two classes, the citizens, and the men of the dependent communes, who were sometimes officered by the citizens. The communes formed separate military units, unless they were small; the townsmen were organised by guilds. A Zurich muster-roll of 1444 shows that in a levy of 2770 men (of whom 639 were townsmen) three-fifths had halberds, one-fifth pikes, and one-fifth missile weapons. These were mostly crossbows, but there were 61 hand-guns. Body armour was almost confined to breast-plates and head-pieces; many of the men had none. The proportion of mounted men was very small, consisting only of the wealthier citizens. The fighting value of the Swiss lay, not in drill or equipment, but in their individual courage, strength, endurance, and activity, and in the national spirit developed among them. Their ferocity helped to make them formidable. The taking of prisoners was forbidden unless they were likely to yield large ransoms.

The U.S. Navy has two principal classes of submarines: attack submarines and fleet ballistic missile submarines. Attack submarines, which seek out and attack enemy ships and submarines, are smaller and faster than missile submarines. Most U.S. fast attack submarines are of the USS Los Angeles class. They are 362 feet long-just longer than the length of a football field-and 33 feet wide. They displace almost 6,900 tons on the surface and 7,200 tons when they are submerged. U.S. fleet ballistic missile submarines of the USS Ohio class (a.k.a., Trident submarines, referring to the type of missile which they carry) are 560 feet long (almost the length of two football fields, a few feet longer than the Washington Monument). They have a beam of 42 feet and displace almost 17,000 tons on the surface and 18,750 tons when submerged.

Fleet ballistic missile submarines (designated as “SSBNs”) carry long-range nuclear warhead missiles. They roam the ocean avoiding contact with other submarines and surface ships. The ability of the fleet ballistic missile submarine to survive a nuclear attack against the United States made them the most credible nuclear deterrent during the Cold War. Fortunately, the threat of nuclear retaliation that U.S. missile submarines have represented continues to be an effective deterrent in preventing nuclear missile attacks on the U.S.

The SSBN fleet consists of 18 Ohio-class subs built between 1981 and 1997. The crew for each includes 169 people. Each sub has 4 torpedo tubes and carries 24 Trident ballistic missiles. There are always six SSBNs at sea, although they are not always on alert. Four of the submarines are losing their nuclear weapons due to U.S. treaty obligations. The Navy came up with a plan to replace the nuclear weapons on these submarines with 154 tomahawk missiles, space for Navy Seal landing craft and mini-subs with launch capability.

Submarines, their Officers, and their crews are heavily relied upon for antisubmarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, land attack, strategic deterrence, and landing Special Warfare forces, to name but a few of the many exciting missions. Standards for submariners are very high, and operations are often covert and classified.

—————

Discover the high-powered lead-source strategies that attract prospects and cash to your home based business.