SPANISH INFANTRY (LATER)

In the course of the 17th century, Spanish troops, including the Spanish infantry, were involved in many armed conflicts, including the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the war with France (1635-1659) or - although it is a war rather eternal - the war of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). In the first half of the 17th century, the basis of the Spanish infantry was still the great Tercios units, which were formed into units with a strength of up to 3,000, which in turn were divided into 10-12 companies - almost the same as in the 16th century. Most often, on the battlefields of the Thirty Years' War, the Tercios companies numbered from 30 to 50 people. Still, it was also infantry armed with both long melee weapons, kolkas, especially pikes, and arquebuses and muskets. The battle of Rocroi in 1643 was a specific end to the era of Tercios' domination on the battlefields. After the end of the Thirty Years' War, and especially after the end of the war with France under the Pyrenees Peace of 1659, attempts were made to reform the Spanish infantry, which, however, failed due to the deepening financial problems of the state. As a result of the terrible condition of the state budget, the army stationed in Spain at the beginning of the war for the Spanish Succession numbered only about 20,000 people! At the end of 1702, the army was divided into 17 regiments of infantry and 7 regiments of cavalry, with the infantry regiment having about 1,000 men. It is worth adding, however, that by working very closely with the French army, the Spanish army was able to win in battles - for example in the battle of Almansa in 1707.