MiniArt 16010 Netherlands Musketeer XVII Century

The land forces of the Republic of the United Provinces, the most important of which was the Netherlands, were established in the second half of the 16th century, and more precisely at the time of the shedding of Spanish rule and the beginning of the so-called the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648), which, although it lasted intermittently, ended only with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia (1648). However, the official date of the foundation Staatse Leger (Of the United Provinces) is recognized as the year 1572, although these troops won their first victory over the Spanish army in the open field in the Battle of Heiligerlee in 1568. Quite commonly, William of Orange, known as the Silent, is considered to be one of its main creators, but also reformers. This prince made changes in several fields in the Dutch army. First of all, he made sure that the soldiers were paid regular wages, which reduced the level of desertion and made military service reasonably attractive. Secondly, he assumed the branch (hall. corporaalschappen ) in the strength of 150 people. Four such units formed a company. In the tactics of infantry fighting, special emphasis was placed on firearms (both hand and artillery), and the Dutch infantry units had more musketeers than pikemen. It is worth adding that though The Republic of the United Provinces was a relatively small country, but densely populated, which allowed it to raise an army of around 21,000 soldiers in 1588, and even around 90,000 in 1672!