Pikemen

At the beginning of the wars the ideal regimental balance was regarded as two pikemen for every musketeer. As the wars progressed and pikemen proved vulnerable to musket fire, the use of the pike declined.
Ideally, pikemen were equipped with protective armour consisting of a helmet, breast and back plates, tassets (thigh guards suspended from the breastplate) an iron collar or gorget and thick leather gloves. The cumbersome gorget and tassets were unpopular with pikemen and declined in use during the wars. A "buff-coat" could be worn under the armour, which was a leather jacket thick enough to turn a sword blow that became a universal protection for both infantry and cavalry.

The pike itself was an iron-headed spear mounted on a shaft made of seasoned ash between 15 and 18 feet in length.Handling the pike effectively required the learning of a complex set of drills and "postures". In practice, however, the elaborate ceremonial manoeuvres recommended in military drill books were reduced to a smaller set of basic commands and postures necessary to advance into battle, to fight opposing pikemen and to fend off cavalry. Pikemen also carried a short sword known as a "tuck" for close-quarter fighting.
In infantry combat, opposing blocks of pikemen would advance with their pikes "charged" horizontally at shoulder level to jab at one another until bodily contact was made. The two sides would then push physically until one or other of them gave way (known as "push of pike"). An increasingly important role of the pikeman was to defend musketeers against attack by enemy cavalry. To meet a cavalry charge, the pikeman would crouch with the butt end of the pike resting against his right instep and the pike angled upwards, its head at horse-breast height.