The works of the famous Nicholas Machiavel, citizen and secretary of Florence written originally in Italian, and from thence newly and faithfully translated into English.

CHAP. VIII.

The Exercises of an Army in general.

Fabritio.

TO answer now to whatever may be objected against my Battel, as I have drawn it up before you, I must tell you again that I have ordered and en∣gaged it in that manner for two reasons; one to show you how it is to be drawn up; the other to show you how it is to be exercised. As to the drawing up of an Army, I doubt not but you understand it very well; and as to the exercising, I must tell you, it ought to be done as often as is possible, that the Captains may learn to keep their Companies in these orders; for it belongs to every particular Souldier to keep the orders exact in every Batta∣lia; and to every Captain to keep his Company exact with the order of the whole Army, and know how to obey the Command of the General. It is convenient likewise that they understand how to joyn one Battalia with another, how to take their place in a moment; and therefore it is convenient that the Colours of each Company may have its number of Soldiers described in it; for the greater commodity of commanding them, and that the Captain and Soldiers may understand one another with the more ease; and as in the Bat∣talia's, so it is convenient likewise in the Battalions, that their numbers should be known, and described in the Colonel's Ensign: That you should know the number of the Battalion in the left or right wing; as also of the Battalia's in the front, or the middle, and so con∣sequently of the rest. It is convenient likewise that there be degrees of Offices and Com∣mands to raise men as it were by steps, to the great honours of an Army. For example, The first degree should be File-leaders, or Corporals; The second should have the com∣mand of fifty ordinary Velites; The third of a hundred, with the title of Centurion: The fourth should command the first Battalia; the first, the second; the sixt, the third; and so on to the tenth Battalia, whose place should be next in honour to the Captain Ge∣neral of the Battalion, to which command no person should be advanced, but he who has passed all those degrees. And because besides these Officers, there are three Constables or Commanders of the Pikes extraordinary, and two of the Velites extraordinary, I did not much care if they were placed in the same quality with the Captain of the first Battalia, nor would it trouble me if six men more were preferred to the same degree, that each of them might put himself forward, and do some extraordinary thing to be preferred to the second Battalia. If then each of these Captains understands in what place his Battalia is to be ranged, it must necessarily follow, that at the first sound of the Trumpet (the Stan∣dard being erected) the whole Army will fall into its place. And this is the first exercise to which an Army is to be accustomed, that is to say, to close and fall in one with another, to do which, it is convenient to train them often, and use them to it every day.

Luigi.

What mark and difference would you appoint for the Standard of the whole Army, besides the number described as aforesaid?

Fabritio.

The Lieutenant General's Ensign should have the Arms of his General or Prince, and all the rest should have the same Arms with some variation in the Field or Colours, as the Prince shall think best, for it imports not much what their Colours are, so they distinguish one Company from another. But let us pass to the other exercise, in which an Army is to be train'd; that is in its motions, to be taught how to march, advance, or fall back with exact distance and time, and to be sure that in their marches a just order be observed. The third exercise is, Teaching them to manage their Arms, and charge, in such a manner, as that afterwards they may do both dexterously when they come to fight; teaching them how to play their Artillery, and how to draw them off when there

is occasion; Teaching the Velites extraordinary to advance out of their places, and after a counterfeit charge, to retreat to them again Teaching the first Battalia's (as if they were over-powered) to fall back into the intervals of the second; and all of them after∣wards into the third, and having done so, to divide again, and return to their old posts; in short, they are so to be accustomed in this exercise, that every thing may be known and familiar to every Soldier, which with continual practice is easily obtained. The fourth exercise instructs your Soldiers in the usefulness of the Drums, and Trumpets, and Colours, informing them of the Commands of their Captain, by the beating of the one, the sound∣ing of the other, and the displaying and flourishing of the third: for being well used to them, they will understand what they are to do by them, as well as if they were directed by word of mouth: And because the effects of these Commands depend altogether upon these kind of sounds, I shall tell you what kind of Instruments the Ancients made use of in their Wars. The Lacedemonians (if we may believe Thucidides) in their Armies made use of the Flute, conceiving that Harmony more apt to infuse gravity than fury into their Soldiers. Induced by the same reason, the Carthaginians sounded their charges upon the Harp; with which Instrument they began the Fight. Aliatte King of Lydia, in his Wars made use of them both: But Alexander the Great, and the Romans used Horns and Trumpets, supposing the clangor and noise of those Instruments would enflame the cou∣rage of their men, and make them more valiant in Fight. But as in the arming of our Army, we have followed the way both of the Greek and the Roman; so in the choice of our Instruments of Intelligence, I would follow the Customs both of the one Nation and the other. I would have therefore the Trumpets placed by the Lieutenant-General as Instruments not only proper to excite and enflame your Army, but fitter to be heard, and by consequence apter to derive your Commands than any of the other. The rest of those kind of Instruments I would have placed about the Captains and Colonels of the Batta∣lions: I would have also a smaller sort of Drums and Flutes, which should be beaten and played upon not as we do now in our fights, but as our Tabours and Flagelets do in our Feasts: The General with his Trumpets should signifie when his Army is to make a stand, when to advance, when to wheel, when to retire, when to make use of the Artillery, when the Velites extraordinary are to move, and by the variation of the sounds, to direct his Army in all the Marches and Counter-marches that are generally used; and I would have the Trumpets followed afterwards by the Drums. And because this exercise is of great consequence in an Army, it imports very much that it be frequently taught. As to the Horse, they should have Trumpets too, but of a lesser and different sound from those about the Lieutenant-General. And this is all that has occurred to my memory in the ordering, and exercising of an Army.

Luigi.

I beseech you Sir, let me not trouble you too much, if I desire to be satisfied in one thing more; and that is, for what reason you caused your light Horse and Velites ex∣traordinary to advance against the Enemy with great shouts and clamours, and cries; and when afterwards the Body and remainder of the Army came to charge, they did it with extraordinary silence? I confess I cannot comprehend the reason, and therefore I beg your explanation.

Fabr.

The opinions of the Ancient Generals have been different in that point, whether an Enemy was to be charged silently and without noise, or with all the clamour could be made: The silent▪ way is best to keep your men firm in their orders, and to signifie the Commands of the General: but the obstreperous way is best to excite the courage of your Soldiers, and dismay the Enemy: and because I thought in both cases there was some∣thing of advantage, I made use of them both, and caused those to advance with clamour, and these with silence; for I cannot think that an universal and perpetual noise can be any advantage, because it hinders orders from being derived, which is a most pernicious thing: nor is it likely that the Romans used those shouts after the first shock, for History tells us, that many times by the exhortation and encouragement of their Officers, the Souldiers which were flying, were stopped, and rallyed, and disposed immediately into new Orders, which could not be, where the Officers could not have been heard.