Editing Lance (section)

==History of use==
[[File:Warring States Bronze Pi.jpg|thumb|[[Warring States]] lance head (pi)]]

===Late Roman===
During the late 3rd century the weapons of the cavalry attached to each [[Roman legion]] evolved from [[javelin]]s and swords to sometimes include long reaching lances (''contus''). These required the use of both hands to thrust.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ross|last=Cowan|page=31|title=Roman Legionary AD 284-337|date=21 April 2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-4728-0666-6}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] cavalry used lances (''[[Kontos (weapon)|kontos]]'' or ''kontarion'') almost exclusively, often in mixed formations of [[mounted archer]]s and [[lancer]]s (''cursores et defensores''). The Byzantines used lances in both overarm and underarm grips, as well as being couched under the arm (held horizontally). The length of the standard ''kontarion'' is estimated at {{convert|2.5|m|ft|sp=us}}, which is shorter than that of the medieval knight of [[Western Europe]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Timothy|last=Dawson|page=36|title=Byzantine Cavalryman c.900-1204|date=18 August 2009|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-84603-404-6}}</ref>

Formations of knights were known to use underarm-couched military lances in full-gallop closed-ranks charges against lines of opposing infantry or cavalry. Two variants on the couched lance charge developed, the French method, ''en haie'', with lancers in a double line, and the German method, with lancers drawn up in a deeper formation which was often wedge-shaped. It is commonly believed that this became the dominant European cavalry tactic in the 11th century after the development of the cantled saddle and stirrups (the [[Great Stirrup Controversy]]), and of rowel [[spur]]s (which enabled better control of the mount). Cavalry thus outfitted and deployed had a tremendous collective force in their charge, and could shatter most contemporary infantry lines.

Because of the extreme stopping power of a thrusting spear, it quickly became a popular weapon of infantry in the [[Late Middle Ages]]. These eventually led to the rise of the longest type of spears, the [[Pike (weapon)|pike]]. This adaptation of the cavalry lance to infantry use was largely tasked with stopping lance-armed cavalry charges. During the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries, these weapons, both mounted and unmounted, were so effective that lancers and pikemen not only became a staple of every Western army, but also became highly sought-after mercenaries. (However, the pike had already been used by [[Philip II of Macedon]] in antiquity to great effect, in the form of the [[sarissa]].)

In Europe, a [[jousting]] lance was a variation of the knight's lance which was modified from its original war design. In jousting, the lance tips would usually be blunt, often spread out like a cup or furniture foot, to provide a wider impact surface designed to unseat the opposing rider without spearing him through. The centre of the shaft of such lances could be designed to be hollow, in order for it to break on impact, as a further safeguard against impalement. They were on average {{convert|3|m|ft|sp=us}} long, and had hand guards built into the lance, often tapering for a considerable portion of the weapon's length. These are the versions that can most often be seen at [[medieval]] reenactment festivals. In war, lances were much more like stout spears, long and balanced for one-handed use, and with sharpened tips.

====Lance (unit organization)====
{{main|Lances fournies}}

As a small unit that surrounded a knight when he went into battle during the 14th and 15th centuries, a lance might have consisted of one or two [[squire]]s, the knight himself, one to three [[Man-at-arms|men-at-arms]], and possibly an [[archer]]. Lances were often combined under the banner of a higher-ranking nobleman to form companies of knights that would act as an ad hoc unit.

===17th and 18th century decline in Western Europe===
The advent of [[wheellock]] technology spelled the end of the lance in Western Europe, with newer types of heavy cavalry such as [[reiter]]s and [[cuirassier]]s spurning the old one-use weapon and increasingly supplanting the older [[Gendarme (historical)|gendarme]] type Medieval cavalry. While many [[Renaissance]] captains such as Sir [[Roger Williams (soldier)|Roger Williams]] continued to espouse the virtues of the lance, many such as [[François de la Noue]] openly encouraged its abandonment in the face of the pistol's greater armor piercing power, handiness and greater general utility. At the same time the adoption of [[pike and shot]] tactic by most infantry forces would neuter much of the power of the lancer's breakneck charge, making them a non-cost effective type of military unit due to their expensive horses in comparison to cuirassiers and reiters, who usually charging only at a trot could make do with lower quality mounts. After the success of pistol-armed [[Huguenot]] heavy horse against their Royalist counterparts during the [[French Wars of Religion]], most [[Western Europe]]an powers started rearming their lancers with pistols, initially as an adjunct weapon and eventually as a replacement, with the Spanish retaining the lance the longest.<ref name=myarmoury>{{cite web|last1=Frye|first1=Gordon|title=From Lance to Pistol: The Evolution of Mounted Soldiers from 1550 to 1600|url=http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_lancepistol.html|website=myArmoury.com|access-date=21 July 2014}}</ref>

Only the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] with its far greater emphasis on cavalry warfare, large population of [[Szlachta]] nobility and general lower military technology level among its foes retained the lance to a considerable degree, with the famously winged [[Polish hussars]] having their glory period during the 17th and 18th centuries against a wide variety of enemy forces.<ref name=myarmoury/>

===Indigenous use in North America===
After the [[Western world|Western]] introduction of the [[horse]] to [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], the [[Plains Indians]] used the [[Bow and arrow|bow]] and lance, probably independently, as American cavalry of the time were armed with the [[pistol]] and [[sabre]], firing forward at full gallop.

===19th century revival in Western Europe===
The mounted lancer experienced a renaissance in the 19th century. This followed on the demise of the [[pike (weapon)|pike]] and of body armor during the early 18th century, with the reintroduction of lances coming from [[Hungary]] and [[Poland]], having retained large formations of lance-armed cavalry when they had become more or less obsolescent elsewhere in Europe. Lancers became especially prevalent during and after the [[Napoleonic Wars]]: a period when almost all the major European powers reintroduced the lance into their respective cavalry arsenals. Formations of [[uhlan]]s and other types of cavalry used lances between {{convert|2|and|3|m|ft|sp=us}} in length as their primary weapons. The lance was usually employed in initial [[charge (warfare)|charge]]s in close formation, with sabers being used in the [[melee]] that followed.

The [[Crimean War]] saw the use of the lance in the [[Charge of the Light Brigade]]. One of the four British regiments involved in the charge, plus the Russian [[Cossack]]s who counter-attacked, were armed with this weapon.

During the [[War of the Triple Alliance]] (1864–1870), the Paraguayan cavalry made effective use of locally manufactured lances, both of conventional design and of an antique pattern used by gauchos for cattle herding.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gabriele|last=Esposito|pages=33 & 44|title=Armies of the War of the Triple Alliance 1864-70|date=24 March 2015|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-4728-0725-0}}</ref>

The 1860s and 1870s saw the increasing common usage of [[Fraxinus|ash]], [[bamboo]], [[beech]], or [[pine]] wood for lance shafts of varying lengths, each with steel points and butts, adopted by the uhlan regiments of the Saxon, Württemberg, Bavarian, and Prussian armies.

===Twilight of use===
[[Image:Lance point.JPG|thumb|A lance head from the reenactment of the [[Eglinton Tournament of 1839|Eglinton Tournament]] (1839)]]

In the [[American Civil War]], the [[6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment]] was equipped with lances modeled after [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s forces in France.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rush's Lancers by Mort Kunstler |url=https://vladimirarts.com/products/rushs-lancers-by-mort-kunstler |website=vladimirarts.com |publisher=Vladimir Arts USA Inc. |access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref>  American troops had never previously used the lance in combat.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Frank H. |title=Philadelphia in the Civil War 1861-1865 |date=1913 |publisher=City of Philadelphia |location=Philadelphia |pages=162–164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ge4LAAAAYAAJ |access-date=8 March 2024}}</ref> The lances proved ineffective in battle and were replaced with carbine rifles in 1863.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wittenberg |first1=Eric J. |title=The Union Cavalry Comes of Age - Hartwood Church to Brandy Station, 1863 |date=2002 |publisher=The History Press |location=Charleston, South Carolina |isbn=978-1-43966-007-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8aNDQAAQBAJ |access-date=8 March 2024}}</ref>

The [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870 saw the extensive deployment of cavalry armed with lances on both sides. While the opportunities for decisive use of this weapon proved infrequent during the actual conflict, the entire cavalry corps (93 regiments of [[hussar]]s, [[dragoon]]s, [[cuirassier]]s, and [[uhlan]]s) of the post-war [[Imperial German Army]] subsequently adopted the lance as a primary weapon. After 1893 the standard German cavalry lance was made of drawn tubular steel, covered with clear lacquer and with a hemp hand-grip.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ulrich|last=Herr|pages=126–128|title=The German Cavalry from 1871 to 1914|year=2006|publisher=Verlag Militaria |isbn=3-902526-07-6}}</ref> At {{convert|3.58|m|ft|sp=us}} it was the longest version then in use.<ref name=EB>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Eleventh Addition, Volume XVI, p. 150</ref>

The Austrian cavalry had included regiments armed with lances since 1784. In 1884, the lance ceased to be carried either as an active service or parade weapon. However the eleven [[Uhlan]] regiments continued in existence until 1918, armed with the standard cavalry sabre.<ref>{{cite book|first=James|last=Lucas|page=112|title=Fighting Troops of the Austro-Hungarian Army 1868-1914|year=1987|publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=0-946771-04-9}}</ref>

During the [[Second Boer War]], British troops successfully used the lance on one occasion - against retreating [[Boer]]s at the [[Battle of Elandslaagte]] (21 October 1899).<ref>Thomas Pakenham, pages 139-140, "The Boer War", {{ISBN|0-7474-0976-5}}</ref> However, the Boers made effective use of [[trench warfare]], rapid-fire [[field artillery]], continuous-fire [[machine gun]]s, and accurate long-range [[repeating rifle]]s from the beginning of the war. The combined effect was devastating, so much of the British cavalry was deployed as mounted infantry, dismounting to fight on foot. For some years after the Boer War, the six British lancer regiments officially carried the lance only for parades and other ceremonial duties. At the regimental level, training in the use of the lance continued, ostensibly to improve recruit riding skills. In 1909,<ref>{{cite book|first=Marquess of|last=Anglesey|page=410|title=A History of British Cavalry Vol. 4|isbn=978-0-436-27321-6}}</ref> the {{convert|2.7|m|ft|sp=us|adj=on}} bamboo or ash lance with a steel head was reauthorized for general use on active service.<ref name=EB/>

The Russian cavalry (except for the [[Cossack]]s) discarded the lance in the late 19th century, but in 1907, it was reissued for use by the front line of each squadron when charging in open formation. In its final form, the Russian lance was a long metal tube with a steel head and leather arm strap. It was intended as a shock weapon in the charge, to be dropped after impact and replaced by the sword for close combat in a [[melee]]. While demoralizing to an opponent, the lance was recognized as being an awkward encumbrance in forested regions.<ref>Vladimir Littauer, pp. 115-116, ''Russian Hussar'', {{ISBN|1-59048-256-5}}</ref>

The relative value of the lance and the sword as a principal weapon for mounted troops was an issue of dispute in the years immediately preceding World War I. Opponents of the lance argued that the weapon was clumsy, conspicuous, easily deflected, and inefficient in a melee. Arguments favoring the retention of the lance focused on the impact on morale of having charging cavalry preceded by "''a hedge of steel''" and on the effectiveness of the weapon against fleeing opponents.<ref name=EB/>

===World War I and after===
[[File:Stanley Wood CossackCourage.jpg|thumb|Drawing from The War Illustrated representing a Russian Don [[Cossack]] cavalryman lancing a German infantryman]]
[[File:RussianLance1910.jpg|thumb|Russian lance "cavalry pike", type of 1910.]]
Lances were still in use by the [[British Empire|British]], [[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]], [[Spain|Spanish]], [[French Third Republic|French]], [[Belgium|Belgian]], [[British Raj|Indian]], [[German Empire|German]], and [[Russian Empire|Russian]] armies at the outbreak of [[World War I]]. In initial cavalry skirmishes in France this antique weapon proved ineffective,<ref>{{cite book|first=Alan|last=Steele|page=32|title=British Cavalryman versus German Cavalryman|year=2022|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-4728-4882-6}}</ref> German [[uhlan]]s being "hampered by their long lances and a good many threw them away".<ref>Barbara W. Tuchman, page 280, ''The Guns of August'', Four Square Edition 1964</ref> A major action involving repeated charges by four regiments of German cavalry, all armed with lances, at [[Battle of Halen|Halen]] on 12 August 1914 was unsuccessful.<ref>Joe Robinson, Francis Hendriks and Janet Robinson, ''The Last Great Cavalry Charge – The Battle of the Silver Helmets – Halen 12 August 1914'', {{ISBN|978-1-78155-183-7}}</ref> Amongst the Belgian defenders was one regiment of lancers who fought dismounted.

With the advent of trench warfare, lances and the cavalry that carried them ceased to play a significant role.<ref>A British officer writing in 1917 referred to lancers as "our marvellous medieval regiments"</ref> A Russian cavalry officer whose regiment carried lances throughout the war recorded only one instance where an opponent was killed by this weapon.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

The [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–22)|Greco-Turkish War]] (1919–1922), saw an unexpected revival of lances amongst the cavalry of the Turkish National Army. During the successful Turkish offensives of the final stages of the war across the open plains of [[Asia Minor]], Turkish mounted troops were armed with bamboo shafted-lances taken from military storage and inflicted heavy losses on the retreating Greek Army.<ref>Philip S. Jowett, ''Armies of the Greek-Turkish War 1919–22'', p. 47, {{ISBN|978-1-4728-0684-0}}</ref> 
 
The cavalry branches of most armies which still retained lances as a service weapon at the end of World War I generally discarded them for all but ceremonial occasions during the 1920s and 1930s. There were exceptions during this era, such as the [[Polish cavalry]], which retained the lance for combat use until either 1934<ref>Steven J. Zaloga, page 5 "The Polish Army 1939–45" {{ISBN|0-85045-417-4}}</ref> or 1937,<ref>Alan Larsen & Henry Yallop, ''The Cavalry Lance'', p. 76, {{ISBN|978-1-4728-1618-4}}</ref> but contrary to popular legend did not make use of it in [[World War II]]. The German cavalry retained the lance ([[Stahlrohrlanze]]) as a service weapon until 1927,<ref>Klaus Richter, ''Weapons & Equipment of the German Cavalry: 1935-1945'', p. 3, {{ISBN|978-0-88740-816-8}}</ref> as did the British cavalry until 1928.<ref>Alan Larsen & Henry Yallop, The Cavalry Lance, pp. 16 & 56, {{ISBN|978-1-4728-1618-4}}</ref> The Argentine cavalry were documented as carrying lances until the 1940s,<ref>Cavalry and carriages. Militariarg.com. (n.d.). http://www.militariarg.com/cavalry-and-carriages.html</ref> but this appears to have been used as part of recruit riding school training, rather than serious preparation for use in active service.