Landsknecht

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Landsknechts (German for "servants of the land" or "country guys", depending on how saucy your German translator is) or Lansquenet in French, were mostly German and Swiss mercenaries from the 1500s to the 1700s century, usually serving as elite infantrymen. They lived in the time of Pike and Shot and were mainly armed with pikes, huge zweihanders and matchlock muskets. They were notable in that they were very good at their job and had flamboyant colorful plumed uniforms, which while done in the same style were still not uniform. In one notable incident showing how they could get shit done, the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor (which consisted mostly of Landsknechts) mutinied due to inadequate payment and forced their commander to bring them to Rome so they could make up the difference by looting it. The resulting orgy of violence wiped out four-fifths of Rome's population and irreversibly damaged the prestige of the papacy (but we got a song by Sabaton out of it so everything is fine).

In the Warhammer Fantasy universe, the armies of the Empire have some units based off the Landsknecht. Greatswords in particular pretty much look exactly like Landsknecht.

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