Pike & Shotte: Italian Wars 1494-1559 - Landsknecht Starter ArmyLandsknecht Starter Army The late 15th and early 16th centuries in Europe were defined by near constant warfare. National standing armies were unheard of and the ambitions of empires were reliant on the mercenaries they could afford to hire. Landsknechts were instigated by the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I, as a reaction to the Swiss Mercenary Pikemen that had dominated battlefields for decades before the Italian Wars (1494 1559). Over the course