Slitherine

Hey, in setting up my challenges, I often wonder what is the difference in say a Russian, Polish, Ottoman etc. army from the 1550's and the say 1650's or the late 17th century? To me, they would be almost identical. I was setting up a battle challenge depicting the key battle of the Cossack rebellion against Poland in 1651, but I could not set up a Polish army from 1651 and had to use one from 100 years earlier. Is there really a big difference between these armies? Would not they be almost identical in this era?

There is a 1650s army list in Le Roi de Soleil.

Differences are pretty substantial. First of all, infantry are armed with muskets instead of arquebuses. Next, the old clumsy keils are gone, replaced by Pike and Shot. I believe there some musketeers with bardiches. For cavalry, there are few units with bows left, and reiters have been replaced by horse. So it still feels like a Polish army, but the century makes a big difference.

I think this is more of a where and when issue. Change was neither uniform nor systematic. Knowledge, Financial resources, tradition, political organization, all affected the rate of change. Matchlocks were the primary infantry weapon of the period . The Flintlock did not come into common use for the rank and file until after the 1650s. This system changed more in a matter of nuance than saechange.
Just my two cents.
Olddog