
"Bad war".
The 'push of pike' was a particular feature of late medieval and
Early Modern warfare that occurred when two opposing columns of
pikemen (often
Swiss mercenaries or
landsknechts) collided and became locked in position along a front of interleaved pikes. The push of pike would continue until one of the opposing formations collapsed, which would generally lead to massive casualties.
The feature was present in many of the larger battles of the
Italian Wars, including:
★
Battle of Ravenna (1512)
★
Battle of Novara (1513)
★
Battle of Pavia
★
Battle of Ceresole
Reference
★
Oman, Charles. ''A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century.'' London: Methuen & Co., 1937.