Battle formation
A battle formation is the arrangement of the individual units on the battlefield . A certain type of formation tries to increase the power and mobility of one's own troops and to reduce their sensitivity to enemy action.
General
The combat formation is a military formation that a body of troops occupies in a battle . The infantry battle formation usually consists of rifle lines behind which closed detachments are positioned. The cavalry in a closed line, the artillery in an open line. In order to be able to take the battle formation, troops must first be deployed or the troops must be developed from the marching column. By choosing a specific battle formation, even smaller troops can be superior to a large army formation and achieve a victory. In contrast to the battle formation , which describes the location of the individual units, the battle formation is the concrete line-up of the individual units. Examples of battle formations are the Greek phalanx , the checkerboard pattern of Roman legions or the square of infantry in Napoleonic times, which is similar to the hedgehog position or the schiltron . A developed line formation is used for the frontal attack on a broad front. A relay formation connects the developed line and the column formation with one another.
The Greek city-states
At the time of the Greek city-states , armies essentially consisted of soldiers armed with spears and shields , moving in a closed line towards the enemy. The phalanx was very difficult to defeat frontally, but suffered from insufficient flank protection and was not flexible.
The Roman Empire
The Romans initially varied (Polybos) the Greek formation, but set up their legionaries in three rows ( Hastati , Principes , Triarii ). After the Camilian reform, the legions were organized vertically to the battle line and arranged in maniples , most of which appeared in a checkerboard pattern.
There were also revolutions in the military shipping industry . The Roman Navy developed the pincer maneuver , among other things . However, since the Romans were not the most skilled shipbuilders and focused more on quantity than quality , they combined the navy and army and designed boarding ships that could "anchor" themselves to the opposing ships by means of a bridge that could be folded out on the side.
The middle age
In the Middle Ages , the main units were heavy cavalry and knights , who mostly carried out massive shock attacks against opponents. The formation chosen was mostly the infantry shield wall or a closed wedge , with the heaviest armored riders on the outside, or, where there were not enough mounted men to cover the width of the battlefield, a linear formation with different densities. Behind the cavalry, the infantry was usually placed in a dense group. In general, medieval tactics were so strongly influenced by heavy cavalry that infantry could only survive if they developed suitable, tactically defensive, measures to stop them. Examples of this are the Spore Battle , in which the contingent of Flemish cities barricaded themselves behind an obstacle in the terrain, or the wagon castles of the Hussites .
Early modern age
The early modern age knows a wide range of formations, which were essentially shaped by the "renaissance of the infantry" and the respective level of development of weapon technology. The first such formation is likely to have been the violence of the Old Confederation . It consisted of an outer row of pikemen who surrounded a group of halberdiers and protected them against the attacks of the heavy cavalry. As soon as the pikemen halted the enemy, the halberdiers advanced and tore the enemy riders from their horses. With the increased introduction of firearms, arquebusiers increasingly replaced the halberdiers, but they too still required the protection of pikemen. A revolution in setup went hand in hand with the development of the bayonet , which made pikemen superfluous. An equally large part, however, is the increase in the firepower of rifles and artillery , so that one could rely more on firepower and less on cold weapons. This increase in firepower also caused a decreasing depth of the combat formations, since this was the only way to keep the losses from enemy fire within tolerable limits, while at the same time maintaining the density of fire because it was possible to fire faster and more effectively. The end point of this development is linear tactics , in which long lines move 3–4 men deep.
Line formation
The line formation of the infantry offered the advantage that the enemy could be rendered incapable of fighting by the musket fire released at the same time before the actual close combat could take place. For this purpose, the companies were arranged side by side in an uninterrupted line. The soldiers of the individual companies were divided into three members. While the first two were firing, the third rank loaded weapons or was used as a reserve. A 600-man battalion could fire around 400 shots over a front length of around 150 meters. Due to the shallow depth of this formation, it was also better protected against artillery fire. The strength of a linear formation is its broad front, while the weak point lies on the two flanks, it was very susceptible to an attack by units in column formation or cavalry.
Napoleonic age
The line tactics of the late early modern era were technically based on modern firearms, but just as much on force-pressed soldiers who had to be under constant supervision. As a result, these formations were exceptionally slow to move. In the wake of the French Revolution, this strict formation was broken up and the armed forces divided into smaller and more agile units. The resulting column tactics combined the insensitivity and firepower of the line formation with the flexibility of the Roman maniples. In particular, it was easier to get pressed conscripts to attack than in the comparatively open line.
Column formation
In a column formation, a unit was set up in several rows. A distinction is made between three types of columns on the battlefield.
- The marching column - it is characterized by its mobility and is used to reach the battlefield as quickly as possible. Half companies march one after the other in individual groups. This formation is less suitable for combat and is more used to relocate troop units.
- The company column - in this formation, the individual companies were set up one behind the other. Although it had a lower firepower than the line formation, it was more powerful than this.
- The division column - it was the actual attack formation. Two companies of the same battalion were combined into a division, which doubled the front width. This offered a wider front with significantly higher firepower paired with the greater thrust from the following rows.
The meeting of such a column, which consisted of a formation about 10 men wide and sometimes several dozen rows deep, on a line of fire became problematic. The column was clearly at a disadvantage because only the first row could fire effectively and this effectively once because of the long loading times of the muskets. Could Meanwhile unfold their entire firepower the line, comparable to crossing the t . Against undisciplined troops, the concentrated onslaught often had a devastating effect on morale, so that the line of fire could be pierced. This resulted in the destruction of the enemy line of fire.
If the troops stationed in the line of fire were well trained and motivated, they were able to kill the enemy at the top of the column faster than reinforcements could move up. This led to the destruction of the column. Therefore, when attacking a strong enemy, it was essential to turn quickly from the column marching formation to the line of fire. A good drill enabled the soldiers to carry out this alignment very quickly and thus to be able to return fire quickly. Especially in the American Revolutionary War , the American militias were inferior to the British in this regard, which often sealed their defeat.
The column was used in movement and in assaults. The fire fight, with the exception of the skirmish , was conducted in line formation. Napoleon very often used the column formation for the assault, which was successful against inferior units. With disciplined enemy units, however, the column could lead to a massacre in its own ranks.
Modern Warfare
With the advent of more and more modern firearms and the increasing effect of fire, the formations became more and more loose in the second half of the 19th century. What was important now was v. a. to generate the highest possible density of shooters with the most loose formation possible , because only then was effective volley fire possible. At the latest from the First World War and with the development of the machine gun , the distances had to be extended even further and the shooters had to be given the opportunity to use the cover of the area for their movement. A fixed formation could no longer be maintained. Nevertheless, combat formations are still used today, but the position of the individual shooter and sub-units is only very vague. A distinction is generally made between deep formations, in which the riflemen march one behind the other, and wide formations, in which they march side by side, as well as various mixed forms. Deep formations offer better guidance and make it easier to move forward, because cheap paths can be used. On the other hand, a deep formation is very sensitive to frontal fire, because all shooters are on a narrow strip in the endangered area of the enemy weapon effect, i.e. one machine gun sheaf can hit / hold them all down. Wide formations, on the other hand, are very difficult to control, but also prevent the enemy from concentrating their weapons in a narrow area.
literature
- Gustav Julius: Ideas about the tactical forms of the infantry in order to put the battalions' line positions out of use as a form of combat. [With five figures panels] . Koblenz 1848, OCLC 690691137 .
- Jürgen Kloosterhuis: Linear tactics . In: Encyclopedia of Modern Times (Online) . Brill, Leiden April 9, 2014 ( referenceworks.brillonline.com ).
- Harald Pöcher: The Samurai Army in action . In: Wars and battles in Japan that made history. From the beginning to 1853 . LIT Verlag, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-643-50082-3 , p. 47 ff . ( books.google.de ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Combat formation . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . 6th edition. Volume 7, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1907, p. 444 .
- ↑ line . In: Meyers Großes Konversationslexikon . tape 12 : L to Lyra . Bibliographical Institute, Leipzig / Vienna 1908, p. 576 ( zeno.org - new reprint).
- ↑ a b The structure of the Grande Armée from 1804–1815 - The infantry. 8eme.de, accessed on November 15, 2016 .