Firing in limbs
The gate way fires (including fires in lines of English. Fire by rank called) indicates a very popular until the 19th century fire drill of line infantry . In this type of shooting by troops, the infantry stood in two to four rows, with the first delivering its volley and then kneeling down to give the second the opportunity to shoot. Then the third and then the fourth row came to shoot. During this fire drill, the soldiers reloaded on their knees and then rose again to fire.
At the time of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , there was still discussion as to whether the arrangement in two or three rows should be preferred; the variant with four rows was already out of fashion in the 18th century, as the reloading times of the infantrymen had improved significantly . A setup with two rows allowed increased firepower with a single salvo, while a setup in three rows allowed officers and non-commissioned officers to exercise more control. The soldiers from a third row could also make up for losses in the first two rows. On the other hand, there was a risk that the fire in the third row unsettled the soldiers in the first two rows and reloading while kneeling was more difficult than standing. The fire in two rows was rarely used in the typical application with a kneeling row; usually the hind limb shot through the gaps in the anterior. The British Army of the Napoleonic Wars used the 'limb firing' in two rows with great success, which then evolved into the peloton fire .
With the introduction of new fire drills such as the peloton fire , limb firing faded into the background until it disappeared completely with the disappearance of the line infantry.
Individual evidence
- ^ Rory Muir: Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon. Yale University Press, New Haven, London, 1998, ISBN 978-0-300-08270-8 , pp. 70f.