Why did Soldiers Fight in Lines? | Animated History

be sure to check out our strategy game fire and maneuver on Steam and join its Discord server to be part of the community [Music] when people see depictions of warfare during the age of muskets many are shocked at the site of soldiers formed in lines standing in front of each other and seemingly taking turns trading volleys while some might dismiss these tactics as ineffective and suicidal there were practical reasons why they were used I'm Griffin Johnson the armchair historian and today we're going to be discussing the Infantry close order formation in the age of black powder and why it was employed paired with advances in firearm technology line tactics were used extensively throughout the American Civil War by both sides to deadly effect resulting in the bloodiest conflict in American history thanks to the sponsor of today's video War and Peace Civil War the ultimate strategy game set in the American Civil War era you too can reshape history and experience the thrill of commanding your own armies to Victory challenge your friends to epic battles in the real-time multiplayer mode or Forge alliances with other players and work together to conquer the battlefield outsmart your enemies with cunning strategies and prove your Tactical prowess on the battlefield by Leading your troops to Victory with a range of powerful units and tactics from Cavalry Charges to artillery bombardments whether you're a seasoned strategist or a newcomer to the game War and Peace offers endless hours of fun and excitement with addictive gameplay stunning graphics and a community of players ready to take on the challenge step into the shoes of an American Civil War General today by downloading War and Peace Civil War for free using our Link in the description below formation tactics and fighting in lines was a pivotal part of European Warfare ever since ancient times from Alexander's phalixes to the Roman Legions and medieval Shield walls as long as men fought in pitched battles they organized themselves in some form of line or formation with the Advent of firearms infantry began to be deployed in large Square Columns of pikemen and Musketeers which allowed them to move around the battlefield as one unit and provide equal protection to each flank eventually with the introduction of bayonets Pikes fell out of favor and ranged infantry became the norm but at the end of the 18th century certain features of Ancient Warfare still seem to be present smoothbore guns had neither much more accuracy nor reach than the slings and bows that they replaced with a brown best musket having an effective range of a hundred yards or 91 meters furthermore for close fighting swords bayonets and lances were still relied upon still some Innovations were made and it became clear that shallow linear formations were more advantageous than deep columnar ones when it came to maximizing the number of troops who could see and shoot a given Target no longer were formations eight men deep but rather two or three and any more would make it difficult and risky for the backfile to fire the innate inaccuracy of muskets was one of the main reasons why armies used volley fire ing a line of muskets at the same target created a saturation effect guaranteeing that some of the shots hit the enemy this is why in training soldiers were drilled to fire as quickly as possible as in many instances it was the sheer volume of fire that decided the outcome of an encounter a regiment that could shoot four shots in a minute had a clear advantage over one that could only return two or three as for their stance most soldiers had to remain standing while reloading as the process required the use of gravity to pour gunpowder down the barrel soldiers were also organized shoulder to shoulder to cram as many men as possible in a small area to increase the number of muscles aiming downfield at any given time increasing the Firepower of the formation combat in this era was about intimidating the enemy and forcing him to retreat from the battlefield volley fire helped take down large sections of an opposing Force which could break morale and cause a route linear Warfare was often a giant game of chicken to see which side would flee first volleys were often followed by bayonet charges in an attempt to attack gaps in a line and drive the enemy into a route even if line formations were the most adequate tactic for combat at the time there is no denying that it was still psychologically agonizing to fight in such a manner for the individual Soldier so why did they obey in the most disciplined European armies infantry were drilled constantly and could be punished heavily for insubordination the prussians in particular were notorious for this with one type of punishment calling for two ranks of soldiers assembled with the offender made to walk between them and being lashed by each man as he passed American military commander and President George Washington also understood the importance of officers and heavy Drilling and as a result had a very poor opinion of militia even stating that depending on militia was like resting on a broken staff having morale break in one unit could lead to other units breaking too which is something he also recognized writing in a letter that he was Disturbed at the conduct of the militia whose behavior and want of discipline has done great injury to the other troops who never had officers except in a few instances worth the bread they eat one of the most significant reasons as to why infantry willingly stayed in close order formations was the threat of Cavalry when infantry was not in a close order formation such as Square line or attack column they were especially vulnerable as each man's flanks would be unprotected and exposed if a unit had too much space between each man Cavalry could charge through these gaps do serious damage and keep riding just to reform on the other side and repeat the whole process Again by maintaining a cohesive formation infantry could present itself as a united front against a cavalry charge as few horses are willing to impale themselves on a wall of bayonets line formations were still vulnerable to Cavalry Charges from the rear and flanks which is why some armies drilled their soldiers to be able to form the aforementioned square formation which was much more effective against cavalry the British famously used this formation at the Battle of Waterloo against nay's Infamous charge there was one downside to this formation however closed formations were more vulnerable to artillery fire in a time when artillery was not particularly accurate this was a risk that most generals were comfortable with for many centuries another benefit of fighting in lines is that it was easier to maneuver large numbers of men in a rigid formation as otherwise they would have been separated and disoriented musket fire produced a great deal of smoke which meant that after a couple of volleys the visibility on a battlefield could be significantly reduced by staying in formation the men would know who was on either side of them and keep unit cohesion at a time when Battlefield communication was only conducted through shouts musical instruments and flags it was imperative to stay in formation to avoid loss of organization and keep lines from breaking in the event of an attack and division of an army effective communication could evaporate entirely making a proper defense or assault impossible to coordinate while line infantry was the backbone of the armies at the time this did not mean that all fighting was conducted in this way unconventional and Guerrilla tactics were employed all throughout history especially during the French and Indian War where forests and broken terrain were more prevalent than the Open Fields in Europe making guerrilla warfare far more effective European armies would also employ light infantry which were trained to use cover spread out and conceal themselves to harass the enemy and Screen the primary battle formations still it is important to point out that if they were ever caught by Cavalry light infantry would also attempt to form into tight ranks to fend off a charge or look to retreat to the relative safety of line infantry or broken Terrain finally with the development of more Accurate Firearms Anthony ball there was a great increase of lethality while using line formations this was especially the case during the American Civil War which also saw armies adapting to trench warfare in sieges like Atlanta Vicksburg and Petersburg these new weapons could also disrupt Cavalry Charges at long distances which diminished the use of both Mast infantry formations and Cavalry alike regardless lines continued to be used in some capacity up until the first world war which resulted in prolific casualties suffered by units during the start of the war it was not until breach loading rifles mass-produced machine guns and breech-loaded artillery was fully adopted that the age of close order tactics became entirely obsolete while it is undoubtedly true that the site of lines of men standing in front of each other and seemingly taking turns to shoot each other seems ludicrous to the modern viewer it was the best way of fighting with what was at hand at the time if there were a better way of fighting generals would not have chosen to fight in lines at the detriment of their chances of winning a battle it was only due to the Industrial Revolution and the massive technological improvements that came with it that formation fighting became obsolete of course Warfare would continue to evolve and after the first world war it had thoroughly transitioned to something more familiar to the modern eye

Channel: The Armchair Historian

Views: 163,392

Keywords: military history, war, battle, the second world war, historical

Id: J-GybrfE42U

Length: 10min 28sec (628 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 16 2023