18th century total war

Chapter 11 The Effects of Queuing and Shooting

Seeing the front row falling down in groups, many riotous farmers with clever brains immediately put oil on their feet and left the large group, and ran away from the direction of Charles town.

Due to the chaotic organization of this peasant uprising army, almost all rely on the personal prestige of each leader to restrain the troops. There is no "special arms" such as firing squad and gendarmerie to maintain order, let alone punish deserters!
As a result, when other people saw those 'smart guys' running away, nothing happened, which immediately triggered a group effect.

The defenders of Charlestown are so brutal, they don't want to die!

As a result, more and more people are running away, but in such a large team, there are always some people who are stubborn and insist on trying to get the best of them, or who are born with a sense of superiority and always feel that they can do it!
This small group of people surrounded the rioting farmers who were confused and unresponsive, and continued to move forward against the three-stage shooting from the opposite side.

However, each round of guns would wake up and knock down a group of people. In addition, pieces of lead bullets were continuously fired from the opposite wall of Charles Town, forming an up and down crossfire with the circular chest wall below, which made this brave team have no chance. When they got within ten meters of the formation, they all fell down and collapsed...

In fact, after the first wave of three rounds of shooting, the rebel team of more than 2000 people became polarized. The fleeing people and the stunned youths moved forward and backward, pulling the thick and stable team Open, become more and more thin.

As the casualties in the forward team became heavier and heavier, even the unresponsive rioting farmers came back to their senses and joined the fleeing team.

The final result was that, in just a few minutes, the large force composed of more than 2000 people suddenly dispersed!

Standing on the sentry tower at the rear, Li Wei, holding a binoculars in his hand, saw this scene, a sneer sneered at the corner of his mouth, and he told the orderly beside him: "Tell Major Carl that the plan can be carried out!"

Li Wei's order did not affect the battle on the front line. After the rioting peasants collapsed, the soldiers of the first-line infantry regiment who stayed in the circular chest immediately led by their respective officers, with companies and even squads as units, holding bayonets Kill out.

The company of the first line infantry regiment has about 100 people, and including the military band and other service personnel, the number is in the early [-]s.

In the first-line infantry regiment, the military band and other miscellaneous personnel are also capable of combat, but they are not equipped with flintlock guns, but waist knives and flintlock pistols for self-defense.

Don't underestimate the importance of the military band in the era of queuing and shooting. The status of the military band in the line infantry of this era is second only to the commander!
As the name suggests, the line infantry is an infantry that relies on a line of phalanxes to fight. To maintain the overall movement of the phalanx, it must rely on the sound of drums and beats to adjust, otherwise it is easy to get confused on the battlefield.

On the battlefield, the line infantry marched side by side. If everyone's footsteps were messy and the front toes stepped on the back heels, it would easily cause chaos in the entire formation. On the battlefield, this was no different from suicide.

However, with the cooperation of military music and drums, as long as they undergo certain strict training, there will be little confusion in the queue.

For this reason, there is an unwritten rule on the battlefield in the era of line shooting that prohibits shooting at commanders and military bands.

In the beginning, this rule was followed by many people in various countries. Until the rise of Napoleon, this kid’s favorite thing to do was to break the rules. Napoleon even took the initiative to teach his troops to shoot and kill the enemy’s commander and The military band disrupts the rhythm and drums of the enemy's formation, creating opportunities for one's own attack.

So, this unspoken rule was completely scrapped...

Even so, European countries did not dare to abolish the military band as an arm. At most, the commander who was originally at the front followed the team.

Later, in the 21st century, military bands not only became the standard configuration of honor guards in various countries, but also penetrated into major universities and even primary and secondary schools!

Of course, many things in the Army of this era have become the prototype of the standards of later generations.

For example, the most common goose step, the original prototype is not a military parade with a mustache, but a line infantry marching forward with drums!

In order to ensure the uniformity of the soldiers' steps on the battlefield, elite line infantry are required to raise their legs and feet as high as possible during training. This makes it easier to lower their feet at the same time to prevent the phenomenon of stepping on each other's heels.

Later, it evolved into going forward!

Of course, the back and forth hand gestures when marching are also passed down from the line infantry. When the line infantry advances, they always carry a gun in one hand and swing the other hand back and forth in order to form a consistent rhythm with the people around them. point.

Even the military system of later modern armies was passed down from the European line infantry era, which is commonly known as modern times.

The company in this period was a basic tactical unit. A company had about 100 people. Standards varied from country to country. Each company would form a standard linear square formation, and the square formation would be used as a whole to maneuver on the battlefield.

Therefore, the lowest-ranking military officer of this era is in command of this phalanx.

A second lieutenant is the lowest in a company, followed by a lieutenant and a captain. Generally speaking, a senior lieutenant or captain will become the chief officer of a company.

At the level of major, it is the threshold of entering the mid-level officer, which belongs to another level of officer.

In the Kingdom of France in this world, the combat unit above the company is the combat battalion, and the major and lieutenant colonel generally serve as the head and deputy of the combat battalion.

However, many European countries will also set up a corps above the battalion, but the corps is usually made up of several battalions temporarily.

The minimum commander of the corps is a colonel. It can be said that the colonel is already a quasi-senior officer who can stand alone.

The status of the generals who are further up is already comparable to the middle and upper nobles of various countries!
Obviously, this modern military system has continued to later generations, and later generations are not considered regular officers until the second lieutenant, and only non-commissioned officers under the second lieutenant.

The prototypes of non-commissioned officers in modern times are those captains of soldiers, commonly known as veterans.

He is not a veteran, he is a veteran who has made meritorious service!

In the company phalanx, the soldiers in each row are generally fixed, which is convenient for management, and a second lieutenant is in charge.

The platoon-level combat units in later generations evolved from this, and this is also the source of the second lieutenant becoming a platoon-level officer.

At the grassroots level, only the squad-level combat units were evolved by later generations, and have nothing to do with the era of queuing and shooting.

It is no exaggeration to say that the military system in the era of queuing and shooting has affected the whole world!

There is no other reason. Europe spread its military system all over the world during its colonial expansion!

(End of this chapter)