eli5: why did soldiers in pre ww1 wars have a “turn based” or organized battle?

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This is probably false to some extent because I get this perception mainly from movies and other media, but did soldiers in old wars line up in formations exposing themselves and take turns to fire? If so, why?

Edit: Ty for all the detailed responses guys! I had one more question- wouldn’t it make more sense for them to spread out or take cover while fighting?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

For a certain period of time yes.

Early muskets were often fired in lines where a group of soldier would line up and then fire. They would then fall back to reload as reloading could take a minute or more depending on the exact circumstances and the person in question.

Volley firing in this manner also helped with how inaccurate muskets were.

Of course the two sides are not taking turns firing each other but it might look like that depending on the timing of the two separate lines.

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