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?
In: 2518
Old muskets took a long time to reload. They were also pretty inaccurate. The methods you’ve seen, three ranks working together, meant that you were unleashing an almost constant stream of fire on the enemy. One reason the Civil War was so horrible was that the muskets and rifles of 1860 were much better than the ones of 1800, but the tactics hadn’t evolved.
Side note: back in the 1960s the USSR went out and trained 60,000 of its troops in Napoleonic War tactics. Horsemen, riflemen, and artillery troops were used in two movies, ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Waterloo.’ I suggest watching the last part of Waterloo for an accurate reproduction of how the fighting looked.
edit =16,000. Still a lot of people.
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