View source for Line infantry

{{Short description|Type of light infantry arranged in lines, now obsolete}}
{{For|the modern British Army infantry regiments named 'line infantry'|Infantry of the British Army}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
[[File:Hohenfriedeberg - Attack of Prussian Infantry - 1745.jpg|thumb|[[Prussian Army]] line infantry at the 1745 [[Battle of Hohenfriedberg]]]]

'''Line infantry''' was the type of [[infantry]] that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. [[Maurice of Nassau]] and [[Gustavus Adolphus]] are generally regarded as its pioneers, while [[Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne|Turenne]] and [[Raimondo Montecuccoli|Montecuccoli]] are closely associated with the post-1648 development of linear infantry tactics.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Guthrie |first1=William |title=The Later Thirty Years War: From the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia (Contributions in Military Studies) |date=2003 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0313324086 |page=239}}</ref> For both battle and parade drill, it consisted of two to four ranks of foot soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment, and thereby maximizing the effect of their firepower. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regular regiments "of the line" as opposed to [[light infantry]], [[skirmisher]]s, [[militia]], [[Combat service support|support]] personnel, plus some other special categories of infantry not focused on heavy [[front line]] combat.<ref>''The Concise Oxford Dictionary'', 1984, {{ISBN|0-19-861131-5}}. p. 585.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=This source does not state that "line infantry" refers to the claimed definition, nor that the modern definition of "regiments of the line" evolved from it.|date=January 2025}}

== Linear tactics and function ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2024}}
Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles: the line, the square, and the column.

With the universal adoption of [[small arms]] (firearms that could be carried by hand, as opposed to cannon) in infantry units from the mid-17th century, the battlefield was dominated by [[Line (formation)|linear tactics]], according to which the infantry was aligned into long thin lines, shoulder to shoulder, and fired [[volley fire|volleys]]. A line consisted of two, three, or four ranks of soldiers.

The soldiers were expected to fire volleys at the command of officers, but in practice this happened only in the first minutes of the battle. After one or two volleys, each soldier charged his musket and fired at his own discretion, without hearing the commands of the officers. This disrupted the system, while the gunsmoke prevented accurate shooting. Such a shootout in clouds of smoke could occur for an extended period of time and the result was unpredictable. In addition, at the time of the “hot” shootout, the soldiers were so engaged and focused on shooting that they were not watching out for an attack of cavalry from the flank. For these reasons, experienced officers tried to avoid such uncertain exchanges and restrained their soldiers from premature firing in order to get as close to the enemy’s line as possible so that they could deliver several devastating volleys at a short distance. In some cases, it was possible to defeat the enemy with just one volley at close range. 
The line was considered the fundamental battle formation as it allowed for the largest deployment of firepower. Against surrounding enemy cavalry, line infantry could swiftly adopt [[Infantry square|square formation]]s to provide protection. Such squares were hollow (consisting of four lines), unlike the pikemen's and old-style musketeers' square.
[[File:Fontenoy Charles Hay & Enteroches.jpg|thumb|The [[French Guards Regiment]] and the British [[Grenadier Guards|1st Regiment of Foot Guards]] invite each other to fire first during the [[Battle of Fontenoy]], 11 May 1745]]
Troops in [[skirmish]] formation, though able to take cover and use initiative, were highly vulnerable to cavalry and could not hold ground against advancing infantry columns. Line infantry provided an "anchor" for skirmishers and cavalry to retreat behind if threatened.

Movement in [[Line (formation)|line formation]] was slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained, a breakdown in cohesion was assured, especially in uneven or wooded terrain. As a result, the line was mostly used as a firing formation, with troops moving in [[Column (formation)|column formation]]s and then deploying to the line at their destination. Usually, columns would be adopted for movement and melee attacks.

Line infantry was trained in the [[manual of arms]] evolutions, the main objectives of which were fast deployment of a line, rapid shooting, and manoeuvre.

== Training and recruitment ==
Line infantry quickly became the most common type of infantry in European countries. [[Musketeer]]s and [[grenadier]]s, formerly [[Special forces#History|elite troops]], gradually became part of the line infantry, switching to linear tactics.

Over time the use of line infantry tactics spread outside of Europe, often as a result of European imperialism. In European colonies and settlements with small populations from the home country, line infantry forces were often raised from the local population, with the British [[East India Company]]'s [[sepoys]] perhaps being the most historically significant example.

Line tactics required strict discipline and simple movements practiced to the point where they became second-nature. During training, the drill and corporal punishments were widely used. During 1814, in the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]], the training of regular French line infantry recruits was limited due to the relentless attack of the Coalition Forces. A recruit was trained by firing only two cartridges and four blanks. There was also light training of forming several formations. However, training large quantities of elite line infantry was generally a complicated process.

== Arms and equipment ==
[[File:Battle of Guiliford Courthouse 15 March 1781.jpg|thumb|1st Maryland Regiment holding the line at the [[Battle of Guilford Court House]], 1781]]
In the middle of the 16th century, the [[matchlock]] muskets of some line infantry were equipped with [[bayonet]]s. Bayonets were attached to the muzzles and were used when line troops entered [[melee]] combat. They also helped to defend against cavalry.

At the end of the 17th century, a solution was sought to a flaw within the design of [[matchlock]] muskets. Since the matchlock musket used a slow burning piece of twine known as a [[slow match]], the twine sometimes would accidentally set fire to the gunpowder reservoir in the musket prematurely setting off the gunpowder, resulting in serious injury or death to the operator. For this reason and others, matchlock muskets began to be replaced by lighter and cheaper infantry [[fusilier|fusils]] with [[flintlock]]s, weighing {{convert|5|kg|abbr=on}} with a caliber of {{convert|17.5|mm|abbr=on}}, first in France and then in other countries. In many countries, the new fusils retained the name "musket". Both muskets and fusils were [[smoothbore]], which lessened their accuracy and range, but made for faster loading, lesser amount of bore fouling and more robust, less complicated firearms.

The accuracy of smooth-bore muskets was in the range of {{convert|300-400|yd|abbr=on}} against a line of infantry or cavalry. Against a single enemy, however, the effective range was no more than {{convert|50-100|yd|abbr=on}}. It should be borne in mind that ordinary linear infantrymen were poorly trained in aimed shooting, due to the expense of gunpowder and lead (modern reenactors achieve much better results by firing smooth-bore muskets). Line infantrymen were trained in rapid reloading. The recruit was expected to load 3 rounds a minute, while an experienced soldier could load 4–6 rounds per minute.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haythornthwaite |first1=Philip J. |title=Napoleonic infantry |date=2002 |publisher=Cassell |isbn=0304355097}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=B.P. |title=Firepower : Weapons Effectiveness on the Battlefield, 1630-1850 |date=1997 |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |isbn=1885119399}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Flüssel |first1=Marian |title=Waterloo 1815 |date=2015 |publisher=C.H.Beck |language=de}}</ref> In battle conditions, this number was reduced and after the first few minutes of combat, no more than 2 rounds per minute could be expected even from well trained troops.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nosworthy |first1=Brent |title=With musket, cannon, and sword : battle tactics of Napoleon and his enemies |publisher= Constable |location=London, UK |date=1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nafziger |first1=George |authorlink1=George Nafziger |title=Imperial Bayonets : Tactics of the Napoleonic Battery, Battalion and Brigade as Found in Contemporary Regulations |date=1996 |publisher=Greenhill Books |location=London}}</ref>

The bulk of the line infantry had no protective equipment, as armor that could provide protection from musket fire were considered too expensive and heavy. Only the former elite troops could keep by tradition some elements of protection, for example, the copper mitre caps of grenadiers.

== Line infantry and other contemporary types of infantry ==
[[File:Marten's Poltava.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Poltava]] between Russia and Sweden, 1709]]
Initially, soldiers equipped with firearms formed only a small part of the infantry branch of most armies, because of their vulnerability to hostile cavalry. [[Pikemen]] formed the majority of infantrymen and were known as heavy infantry. A significant part of infantry consisted of old-style musketeers, who did not use the linear tactics, instead skirmishing in open formation. However, by the middle of the 17th century, musketeers deployed in line formation already provided about half of the foot troops in most Western European armies. [[Maurice of Nassau]] was noted as the first large scale user of linear tactic in Europe, introducing the 'counter-march' to enable his formations of musketeers to maintain a continuous fire. After the invention of the bayonet, musketeers could finally defend themselves from the enemy's horsemen, and the percentage of pikemen fell gradually. In 1699, the Austrian army abandoned their pikes. In 1703, the French army did the same, in 1704 the British and 1708 the Dutch. In 1699–1721, [[Peter the Great|Peter I]] converted almost all Russian foot-regiments to line infantry. The abandonment of the pike, together with the faster firing rate made possible by the introduction of the new [[flintlock]] [[musket]] and [[paper cartridge]], resulted in the replacement of the deeper formations of troops more suitable for the melee-oriented pikemen with shallower lines that maximized the firepower of an infantry formation.

Besides regular line infantry, there were elite troops (royal guards and other designated elite regiments) and the [[Light infantry#Modern age|light infantry]]. Light infantry operated in extended order (also known as skirmish formation) as opposed to the close order (tight formations) used by line infantry. Since the late 18th century, light infantry in most European countries mostly consisted of [[Rifleman|riflemen]] (such as the German [[Jäger (military)|Jäger]]), armed with rifled carbines and trained in aimed shooting and use of [[Enfilade and defilade|defilades]].

In Britain, much of the light infantry was armed with smooth-bore muskets, only a few regiments used rifled muskets.<ref>{{cite book | last=Haythornthwaite | first=P. | last2=Hook | first2=A. | title=British Light Infantry & Rifle Tactics of the Napoleonic Wars | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | series=Elite | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-4728-1608-5}}</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2024}}

In France, during the [[French Revolutionary Wars|Revolutionary]] and [[Napoleonic Wars]], the division into the Guard, line infantry and light infantry formally continued to exist, line and "light" [[regiment]]s had identical weaponry (smooth-bore fusils) and tactics. (Napoleon preferred smooth-bore weaponry for their faster reload speeds.) However, each battalion in both line and "light" regiments included a company of [[voltigeurs]], who were expected to act as skirmishers as well being able to deploy into line.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/French_infantry.html#_grenadiers_fusiliers_carabiniers_chasseurs_voltigeurs |title=Napoleon, His Army and Enemies. |website=napoleonistyka.atspace.com |publisher=Zbynio Olszewski (webmaster) |access-date=17 February 2015 |archive-date=28 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228045741/http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/French_infantry.html#_grenadiers_fusiliers_carabiniers_chasseurs_voltigeurs |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Бородинский бой (1812).png|thumb|Russian infantry at the [[Battle of Borodino]], 1812]]
In the Russian Empire, light infantry was forming at a very fast pace; by the end of the 18th century, regiments of light infantry totaled 40,000 soldiers (''Jaeger''). The armament of light infantry was very different from the armament of linear infantry. They were armed with high-quality muskets, as well as pistols (for close combat).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.wikireading.ru/83385|title=«По званию легкой пехоты…». Повседневная жизнь Русской армии во времена суворовских войн|website=history.wikireading.ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://adjudant.ru/regulations/1786-eger-03.htm|title = А! - Примечания о пехотной службе вообще и о егерской особенно. Основной текст}}</ref> After the unsuccessful army reforms of Paul I, the number of light infantry in the Russian army was significantly reduced and made up only 8% of the entire field infantry. However, the Russian army soon returned to the trend of increasing the number of light infantry, begun in the 18th century. By 1811, 50 light infantry regiments were formed in the Russian army. In addition, each linear battalion was required to have 100 of the best shooting soldiers fight in loose ranks and cover their battalions from the enemy skirmishers. The total number of light infantry reached 40% of the entire field infantry. The sharp increase in the number of light infantry greatly influenced their quality of training and equipment.<ref>[[:ru:Егерские полки Российской империи]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=March 2019}}<ref>[http://www.reenactor.ru/ARH/Drill/Russ_skirmish_Drill_1818.pdf Правила рассыпного строя или наставление о рассыпном действии пехоты. 1818г.]</ref> The Russian infantry of 1854 comprised 108 regiments, of which 42 were line infantry. The remainder were specialized or elite units such as Guards, Grenadiers and Jägers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert H.G.|last=Thomas|page=[https://archive.org/details/russianarmycrime00thom_450/page/n4 4]|title=The Russian Army of the Crimean War 1854-56|year=1991|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |url=https://archive.org/details/russianarmycrime00thom_450|url-access=limited|isbn=1-85532-161-0}}</ref> Only part of the Russian light infantry were equipped with the M1854 rifle, the remainder retaining smoothbore percussion muskets.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert H.G.|last=Thomas|pages=[https://archive.org/details/russianarmycrime00thom_450/page/n16 16]–17|title=The Russian Army of the Crimean War 1854-56|year=1991|publisher=Bloomsbury USA |url=https://archive.org/details/russianarmycrime00thom_450|url-access=limited|isbn=1-85532-161-0}}</ref>

In the second half of the 19th century, the development of [[mass production]] and new technologies, such as the [[Minié ball]], allowed European armies to gradually equip all their infantrymen with [[rifled]] weapons, and the percentage of line infantry equipped with muskets fell. In the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate armies had only a few [[line regiment]]s equipped with the old-style smooth-bore muskets. However, France, due to Napoleon III, who admired Napoleon I, had 300 line battalions (comprising an overwhelming majority) even in 1870. Although the French line infantry received Chassepot rifles in 1866, it was still being trained in the use of close formations (line, column and square), which was changed only after the dethronement of Napoleon III. This was common practice in all conventional Western armies until the late 19th century, as infantry tactics and military thinking had yet to catch up with technological developments.

== Decline ==
[[File:Robert Gibb - The Thin Red Line.jpg|thumb|''[[The Thin Red Line (Battle of Balaclava)|The Thin Red Line]]'' at the Battle of Balaclava, where the [[93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|93rd Sutherland Highlanders]] held off Russian cavalry]]
In the years after the Napoleonic Wars, line infantry continued to be deployed as the main battle force, while light infantry provided fire support and covered the movement of units. In Russia, Great Britain, France, Prussia, and some other states, linear tactics and formation discipline were maintained into the late 19th century.

With the invention of new weaponry, the concept of line infantry began to wane. The [[Minié ball]], an improved rifle ammunition, allowed individual infantrymen to shoot more accurately and over greatly increased range. Men walking in formation line-abreast became easy targets, as evidenced in the [[American Civil War]].<ref>Bailey, Thomas and David Kennedy: ''The American Pageant'', p. 434. 1987</ref> The [[Austro-Prussian War]] in 1866 showed that [[Breech-loading weapon|breech-loading rifles]], which gave the individual shooter a greatly increased rate of fire as well as the capability to reload from a prone position, were greatly superior to [[Muzzleloader|muzzle loaded]] rifles. In the 1860s, most German states and Russia converted their line infantry and riflemen into 'united' infantry, which used rifles and skirmish tactics. After the [[Franco-Prussian War]], both the [[German Empire]] and the [[French Third Republic]] did the same. However, Great Britain retained the name "line infantry", although it used [[rifled musket]]s from 1853 and [[breech loading rifle]]s from 1867, and switched from closed lines to extended order during the [[Boer wars]].

The growing accuracy, range, and rate of fire of rifles, together with the invention of the [[Maxim gun|Maxim]] machine gun in 1883, meant that close order line infantry would suffer heavy losses before being able to close with the enemy, while the defensive advantages given to line infantry against cavalry became irrelevant with the effective removal of offensive [[cavalry]] from the battlefield in the face of the improved weaponry. With the turn of the 20th century, this slowly led to infantry increasingly adopting [[skirmish]] style [[light infantry]] tactics in battle, while retaining line infantry drill for training.

== Retention of "line infantry" title ==
Although linear battle tactics had become obsolete by the second half of the nineteenth century, regiments in several European armies retained the "line infantry" (or cavalry) title. This designation had come to mean an army's regular or numbered regiments, as opposed to specialist or elite formations. Accordingly, the distinction had become a traditional title or classification without significance regarding armament or tactics. For example, the [[Belgian Army order of battle (19f 1914)|Belgian Army order of battle in 1914]] comprised 14 regiments of ''Infanterie de Ligne'' (line infantry), three of ''Chasseurs a pied'' (light infantry), one of ''Grenadiers'' and one of ''Carabiniers''.<ref>Guy Derie, ''Les Soldats de Leopold Ier et Leopold II'', D 1986/0197/03, p. 21</ref><ref>R. Pawly & P. Lierneux, ''The Belgian Army in World War I'', {{ISBN|978-1-84603-448-0}}.  p. 4.</ref> Similar differentiations were made in the majority of European armies of the period, although English-speaking authors sometimes use the designation "line infantry" when referring to the ordinary infantry of some other countries where the exact term was not in use.

The term was also used by US units during the Second World War, as shown by this quote from a report of the 782nd Tank Battalion in late April 1945:

{{blockquote|On the 22nd of April, the Battalion moved from Oberkotzau, Germany to [[Wunsiedel]], Germany. Here the attachment of the line companies to the Regimental Combat Teams of the [[97th Infantry Division (United States)|97th Division]] was completed. We separated, not coming together again until the war was over. Company "A" joined the 303rd at Rehau, Germany: Company "B" joined the 386th at Arzburg, Germany: and Company "C" the 387th at Waldsassen, Germany.<ref>United States Army, "[http://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/9]" 782nd Tank Battalion (1945). World War Regimental Histories. 9. pp. 17, 21.</ref>}}

The [[British Army]] retains the traditional distinction between "Guards", "Line Infantry" and "the Rifles" on ceremonial occasions for historical reasons. It is linked to the [[British Army order of precedence|order of precedence]] within the British Army and regimental pride, so for example Colonel Patrick Crowley states in the "introduction" in ''A Brief History of The [[Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment]]'' (2015):

{{blockquote|The examples of valour, adherence to duty, and fortitude, continue to inspire the current officers and soldiers of the modern Regiment, who are proud to belong to the most senior English Regiment of the Line.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crowley |first=Colonel Patrick  |date=2015 |url=http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/pwrrguide2015.pdf |chapter=Introduction |title=A Brief History of The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment |publisher=army.mod.uk |page=2 (PDF 4) |access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref>
}}
The [[Canadian Army]] also retained these traditional distinctions, and its infantry regiments were organized, titled, and uniformed in full dress as [[foot guards]], [[fusiliers]], light infantry, line infantry, rifles, and kilted infantry regiments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/military-identity-system/dress-manual/chapter-6/annex-b.html|title=Dress instructions {{!}} Annex B Royal military colleges and infantry regiments|website=www.canada.ca|publisher=Government of Canada|date=30 August 2023|access-date=9 June 2024}}</ref>

The infantry of most 21st-century armies are still trained in formation manoeuvre and [[Military parade|drill]], as a way of instilling [[discipline]] and [[unit cohesion]]. Members of the US Army utilize the term "line company" (informally) in light infantry battalions to differentiate those companies (generally A–D) that perform the traditional infantry role from the support companies (generally F and HHC) charged with supporting the "line companies". The Marine Corps does the same for all its infantry units. In this vein, officers assigned to the rifle companies are referred to as "line officers" while billeted to positions such as Platoon Leaders and Commanding and Executive Officers.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}}

== See also ==
* [[Fusilier]]
* [[Grenadier]]
* [[Line regiment]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Infantry]]
[[Category:Combat occupations]]
[[Category:Combat occupations of the late modern period]]
[[Category:Obsolete occupations]]
[[Category:Warriors]]