"British platoon fire system mid 18th century." Topic
6 Posts
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Gunfreak  | 05 Nov 2018 4:22 a.m. PST |
I can't find my source, does anyone remember the system used during the mid 18th century?
Did they fire from the flanks in or alternate firings? |
| TheOtherOneFromTableScape | 05 Nov 2018 4:36 a.m. PST |
Bland's Treatise on Military Discipline describes it in excruciating detail. It's available on google books link |
 Der Alte Fritz | 05 Nov 2018 8:09 a.m. PST |
The Prussians started the platoon firing from the flanks and progressed inward: 2/4/6/8/7/5/3/1 Since they adopted the idea from the British I would assume that the above was how the British performed platoon fire. |
| 14Bore | 05 Nov 2018 3:35 p.m. PST |
From Bret Nosworthy if I remember right , the British actually stole platoon fire from the Dutch. |
| seneffe | 05 Nov 2018 5:13 p.m. PST |
I think that's right- platoon firing was essentially a Dutch innovation. The British credited them with that though- when they first adopted it, it was known as the 'Duch (sic) exercise'. They soon made it their own though, and polished and improved it to admiration of their allies and the great discomfort of the French. This is a good modern book on the subject- link |
| Sparta | 10 Nov 2018 5:06 a.m. PST |
I have seen it referenced that the british troops coming to the continent during the SYW was retrained in the simple prussian method of platoon fire – which often degenerated into a fast "heckenfeur" – it would seem (Nosworthy Anatomy of Victory and Duffys The army of Frederick the great) that platoonfire tended towards obsolecence due to the high rates of fire the prussians had achieved. |
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is a big fan of the Age of Sail, and these ships really speak to him - he loves transitional eras, and the Anglo-Dutch Wars was one of those.