Line Infantry - Line Infantry and Other Contemporary Types of Infantry

Line Infantry and Other Contemporary Types of Infantry

Initially line infantry was only a small part of infantry, because it was originally vulnerable to hostile cavalry. Pikiners were the majority of infantry and were known as heavy infantry. A significant part of infantry consisted of old-style musketeers, who did not use the linear tactics. However by the middle of the 17th century line infantry already provided about half of the infantry in most Western European armies. After the invention of the bayonet, line infantry could defend itself from the enemy's horsemen. The percentage of pikiners fell gradually. In 1689 the Austrian army got rid of pikiners. In 1703 the French army did the same. In 1699-1721 Peter I converted almost all Russian infantry to line infantry. Line infantry now comprised the bulk of the infantry of European armies.

Besides line infantry, there were elite troops (royal guards and other designated elite regiments) and the light infantry. Light infantry operated in extended order (also known as skirmish formation) as opposed to the close orders (tight formations) used by line infantry. Since the late 18th century light infantry in most European countries mostly consisted of riflemen (such as the German Jäger), armed with rifled carbines and trained in aimed shooting and use of defilades. Line infantry, whose muskets with bayonets were heavier than carbines, became known as heavy infantry and were used as the main deciding force.

In France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the division into the Guard, line infantry and light infantry formally continued to exist, but line regiments and "light" regiments had identical weaponry (smooth-bore fusils) and tactics. Napoleon distrusted rifled firearms. However, both line and "light" regiments each included a battalion of tirailleurs or voltigeurs expected to act as skirmishers as well being able to deploy into line.

The Russian infantry of 1853 comprised 110 regiments. 52 of which were line infantry, 10 regiments were Guard, and 46 regiments were light infantry (42 Jäger regiments and 4 infantry carabinier regiments). However, only a part of the Russian light infantry were equipped with rifles.

In the 19th century the percentage of riflemen in European armies increased, and the percentage of line infantry equipped with muskets fell. In the American Civil War both Northern and Confederate armies had only a few line regiments. 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 still was being trained in the use of closed formations: line, column and square, which was changed only after the dethronement of Napoleon III.