Thread by @KKriegeBlog

The picture of brightly coated troops marching slowly to the beating of drums remains one of the most striking visual images of 18th century warfare. But did troops move at greater speeds on the battlefield? TL;DR, they often were flexible and ran if they needed too. 1/15

To students of the British Army in the American War of Independence, this should not come as surprising news. Matthew H. Spring has recently shown that British soldiers fought unconventionally in North America. However: this trend goes beyond North America and the AWI. 2/15

18th century soldiers were often rational actors, and made competent decisions based on the needs of the moment. This willingness to respond quickly was not a special feature of the British or Prussian armies, but common to almost all 18th century militaries. 3/15

Jacques Mercoyrol de Beaulieu, a French veteran of the War of Polish Succession in the 1730s, recalled the types of battlefield movements possible in heat of the moment: 4/15

"In these battles, (which were all victories) the Picardie Brigade... moved almost as in a race: the most nimble arrived first, their arrival awakened courage and new strength to those already engaged in combat." 5/15

Prussian soldiers under Frederick the Great occasionally moved with great speed. The official war journal of the Prussian Fusilier Regiment of Jung-Braunschweig makes this clear: 6/15

"In order to reach the position... we had to pass a long dam, which delayed us. So, in order arrive [on] time, we had to run past the village of Arhem: the regiment was not in perfect order. The enemy were already advancing on us at the quick step, and we engaged them." 7/15

General von Lossow recalled that as soon as the firing began, "the orderly lines fell by the wayside, as they did whenever troops advanced through terrain... Units only needed to keep in contact with the other parts of the line, as the army of Frederick II knew well." 8/15

Johann Jakob Dominicus, a musketeer in Frederick II's army, also remembers running at Prague. He wrote, "our left wing had its work cut out for it, and we had to run with energy, in order to get under the enemy guns." 9/15

Historian Matthew H. Spring exhaustively shows that British troops moved at a kind of jog or trot. In the American War of Independence, British soldiers moved quickly as part of usual practice, rather than speeding up when the circumstances demanded it. 10/15

Roger Lamb recalls that the British moved forward at Guilford Courthouse, "in excellent order, at a smart run, with arms charged."At the same battle, the normally slower Hessians s in the Von Bose Regiment joined the British advance with speed: 11/15

"We then came to a fenced wheat field; on the other side of this field 1500 continentals and militia were deployed in line... I formed the battalion into line with the greatest of speed and we ran to meet the enemy in tolerable order." 12/15

Other German allies of the British, the Brunswickers , moved at speed during t the Battle of Freeman's Farm on September 19th, 1777. Hearing the English troops engaged Baron Riedesel moved out, "as quickly as possible," and launched his final attack, "at the quick-step." 13/15

It is important that we do not overdraw these examples. Most European commanders valued ordered bodies of men, and preferred to attack in an orderly fashion. However, in moments of crisis, European officers frequently took it upon themselves to move bodies of men at speed. 14/15

Whether in Europe or North America, these soldiers were not automata: they moved at the speed demanded by the situation. For the footnoted quotes, see: shorturl.at/kwE24 15/15