BAT 



the ingenious clievalier de Folavd (Traite 6e la Colonne, 

 p. 7.) as rendering the battalions too fliallow, weak, iiica- 

 •pable of i'upportiiig each other, and expofins; them to be 

 eaiily penetrated and broken. through, all whicli he denomi- 

 nates eflential taults in taitics. According to him, t!ie real 

 ftrength of a corps confills in its thicknefs, or the depth of 

 its files, and their conne6lion and clofentfs, this rendering 

 the flanks almoil as ftrong as the front. He even lays it 

 down as a maxim, that every battalion arranged deeply, and 

 with a fniall front, will defeat another much ilrongeii than 

 itfelf difpofcd according to the ufiial method. In faft, a 

 corps whole front is widely extended, and whofe depth is 

 but fmall, manoeuvres with more difficulty, and cannot to- 

 tally avoid that wavering from which the clofe order of 

 M. Folard's battalion or column renders it comparatively ex- 

 empt. The opinion of the Chevalier has been in a great 

 meafure adopted by his countrymen, though his theory has 

 been violently attacked by two French officers formerly in 

 the fervice of the States General. They admit the fiiperior 

 ftrength of the column to the modern battalion, were the 

 action to be decided with pikes and fwords ; but maintain 

 that where fire-arms are ufed, M. Folard's column is but ill 

 calculated for the purpofe, and mull be infallibly dcftroyed. 

 The late campaigns in Italy fuinifh the beil commentary 

 upon thefe fepnrate fyftcms. 



Battalion, Square, is a battalion the files of which are 

 equal to the ranks, and whofe fides form an equal trout. 

 There are two kinds, th.e folid, and the hollow : in the for- 

 mer, the ordinary intervals between tiie ranks and iiles are 

 the only ones prefervcd ; in the latter, a vacant fpace is left 

 in the centre, of pretty confidcrable extent, according to 

 the grouiid oceupled by the battalion. We (hall prtfeiitly 

 give fome account of the evolutions neceflary in forming 

 both kinds of the fquare. 



The J'oiid fquare, however ingenious in its formation, and 

 refpedable in its appearance on a field of exercife, is of very 

 little utility in attual fervice. In the firit place, it fiuTers 

 prodigioufly from the fire of the enemy, efpecially if artil- 

 lery is brought to bear upon it ; in the fecond, it is next to 

 impoffible for the troops in the centre of the battalion to 

 employ their own fire effectiially. M. de Folard, in his 

 treatife de la Colonne, expofes much at large the defefts 

 both of the folid and the hollow fquare. He indireftly, 

 however, recommends their ufe ; his own column being no- 

 thing more than two or three battalions drawn up according 

 to the rules of the folid fquare, and placed without any in- 

 tervals in the rear of each other. Regardnig, however, the 

 folid fquare as entirely diltinft from the column, of which 

 we lliall fpeak more at large in its proper place, we fhall 

 liere conclude by obferving that the only cafe in which it 

 feems capable of affording any real fervice is when oppofed 

 to an enemy whofe forces coniift entirely of cavalry. 



The /.'oi/ow fquare, which claims for its inventor the ce- 

 lebrated prince Maurice of Naffau, is much lefs unwieldy 

 in its movements, fooner formed, and more eafily reduced, 

 than the folid. Its fire too is more regular, better direfted, 

 and docs much gi eater execution. It however participates 

 in a great meafure of all the difadvantages of the folid 

 fquare, and its ufe can only be recommended in cafes of the 

 lall extremity, or, as above, when oppcfcd to cavalry. 



Battalion, Trinngular, is a body of troops difpofed in a 

 triangle, whofe ranks, augmenting equally, form an arithmeti- 

 cal progreflion. Many Ikilful officers have preferred it to the 

 •fquare, from its preieiiting a greater front, and being able 

 to make head on all fides. The difficulty is to enure fol- 

 diers to march in this order ; and we may conclude the tri- 

 angular only preferable to the fi^uave battalion in clofe ac- 



BAT 



tion, when it is nccciTary to preferve an extended front or 

 when the nature of the ground requires fuch a difpofition. 



Battalion, Round, is that in which the ranks form a 

 number of concentric circles. The Romans made frequent 

 ufe of this manoeuvre in cafes of emergency, and were very 

 perfeft in its execution. Cxfar's commentaries funiilh feve- 

 ral examples, efpecially on occafion of the defeat of Sabinus 

 and Cotta by Ambiorix, where the formation and nature 

 of the orb are very fatisfaftorily elucidated. (De Bell. Gall. 

 lib. v.). But in the battle between Cscfar and Labienus in 

 Africa, tranllatoi'S feem to have millaken for the orb, a dif- 

 pofition perfeftly different. (Hirt. de Bcllo AfV. ) 



Although recommended by M. de Puyfcgur, the round 

 as well as the triangular battalion are now generally dif- 

 ufed. 



At a crifis like the prefent, we trull; the following ac- 

 count of the training the recruit for fervice, the order and 

 formation of the battalion, and the principal evolutions it 

 is deftined to execute, will not prove wholly unacceptable 

 to our readers. Care has'been taken to render the narration 

 as httle tedious as pofiible, and as coucife as may be conljlt- 

 ent with perfpicuity. 



Drill of the Recruit 'without Arms. 

 It requires in the inftruftors to whom tliis duty is "en- 

 truftcd, and who are anfwerable for its execution, an unre- 

 mitting perfevevance, an accurate knowledge of tlie fubjeft, 

 and a clear and concife tnetliod of conveying- inftruttion, unit- 

 ed with a firmnels capable of conimandi;ig perfeft attention 

 to their directions. They muft allow for weaknefs of capacity 

 in the recruit, "be patient and not rigorous where endeavour 

 and gocd-v.-ill are not wanting, as quicknefs is only to he 

 acquired by much praflice. Officers and inftrutlors muft 

 be critically cxail in theij own commands, as well as in ob- 

 ferving the execution of what they require from others. 

 Without this, all labour will prove intfieCtual, and the pro. 

 pofcd difcipline never be attained. 



The recruit mull be tiught progrtlTively to comprehend 

 one thing before he proceeds to another. In the firft cir- 

 cumftances of pofition, his firelock, fingers, elbows, &c. are 

 to be juflly difpofcd by the inftruftor. When more ad- 

 vanced, recruits fliould not be touched, but from example 

 and direflions be taught to correcl themfelves when admo- 

 nilhed. They (liould not be kept too long at any particular 

 part of their exercife, fo as to fatigue or render them un- 

 eafy ; and marching without arms ought to be nnxh inter- 

 mixed with the ufe of the fire-lock. Fife, or mufic, mull on 

 no account be ufed. The young foldier is to be confirmed 

 by habit alone in that cadence of flep he is afterwards to 

 maintain in m,arching to the enemy in fpitc of every variety 

 cf noife or circumflance that may tend to derange him. 



Each recruit mull be trained fingly, and in fquad, as here- 

 after defcnbed ; nor until ileadied in various points of his 

 duty, is he to be allowed to join the battalion, w^hich is fen- 

 fibly inconvenienced by the awkward behaviour even of one 

 man. On return from long abfence, every foldier mull be 

 re-dnl!ed before he can again join his company. 



I. Pofnior. of the Soldier. The equal fquarenefs of the 

 flioulders and body to the front is the firll and great princi- 

 ple of the pofition of a foldier. The heels mull be in a 

 line, and clofed ; knees flraight, without ftiflncfs ; toes a 

 little turned out, fo that the feet may form an angle of 

 about fixty degrees ; the arms are to hang near the body, 

 but not ftifF, the flat part of the hand and little finger 

 touching the thigh ; the thimibs as far back as the leams 

 of the breeches ; elbows and llioulders to be kept back ; 

 the belly rather drawn in, and the brcalt advanced, but 

 without conllraint j the body upright, but inclining for- 

 ward. 



