For over a hundred years European armies had developed infantry tactics based round massed ranks of infantry firing in volleys to maintain a constant rate of fire, and this was due to the equipment at hand. The muzzle loading muskets, such as the Brown Bess, required a long series of actions to be carried out to load and discharge the weapon, and these were drilled in to troops from the day they joined the army. The needle gun with its bolt to open the chamber and the insertion of the bullet, increased the rate of fire and although not seen at the time would eventually lead to the end of infantry both firing and operating in mass ranks. Dur: 12min File: .mp3

[ Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT ]

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