18th Century FORUM
Fredricks Infantry quality and the British Redcoat
Legatus
I know this subject might have been argued already, but I am consistently bombarded by others who swear one way or the other. I know that by and large, all Major European powers had fantastic Infantry in the 18th century because they had to. However, if we were to split hairs, how would one well educated Military Historian rank the Regular British Line Infantry up against Fredricks Prussians? To me I lean towards the Prussians as they were the fastest loaders and a remorsless killing machine even under heavy fire. Any thoughts, because I'm sick to death of arguing this point with my friends.
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Frederick had good infantry at the start of the Seven Years War, but from what I remember, casualties were quite heavy as the war went on. Also, prisoners were frequently pressed into service. So the Prussian skill at marching and maneuvering, and also rate of fire, must have declined, as there wasn't time to train the new men to the level of skill of the War of the Austrian Succession and earlier in the Seven Years War.
In contrast, the British did not field quite so many men on the continent, but in battles such as Minden, the handful of battalions made quite an impact.
Posted: 15-Mar-2010 04:59
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