[RLK]

Oh, and Napoleon's main innovation in battlefield tactics was to have his infantry attack in column.

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Move troops in column. Musketry can not attack an arrayed force in column as the men in back would be blocked by those in front of them and would not be able to shoot anything.

[Mortimer Snavely]

The Bonapartists used column formations because it was the easiest way to get levée en masse draftees to coalesce in any kind of military formation. It was estremely effective against opposing formations of basically untrained infantry.

Against disciplined, formed troops, it was was worse than useless. The British would deploy in line and fire by platoons, with artillery support. French columns would get shot to pieces.

d'Erlon's Corps assaulted Wellington at Waterloo in massed formation, and after routing Byalandt's brigade, got torn to pieces by the Gordon Highlanders and Picton's cavalry, the Scots Greys. The French were unable to deploy their troops so as to maximize their firepower.

Unfortunately, the British cavalry were did not respond to the recall, continued to charge, and destroyed an artillery battery. With their horses blown, they were cut to pieces in turn by Bonapartist Polish Lancers.

[colorado tanker]

Move troops in column. Musketry can not attack an arrayed force in column as the men in back would be blocked by those in front of them and would not be able to shoot anything.

Very effective tactic. The only people who could cope with it were the British, because of their superior musketry and rate of reload and fire.