Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/278

 BAT

BAT

by this means are covered and fuffocatcd with a cloud of duft. Vid. Phil. Tranf. N° 219. p. 137.

On the day of battle, taking the advantages of the ground, obferving the order of battle before concerted, changing it where found Decenary, and giving notice thereof to thofe con- cerned ; diftributing the artillery in the line according to the ground ; watching for all advantages to be taken, by opening and ^lengthening the wings ; giving the word before march- ing to the enemy ; taking care to obferve the right and left, and the diftance between the lines. If the army march in front, to make frequent halts, to give time for the line to re- -cover its order, and to the artillery to fire and load again; above all, forbidding the foldiers from firing, to receive the enemies fire, and not to charge till after drawing their fire from them, is a capital point, it being certain, that when troops, who have parted with their fire, fee others advance, and going to pour in their fire upon them, they will immediately give way. But when both fides purfue the fame maxim, the beft expedient feems to be, to march up clofe to the enemy, ere they give their fire, and having fired, prevent the enemy from giving his, by falling upon them with the bayonets on the muzzle of the mufkets the inftant you have fired, which may be done under cover of the fmoke, before they can perceive it. Bland, Milit. Difcipl. c. 9. art. 2. p. 133, feq. If the army, by its match, cannot come at the enemy in front, it inuft approach in a fufficient number of columns to be in or- der of battle, out of diftance of being charged in columns, The general officers who command the columns, are carefully to oblcrve each other, that at leaft their head make a front, and that, when arrived on the ground where the army may open itfelf, this movement be made with care and expedition, and out of reach of being charged by the enemy before the whole army is in order. The general is to be pofled where he may beft fee the effect of the firft charge, that lie may give or- ders for fuftaining the troops who have beaten, as well as to replace thofe who are beaten ; in order to which, he is to make ufe of the troops pofted between the lines, or thofe of the body of referve. The battle growing hot, and the fuccefs di- vided, the general is to make his chief effort againft that part, where the enemy makes the ftrongeft refinance; in which cafe, he is to repair thither himfelf, to animate the men by his pre- fence. If he be equally fuccefsful through the whole firft line, and have defeated that of the enemy, the chief care of the ge- neral officers Is, to keep the troops together, and prevent their feparating and following the fugitives, except by bodies de- tached on purpofe, from the battalions and fquadrons ; to march on flowly with the whole firft line to fuftain thofe who are detached, and to charge in front, and in order of battle, the fecond line.

The artillery is ftill to accompany the firft line in the order wherein it was firft diftributed, if the ground will allow, and the reft of the army to follow this motion, ftill obferving the diftance between the two lines as at firft appointed, to prevent confufion. If the victory continue to declare in his favour, and he has the good fortune to overthrow the fecond line, more care ftill is to be taken to prevent the troops from fepa- rating, left they be charged and put in diforder by the firft line of the enemy, who may have rallied behind their fecond line. The routed troops muft ftill be purfued in a body, and in lines. No battalion ought ever to advance before the line in purfuit, for fear of being flanked, till the diforder be general: after- wards, the number of thofe detached for the purfuit is to be ihcreafed, without ever fuftering a man to quit his flag without being commanded. On this occafion, the general is to make ufe of the referved body, and of frefh troops, who have not engaged, to purfue the enemy, to prevent their rallying, and to take prifoners, which the troops muft never be fuffered to meddle with during the battle, nor fo much as look on the plunder of the field, till the victory be abfolutely afiured, and the enemy fo broken, and at fuch a diftance, that there is no danger of his turning back on the bodies detached to purfue them : after which, during the reft of the day, the victorious troops may be fuffered to reap the plunder of the field of bat- tle. If the firft line give way, or be put into diforder by the enemy, the battalions are to retire through the intervals left between thofe of the fecond line, behind which they are to ftop and rally. Great care is to be here taken by the offi- cers, that, inftead of retiring through the intervals, they do not run directly into the battalions, and either carry them off with them, or put them into fuch confufion, that the enemy be upon them ere they have time to repair the diforder. Bland, ib. p. 140.

On the firft line's giving way, the fecond fhould march up brifkly to their relief, and attack the enemy, ere they have time to repair the diforder, which the action and the purfuit muft of courfe have thrown them into ; by doing which they may eafily retrieve what is loft, and defeat and render ufelefs the enemy's firft line, who had been confiderably weakened and difordered by the former attack. This is the more eafy to be effected, as the enemy's firft fire is fpent, which is that which does moft execution ; the other, from the great hurry of loading, being of little confequence, in comparifon with the firft. The great mifchief is, that the fecond line feeing the firft give way, are ufually ftruck with a panic, which magnifies

the enemy ; fo that by the time they approach near, they ci* ther betake themfelvcs to flight, or make hut a faint rcliftancc. Bland, ibid, art.- io. p. 142.

In cafe fortune declare on the enemy's fide, the great bufinefs of the general is to prevent a total rout. His capacity and ex- perience are to fhew him the moment which precedes the lofs of a battle, that he may take the neceflary precautions to di- minifh the diforder of a flight, either by the vigorous effort of a body of troops unfhattered, in order to give time for the reft to rally, and thus fecure a retreat; or by feizing fome poft be- hind, whither he may retire with fafety ; or a defile, behind which he may rally and rc-affemble his feattercd troops. As the lofs of the field of battle frequently carries with it that of the baggage and artillery, he is to remain no longer in this firft place than while he can re-affemble his army ; after which he is to lead it into fome fecure camp, where he may recover his lofles, fend for frefh cannon, troops, &c. If the lofs be con- fiderablc enough to hazard fome confiderabie town, he is to throw into it the beft of his infantry left, and endeavour ftitl to keep the field with the cavalry, to harafs the enemy, in cafe he attempts a fiege ; or to oblige him to keep the army toge- ther, and prevent his dividing into feveral bodies, if his defign be only to penetrate farther, and ravage the country. Vid. Bland, ib. §. 75. p, 306, feq. Battle was formerly ufed for a body of forces drawn up in or- der of battle.

This amounts to the fame with what is othcrwife called bat- talion. See Battalion.

In this fenfe, we meet with the length or depth of the batt'e, the front, rear, and flanks of the battle. Elton, Milit Art. 1. 1. c. 25. Length of the Battle is the number of men in a rank, or the

fpace from the left flank to the right flank. Depth of the Battle is the extent of a file, or the number of men from the front to the rear.

A Roman legion, ranged in order of battle, confuted of hajlati^ placed in the front ; of prineipes, who were all old experienced foldiers, placed behind the former ; and of triarii, heavy- armed with large bucklers, behind the prineipes. The hajlati were ranked clofe ; the ranks of the prineipes were much open- er, fo that they could receive the hajlati, and thofe of the triarii opener ftill, infomuch that they could receive both the prineipes and the hajlati within them, without any diforder, and ftill facing the enemy. When therefore the hajlati found themfelves unable to ftand the enemy's charge, they retired gently within the prineipes, where joining with them ; they renewed the combat. If thefc found themfelves too weak to fuftain the enemy, both retired among the triarii, where ral- lying, they formed a new corps, and charged with more vi- gour than ever. If thefe failed, the battle was loft ; the Ro- mans had no further refource. Macchiav. Art de Guer. 1, 3. c. 1.

The moderns are unacquainted with this method of inferting or embattling one company into another ; without which the former cannot be well fuccoured or defended, and their places taken by others ; which was a thing the Romans practifed with great exactnefs.

For the velites, and, in later times, the archers and flingers, they were not drawn up in this regular manner, but difpofed of either before the front of the haftati, or fcattered up and down among the void fpaces of the haftati, or fometimes placed in two bodies in the wings. Thefe always began the combat, skirmifhing in flying parties with the foremolt troops of the enemy. If they were repulfed, which was ufually the cafe, they fell hack to the flanks of the army, or retired again in the rear. When they retired, the haftati advanced to the charge. Kenn. Rom. Ant. Not. P. 2. 1. 4. c. 10. As to the cavalry, it was pofted at the two corners of the army, like the wings on a body, and fought fometimes on foot, fometimes on horfeback. The auxiliary forces compofed the two points of the battle^ and covered tire whole body of the Romans.

Other lefs ufual forms of battle among the Romans were, the cuneus, or wedge ; globus, or round form ; forfex, or pair of fheers ; turris, or an oblong fquare figure; Jerra, or faw. Vid. Kenn. Rom. Ant. P. 2. 1. 4. c. 10. p. 205, feq. The Greeks were inferior to the Romans in marfhalling their armies for battle* as they drew up their whole army in a front, and trufted the fuccefs of the day to a fingle force. Pott. Ar- cha^ol. 1. 3. c. 9, p. 75.

They had three forms of battle for the horfe, vh. the fquare, the wedge, and the rhombus, or diamond form. The firft held beft for the defenfive ; the two latter for the oftenfn e : the wedge being preferred as bringing moft hands to fight. Mlian. Tad. c. 18. Battle, in middle-age writers, properly denotes a combat or duel decreed by order of a court of juftice, for the decifion of a caifle, where otherwife fufficient proof could not be had, Cafeneuv. Orig. p. 2i. b. See Judicium Dei, Ordeal, and Purgation, Cycl. Battle, in a naval fenfe, denotes an engagement between two fleets, fquadrone, or even fhips.

This is more frequently diftinguifhed by the. name of fea- fight. b Of