Light infantry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Traditionally light infantry (or skirmishers) were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from heavy infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight formations that were the core of large battles. Light infantry often fought in close co-ordination with heavy infantry, where they could screen the heavy infantry from harassing fire, and the heavy infantry could intervene to protect the light infantry from attacks of enemy heavy infantry or cavalry. Heavy infantry originally had heavier arms and more armour than light infantry, but this distinction was lost as the use of armour declined and gunpowder weapons became mostly standardized for armies.
Contents |
[edit] History of the light infantry
[edit] Antiquity
The concept of a skirmishing screen is a very old one and was already well-established by Greek and Roman times.
[edit] Modern age
Regular armies usually relied on irregulars to perform the duties of light infantry skirmishers. Later, the dragoons of the 17th century were the light infantry skirmishers of their day – lightly-armed and armoured infantrymen who rode into battle but dismounted to fight.
In the 18th and 19th centuries most infantry battalions had a light company. Its members were usually smaller, agile men capable of using their initiative, since they did not fight in disciplined ranks as did the ordinary infantry but often in widely dispersed groups. They were also often chosen for their shooting ability and sometimes carried lighter muskets than ordinary infantrymen. Some light infantry units carried rifles instead of muskets, and wore rifle green uniforms; they became known as Rifle regiments. Unusually, light infantry officers often carried muskets as well and their swords were lighter and curved, as opposed to the heavy, straighter swords of other infantry officers. Orders were sent by bugle or whistle instead of drum (since the sound of a bugle carries further and it is difficult to move fast when carrying a drum). Some armies, including the British and French, converted whole regiments into light infantry. These were sometimes considered elite units, since they required more training and self-discipline to carry out the roles of light infantry as well as those of heavy infantry.
By the late 19th century the concept of fighting in formation was on the wane and the distinctions between light and heavy infantry began to disappear. Essentially, all infantry became light infantry in practice. Some regiments retained the name and customs, but there was in effect no difference between them and other infantry regiments.
- British Light Infantry Regiments
- Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
- Durham Light Infantry
- Highland Light Infantry
- King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
- King's Shropshire Light Infantry
- Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- Somerset Light Infantry
- The Light Infantry
- Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry
- Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry
- British Rifle Regiments
[edit] Light infantry today
Today, the term "light" refers to the lower amount of equipment (and hence weight) that light infantry use when compared to armoured infantry (who use armoured fighting vehicles). This lack of equipment means that they have less firepower but are much easier to deploy. Light infantry are used where it would not be possible, desirable or cost effective to deploy AFVs and have the advantage that they can be deployed around the world in days (instead of the weeks it would takes for a mechanized infantry units). Example types include :
- seaborne or ship-based units, such as Britain's Royal Marines or United States Marines.
- airborne or paratroops, such as Britain's Parachute Regiment and the American Airborne Divisions
- Air assault (meaning air-mobile) infantry units, which use helicopters for transportation to and from missions such as the American 101st Airborne Division.
- Special Operations units such as the United States Marine Corps' MEU(SOC), US Army's Rangers, and Britain's Special Forces Support Group.
- infantry intended for difficult terrain such as mountains (see 10th Mountain Division/1st Marines) or jungle.
- mechanised infantry (i.e. using unarmoured vehicles such as trucks).
- internal security or paramilitary troops.
- troops involved in Guerilla or counter Guerilla warfare.
- home defence or militia.
Note that in some armies Light Infantry are usually considered as an elite, but in other countries they may be considered inferior due to their lack of equipment.
Not all light infantry fight for a state military. According to a former FBI agent who was a senior member of the Bureau's counter-terrorism unit, the light infantry of the Shi'a Islamist organization Hezbollah are the finest in the world.[1]
[edit] See also
- Roman infantry tactics, strategy and battle formations
- (Broken Link) Skirmishers and light infantry during the Napoleonic Wars
- 256th Infantry Brigade
- 1st Marine Infantry Regiment
- The Partisan in War, a treatise on light infantry tactics written by Colonel Andreas Emmerich in 1789.
- Jegerkompaniet (Eng: Ranger Coy)
