British Army Manual Of Arms
A manual of arms was an instruction book for handling and using weapons in, whether in the field or on. Such manuals were especially important in the and eras, when loading and firing was a complex and lengthy process typically carried out in. When capitalized, the term has reference to one of several important manuals, such as the Army manual of 1764, the manual of or 's, adopted by the in 1777.
The positions and evolutions contained in such manuals have become the standard for parade drill throughout most of the world. Port ArmsTypical examples of rules and procedures can be found in the 1764 manual.
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Contents.IntroductionAt the outbreak of war in 1756, the British army required a new drill manual, to train officers and men in the latest drill available to them. The result, in 1757, was a new exercise of foot. The manual in reproduced here in paraphrased format.N.B.
Pace here specifically refers to a length of 2 feet, or approximately 60 cm. This is opposed to the pre-1757 manuals, which defined a pace as 3 feet. Exercise for the Foot, 1757 AssemblyWhen soldier were called to arms, they were to fall in by company to the quarters of the captain in single rank. Basic StanceSource:The default stance of the British soldier in battle, as per the manual of arms of 1757 as well as other manuals introduced during the war, was with arms shouldered. The men were lined up so that each rank was separated from each other by 2 feet, with the files lined up shoulder to shoulder, providing sufficient space to manoeuvre, but also maintaining a tight formation. Alternately, soldier could be deployed in open order, with the ranks being six feet apart and anywhere from 3-6 feet of space between the files.
Soldiers were expected to observe perfect silence. Clothing and equipment was to be in perfect order, with all metal parts polished, clothes clean. The right number and type of cartridges were to be checked for, as well as the condition of the lock and flint.When shouldering arms, the soldier was to keep his weapon nearly vertical, carried on the left shoulder, barrel facing outward, lock “turned up” and below breast level, with the butt flat against the hip, the weapon pressed against the body with the ball of the thumb. The musket was to be held with the index and thumb ahead of the corner of the stock, with the middle finger on the corner, the other fingers on the bottom of the stock.
Soldiers were to stand with shoulders held back, stomach slightly tucked in, chest pressed out, chin up, and the right arm hanging down with the palms facing back. Finally, all but the rightmost man in the line was to have his head cocked to the right. The rightmost man kept his head straight forward. While not stated in any manual, the tricorne was generally worn cocked to one side—typically to the left. This was to allow the weapon to be shouldered, without hitting the hat.Prior to the Seven Years' War, and as implied in the manual of 1757 (as well as those of 1735 and 1753), soldiers were expected to march by raising their thighs so as to be nearly horizontal, while simultaneously bending the knee to form a right angle, then taking a small, firm step forward. Unlike the Prussians, the steps were to be regulated by the beat of the drum even on the battlefield, at a pace specified by the captain or battalion commander (N.B.
It is not specified in any of the manuals what the rate was, but it may typically have been about 60 steps a minute, each step 1.5 feet prior to the Seven Years' War, just 1 foot afterwards). However, in practice during the war, soldiers more typically marched in a manner similar to that of the Prussian army of the time, though whether the rate of march was the same (70-75 steps/minute) is unknown. It seems however that the pace was still regulated by the beat of the drum or even the fife, going by accounts by William Windham of the drilling of the and.Loading and Firing procedureA British infantryman was taught to load and fire his musket in 16 steps organized in 23 motions. In many respects, it is simply a modified version of procedures dating from no later than 1735, the difference being slight modifications to accommodate a tighter formation (two by two feet, instead of three by three). The descriptions of the movements are illustrated by the author, with text based on that of the original manual, supplemented where applicable by William Windham's military treatise of 1759, where the 1757 manual is silent. The soldier first joined his right hand to the stock of his firelock, and then recovered his firelock. He then followed orders:Open your pan1) The soldier stepped back for inches with his right leg, facing to his right, while his left hand held the musket between the lock and musket swell, keeping the left arm close to the body.
His right hand is to have the ball of its thumb behind the hammer, fingers shut. The musket is to be positioned so that the lock is below the right chest; the muzzle is to be at the head level of the person in front of the loader.2) The soldier opens the pan, keeping the right elbow down.
Open your cartridgeSource:Prime1) The thumb is placed on the edge of the pan, and the hand is tipped to carefully shake in the powder. The cartridge is covered by the thumb.2) the cartridge is brought back to its prior position.Shut the pan1) The soldier quickly shuts the pan with his little and ring fingers.2) He then casts the musket back, by pushing down the stock with the left hand, catching the muzzle with the right hand.
Meanwhile, the musket is to sink through the soldier’s left hand (the arm of which hangs straight), so that the butt of the musket is opposite the soldier’s left toe, while at the same time the musket is held in the left hand by the swell (N.B. In most people of the time height was about 5’7”, this would mean the musket butt does not touch the ground). While doing all this, the soldier must continue to hold his cartridge shut with his thumb, index, and middle fingers. Shut the panSource:Load with cartridge1) The soldier puts the rest of the cartridge in the barrel, shaking out the powder into the barrel, and then pushing the ball into the muzzle with the index (it’s implied the paper acts as wadding, coating the ball with paper. They did not hold the balls in the mouth to spit into the barrel, or separate the paper and ball, as some movies and even reenactors imply: there is simply no evidence for this)2) the soldier then seizes the butt-end of the rammer with his thumb and index, in the process wrapping round the barrel with the two digits.
The other fingers however do not do the same: they instead remain clenched. Both elbows are to remain close to the body. Load with cartridgeSource:Draw your rammer1) The soldier withdraws his rammer from its seating, stretching his arm out in the process as far as possible. He then quickly seizes it where it meets the seating, inverting his hand in the process.2) The soldier then clears the rammer, inverts it once more, and then shortens it using his belt buckle, so that his hand is within three inches of the butt of the rammer, keeping the rammer parallel with the barrel in the process.3) The soldier finally brings the rammer up to the muzzle.
While doing all this, the elbows must remain close to the body. Draw your rammerSource:Ram down the cartridge1) the soldier seizes the rammer at its midpoint, and drives it down the barrel firmly. The soldier promptly grabs the rammer at where it is at muzzle level, the thumb facing down, and pulls out the rammer halfway.2) The soldier then completely withdraws the rammer, inverts it again, and then shortens it with his belt buckle, this time to within twelve inches, rather than three.3) He then brings the back end of the rammer to the first pipe, and conducts it down through the first pipe and into the second pipe, thumb up. Ram down the cartridgeSource:Return your rammerThe soldier than pushes down on the rammer at its butt-end with the palm of his hand quickly and with force, then raises the firelock with the left hand, bringing the right hand to the stock behind the lock, the left hand slipping back to the area between the swell and lock. The cock should be at the height of the waist belt.
The manual doesn’t state whether in the process the musket should be dead centre ahead of the man, or slightly to his left: simply that it is vertical and as mentioned. In the illustration given here, it is to the slight left: however, Windham has it as dead centre in front.). Return your rammerSource:Shoulder1) The soldier then faces left (so that he is once again facing forward), being up the right heel so as to within four inches of the left heel.
At the same time, he brings the weapon opposite his left shoulder, and grabs the butt end with the left hand, bringing up the stock to the level of the pelvis once more.2) The soldier then draws the elbows quickly back, so that the musket finally rests on the shoulder, and the right arm is thrown back, resulting in the soldier assuming the shoulder arms position. ShoulderSource:Make readyAt this command, the soldiers in all three ranks recover their arms. Once done, each rank does as follows (elbows to generally remain close to body, unless otherwise noted: thumb always stays on the cock):. Front rank: the front rank kneels on his right knee, right toes in, heel upright, and body erect.
The musket is fully cocked in the process, and kept facing up. The soldier remains holding the musket by the back of the lock with his right hand, and with his left, holding the musket by the area between the lock and swell. (N.B on the parade ground, the soldier must step back three feet, as the drill is held in open order). Centre rank: the men of the centre rank step directly back with the right leg about 18 inches (bending his right knee a bit in the process, but keeping the left one straight), so that the right foot is behind the right foot of the man ahead of him. Again, he cocks his musket, and holds it pointing up, in a manner similar to that of the front rank. Right elbow is to remain down. Rear rank: the soldier steps to the right, rather than the back, so that the right foot is just behind the back of the heel of the man to his right.
Right knee is to be slightly bent, left one straight. The soldier cocks his musket at the same time.
None of the manuals state how far to the right they must step, though it is likely no more than 12-18 inches). Make readySource:PresentAll the soldiers force their weapons down and forward, so that the left hand slides forward to the area of the swell of the musket, the right elbow remaining close to the body.
The butt is placed between the shoulder and arms, and the thumb is removed from the cock, while the index moves to the trigger. Soldier takes aim with the musket in the process in a manner similar to today’s armies. However, there are details to this, according to rank — mostly to minimize the chances for friendly fire:. Front rank: mostly as described above. Centre rank: the men of the centre aim a little to the right of the men of the front rank.
Manual Of Arms Army M4
Rear rank: the soldier aims the weapon between the file leader (the man at the front of his file (or rather, half-file), and the right-hand file or half-file. PresentSource:Fire!The soldiers all at once briskly pull the trigger, and immediately recover arms, and assume the position of the first motion(that of opening the pan), only with their right thumb behind the cock.Half-cock your firelockThe soldiers do just that with briskly, bringing down their right elbows in the process. They then repeated the above process, starting with handling the cartridge.Simplified orders during battleWhen in battle, all the steps were summarized as follows:1- Prime and load!2- Make ready!3- Present!4- Fire!5- Prime and load! (when continuing to fire).6- Cease fire! (When shooting is no longer necessary).Individual use of the BayonetWhen in battle, bayonets were to be fixed, as in most other armies of the period. However, the British at this time emphasized the use of firepower over that of the bayonet, and this showed in the procedure used to charge bayonets, as per the manual of 1757.In battle, at the command Charge your bayonets!
The soldiers of the front rank immediately stepped forward about eighteen inches with the left leg (so that it is bent, while the right leg is straight), and dropped their weapons forward, so that they were horizontal, and at chest level. The left hand grasped the musket at the feather spring (or between the lock and swell of the musket), with the fingers and thumb pointing towards the lock.
Honor Guard Manual Of Arms
The left elbow pointed to the front, so that the left arm acted as a rest for the musket. The right hand meanwhile grabbed the butt end of the musket, so that it was nested fully in the palm of the hand. The two rear ranks remained at the recover arms position. No other methods were provided for either by the 1757 manual, any of the earlier manuals (1735, 1753), or in Humphry Bland’s treatise, published in 1726. Charge your bayonetsSource:This style of bayonet use was a relic of a time when soldiers were issued pikes, having evolved as a means of carrying the cumbersome pikes when fighting against either infantry or cavalry. As such, it was singularly unsuitable method for use in a truly offensive or individualistic manner with a weapon such as the bayonet. To make matters worse, most treatises and manuals of the time give little thought or mention of practising with the bayonet: it was simply neglected.