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malthaussen

(18,281 posts)

4. Not at all, very effective when an army is using smoothbore weapons.

Reply to LoisB (Reply #1)

Mon Aug 18, 2025, 05:18 PM

Aug 18

Fatal when the enemy is using rifled weapons. But the Civil War generals had to learn that the hard way -- and so did European armies when they fought in the latter half of the 19th Century. Google "Solferino" and "Magenta" sometime.

-- Mal

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Coventina's History Thread: Napoleon and the American Civil War [View all] Coventina Aug 17 OP

Interesting. I always thought that lining up in a straight line was ridiculous. LoisB Aug 17 #1

Not at all, very effective when an army is using smoothbore weapons. malthaussen Aug 18 #4

Ok, then. Very late here. Look foward to an interesting read after lunch. electric_blue68 Aug 18 #2

Thought this would be about Napoleon III and his Mexican fantasies... malthaussen Aug 18 #3