The Anatomy of Victory: Battle Tactics, 1689-1763.

The introduction of the flintlock mechanism and the socket bayonet in the late seventeenth century provided the musketeer with a more reliable weapon than he had previously possessed and made it possible for him to defend himself by his own means against cavalry charges. Consequently, the pike could be dispensed with, and the musketeer became the only and universal type of infantryman. The trend towards thinner infantry formations, designed to maximize fire power, was now accelerated. This, in turn, prompted the evolution of the manoeuvre in line, or linear tactics, which is associated with eighteenth-century warfare and which was perfected by the Prussian army under Frederick …