ABSTRACT
The socioeconomic milieu gave rise to small, long-service armies led by the aristocracy. The enlisted ranks came from the lower orders. Since the common soldiers lacked patriotic motivation and were prone to desertion, rigid discipline, even at the expense of flexibility, was necessary simply to keep the troops with their regiments. The slow-firing, inaccurate smoothbore musket imposed additional requirements for discipline. To obtain a satisfactory volume of firepower, troops had to be treated like cogs in a machine. The delivery of ordered volleys was more important than individual initiative.
