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Cory SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY 1993 All rights reserved, This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author, Bibliotheque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographic Services Branch des services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (3ntario) K! A ON4 KIA ON4 The author has granted an L'aesteesr a accord6 une licence irrevocable nsn-exclusive licence irrevocable et non exclusive allowing the National Library of permettant a la Bibliothhque Canada fo reproduce, loan, nationale dkp Canada de distribute or sell copies of reproduire, prhter, distribuer ou - his/her thesis by any means and vendre des copies de sa these in any form or format, making de quelque maniere et sous this thesis available to interested quelque forme que ce soit pour persons. mettre des exemplaires de cette these a la disposition des pnrsonnes interessees. The author retains ownership of L'auteur conserve la propriht6 du the copyright in his/her thesis. droit d'auteur qui protege sa Neither the thesis nor substantial thbe. Ni la these ni des extrails extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de eelle-ci ne otherwise reproduced without doivent Btre imprimes ou his/her permission. autrernent reproduits sans son -- autsrisation. ISBN 0-315-91190-5 APPROVAL, DEGREE: M.A. TITLE OF THESIS: British Light Infantry in the Seven Years War CHAIR: J. I. Little E'dward Ingram, Professor Department of History . " Charles ~adiltodAssociate Professor Department of His tory - -- &vidb'~ilobar,PhD. (Examiner) DATE: 22 March 1993 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial sr single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay British Light Infantry in the Seven Years War Author : (sig/nature). Rory M. Cory (name) (date) iii ABSTRACT After Michasl Roberts developed the idea of a European Military Revolution lasting from 1600 to 1800, it was generally accepted that new ideas flowed from one army to another. Since tken, historians such as Geoffrey Parker have challenged this view by advacating that parallel developments were occurring independently within the separate European armies. Parker mainly referred to Spain and France, but a similar debate has been taking place about the evolution of the British Army during the eighteenth century, Historiographical opinion has been split in recent decades between those who feel that the British Army of the Seven Years War was built primariiy upon experiences in North America, and those who feel that other European armies, such as the Hanoverian Army, provided a better example for emulation. However, study of light infantry in the British Army during the Seven Years War shows that many aspects of strategic, operational, and tactical doctrine for their use actually evolved in North America. This evolution relied primarily on the initiative of officers, who responded to the terrain and the character of enemy and allied forces. It can thus be seen to be more of an internal reform than was previously thought, while still recognizing that there were European influences. This argument for an independent development is supported by a variety of sources including memoirs, journals, and letters of British officers, such as Robert Rogers, Jeffery Amhersto James Wolfe and George Washington. to Janis v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.o............t*s.*...e..* iii LISTOFMAPS..........a.*.*......... vii INTRODUCTION., ...................... 1 CHAPTER 1 THEBASIS ...................... Environmental Considerations Anglo-American Precedents French Precedents 2. STRATEGICUSES .................... Intelligence Gathering Logistical Involvement Operations Against the Enemy Rear 3. OPERATIONAL USES .................. Advance Guard Rearguard 4. TACTICAL DEVELOPMENTS ................ On the Flanks Assaulting Strong Positions Pursuing Beaten Enemies Covering Retreats 5. GOVERNMENT AND OFFICER CORPS INVOLVEMENT ....... Commitment to the War in North America Attitude of the Officer Corps Employment Doctrine Training CONCLUSION, . I . a . 139 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 142 vii LIST OF MAPS Map 1, The North American Theatre of War in the Seven Years War................*...*e..t15 Map 2. Quebec and Environs . 18 INTRODUCTION Ever since the early decades of this century there has been an active debate among military historians about the development of light infantry in the British army during the Seven Years War, Some authors (whom we will call Ccntinentalists) believe that continental1 influences from light troops like the French voltigeurs or the German jagers were the most important influence for the development of light infantry in the British army, while others (whom we will call Americanists) feel that the experiences in forest warfare in North America had the greatest effect. In fact, both facets of development were crucial. The former provided a close-order framework and functional examples for British light infantry, while the latter offered a ready-made open-order framework with which to integrate this close-order methodology in addition to providing a testing ground and vivid proof that heavy reliance on light infantry was feasible and desirable. It was the British failures in North America at the beginning of the Seven Years War that demonstrated a need for large-scale inteqration of light infantry into the British army and made the officer corps willing to support a sustained campaign to accomplish this. Any reconciliation between the Americanist and Continentalist 1 "Continental" will be used concurrently with wEuropesn" throughout the narrative to denote influences from the continent of Europe itself, the very tern that the ~ritishus4 to separate themselves fromthe rest of Europe. For the purposes of light infantry, Continental influence8 cm mainly frota Prance, hover, and Prussia. schools has been impossible up to this point, as the last monograph devoted solely to light infantry was J,F.C, Fuller's 1925 worka2 Faller believed that the evolution of British light infantry in the Seven Years War took place mainly in North America, but he did not devote much space to proving this. Since 1925, there have only been short pieces written about British light infantry, The next author to examine the subject was Stanley Pargellis in 1933,3 He suggested that a series of adverse experiences in North America led officers there to form new light units, reacting particularly to poor performances by the rangers. Pargellis, like Fuller, can thus be classed as an Americanist, but while he thus explained where the motivation for reforms came from, he had little to say about where the actual basis for light infantry came from. The initial attempts to identify this basis led to the development of the Continentalist school, heavily influenced by Michael Roberts9 'Military Revolution' hypothesis posited in 1955.~ In this diffusionist model, Roberts posits that tactics changed from 1560 to 1660 through the work of military geniuses in Sweden and the Low Countries such as Gustavus Adolphus and Maurice of Nassau. Other nations copied these changes, and so absorbed the new doctrines from abroad. Recently, however,