Seven Years War Tactics

[Victrix]

I've recently acquired a book about the SYW, and while it briefly covers tactis used it doesnt give any details on how the troops were deployed, and how they fought. It appears to me that in order to deliver a proper volley of fire, a battalion was organized into 4 ranks (later 3). Now what is troubling me is how were these organzied? every company taking up a rank? there were over 900 men in a battalion would this make it a 300 men long single line? anyone knows? another thing i cant quite understand is fire by ranks...who would normally fire first? last rank? or first rank?

[camman]

really good tactic was filling big ships full of explosives and sending them down river where the enemy was. great success!

[Mahan]

One of the better books I've found dealing with this subject is Christopher Duffy's "The Military Experience in the Age of Reason." In this work, he quite appropriately points out that much of the theory behind tactics/rates of fire etc. went out the window once the bullets actually started flying. In his chapter entitled "The Battle," he points out (p. 213-214) that firing by platoons was too complicated a maneuver under most field conditions---and that the situation usually rapidly deteriorated to "crude battalion salvoes...far more frequently...the troops blazed away at will."
The four rank line was replaced by the three rank line during this era, but the 3 rank line still had serious tactical problems as related by the following: "...the unfortunates of the front rank, who were in danger of having their heads blown off by their comrades behind. Once the troops of the front rank had loaded, knelt down and fired, they were therefore under a powerful incentive not to stand up again."(Duffy, 213) The two rank line was therefore the most tactically flexible formation, allowing for every musket to bear on an opponent and was increasingly utilized.
Every company did not take up a rank, but rather battalions in line were generally organized from right to left, with the senior company occupying the "place of honor" on the right of the formation or line. Each company was assigned a certain section of line to occupy and of course each platoon held a portion of its parent company's section. This allowed for effective control of each company/platoon---something not realistically possible if the company was spread out in one rank. Due to the noise/smoke of battle, command and control would have been impossible if a company was stretched into such a long rank.
Firing by platoons would therefore involve sections of the line opening fire as they were able to load and present their muskets and was used most effectively by Frederick's Prussians, at least before, as Duffy points out, the friction of war intervened and made the battalion salvo or firing at will more and more likely. Firing by lines seems as though it would be very difficult to do under battlefield conditions as well, especially if each line was several hundred men long. Some other books you might have interest in are Duffy's "Instrument of War"---a study of the Austrian Army in the Seven Years War or Frederick the Great's "On the Art of War."