Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word fusil – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in contrasting ways in different countries and at different times, including soldiers guarding artillery, various elite units, ordinary line infantry and other uses.
A member of the French Army's Fusiliers de La Morlière, armed with a flintlock, c. 1745–1749
Reenactors in the uniform of the Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Regiment of Foot), one of the first British fusilier units
The flag of the 1st Regiment of Naval Fusiliers at the 2008 Bastille Day Military Parade
Fusiliers of the Prussian Army in the late 18th century
Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Montecuccoli are closely associated with the post-1648 development of linear infantry tactics. For both battle and parade drill, it consisted of two to four ranks of foot soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment, and thereby maximizing the effect of their firepower. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regular regiments "of the line" as opposed to light infantry, skirmishers, militia, support personnel, plus some other special categories of infantry not focused on heavy front line combat.
Prussian line infantry attack at the 1745 Battle of Hohenfriedberg.
