Old soldiers never die

Infantry means “kids” in free translation. Even in the 19th and 20th centuries many infantry regiments used the word “kids” in regiment names, meaning sons of a particular town or region. For example, Austrian 13th Infantry Regiments was traditionally called “Children of Cracow”. The prestige of infantry was somewhat lower; infantrymen needed only minimum qualifications and could be of a lower social status than cavalrymen. Hence this joking name. The belief was contradicted by a well-known German saying “Infanterie – Königin der Waffen”, meaning “Infantry is the queen of all weapons”. Significance of infantry grew systematically from the 13th century. Invention of the firearms was a watershed in the development of infantry. In the 16th century infantry armed in firearms and pikes could successfully resist a charge of enemy cavalry. More and more frequent use of the muskets caused a division of infantry into pikemen and shooters. The latter would fire over a larger range whereas the former would defend shooters from a charge of enemy cavalry. Invention of the bayonet, which at first was of the “plug” type and then a socket one, made pikemen, halberdiers and other units intended for close combat less and less useful from the second half of the 17th century. Additionally, a gradual development of firearms reduced the effectiveness of cavalry charges which could be stopped by a well-fired infantry salvo. As a result, pikemen disappeared completely from battlefields at the end of the 18th century. Infantry units armed with pikes and scythes appeared occasionally in the 19th century, mostly at the time of uprisings and revolutions but they were an exception to a rule. The 18th and 19th centuries were dominated by infantry firearms and infantry really became the queen of weapons.