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137-517: The Leicestershire Regiment ( Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army , with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both World War I and World War II , before being amalgamated, in September 1964, with the 1st East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) ,

274-654: A royal warrant assigned numbers to the regiments of the line, and the unit became the 17th Regiment of Foot . The regiment embarked for Nova Scotia in 1757 for service in the French and Indian War ; it fought at the siege of Louisbourg in June 1758, at the Battle of Toconderoga in July 1759. The following year, the regiment took part in the successful three-pronged attack against Montréal in September. It also saw engagements in

411-754: A brief rest the battalion breached the Volturno Line in October before taking part in the battles around the Winter Line , most notably the Battle of Monte Cassino . The battalion was withdrawn from the Italian Front in March 1944, sent to the Middle East to rest and retrain and absorb replacements after nearly six months of continuous action. Returning to Italy in July, the battalion fought on

548-518: A company of voltigeurs , who were expected to act as skirmishers as well being able to deploy into line. In the Russian Empire, light infantry was forming at a very fast pace; by the end of the 18th century, regiments of light infantry totaled 40,000 soldiers ( Jaeger ). The armament of light infantry was very different from the armament of linear infantry. They were armed with high-quality muskets, as well as pistols (for close combat). After

685-478: A continual lack of food, fuel, and supplies. In November 1775, George Washington sent Henry Knox on a mission to bring the heavy artillery that had recently been captured at Fort Ticonderoga . In a technically complex and demanding operation, Knox brought the cannons to Boston in January 1776, and this artillery fortified Dorchester Heights which overlooked Boston harbor. This development threatened to cut off

822-627: A duplicate of the 1/5th Battalion, and containing many formers of that battalion, was part of the 138th Infantry Brigade of the 46th Infantry Division and was sent to France in April 1940. The battalion fought in the Battle of France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1940, taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation , before returning to England. The battalion, briefly commanded by Richard Gale , remained there for

959-534: A hill near the Charlestown Neck. Despite a British bombardment, the Americans successfully dug the trenches. In early September, Washington began drawing up plans for two moves: to dispatch 1,000 men from Boston to invade Quebec , and to launch an attack on Boston. He felt that he could afford to send some troops to Quebec, as he had received intelligence from British deserters and American spies that

1096-500: A pied (light infantry), one of Grenadiers and one of Carabiniers . Similar differentiations were made in the majority of European armies of the period, although English-speaking authors sometimes use the designation "line infantry" when referring to the ordinary infantry of some other countries where the exact term was not in use. The term was also used by US units during the Second World War, as shown by this quote from

1233-531: A proclamation ordering the inhabitants of Boston to give up all linen and woolen goods that could be used by the colonists to continue the war. Loyalist Crean Brush was authorized to receive these goods, in return for which he gave certificates that were effectively worthless. Over the next week, the British fleet sat in Boston harbor waiting for favorable winds, while Loyalists and British soldiers were loaded onto

1370-572: A report of the 782nd Tank Battalion in late April 1945: On the 22nd of April, the Battalion moved from Oberkotzau, Germany to Wunsiedel , Germany. Here the attachment of the line companies to the Regimental Combat Teams of the 97th Division was completed. We separated, not coming together again until the war was over. Company "A" joined the 303rd at Rehau, Germany: Company "B" joined the 386th at Arzburg, Germany: and Company "C"

1507-740: A short distance. In some cases, it was possible to defeat the enemy with just one volley at close range. The line was considered the fundamental battle formation as it allowed for the largest deployment of firepower. Against surrounding enemy cavalry, line infantry could swiftly adopt square formations to provide protection. Such squares were hollow (consisting of four lines), unlike the pikemen's and old-style musketeers' square. Troops in skirmish formation, though able to take cover and use initiative, were highly vulnerable to cavalry and could not hold ground against advancing infantry columns. Line infantry provided an "anchor" for skirmishers and cavalry to retreat behind if threatened. Movement in line formation

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1644-485: A siege line extending from Chelsea , around the peninsulas of Boston and Charlestown , to Roxbury , effectively surrounding Boston on three sides. The siege line was under the loose leadership of William Heath , who was superseded by General Artemas Ward late on April 20. They particularly blocked the Charlestown Neck, the only land access to Charlestown, and the Boston Neck , the only land access to Boston, which

1781-465: A small contingent of vessels whose primary purpose was to intercept any arriving British vessels. They redirected numerous ships to Halifax that were carrying British troops originally destined for Boston. Some unsuspecting British troop ships landed in Boston, only to fall into American hands. The British departure ended major military activities in the New England colonies. Washington feared that

1918-518: A small fleet set sail for the Carolinas in mid-January with 1,500 men. Their objective was to join forces with additional troops arriving from Europe, and to take a port in the southern colonies for further military operations. In early February, a British raiding party crossed the ice and burned several farmhouses in Dorchester. Between November 1775 and February 1776, Colonel Henry Knox and

2055-435: A small part of the infantry branch of most armies, because of their vulnerability to hostile cavalry. Pikemen formed the majority of infantrymen and were known as heavy infantry. A significant part of infantry consisted of old-style musketeers, who did not use the linear tactics, instead skirmishing in open formation. However, by the middle of the 17th century, musketeers deployed in line formation already provided about half of

2192-473: A team of engineers used sledges to retrieve 60 tons of heavy artillery that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga, bringing them across the frozen Hudson and Connecticut rivers in a difficult, complex operation. They arrived back at Cambridge on January 24, 1776. Some of the Ticonderoga cannons were of a size and range not previously available to the Americans. They were placed in fortifications around

2329-486: A way of instilling discipline and unit cohesion . Members of the US Army utilize the term "line company" (informally) in light infantry battalions to differentiate those companies (generally A–D) that perform the traditional infantry role from the support companies (generally F and HHC) charged with supporting the "line companies". The Marine Corps does the same for all its infantry units. In this vein, officers assigned to

2466-539: A young boy at the time, escaped with a few others by hiding in a clump of bushes’ The second documented massacre was the following year in late December 1832, on the neighbouring island of Minjerribah . Six members of the local Nunukul tribe were killed at the hands of Captain Clunie and the 17th Regiment in a reprisal attack for the alleged Aboriginal attack on a ship. In the mid 1830s, the Gringai people who lived in

2603-589: The 147th Infantry Brigade , part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division , then fighting, and suffering heavy casualties, in the Normandy Campaign . The reformed 1st Battalion, replacing the disbanded 1/6th Duke of Wellington's Regiment in the 147th Brigade, remained with this formation until the end of the war. The battalion's first major engagement was the Second Battle of the Odon . In 1946

2740-637: The 16th Infantry Brigade in the 6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front . The Battalion saw action at the Battle of Hooge in July 1915 capturing a number of enemy trenches. It then suffered terrible losses at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. The 2nd Battalion, commanded by Charles Blackader , landed at Marseille as part of the Garhwal Brigade in the 7th (Meerut) Division in September 1914 also for service on

2877-425: The 205th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) . The battalion's original role was mainly beach defence and anti-invasion duties and, upon the conversion of the 205th Brigade into the 36th Army Tank Brigade in late November 1941, the battalion was transferred to the 204th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home) . In September 1942 the 7th Leicesters was sent to India, where the 2nd Battalion already was. The following year

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3014-496: The 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire) and the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot) to form the present day Royal Anglian Regiment , of which B Company of the 2nd Battalion continues the lineage of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment. On 27 September 1688 a commission was issued to Colonel Solomon Richards to raise a regiment of foot in

3151-642: The 37th Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. In July 1916 it transferred to 21st Division and took part in the attacks on High Wood at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. Lieutenant Colonel Philip Bent was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions while in command of the 9th (Service) Battalion at the Battle of Polygon Wood in September 1917. The 11th (Service) Battalion (Midland Pioneers) landed in France as

3288-497: The American Civil War . The Austro-Prussian War in 1866 showed that breech-loading rifles , which gave the individual shooter a greatly increased rate of fire as well as the capability to reload from a prone position, were greatly superior to muzzle loaded rifles. In the 1860s, most German states and Russia converted their line infantry and riflemen into 'united' infantry, which used rifles and skirmish tactics. After

3425-652: The Battle of Almansa in April 1707 before returning to England in 1709. In spring 1713, the regiment was ranked 17th in seniority. It went to Scotland to suppress the Jacobite rising of 1715 and fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715. In 1726 the regiment moved to Menorca , assisting the garrison at Gibraltar during its siege in 1727. The regiment remained on duty in the Balearic Islands until 1748, where it moved to Ireland. On 1 July 1751

3562-808: The Battle of Bardia in January 1941 during the Western Desert Campaign . The battalion then moved to Greece and took part in the Battle of Crete in May 1941 before transferring back to North Africa for the Battle of Tobruk in June 1941. It then went to Ceylon in February 1942 and to India in January 1943: it became part of the Chindits and then saw action in the Burma Campaign . The 1/5th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, initially commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Barrett , who had won

3699-535: The Battle of Lexington and Concord , the regiment embarked for Boston from Ireland in the fall of 1776. Rough seas saw its companies separated: its first four companies landed in November, and the remaining six after Christmas 1776. Along with the rest of the garrison, the regiment was evacuated after the Siege of Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia. At this time, Lieutenant-Colonel John Darby was superseded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Mawhood , formerly Lieutenant-Colonel of

3836-625: The Boston Tea Party and other acts of protest, 4,000 British troops were sent to occupy Boston under the command of General Thomas Gage and to pacify the restive Province of Massachusetts Bay . Parliament authorized Gage to disband the government of Massachusetts Bay, led by John Hancock and Samuel Adams , among numerous other powers , but the Americans formed the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and continued to meet. The Provincial Congress called for

3973-462: The British Army , which was garrisoned in Boston , from moving by land. Both sides faced resource, supply, and personnel challenges during the siege. British resupply and reinforcement was limited to sea access, which was impeded by American vessels. The British ultimately abandoned Boston after eleven months, moving their troops and equipment north, to Nova Scotia . The siege began on April 19 after

4110-655: The Franco-Prussian War , both the German Empire and the French Third Republic did the same. However, Great Britain retained the name "line infantry", although it used rifled muskets from 1853 and breech loading rifles from 1867, and switched from closed lines to extended order during the Boer wars . The growing accuracy, range, and rate of fire of rifles, together with the invention of

4247-621: The Gothic Line until December when the 2/5th, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Cubbon , was transported by air to Athens , Greece , to help calm the Greek Civil War , later returning to Italy in April 1945 but too late for participation in the final offensive . The end of World War II in Europe came soon afterwards and the battalion moved into Austria , where it was disbanded in 1946. The 44th AA Battalion transferred to

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4384-658: The London area. In its early years, like other regiments, it was known by the name of its various colonels. Following a failed attempt to break the siege of Derry in 1689, Richards was dismissed and replaced by the Irishman George St George . The regiment embarked for Flanders in 1693 for service in the Nine Years' War and took part in the attack of Fort Knokke in June 1695 and the siege of Namur in summer 1695 before returning home in 1697. In 1701

4521-630: The Maxim machine gun in 1883, meant that close order line infantry would suffer heavy losses before being able to close with the enemy, while the defensive advantages given to line infantry against cavalry became irrelevant with the effective removal of offensive cavalry from the battlefield in the face of the improved weaponry. With the turn of the 20th century, this slowly led to infantry increasingly adopting skirmish style light infantry tactics in battle, while retaining line infantry drill for training. Although linear battle tactics had become obsolete by

4658-693: The Palestine Campaign . The 1/4th Battalion and 1/5th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the Lincoln and Leicester Brigade in the North Midland Division in March 1915 and February 1915 respectively for service on the Western Front. The battalions saw action at the action of the Hohenzollern Redoubt in October 1915. Lieutenant John Barrett was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions while serving with

4795-671: The Royal Artillery in 1940, becoming 44th (The Leicestershire Regiment) Searchlight Regiment , in which role it served through the Battle of Britain and the Blitz . In 1942 it changed role again, becoming 121st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery , which served in North West Europe from Operation Overlord to Germany . The 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment was created in July 1940 in Nottingham in

4932-819: The Royal Engineers . The size of the Territorial Army was doubled in 1939, and consequently the 1/5th and 2/5th Battalions were formed from the existing 5th. The 1st Battalion was a Regular Army unit stationed in the Far East on the outbreak of the Second World War . The battalion fought the Imperial Japanese Army in the Malayan Campaign in early 1942 and sustained heavy casualties, temporarily amalgamating with

5069-532: The Saratoga campaign , a disaster that resulted in the capture of Burgoyne and 7,500 troops under his command. General Clinton commanded the British forces in America for four years (1778–1782). Many Massachusetts Loyalists left with the British when they evacuated Boston. Some went to England to rebuild lives there, and some returned to America after the war. Many went to Saint John, New Brunswick . Following

5206-848: The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) . Glen Parva was downgraded to regimental headquarters. The 1st Battalion served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1952. They subsequently moved to England (exercising the freedom of the City of Leicester in 1952), Germany, Sudan, where they operated with the Sudan Defence Force and departed on 16 August 1955, Cyprus, Brunei and Aden . The Territorial units were reformed in 1947 as 579 (The Royal Leicestershire Regiment) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA and 5th Battalion Royal Leicesters. In 1961 they merged to become

5343-539: The West Indies in 1762 and during Pontiac's Rebellion before assignment to Ireland in 1763 and then a return to England in 1767. By 1769, the regiment was back at full strength and declared "fit for service" at its annual inspection, and was augmented in 1771 with 20 men added to each company, and the addition of a dedicated light company, ordered by the King on December 25, 1770. After the outbreak of hostilities at

5480-408: The matchlock muskets of some line infantry were equipped with bayonets . Bayonets were attached to the muzzles and were used when line troops entered melee combat. They also helped to defend against cavalry. At the end of the 17th century, a solution was sought to a flaw within the design of matchlock muskets. Since the matchlock musket used a slow burning piece of twine known as a slow match ,

5617-413: The outer harbor and bring hay to Boston. The Continentals on the mainland noticed this and called out the militia. As the British party arrived, they came under fire from the militia. The militia set fire to a barn on the island, destroying 80 tons of hay and preventing the British from taking more than three tons. Continental forces worked to clear the harbor islands of livestock and supplies useful to

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5754-426: The 1/5th Battalion at Pontruet in September 1918 in the closing stages of the war. The 2/4th Battalion and 2/5th Battalion landed in France as part of the 2nd Lincoln and Leicester Brigade in the 2nd North Midland Division in February 1917 also for service on the Western Front. The 6th (Service); 7th (Service); 8th (Service); and 9th (Service) Battalions formed the 110th Brigade and landed in France as part of

5891-525: The 17th Regiment was involved in two documented incidents of Aboriginal massacre. The first was on Moreton Island , traditional home of the Ngugi people . On 1 July 1831, the then Commandant of the colony, Captain Clunie with a detachment of the 17th Regiment surrounded a Ngugi camp at dawn on the edge of the freshwater lagoon close to the island's southern extremity, killing up to twenty of them. George Watkins recorded: ‘nearly all were shot down. My informant,

6028-514: The 19th Regiment of Foot, on April 4, 1776.The regiment set sail from Halifax with the army on June 29 for the invasion of New York, landing unopposed on Staten Island in July. It saw action at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, was part of the reserve at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 and the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776. The regiment also took part in the Battle of Princeton in January 1777. Not knowing that he

6165-533: The 2nd Battalion, East Surrey Regiment to create the British Battalion which was, however, later captured and the men of both battalions remained as prisoners of war (POWs) for the rest of the war. The battalion reformed in May 1942 by the redesignation of the 8th Battalion. The 2nd Battalion, as part of the 16th Infantry Brigade , saw action at the Battle of Sidi Barrani in December 1940 and at

6302-612: The 387th at Waldsassen, Germany. The British Army retains the traditional distinction between "Guards", "Line Infantry" and "the Rifles" on ceremonial occasions for historical reasons. It is linked to the order of precedence within the British Army and regimental pride, so for example Colonel Patrick Crowley states in the "introduction" in A Brief History of The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (2015): The examples of valour, adherence to duty, and fortitude, continue to inspire

6439-566: The 4th/5th Battalion. Line infantry Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles: the line, the square, and the column. With the universal adoption of small arms (firearms that could be carried by hand, as opposed to cannon) in infantry units from the mid-17th century, the battlefield was dominated by linear tactics , according to which the infantry was aligned into long thin lines, shoulder to shoulder, and fired volleys . A line consisted of two, three, or four ranks of soldiers. The soldiers were expected to fire volleys at

6576-558: The American Civil War, both Union and Confederate armies had only a few line regiments equipped with the old-style smooth-bore muskets. However, France, due to Napoleon III, who admired Napoleon I, had 300 line battalions (comprising an overwhelming majority) even in 1870. Although the French line infantry received Chassepot rifles in 1866, it was still being trained in the use of close formations (line, column and square), which

6713-575: The American troops remained unpaid and many of their enlistments were set to expire at the end of the year. Howe had replaced Gage in October as commander of the British forces, and was faced with different problems. Firewood was so scarce that British soldiers resorted to cutting down trees and tearing down wooden buildings, including the Old North Meeting House. The city had become increasingly difficult because of winter storms and

6850-549: The Austrian army abandoned their pikes. In 1703, the French army did the same, in 1704 the British and 1708 the Dutch. In 1699–1721, Peter I converted almost all Russian foot-regiments to line infantry. The abandonment of the pike, together with the faster firing rate made possible by the introduction of the new flintlock musket and paper cartridge , resulted in the replacement of the deeper formations of troops more suitable for

6987-526: The Baggage safe to Brunswick." Performance in the battle was mentioned in dispatches, Later, the regiment was lauded as "The Heroes of Prince-town" in British recruiting adverts. It went on to fight at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, the Battle of Germantown in October 1777, and the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. In September 1778, the regiment took part in Grey's raid at New Bedford and Martha's Vineyard, destroying rebel stores and making off with forage and plunder. Several companies and

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7124-459: The Boston Neck, provided that no firearms were carried. Residents of Boston turned in almost 2,000 muskets, and most of the Patriot residents left the city. Many Loyalists who lived outside the city of Boston left their homes and fled into the city. Most of them felt that it was not safe to live outside of the city, because the Patriots were now in control of the countryside. Some of the men arriving in Boston joined Loyalist regiments attached to

7261-403: The British army. The siege did not blockade the harbor and the city remained open for the Royal Navy to bring in supplies from Nova Scotia and other places under Vice Admiral Samuel Graves . Colonial forces could do little to stop these shipments due to the superiority of the British fleet. Nevertheless, American privateers were able to harass supply ships, and food prices rose quickly. Soon

7398-400: The British fleet sailed away, the Americans moved to reclaim Boston and Charlestown. At first, they thought that the British were still on Bunker Hill, but it turned out that the British had left dummies in place. Initially, Artemas Ward led a troop of men into Boston who had already been exposed to smallpox, out of fear that others might be exposed who had no resistance to the disease. More of

7535-432: The British forces were routed in a confrontation at the North Bridge . The British troops were then engaged in a running battle during their march back to Boston, suffering heavy casualties. All of the New England colonies raised militias in response to this alarm and sent them to Boston. The British Army order of battle in July 1775 was: Immediately after the battles of April 19, the Massachusetts militia formed

7672-425: The British had no intention of launching an attack from Boston until they were reinforced. On September 11, about 1,100 troops under the command of Benedict Arnold left for Quebec . Washington summoned a council of war and made a case for an amphibious assault on Boston by sending troops across Back Bay in flat-bottomed boats which could hold 50 men each. He believed that it would be extremely difficult to keep

7809-476: The British occupation. The working parties were fired on from time to time, as were sentries guarding the works. The British pushed back an American advanced guard on July 30, and they burned a few houses in Roxbury. An American rifleman was killed on August 2, and the British hung his body by the neck. In retaliation, American riflemen marched to the lines and began to attack the British troops. They continued their sharpshooting all day, killing and wounding many of

7946-520: The British regulars with some success, as they successfully repelled two assaults on Breed's Hill during the engagement. General George Washington arrived at Cambridge on July 2. He set up his headquarters at the Benjamin Wadsworth House at Harvard College and took command of the newly formed Continental Army the following day. By this time, forces and supplies were arriving, including four independent companies of riflemen (not part of any state line) from Maryland and Virginia . Washington began

8083-404: The British supply lifeline from the sea. British commander William Howe saw his position as indefensible, and he withdrew his forces from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia on March 17. Before 1775, the British imposed taxes and import duties by the name of Mr Peabody on the American colonies, to which the Americans objected since they lacked British Parliamentary representation . In response to

8220-421: The British were going to attack New York City and so departed on April 4 with his army for Manhattan , beginning the New York and New Jersey campaign . There are six units of the Army National Guard derived from American units that participated in the siege of Boston: 101st Eng Bn, 125th MP Co, 181st Inf, 182nd Inf, 197th FA, and 201st FA. There are 30 units in the U.S. Army with lineages that go back to

8357-421: The British while losing only one Patriot. On August 30, the British made a surprise breakout from Boston Neck, set fire to a tavern, and withdrew to their defenses. On the same night, 300 Americans attacked Lighthouse Island and burned the lighthouse, killing several British soldiers and capturing 23, with the loss of only one American. On another August night, Washington sent 1,200 men to dig entrenchments on

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8494-426: The British. The Royal Marines attempted to stop removal of livestock from some of the islands on May 27 in the Battle of Chelsea Creek . The Americans resisted and the British schooner Diana ran aground and was destroyed. Gage issued a proclamation on June 12 offering to pardon all of those who would lay down their arms, with the exception of John Hancock and Samuel Adams , but this merely ignited anger among

8631-436: The Charlestown peninsula on June 17 in the Battle of Bunker Hill . The British succeeded in their tactical objective of taking the high ground on the Charlestown peninsula, but they suffered significant losses with some 1,000 men killed or wounded, including 92 officers killed. The British losses were so heavy that there were no further direct attacks on American forces. The Americans lost the battle but had again stood against

8768-432: The French they never showed such conduct, attention, and perseverance as they do now." General Gage turned his attention to fortifying easily defensible positions. He ordered lines of defenses with ten 24-pound guns in Roxbury. In Boston proper, four hills were quickly fortified. They were to be the main defense of the city. Over time, each of these hills was strengthened. Gage also decided to abandon Charlestown, removing

8905-604: The German Jäger ), armed with rifled carbines and trained in aimed shooting and use of defilades . In Britain, much of the light infantry was armed with smooth-bore muskets, only a few regiments used rifled muskets. In France, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , the division into the Guard, line infantry and light infantry formally continued to exist, line and "light" regiments had identical weaponry (smooth-bore fusils) and tactics. (Napoleon preferred smooth-bore weaponry for their faster reload speeds.) However, each battalion in both line and "light" regiments included

9042-406: The Patriots, and more people began to take up arms. The British had been receiving reinforcements throughout May until they reached a strength of about 6,000 men. On May 25, generals William Howe , John Burgoyne , and Henry Clinton arrived on HMS  Cerberus , and Gage began planning to break out of the city. The British plan was to fortify Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights. They fixed

9179-484: The Regulars during the Second Boer War , it operated as a double-battalion unit. The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at Glen Parva Barracks from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment. Under the reforms the regiment became The Leicestershire Regiment on 1 July 1881. The regiment also incorporated

9316-412: The Revolutionary War's first battles at Lexington and Concord , when Massachusetts militias blocked land access to Boston. The Continental Congress , meeting in Philadelphia , formed the Continental Army from the militias involved in the fighting and appointed George Washington as commander in chief. In June 1775, the British seized Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill , which Washington and the Continental Army

9453-400: The Russian light infantry were equipped with the M1854 rifle, the remainder retaining smoothbore percussion muskets. In the second half of the 19th century, the development of mass production and new technologies, such as the Minié ball , allowed European armies to gradually equip all their infantrymen with rifled weapons, and the percentage of line infantry equipped with muskets fell. In

9590-403: The Sixth Coalition , the training of regular French line infantry recruits was limited due to the relentless attack of the Coalition Forces. A recruit was trained by firing only two cartridges and four blanks. There was also light training of forming several formations. However, training large quantities of elite line infantry was generally a complicated process. In the middle of the 16th century,

9727-533: The Ticonderoga cannon and several thousand men overnight to occupy Dorchester Heights , overlooking Boston. The ground was frozen, which made it impossible to dig trenches, so Rufus Putnam developed a plan to fortify the heights using defenses made of heavy timbers and fascines. These were prefabricated out of sight of the British and brought in overnight. General Howe is said to have exclaimed, "My God, these fellows have done more work in one night than I could make my army do in three months." The British fleet

9864-592: The VC while serving with the regiment during the Great War, was part of the 148th Infantry Brigade of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division . The battalion fought briefly in the disastrous Norwegian Campaign before being withdrawn to the United Kingdom and then to Northern Ireland . The battalion remained there for the rest of the war and saw no further active service. The 2/5th Battalion, created in 1939 as

10001-600: The Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve . The 1st Volunteer Battalion was split to form the 4th and 5th Battalions (TF). There was a minor controversy in the same year, when new colours were issued to the 1st Battalion to replace those of the 17th foot. A green tiger had been shown on the old colours and

10138-563: The Western Front. The Battalion saw action at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 when Private William Buckingham was awarded the Victoria Cross. It then moved to Basra in Mesopotamia in December 1915 and took part in the action of Shaikh Saad in January 1916, the siege of Kut in Spring 1916, the capture of Sannaiyat in February 1917 and the fall of Baghdad in March 1917. The battalion moved to Suez in January 1918 for service in

10275-476: The action at Stony point. The 17th Company was tasked with fighting partisans in South Carolina in 1780. The reformed regiment was in action again at the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781 and surrendered with the rest of Cornwallis's army at the siege of Yorktown in September 1781. The 17th Company, still in South Carolina during the events of Yorktown, fought in the last major action of

10412-546: The aftermath of Dunkirk, when the BEF had been evacuated from France and a German invasion of England seemed likely. As a result, the British Army underwent a dramatic increase in size, mainly in the infantry, with the formation of numerous war service battalions, similar to the Kitchener battalions created in the Great War. The 7th Leicesters, composed largely of conscripts, and originally unbrigaded, was, in October 1940, assigned to

10549-527: The aftermath of the British Burning of Falmouth in Portland, Maine . The provincial assemblies of Connecticut and Rhode Island began arming ships and authorized privateering. In early November, 400 British soldiers went to Lechmere's Point on a raiding expedition to acquire some livestock. They made off with 10 head of cattle but lost two lives in the skirmish with colonial troops sent to defend

10686-581: The battalion returned to India to reform at Bangalore . Due to the heavy losses sustained in Operation Thursday, however, the battalion was disbanded on 31 December 1944, the few remaining men being sent to the 2nd Battalion. The 8th Battalion was, like the 7th Battalion, created in July 1940 after the Dunkirk evacuation, composed largely of conscripts, and, in late October, was assigned to the 222nd Independent Infantry Brigade and shared much of

10823-475: The battalion was selected to be part of the Chindits , one of the only two non-Regular units to be chosen. The battalion subsequently participated in the second Chindit expedition, codenamed Operation Thursday, where, by April 1944, the battalion was engaged in harassing the Japanese's rear and disrupting their lines of communication , along with ambushing reinforcements. Relieved from the frontline in late 1944,

10960-450: The beleaguered forces that had retreated from Concord. The town of Charlestown itself was entirely vacant, and Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill were left undefended, as were the heights of Dorchester , which had a commanding view of the harbor and the city. The British at first greatly restricted movement in and out of the city, fearing infiltration of weapons. Besieged and besiegers eventually reached an informal agreement allowing traffic on

11097-478: The best shooting soldiers fight in loose ranks and cover their battalions from the enemy skirmishers. The total number of light infantry reached 40% of the entire field infantry. The sharp increase in the number of light infantry greatly influenced their quality of training and equipment. The Russian infantry of 1854 comprised 108 regiments, of which 42 were line infantry. The remainder were specialized or elite units such as Guards, Grenadiers and Jägers. Only part of

11234-426: The city, and the Americans began to bombard the city on the night of March 2, 1776, to which the British responded with cannonades of their own. The American guns under the direction of Colonel Knox continued to exchange fire with the British until March 4. The exchange of fire did little damage to either side, although it did damage houses and kill some British soldiers in Boston. On March 5, Washington moved more of

11371-485: The colonial army entered on March 20, 1776, once the risk of disease was judged to be low. Washington had not hindered the British departure from the city by land, but he did not make their escape easy from the outer harbor. He directed Captain Manley to harass the departing British fleet, in which he had some success, capturing the ship carrying Crean Brush and his plunder, among other prizes. General Howe left in his wake

11508-608: The colonial era. "Had Sir William Howe fortified the hills round Boston, he could not have been disgracefully driven from it," wrote his replacement Sir Henry Clinton. General Howe was severely criticized in the British press and Parliament for his failures in the Boston campaign, but he remained in command for another two years for the New York and New Jersey campaign and the Philadelphia campaign . General Gage never received another combat command. General Burgoyne saw action in

11645-400: The command of officers, but in practice this happened only in the first minutes of the battle. After one or two volleys, each soldier charged his musket and fired at his own discretion, without hearing the commands of the officers. This disrupted the system, while the gunsmoke prevented accurate shooting. Such a shootout in clouds of smoke could occur for an extended period of time and the result

11782-531: The current officers and soldiers of the modern Regiment, who are proud to belong to the most senior English Regiment of the Line. The Canadian Army also retained these traditional distinctions, and its infantry regiments were organized, titled, and uniformed in full dress as foot guards , fusiliers , light infantry, line infantry, rifles, and kilted infantry regiments. The infantry of most 21st-century armies are still trained in formation manoeuvre and drill , as

11919-472: The date for taking Dorchester Heights at June 18, but the colonists' committee of safety learned of the British plans on June 15. In response, they sent instructions to General Ward to fortify Bunker Hill and the heights of Charlestown, and he ordered Colonel William Prescott to do so. On the night of June 16, Prescott led 1,200 men over the Charlestown Neck and constructed fortifications on Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill. British forces under General Howe took

12056-401: The disease. He moved infected troops to a separate hospital, the only option available given the public stigma against inoculation. Washington again proposed to assault Boston in October, but his officers thought it best to wait until the harbor had frozen over. In February, the water froze between Roxbury and Boston Common, and Washington thought that he would try an assault by rushing across

12193-610: The emergence of the Volunteer movement , and within a year there were 10 Rifle Volunteer Corps in Leicestershire, with titles like the 'Leicester Town Rifles' and the 'Duke of Rutland's Belvoir Rifles'. Together these formed an administrative battalion, which became the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment in 1880. By 1900, when the unit provided a detachment of volunteers to serve alongside

12330-436: The evacuation began, there was no American fire to hinder the British departure. On March 9, the British saw movement on Nook's Hill in Dorchester and opened a massive artillery barrage that lasted all night. It killed four men with one cannonball, but that was all the damage that was done. The next day, the colonists went out and collected the 700 cannonballs that had been fired at them. On March 10, 1776, General Howe issued

12467-399: The foot troops in most Western European armies. Maurice of Nassau was noted as the first large scale user of linear tactic in Europe, introducing the 'counter-march' to enable his formations of musketeers to maintain a continuous fire. After the invention of the bayonet, musketeers could finally defend themselves from the enemy's horsemen, and the percentage of pikemen fell gradually. In 1699,

12604-422: The heights, but the attack never took place because of a storm, and the British elected instead to withdraw. On March 8, some prominent Bostonians sent a letter to Washington, stating that the British would not destroy the town if they were allowed to depart unmolested. Washington formally rejected the letter, as it was not addressed to him by either name or title. However, the letter had the intended effect; when

12741-534: The home country, line infantry forces were often raised from the local population, with the British East India Company 's sepoys perhaps being the most historically significant example. Line tactics required strict discipline and simple movements practiced to the point where they became second-nature. During training, the drill and corporal punishments were widely used. During 1814, in the War of

12878-538: The home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . Toward the end of July, about 2,000 riflemen arrived in units raised in Pennsylvania , Maryland, and Virginia by Congressional mandate. The accuracy of the rifle was previously unknown in New England, and these forces were used to harass the besieged forces. Washington also ordered the defenses to be improved, so the army dug trenches on Boston Neck and then extended toward Boston. However, these activities had little effect on

13015-509: The ice in spite of his shortage in powder; but his officers again advised against it. Washington's desire to launch an attack on Boston arose from his fear that his army would desert in the winter, and he knew that Howe could easily break the lines of his army in its present condition. He abandoned an attack across the ice with great reluctance in exchange for a more cautious plan of fortifying Dorchester Heights using cannon arrived from Fort Ticonderoga. British major general, Henry Clinton , and

13152-479: The joint leadership of Arnold and Allen. They also captured the one large military vessel on Lake Champlain in a raid on Fort Saint-Jean . They recovered more than 180 cannons and other weaponry and supplies that the Continental Army used to tighten their grip on Boston. Boston lacked a regular supply of fresh meat, and many horses needed hay. On May 21, Gage ordered a party to go to Grape Island in

13289-591: The local militia and rifle volunteers and consisted of: The 1887 execution of a Leicestershire Regiment private for murdering a sergeant in India may have inspired Rudyard Kipling to write his poem " Danny Deever ". The 1st and 3rd battalions fought in the Second Boer War 1899 – 1902, and the 1st Volunteer Battalion provided a detachment of volunteers to serve alongside the Regulars. The 2nd Battalion

13426-542: The main objectives of which were fast deployment of a line, rapid shooting, and manoeuvre. Line infantry quickly became the most common type of infantry in European countries. Musketeers and grenadiers , formerly elite troops , gradually became part of the line infantry, switching to linear tactics. Over time the use of line infantry tactics spread outside of Europe, often as a result of European imperialism. In European colonies and settlements with small populations from

13563-497: The melee-oriented pikemen with shallower lines that maximized the firepower of an infantry formation. Besides regular line infantry, there were elite troops (royal guards and other designated elite regiments) and the light infantry . Light infantry operated in extended order (also known as skirmish formation) as opposed to the close order (tight formations) used by line infantry. Since the late 18th century, light infantry in most European countries mostly consisted of riflemen (such as

13700-467: The men together when winter came. His war council unanimously rejected the plan, and the decision was not to attack "for the present at least". In early September, Washington authorized the appropriation and outfitting of local fishing vessels for intelligence-gathering and interdiction of supplies to the British. This activity was a precursor to the Continental Navy , which was established in

13837-467: The movement of units. In Russia, Great Britain, France, Prussia, and some other states, linear tactics and formation discipline were maintained into the late 19th century. With the invention of new weaponry, the concept of line infantry began to wane. The Minié ball , an improved rifle ammunition, allowed individual infantrymen to shoot more accurately and over greatly increased range. Men walking in formation line-abreast became easy targets, as evidenced in

13974-412: The new fusils retained the name "musket". Both muskets and fusils were smoothbore , which lessened their accuracy and range, but made for faster loading, lesser amount of bore fouling and more robust, less complicated firearms. The accuracy of smooth-bore muskets was in the range of 300–400 yd (270–370 m) against a line of infantry or cavalry. Against a single enemy, however, the effective range

14111-560: The next two-and-a-half years on home defence and anti-invasion duties, leaving for North Africa in early 1943, fighting in the Tunisian Campaign , including the Battle of Kasserine Pass , until the campaign ended in mid-May 1943. After resting for the next three months the battalion's next action was in the Allied invasion of Italy , where, holding off against numerous German counterattacks , heavy casualties were sustained. After

14248-562: The organization of local militias and coordinated the accumulation of weapons and other military supplies. Under the terms of the Boston Port Act , Gage closed the Boston port, which caused much unemployment and discontent. British forces went to seize military supplies from the town of Concord on April 19, 1775, but militia companies from surrounding towns opposed them at the Battles of Lexington and Concord . At Concord, some of

14385-563: The pioneer battalion for the 6th Division in March 1916 also for service on the Western Front. Meanwhile, the 14th (Service) Battalion landed in France as part of the 47th Brigade in the 16th Division in July 1918 also for service on the Western Front. The regiment reverted to its pre-war establishment in 1919. The 1st Battalion was involved in the Irish War of Independence from 1920 to 1922, before moving to various overseas garrisons including Cyprus , Egypt and India. The 2nd Battalion

14522-508: The point. On November 29, colonial Captain John Manley commanding the schooner Lee captured one of the most valuable prizes of the siege: the British brigantine Nancy just outside Boston Harbor. She was carrying a large supply of ordnance and military stores intended for the British troops in Boston. As winter approached, the Americans were so short of gunpowder that some of the soldiers were given spears instead of guns. Many of

14659-474: The regiment moved to Holland for service in the War of the Spanish Succession and fought at the siege of Kaiserswerth in 1702,the siege of Venlo later that year and the capture of Huy in 1703. It transferred to Portugal in 1704 and took part in the sieges of Valencia de Alcántara , Alburquerque and Badajoz in 1705 as well as the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in 1706. It also saw action at

14796-602: The regiment refused to take the new issue into use. The issue was resolved when the regiment received permission for the royal tiger emblazoned on the regimental colours to be coloured green with gold stripes. The regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions. In the First World War , the regiment increased from five to nineteen battalions which served in France and Flanders , Mesopotamia and Palestine . The 1st Battalion landed at Saint-Nazaire as part of

14933-788: The regiment was granted "royal" status, becoming the Royal Leicestershire Regiment . In 1948, in common with all other infantry regiments, the 2nd Battalion was abolished. The 5th Battalion (TA) had been reformed in 1947. In 1948 the regiment became part of the Forester Brigade , sharing a depot at Budbrooke Barracks in Warwickshire with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment , the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment and

15070-585: The regiment was granted the badge of a "royal tiger" to recall their long service in the sub-continent. During this time, the regiment fought in the Gurkha War (1814-16) and the Third Maratha War (1817-18). The Regiment was posted to New South Wales from 1830 to 1836. During the early years of the Moreton Bay penal colony, in the area of Australia now known as South East Queensland ,

15207-479: The regimental colours were captured at the Battle of Stony Point in July 1779 by a daring night-time bayonet charge by "Mad" Anthony Wayne . The remaining companies of grenadiers and light infantry were detached to composite flank battalions, while the remaining men, drafts, and recruits from England were formed into the "17th Company" under Captain-Lieutenant George Cuppaidge, who was on business in New York during

15344-565: The resistance. Croker's men returned after a month in the disputed area. The regiment returned to India in 1837, and then took part in the Battle of Ghazni in July 1839 and the Battle of Khelat in November 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War . The regiment next came under fire at the siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854 during the Crimean War . In 1858 a second battalion was raised. An invasion scare in 1859 led to

15481-551: The rifle companies are referred to as "line officers" while billeted to positions such as Platoon Leaders and Commanding and Executive Officers. Siege of Boston American victory [REDACTED] United Colonies The Siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War . In the siege, American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Washington prevented

15618-499: The rise in American privateers. An improvised American war fleet of about 12 converted merchant ships captured 55 British ships over the course of the winter. Many of the captured ships had been carrying food and supplies to the British troops. The British troops were so hungry that many were ready to desert as soon as they could, and scurvy and smallpox had broken out in the city. Washington's army faced similar problems with smallpox, as soldiers from rural communities were exposed to

15755-465: The same early history of the 7th Leicesters, spending most of its existence committed to beach defence and anti-invasion duties. On 27 May 1942 the battalion was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, after the destruction of the original 1st Battalion in Singapore in February. In mid-December the battalion was transferred to the 162nd Independent Infantry Brigade . In July 1944 the battalion transferred to

15892-569: The same time, Captain William Scott of the 17th Regiment, with just 40 men, successfully defended the 4th Brigade's baggage train against superior numbers of rebel attackers. Thomas Sullivan of the 49th Regiment of Foot remarked: "He formed his men upon commanding ground, and after refusing to deliver the Baggage, fought with his men back-to-back; and forced the Enemy to withdraw, bringing off

16029-580: The second half of the nineteenth century, regiments in several European armies retained the "line infantry" (or cavalry) title. This designation had come to mean an army's regular or numbered regiments, as opposed to specialist or elite formations. Accordingly, the distinction had become a traditional title or classification without significance regarding armament or tactics. For example, the Belgian Army order of battle in 1914 comprised 14 regiments of Infanterie de Ligne (line infantry), three of Chasseurs

16166-662: The ships. During this time, American naval vessels outside the harbor successfully captured several British supply ships. On March 15, the wind became favorable for the British, but it turned against them before they could leave. On March 17, the wind once again turned favorable. The troops were authorized to burn the town if there were any disturbances while they were marching to their ships; they began to move out at 4:00 a.m. By 9:00 a.m., all ships were underway. The fleet departing from Boston included 120 ships, with more than 11,000 people on board. Of those, 9,906 were British troops, 667 were women, and 553 were children. Once

16303-504: The shortages meant that the British forces were on short rations. Generally, the American forces were able to gather information about what was happening in the city from people escaping the privations of Boston, but General Gage had no effective intelligence of American activities. On May 3, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized Benedict Arnold to raise forces for taking Fort Ticonderoga near

16440-519: The southern end of Lake Champlain in the Province of New York , which was known to have heavy weapons and only lightly defended. Arnold arrived in Castleton, New Hampshire on the 9th, where he joined with Ethan Allen and a militia company from Connecticut, all of whom had independently arrived at the idea of taking Ticonderoga. This company captured Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point under

16577-451: The twine sometimes would accidentally set fire to the gunpowder reservoir in the musket prematurely setting off the gunpowder, resulting in serious injury or death to the operator. For this reason and others, matchlock muskets began to be replaced by lighter and cheaper infantry fusils with flintlocks , weighing 5 kg (11 lb) with a caliber of 17.5 mm (0.69 in), first in France and then in other countries. In many countries,

16714-477: The unsuccessful army reforms of Paul I, the number of light infantry in the Russian army was significantly reduced and made up only 8% of the entire field infantry. However, the Russian army soon returned to the trend of increasing the number of light infantry, begun in the 18th century. By 1811, 50 light infantry regiments were formed in the Russian army. In addition, each linear battalion was required to have 100 of

16851-456: The valleys and hills to the north of Newcastle , were at war with the European colonists . In 1835, in response to the murder of two shepherds, New South Wales governor Sir Richard Bourke ordered 50 soldiers from the 17th Regiment to proceed to the scene of the disturbance. This military operation was commanded by Major William Croker, and his directive from Bourke was to vigorously suppress

16988-537: The war at the Battle of the Combahee River , where the famous rebel Colonel John Laurens lost his life. A royal warrant dated 31 August 1782 bestowed county titles on all regiments of foot that did not already have a special designation "to cultivate a connection with the County which might at all times be useful towards recruiting". The regiment became the 17th (Leicestershire) Regiment of Foot . The regiment

17125-574: The work of molding the militias into an army, appointing senior officers (the militias had typically elected their leaders), and introducing more organization and disciplinary measures. Washington required officers of different ranks to wear differentiating apparel so that they might be distinguished from their underlings and superiors. On July 16, he moved his headquarters to the John Vassall House in Cambridge, that became well known as

17262-467: Was changed only after the dethronement of Napoleon III. This was common practice in all conventional Western armies until the late 19th century, as infantry tactics and military thinking had yet to catch up with technological developments. In the years after the Napoleonic Wars, line infantry continued to be deployed as the main battle force, while light infantry provided fire support and covered

17399-509: Was facing a superior force, Mawhood ordered an attack, Captain William Leslie was killed, but the regiment routed a militia division, and killed rebel General Hugh Mercer . However, the rest of the rebel army was brought up and the regiment quickly found themselves surrounded. With superior rebel numbers, the regiment was forced to retreat. Mawhood ordered a desperate bayonet charge to break out of their encirclement, which succeeded. At

17536-490: Was in India , Sudan , Germany and Palestine . In 1931 the regimental facing colour was changed from white to pearl grey. Previous to 1881 the 17th foot had "greyish white" facings. The 3rd (Militia) Battalion was placed in "suspended animation" in 1921, eventually being formally disbanded in 1953. In 1936 the 4th Battalion was converted into a searchlight unit as 44th (The Leicestershire Regiment) Anti-Aircraft Battalion of

17673-468: Was no more than 50–100 yd (46–91 m). It should be borne in mind that ordinary linear infantrymen were poorly trained in aimed shooting, due to the expense of gunpowder and lead (modern reenactors achieve much better results by firing smooth-bore muskets). Line infantrymen were trained in rapid reloading. The recruit was expected to load 3 rounds a minute, while an experienced soldier could load 4–6 rounds per minute. In battle conditions, this number

17810-589: Was preparing to bombard, but their casualties were heavy and their gains insufficient to break the Continental Army's control over land to Boston. After this, the Americans laid siege to Boston; no major battles were fought during this time, and the conflict was limited to occasional raids, minor skirmishes, and sniper fire. British efforts to supply their troops were significantly impeded by the smaller but more agile Continental Army and patriot forces that were operating on land and sea. The British suffered from

17947-485: Was reduced and after the first few minutes of combat, no more than 2 rounds per minute could be expected even from well trained troops. The bulk of the line infantry had no protective equipment, as armor that could provide protection from musket fire were considered too expensive and heavy. Only the former elite troops could keep by tradition some elements of protection, for example, the copper mitre caps of grenadiers. Initially, soldiers equipped with firearms formed only

18084-419: Was slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained, a breakdown in cohesion was assured, especially in uneven or wooded terrain. As a result, the line was mostly used as a firing formation, with troops moving in column formations and then deploying to the line at their destination. Usually, columns would be adopted for movement and melee attacks. Line infantry was trained in the manual of arms evolutions,

18221-748: Was stationed as a garrison regiment in Ireland from 1896, and in Egypt from February 1900. Following the end of the war in South Africa, the 1st battalion was in late 1902 transferred to Fort St. George in Madras Presidency , 540 officers and men leaving Port Natal on the SS Ortona arriving in Madras in late November. The 2nd battalion was stationed at Guernsey at the same time. In 1908,

18358-421: Was then a peninsula , leaving the British in control only of the harbor and sea access. The size of the colonial forces grew in the following days, as militias arrived from New Hampshire , Rhode Island , and Connecticut . General Gage wrote of his surprise at the number of Patriots surrounding the city: "The rebels are not the despicable rabble too many have supposed them to be.... In all their wars against

18495-439: Was unpredictable. In addition, at the time of the “hot” shootout, the soldiers were so engaged and focused on shooting that they were not watching out for an attack of cavalry from the flank. For these reasons, experienced officers tried to avoid such uncertain exchanges and restrained their soldiers from premature firing in order to get as close to the enemy’s line as possible so that they could deliver several devastating volleys at

18632-524: Was withdrawn from New York at the end of the war to Nova Scotia in 1783 before returning to England in 1786. The regiment was increased to two battalions in 1799 and both battalions took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland , being present at the Battle of Bergen in September 1799 and the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799, before the second was disbanded in 1802. In 1804 the regiment moved to India , and remained there until 1823. In 1825

18769-446: Was within range of the American guns on Dorchester Heights, putting it and the troops in the city at risk. The immediate response of the British was a two-hour cannon barrage at the heights, which had no effect because the British guns could not reach the American guns. After the failure of the barrage, Howe and his officers agreed that the colonists must be removed from the heights if they were to hold Boston. They planned an assault on

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