by the way,ssing, one level of the history of infantry tactics. what historians have called small unit tactics, and have called it lower tactics or minor tactics. i prefer to call them binary tactics, i think they are well expressed on what they are, they are the foundation of the tactical story. you might have heard the phrase grand tactics, that is a higher level. it revolves around the question, should i attack or act on defense, that is a higher level rather than the lower level. the lower level is maneuvers and formation. you can express it this way. the basic formations in the primary, linear tactics are based on a combination of lines and columns. you remember that two ranks constitute a battle line. and more than two ranks would make it difficult for the men in the third, fourth and fifth ranks to fire weapons without endangering the men in raising number one and two. in the old days, the 1600s, you do see european armies with 4, 5 ranks in them. in americans preferred to ranks. it is a relatively recent development by the time of the civi