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{{short description|Light infantry or cavalry soldier}}
{{About|the military term|the publisher|Skirmisher Publishing|the video game term|Skirmish mode}}
[[File:Austrian_pandur_from_1760.png|thumb|upright|Austrian [[pandur]], {{circa|1760}}, using a tree for cover while skirmishing]]
[[File:3rd Battalion 6th Marine Regiment patrol outskirts of Marjah.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|As with most other modern foot soldiers, the [[US 6th Marine Regiment]], on patrol near [[Marjah]], 2010, routinely uses skirmish formation.]]

'''Skirmishers''' are [[light infantry]] or [[light cavalry]] [[soldier]]s deployed as a [[vanguard]], flank guard or [[rearguard]] to [[Screening (tactical)|screen]] a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a '''skirmish line''', an irregular open formation that is much more spread out in depth and in breadth than a traditional [[line formation]]. Their purpose is to [[hit-and-run tactics|harass]] the enemy by engaging them in only light or sporadic combat to delay their movement, disrupt their attack, or weaken their morale. Such tactics are collectively called '''skirmishing'''.

A [[battle]] with only light, relatively indecisive combat is often called a '''skirmish''' even if heavier troops are sometimes involved.

Skirmishers can be either [[regular army]] units that are temporarily detached to perform skirmishing or specialty units that are specifically armed and trained for such low-level [[irregular warfare]] tactics. Light infantry, light cavalry, and [[Irregular military|irregular]] units often specialize in skirmishing. Skirmishers' open formations and smaller numbers can give them superior mobility over the regular forces, allowing them to engage only on favorable terms, taking advantage of better position or terrain, and quickly withdrawing from any threat of superior enemy forces.

Though often critical in protecting the main army from sudden enemy advances, skirmishers are poor at taking or defending ground from [[heavy infantry]] or [[heavy cavalry]]. In modern times, following the obsolescence of such heavy troops, all infantry has become indistinguishable from skirmishers, and the term has effectively lost its original military meaning as a distinct class of soldier, although skirmishing as a combat role is commonplace.

==Ancient history==
[[File:Agrianian3.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[Agrianian]] [[peltast]] holding three javelins, one in his throwing hand and two in his [[peltarion (shield)|pelte]] hand as additional ammunition]]
[[File:Balearic Slinger.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Slinger from the [[Balearic islands]], famous for the skill of its slingers]]
In [[ancient warfare]], skirmishers typically carried [[bow (weapon)|bows]], [[javelin (weapon)|javelins]], [[sling (weapon)|slings]] and sometimes light [[shield]]s. Acting as [[light infantry]] with their light arms and minimal armour, they could run ahead of the main battle line; release a volley of arrows, sling stones, or javelins; and retreat behind their main battle line before the clash of the opposing main forces. The aims of skirmishing were to disrupt enemy formations by causing casualties before the main battle and to tempt the opposing [[infantry]] into attacking prematurely, thus throwing their organization into disarray. Skirmishers could also be effectively used to surround opposing soldiers in the absence of friendly [[cavalry]].

Once preliminary skirmishing was over, skirmishers participated in the main battle by shooting into the enemy formation, or they joined in [[melée]] combat with daggers or short swords. Their mobility made skirmishers also valuable for [[reconnaissance]], especially in wooded or urban areas.

In [[Classical Greece]], skirmishers originally had a low status. For example, [[Herodotus]], in his account of the [[Battle of Plataea]] of 479 BC, mentioned that the [[Spartan Army]] fielded 35,000 lightly-armed [[helot]]s to 5,000 [[hoplite]]s, but there is no mention of them in his account of the fighting.<ref name="Greek Warfare p61">Greek Warfare, Myths and Realities, Hans van Wees p61</ref> Often, Greek historians ignored them altogether,<ref name="Greek Warfare p61"/> but [[Xenophon]] distinguished them explicitly from the [[statary]] troops.<ref>Xenophon, (tr. Bingham, John). The Historie of Xenophon. 1623. Publ: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. {{ISBN|9789022107041}}</ref> It was far cheaper to equip oneself as lightly armed than a fully-armed hoplite. Indeed it was common for the lightly armed to go into battle equipped with stones.<ref>Greek Warfare, Myths and Realities, Hans van Wees p64p</ref> The low status of skirmishers reflected the low status of the poorer sections of society that made up skirmishers.<ref name="Greek Warfare p65">Greek Warfare, Myths and Realities, Hans van Wees p65</ref> Additionally, [[hit-and-run tactics]] went against the Greek ideal of heroism. [[Plato]] gives the skirmisher a voice to advocate "flight without shame" but only to denounce it as an inversion of decent values.<ref>Greek Warfare, Myths and Realities, Hans van Wees p65. ''[[Laws (dialogue)|Laws]]'' 706c</ref>

Nevertheless, skirmishers then chalked up significant victories, such as the [[Aetolian campaign|Athenian defeat at the hands of the Aetolian javelin men]] in 426 BC and, during the same war, the Athenian victory at the [[Battle of Sphacteria]].<ref name="Greek Warfare p65"/>

Skirmisher infantry gained more respect in subsequent years, as their usefulness was more widely recognised and as the ancient bias against them waned. [[Peltast]]s, light javelin infantry, played a vital role in the [[Peloponnesian War]], and well-equipped skirmisher troops such as ''[[thureophoroi]]'' and ''[[thorakites]]'' would be developed to provide a strong mobile force for the Greek and the Macedonian armies.

The [[Celts]] did not, in general, favour [[ranged weapons]]. The exceptions tended not to include the use of skirmishers. The [[Britons (historical)|Britons]] used the sling and javelin extensively but for siege warfare, not skirmishing.<ref>The Ancient Celts, Barry Cunliffe pp 94–95</ref> Among the [[Gauls]], likewise, the bow was employed to defend a fixed position.<ref>Caesar, ''De Bello Gallico'' , Book 7, XLI</ref> The Celts' lack of skirmishers cost them dearly during the [[Gallic Invasion of Greece]] of 279 BC when they found themselves helpless in the face of Aetolian skirmishing tactics.<ref>Peter Green, Alexander to Actium, p 133</ref> Thracians were famous for their skirmish war tactics and offered their services as mercenaries more than once in the Greek civil wars in ancient times.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thracian Skirmishers - Odrysian Kingdom - Total War: Rome II|url=https://www.honga.net/totalwar/rome2/unit.php?l=en&v=rome2&f=rom_odryssia&u=Thr_Skirm|access-date=2021-12-20|website=Royal Military Academy}}</ref>

In the [[Punic Wars]], despite the Roman and Carthaginian armies' different organisations, both had the role for skirmishers as screening the main armies.<ref>Hannibal's Last Battle: Zama and the Fall of Carthage, Brian Todd Carey p. 12 (Carthage) and p. 18 (Rome)</ref> The Roman legions had a specialised infantry class, [[Velites]], which acted as skirmish troops who engaged the enemy before the Roman heavy infantry made contact, and the Carthaginians recruited their skirmishers from the native peoples across the [[Carthaginian Empire]].

The Roman army of the late republican and early imperial periods frequently recruited foreign [[auxilia|auxiliary troops]] to act as skirmishers to supplement the citizen [[Roman legion|legions]].

==Middle Ages==
Medieval skirmishers were generally [[commoner]]s armed with crossbows or longbows. In the 14th century, although long held in [[Wiktionary:disdain|disdain]] by the aristocratic Castilian heavy cavalry, the crossbowmen contributed greatly to the Portuguese victory at the [[Battle of Aljubarrota]]. Similarly, English [[History of archery|archers]] played a key role in the English victory over French heavy cavalry at the [[Battle of Crécy]]. In the next century, they largely repeated that feat at the [[Battle of Agincourt]]. Such disasters have been seen as marking the beginning of the end of the dominance of medieval cavalry in general and of the [[heavy cavalry]] in particular.

==Early modern period==
===Americas===
The [[Seven Years' War]] and [[American Revolutionary War]] were two early conflicts in which the modern [[rifle]] began to make a significant contribution to warfare. Despite its lower rate of fire, its accuracy at long range offered advantages over the smoothbore [[musket]], then commonly used by regular armies. In both wars, many American frontiersmen served in the [[militia (United States)|militia]]. The [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] was assisted by such irregular troops, such as the [[Minutemen]], who engaged in skirmishing tactics by firing from cover, rather than in the open-field engagements that were customary at the time. Their tactics were influenced by experiences in fighting [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. Militia in a skirmish role was particularly effective in the [[Battle of Cowpens]]. The character of [[Natty Bumppo]] in [[James Fenimore Cooper]]'s novel ''[[The Last of the Mohicans]]'' was notably called ''La Longue Carabine'' by the French because of his skill with the [[Kentucky Rifle|long rifle]], which was common among the Colonials.

===Napoleonic Wars===
[[File:Ottenfeld - Jäger 1798-1805.jpg|thumb|upright|Austrian ''[[Jäger (infantry)|Jäger]]'' around 1800, showing the relatively drab uniforms of soldiers specializing in skirmishing in Napoleonic times, as an aid in using cover]]

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], skirmishers played a key role in battles; they attempted to disrupt the main enemy force by firing into their close-packed ranks and to prevent enemy skirmishers from doing the same to friendly troops. Because skirmishers generally fought in open order, they could take cover behind trees, houses, towers and similar items, thereby presenting unrewarding targets for [[small arms]] and [[artillery]] fire. Such tactics often made them vulnerable to cavalry. Some skirmishers had a minor [[sapper]] role by placing ''[[cheval de frise]]'' to deter cavalry.

A skirmish force screening the main body of infantry became so important to any army in the field that eventually, all major European powers developed specialised skirmishing infantry. Examples included the German ''[[Jäger (infantry)|Jäger]]'', the French ''[[voltigeur]]s'' and the British [[Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)|riflemen]].

Muskets were the predominant infantry weapon of the late 18th century, but the [[British Army]] learned firsthand of the importance of rifles during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and began experimenting with them shortly thereafter, resulting in the [[Baker rifle]]. Although slower to reload and more costly to produce than a musket, it was much more accurate and proved its worth during the [[Peninsular War]]. Throughout the conflict, British riflemen could selectively target and eliminate the officers and NCOs of French forces from outside musket range.<ref name="Urban">Urban, Mark. ''Rifles: Six Years with Wellington's Legendary Sharpshooters''. Faber & Faber 2004, {{ISBN|978-0571216819}}</ref>

During the [[War of 1812]], American riflemen again contributed to British casualties but also had to contend with the revised British light infantry tactics.

A consequence of those wars' experiences was a trend to training line troops to adopt tactics that had been used only by skirmishers.<ref>History of the Art of War, Vol IV Hans Delbrück p449-51</ref>

===American Civil War===
The treatise ''New American Tactics'', by General [[John Watts de Peyster]], advocated making the skirmish line the new line of battle, which was then a revolutionary idea.<ref>Randolph, pp.82–88</ref> During the [[American Civil War]], [[cavalry in the American Civil War|cavalrymen]] often dismounted and formed a skirmish line to delay enemy troops who were advancing toward an objective. An example was the action of the Union cavalrymen led by Brigadier General [[John Buford]] on the [[Battle of Gettysburg, First Day|first day of the Battle of Gettysburg]]. Skirmish lines were also used to harass enemy probing missions, hampering the other force from gaining an effective intelligence picture by engaging their scouts, and likewise forcing them to deploy.<ref name=Williamson>{{cite book|last=Williamson|first=David|title=The Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry and the 45th Mississippi Regiment: A Civil War History|date=2009|pages=105–106|publisher=McFarland & Company, Publishers|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0786443444}}</ref>

==Late modern period==
[[File:Jackal 2 Convoy in Jordan MOD 45151209.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Modern [[reconnaissance vehicle]]s can perform skirmishing duties, as is shown here by members of the British [[4 Mechanised Brigade]], Brigade Reconnaissance Force mounted on [[Jackal (vehicle)|Jackals]], on a [[training exercise]] in [[Jordan]], in preparation for [[Afghanistan War (2001-present)|deployment to Afghanistan]] in 2009]]

By the [[Late modern period|late 19th century]], the concept of fighting in formation was on the wane. [[Heavy infantry]] had disappeared, and all infantry effectively became skirmishers. The term has become obsolete, but as late as [[World War I]], it continued to be associated with battlefield [[reconnaissance]] screens, which are essentially modern skirmish lines. As in the American Civil War, the primary role of the infantry skirmish line was to screen the advance of a parent force and to disrupt the enemy's own reconnaissance efforts.<ref name=Clarke>{{cite book|last=Clarke |first=Dale|title=World War I Battlefield Artillery Tactics|date=2014|pages=15–16|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1782005902}}</ref> With the mechanization of [[modern warfare]], the role of infantry skirmishers was more or less combined with those of [[light cavalry]], as mounted scouts in specialized [[reconnaissance vehicle]]s took over the responsibility of screening large formations during maneuvers, in addition to conducting their own probing actions.<ref name=Glantz>{{cite book|last=Glantz|first=David |title=Soviet Military Intelligence in War|date=1990|pages=364–365|publisher=Routledge Books|location=Abingdon-on-Thames|isbn=978-0714633749}}</ref>

===Cold War and beyond===
Some modern military units still use light and heavily armed units in conjunction. For example, the [[Soviet Army]] routinely deployed more lightly-armed motorized rifle regiments as skirmishers on the flanks or secondary sectors of a motorized rifle division on the offensive, and the heaviest units, backed by the heaviest armour, would fight in the division's main effort. The modern [[US military]] has light rapid-deployment [[Stryker]] [[brigade combat team]]s working with heavy-mechanized and armored units, with tracked [[M2 Bradley]] infantry fighting vehicles and [[M1 Abrams]] tanks forming the primary combat force.

[[Apartheid South Africa]]'s military doctrine stressed the use of highly-mobile, light-mechanized forces that could cover ground swiftly while they kept heavier enemy armoured and infantry formations off balance and did not engage until the conditions were favourable.<ref name="Scholtz">{{cite book|last=Scholtz|first=Leopold|title=The SADF in the Border War, 1966–1989|year=2013|publisher=Tafelberg|location=Cape Town|isbn=978-0-624-05410-8|pages=40–41}}</ref> The lightly-armed South African units used tactics such as rapid movement, flank harassment and confusing the enemy with continuous maneuvering to compensate for their inferiority in firepower when they were faced with [[Angola|Angolan]] and [[Cuba|Cuban]] forces during the [[South African Border War]].<ref name="Scholtz" /> The innovative use of South African reconnaissance units to throw Angolan tank formations into disarray before it lured them into ambushes, effectively deploying the units as skirmishers, was another consistent feature of that conflict.<ref name=DTIC1>{{cite web|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a262562.pdf |title=Mobile firepower for contingency operations: Emerging concepts for US light armour forces |publisher=Defense Technical Information Center |date=1993-01-04 |access-date=2015-08-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022030959/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a262562.pdf |archive-date=October 22, 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Battle]]
*[[Demoralization (warfare)]]
*[[Francs-tireurs]]
*[[Grenz infantry]]
* [[List of military tactics]]
* [[Picket (military)]]
* [[Rifleman]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* Randolph, Lewis Hamersly, [https://archive.org/details/biographicalske00hamegoog/page/n98  ''Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Officers of the Army and Navy''], Henry E. Huntington Library: New York, 1905.

==Further reading==
* "Light Infantry", special issue of ''[[Ancient Warfare (magazine)|Ancient Warfare]]'', 2/1 (2008)

==External links==
* [http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/infantry_tactics_4.htm Skirmish tactics during the Napoleonic wars: skirmishing, skirmishers]

[[Category:Tactical formations of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of antiquity]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of the Middle Ages]]
[[Category:Infantry]]
[[Category:Cavalry]]
[[Category:Military tactics]]
[[Category:Army reconnaissance units and formations]]

Skirmisher - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article