Simon Marshland's Blog – January 2010 Archive (1)

The rifleman of the Napoleonic Peninsular war, 1810 to 1814, was the forerunner of the modern day SAS. Armed with the formidable Baker rifle, the first of its kind to be produced and a more accurate weapon with a longer range than the musket, their job was to operate in pairs ahead of the main infantry to scout and harass the enemy by sniping at senior officers and NCOs in the hopes of causing as much chaos, disorganization and panic as possible. In comparison to the musket, the inferior weapon… Continue