Repetitive order and the human walking apparatus: Prussian military science versus the Webers' locomotion research.
The addition of 'fire' to the European battle repertoire resulted in the close-order drill for manoeuvres of the line. Begun in late sixteenth-century Netherlands and perfected in eighteenth-century Prussia under Frederick the Great, the drill's precision marching evolved into a military science which conceived what infantry acquired through rigorous training as a lawful 'second nature' of men. In contrast, the liberal Webers' 1836 locomotion research orientation was, as was that of French skirmishing, one of natural self-regulation. Later Prussian military science, restored in Imperial Germany, was merged into locomotion science.
Flesher
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MM
Smith College, Northampton, MA 01060-2907, USA.
D005858:Germany; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D008891:Military Science / Q000266:history*; D010827:Physiology / Q000266:history*; D016138:Walking