A file is a military term for a number of

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...

drawn up in line ahead, i.e. one behind the other in a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

. The number of files is the measure of the width of a column of troops in several ranks one behind the other.McNab, p. 55.Schwartz, p. 9

Usage

Files are useful when troops don't know where the enemy is, since there are overlapping fields of fire from each soldier, and cover from a possible flanking attack. Files are at a disadvantage when there are heavy weapons nearby, supported by infantry, especially machine guns and

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

Ancient Greek use

A file of men in the Greek

phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

was called a

lochos A ''lochos'', plural ''lochoi'' (; pl. ), is a tactical sub unit of Classical Greece and of the modern Greek army. The term derived from the ancient Greek for ambush and the men carrying out the ambush, but in practice, its meaning was essential ...

() and usually ranged from eight to sixteen men.

References

Bibliography

* * Duparcq, Edouard Le Barre (1863). ''Elements of Military Art and History: Comprising the History and Tactics of the Separate Arms; the Combination of the Arms; and the Minor Operations of War''. D. Vand Nostrand. * Holbrook, John (1826). ''Military Tactics: Adapted to the Different Corps in the United States, According to the Latest Improvements''. E. A. Clark. * McNab, Chris (2007). ''Combat Techniques: An Elite Forces Guide to Modern Infantry Tactics''. Macmillan. * Schwartz, Richard B. (2008). ''Tactical Emergency Medicine''. Williams & Wilkins.

Web sources

* {{cite web , url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/5-10/appa.pdf , title=Basic Formations, Movement Techniques, and Hand-and-Arm Signals , publisher=global.security.org , date=2001 , accessdate=15 June 2015 , author=United States Army , format=PDF Tactical formations of the Napoleonic Wars Tactical formations