Background
William Louis was the eldest son of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg and his first wife, Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg.
William Louis was the eldest son of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg and his first wife, Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg.
He served as a cavalry officer under William the Silent. William Louis played a significant part in the Military Revolution of the 16th - 17th centuries. Aelian was discussing the use of the counter march in the context of the Roman sword gladius and spear pilium.
William Louis in a "crucial leap" realized that the same technique could work for men with firearms.
" I have discovered evolutionibus a method of getting the musketeers and others with guns not only to practice firing but to keep on doing so in a very effective battle order (that is to say, they do not fire at will or from behind a barrier). Just as soon as the first rank has fired, then by the drill they will march to the back.
The second rank either marching forward or standing still, will then fire just like the first. After that the third and following ranks will do the same.
When the last rank has fired, the first will have reloaded, as the following diagram shows:.
Anna died less than six months later on 13 June 1588, and William Louis never remarried. He died in his home, the Stadhouderlijk hof in Leeuwarden, the city which honored him with a statue on the government square. His body was laid to rest in the Jacobijnerkerk.