The French and Austrians both organised their forces in dense columns trained to attack quickly and aggressively.
The Prussian Army, however, adopted a different strategy. Instead of columns that would charge the enemy, they deployed their troops in loose skirmish lines. A Prussian battalion of 800 men would deploy a front line of 67 skirmishers arranged in a row about 2.5 meters apart, another 67 skirmishers 150 paces behind them, and a supporting wave of 266 men another 150 paces back which would feed more skirmishers into the front line to replace casualties. The other half of the battalion formed up in four small 100-man columns 400 meters behind the front line, ready to act as a reserve and charge in to exploit victory or shore up the defense. This formation made the Prussian infantry a difficult and dispersed target to hit, but it could still attack rapidly.
