fusillade

Fusillade is a term used to describe a rapid, simultaneous or near-simultaneous discharge of firearms, typically issued by a group of shooters or delivered in quick succession. The word is of French origin, from fusil, meaning rifle, and the suffix -lade, indicating a discharge or throwing; English usage follows the French sense of a volley of shots.

Historically, fusillade referred to the volley firing used by line infantry in early modern and Napoleonic warfare, when soldiers fired in coordinated salvos to maximize effect and compensate for limited aiming accuracy. Units would advance in formation and deliver rapid volleys at the command of officers, creating a dense curtain of bullets intended to break enemy lines or morale.

In contemporary usage, the term can describe any rapid stream of gunfire, such as a sustained burst from firearms in combat, or, metaphorically, a rapid series of questions or criticisms. In ceremonial contexts, a controlled, repeated firing sequence may be described as a fusillade of blank rounds. The term is often used in journalism and literature to convey intensity or overwhelming intensity of gunfire.

Related terms include volley, salvo, and barrage. The concept carries significant historical and cultural associations with military tactics, while also functioning as a metaphor for rapid, successive outpourings in nonmilitary contexts.