musketten

Musketten, or muskets in English, were smoothbore, muzzle-loading shoulder-fired firearms used by infantry from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries. They were loaded from the muzzle with powder, a lead ball, and often a wooden ramrod to push the charge and ball down the barrel. Early models used a matchlock mechanism; later, flintlock became dominant; in the 19th century percussion caps replaced flint, and breech-loading variants appeared in limited numbers.

Most muskets were smoothbore, with limited accuracy but able to fire a volley at relatively long ranges. Typical effective range for massed formations was around 100–200 meters. Reload times were slow, requiring practiced soldiers to perform steps: pour powder, place wadding, drop ball, ram, prime, and fire. The introduction of paper cartridges improved reloading efficiency. Bayonets were attached to muskets, transforming them into melee weapons at close quarters.

Impact on warfare: muskets enabled massed infantry formations and volley fire, shaping tactics in the early modern period, especially during the Thirty Years’ War, the Napoleonic Wars, and other conflicts. They gradually shared battlefields with rifles, which offered higher precision and longer range but slower loading.

Decline: By the mid-to-late 19th century, rifled longarms and breech-loading mechanisms supplanted smoothbore muskets. In German usage, musketen refers to these weapons, which remained common in many armies until replaced by more advanced firearms.