History of British light infantry The history of British light infantry goes back to the early days of the British Army , when irregular troops and mercenaries added skills in light infantry fighting . From the beginning of the nineteenth century , the Army dedicated some line regiments as specific light infantry troops , were trained under the Shorncliffe System devised by Sir John Moore and Sir Kenneth MacKenzie Douglas . The light infantry had the nickname " light bobs " first used during the American Wars of Independence , and commonly applied to the Light Division during the Napoleonic wars . Origins of British light infantry . Until the beginning of the 19th century , the British Army relied on irregulars and mercenaries to provide most of its light infantry . During the Seven Years ' War and the American wars , the need for more skirmishers , scouts resulted in a temporary secondment of regular line companies . These were frequently denigrated by regular army officers , and the specially trained companies were disbanded when the need for them decreased . From 1770 regular regiments were required to include a company of light infantry in their establishment , but the training of such light troops was inconsistent , and frequently inadequate . Beginning a restructure of the British Army in the late 18th century , the Duke of York recognised a need for dedicated light troops . Certainly , the lack of such troops presented a further concern for the British Army , newly faced with a war against Napoleon and his experienced light infantry , the " chasseur s " . During the early years of the war against Revolutionary France , the British Army was bolstered by light infantry mercenaries from Germany and the Low Countries , including the nominally British 60th Foot . " It was finally decided in December 1797 to raise a fifth battalion for the 60th Royal Americans from the foreign , predominantly German , rifle corps still serving with British forces as a Jäger battalion . Here it must be stressed that , of course , Riflemen differed from the generality of light infantry in that they had a specialist role as sharpshooters . . . Consequently , on 30 December 1797 , 17 officers and 300 rank and file of the chasseur companies of Hompesch ' s Light Infantry under their existing Lieutenant - Colonel , Baron Francis de Rottenberg , were so constituted . " The British light infantry companies proved inadequate against the experienced French during the Flanders campaign , and in in 1799 , and infantry reform became urgent . " So useful had the fifth battalion proved , that in 1799 a rifle company was attached to each of the red - coated battalions of the 60th : the first , second , third , fourth . At the same time , a further two battalions of Germans were raised to serve as Riflemen and dressed in green , becoming the sixth and seventh battalions of the 60th . . . [ B ] y late 1799 the British Army , albeit in its ' foreign ' regiment , the 60th , already had in excess of three battalions of Riflemen and the Duke of York needed little additional evidence that a specialist ' British ' rifle corps was now long overdue . " Shorncliffe System . In 1801 , the " Experimental Corps of Riflemen " was raised ( later designated the 95th Rifles ) , and a decision was made to train some line regiments in light infantry techniques , so they might operate as both light and line infantry . Sir John Moore , a proponent of the light infantry model , offered his own regiment of line infantry , the 52nd Foot , for this training , at Shorncliffe Camp . Thus , in 1803 , the 52nd became the first regular British Army regiment to be designated " Light Infantry " . They were followed shortly afterwards by the 43rd Foot ; several other line regiments were designated " light infantry " in 1808 . Much of the training was undertaken by Lieutenant - Colonel Kenneth MacKenzie , who devised many of the tactics of light infantry training . Moore wrote of his regiment in his diary that " it is evident that not only the officers , but that each individual soldier , knows perfectly what he has to do ; the discipline is carried on without severity , the officers are attached to the men and the men to the officers . " This had much to do with the method of training ; unlike other regiments , officers drilled with the men and were expected to be familiar with drill routines , including weapons training . The ranks also received additional training , and were encouraged to develop initiative and self - direction ; while skirmishing in the field they would need to react without direct orders . Fighting techniques . While most regiments fought in tight formation , allowing easy administration of orders ; with light infantry working in small groups , in advance of the main line , complicated bugle calls were developed to pass orders . Because of the use of the bugle , rather than the standard line infantry drum , the bugle horn had been the badge of light infantry regiments since 1770 , adapted from the Hanoverian Jäger regiments , and became standard for the newly formed Light Infantry regiments , since it represented the bugle call s used for skirmishing orders . While skirmishing , light infantry fought in pairs , so that one soldier could cover the other while loading . Line regiments fired in volleys , but skirmishers fired at will , taking careful aim at targets . While consideration was given to equipping light infantry with rifles , due to their improved accuracy , expected difficulty and expense in obtaining sufficient rifled weapons resulted in the standard infantry musket being issued to most troops . The accuracy of the musket decreased at long range and , since the French " chasseurs " and " voltigeurs " also used muskets , it is likely that skirmishers ' firefights took place at ranges of only 50 yards ( or less ) . 10 yards provided the accuracy of point - blank range . Although the French infantry ( and , earlier , the Americans ) frequently used multi - shot and grapeshot in their muskets , the British light infantry used only standard ball ammunition . Light infantry were equipped more lightly than regular line regiments , and marched at 140 paces per minute . Tasks of the light infantry included advance and rear guard action , flanking protection for armies and forward skirmishing . They were also called upon to form regular line formations during battles , or as part of fortification storming parties . During the Peninsular War , they regarded as the army ' s elite corps . Napoleonic wars . The light infantry regiments were a significant force during the Napoleonic wars , when the Light Division was party to most of the battles and sieges of the Peninsular War . Regular light infantry formations , besides the light company attached to each regular battalion , during this period included : Decline of the light infantry regiments . By the late 19th century , with the universal adoption of the rifle and the abandonment of traditional formation fighting due to advancements in weaponry , the distinction between heavy and light infantry had effectively vanished in the British army . A number of regiments were titled as light infantry in the 1881 Cardwell Reforms , but this was effectively a ceremonial distinction only ; they did not have any specialised operational roles . Two " light divisions " , composed of battalions from light infantry regiments , fought in the First World War - the 14th ( Light ) Division and the 20th ( Light ) Division , both of the New Army - but were employed purely as conventional divisions . By contrast , the continental armies . including the French , Italians , Austro - Hungarians , and Germans , all maintained distinct mountain or alpine units , which remained true light infantry . German mountain battalions , " Gebirsjäger " , were one of the primary sources for their innovative " Sturmtruppen " assault battalions , which used classic light infantry tactics to penetrate British , French , and . most spectacularly , Italian infantry lines . Modern light infantry units . By the Second World War , however , new tactics were beginning to be developed for the employment of a more modern form of light infantry . The growing mechanisation of the infantry meant that a distinction was created between normal battalions , which were carried in lorries and often possessed heavy weaponry , and those battalions which did not use them due to terrain or supply conditions . At the same time , the war saw the appearance of new parachute infantry , mountain infantry and special forces units , all lightly equipped and often non - motorised . In some cases , new infantry regiments were formed to take on these roles - the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service Regiment both serve as specialist light infantry to this day . In other cases , however , existing infantry battalions were designated for the new roles . This was done without any distinction as to their ceremonial status , and the battalions came from both light infantry and line regiments . A further development was the creation of mechanised infantry units intended to form part of armoured divisions or brigades , and equipped with tracked Universal Carrier s , or later with Lend - Lease half tracks . Battalions of the Rifle Brigade and King ' s Royal Rifle Corps were designated for this role . ( Battalions of the Bombay Grenadiers performed a similar role in armoured formations of the British Indian Army ) . Following the end of the Second World War , the mechanisation of the army continued apace ; by the 1970s , it was considered that the standard infantry battalion was one equipped with armoured personnel carriers . A number of battalions remained equipped as " light role " units ; they carried less heavy weaponry than the other battalions , and were expected to travel on foot or by truck . Having no heavy vehicles , they were highly mobile ; they could be transported in aircraft or helicopters without significantly limiting their combat potential . It was planned that these units would be used as a reserve , because of their high strategic mobility , or employed for home defence or contingency operations . Because of their organisation , they were better suited for operations outside of a confrontation with the Warsaw Pact , or in more varied terrain than that found in Western Europe . Perhaps the most notable use of British light infantry was in the Falklands War , where the expeditionary force was made from three Royal Marine commando units , two battalions of the Parachute Regiment , two light role battalions of Guards infantry , and a light role battalion of 7th Gurkha Rifles . Fate of the light infantry regiments . Between 2004 and 2007 , a number of amalgamations took place in the British Army , following an earlier series that dated back to 1958 . The aim of this most recent round was to produce a more flexible fighting force to combat the threats of today , much removed from those of the Cold War ; which ended in the early 1990s . Most of the regiments in existence prior to 1958 have now been disbanded ( such as the Cameronians ) or have been restructured into numbered battalions of larger regiments . This process has affected all of the historic light infantry regiments ( see below ) . The reorganised infantry branch incorporates different battalions with the specialised roles of infantry ; light , Air assault ( or Airborne ) , armoured , mechanised and commando support , within a reduced number of large regiments such as the Rifles .