Hans-Karl wrote:
'colonnes serrees par battalions' - this in my opinion is nothing other than closed battalion columns.

Hans-Karl:

'colonnes serrees' are closed columns. Par battalions [bataillons--I always forget that spelling too] is what? A battalion with a battalion front? If so, what is 'par bataillon' with NO 'S' at the end? In all cases I have seen, when 'par ----' is added, it describes the front of A BATTALION anyway, so why the 'par bataillons'? [e.g. par peloton, par division etc.]

Best Regards,

Bill