skirmisher's Usage Examples:

His dragoons drove away the skirmishers along the lane, and the line cavalry crossed into the moor.

The Prussians, having seen the cavalry whilst yet at a distance, ceased firing, formed their skirmishers into groups, and the closed supports standing in deployed lines, two deep, shattered the cavalry with volleys and file-firing, as with blown and exhausted horses they endeavoured to close with their adversaries.

Soimonov, with his whole force deployed in a normal attack formation (three lines of battalion columns covered by a few hundred skirmishers) pushed forward along the ridge (6 A.

The advantage of the breech-loader now began to assert itself, for the Austrian skirmishers who covered the front of the guns could only load when standing up, while the Prussians lay down or fired from cover.

Crossing the Forth unopposed at the Fords of Frew and passing through Stirling and Linlithgow, he arrived within a few miles of the astonished metropolis, and on the 16th of September a body of his skirmishers defeated the dragoons of Colonel Gardiner in what was known as the "Canter of Coltbrig.

In a few minutes the batteries on the extreme Prussian left were completely overwhelmed, and suddenly dense lines of French skirmishers emerged from a fold in the ground upon their flank and front, and the gunners were compelled to resort to case-shot, so imminent was their danger.

By daybreak on the 74th, the anniversary of Elchingen, upwards of 60,000 men stood densely battalions were sent forward, and these, delaying their advance till the fog had sufficiently lifted, were met by French skirmishers, and small columns, who rapidly overlapped their flanks and drove them back in confusion.

The lane along the front was held by skirmishers.

Synonyms:

scrapper, combatant, belligerent, battler, fighter,

Antonyms:

civilian, peaceful, amicable,