Jaegers, and the British equivalent of Riflemen, were to keep in an open formation out in front of the massed main body of troops, sometimes in pairs. They were there to skirmish with any scattered enemy forces, and screen the main body of the army so its maneuvers would not be detected. Because they were scattered, they could take cover behind rocks and trees. They would also be armed with rifles, which meant they could fire accurately at distances up to a few hundred meters, beyond the range of muskets. That open formation meant they could not hold ground against the typical massed lines of a regular army, so jaegers/riflemen had to be mobile , ready to move quickly. The French equivalent for them were called voltigeurs, or acrobats.

Although the part of Continental riflemen in the American Revolutionary War using the same tactics has gotten a lot of attention, less well known is that the hired Hessian troops had their own units of Jaegers.

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