Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/153

CAVALRY 145 other. His cavalry was formed generally five deep. In other armies it fought in deep bodies, and where a line formation was adopted it was still from five to eight deep. The 17th century, having completely done away with the costly men-at-arms, increased the numerical strength of cavalry to an enormous extent. At no other period was there so large a proportion of that arm in every army. In the thirty years' war from two fifths to nearly one half of each army was generally composed of cavalry; in single instances there were two horsemen to one foot soldier. Gustavus Adolphus stands at the head of cavalry commanders of this period. His mounted troops consisted of cuirassiers and dragoons, the latter fighting almost always as cavalry. His cuirassiers, too, were much lighter than those of the emperor, and soon proved their incontestable superiority. The Swedish cavalry were formed three deep ; their orders were, contrary to the usage of the cuirassiers of most armies, whose chief arm was the pistol, not to lose time in firing, but to charge the enemy sword in hand. At this period the cav- alry, which during the middle ages had gen- erally been placed in the centre, was again placed, as in antiquity, on the wings of the army, where it was formed in two lines. In England, the civil war gave rise to two dis- tinguished cavalry leaders. Prince Rupert, on the royalist side, had as much " dash " in him as any cavalry general, but he was almost always carried too far, lost his cavalry out of hand, and was himself so taken up with what was immediately before him, that the general always disappeared in the "bold dragoon." Cromwell, on the other hand, with quite as much dash where it was required, was a far better general ; he kept his men well in hand, always held back a reserve for unforeseen events and decisive movements, knew how to manoeu- vre, and thus proved generally victorious over his more inconsiderate opponent. He won the battles of Marston Moor and Naseby by his cav- alry alone. With most armies the use of the firearm still remained the chief employment of cavalry in battle, the Swedes and English alone excepted. In France, Prussia, and Austria, cavalry was drilled to use the carbine exactly as infantry used the musket. They fired on horseback, the line standing still all the while, by files, platoons, ranks, &c. ; and when a movement for a charge was made, the line advanced at a trot, pulled up at a short distance from the enemy, gave a volley, drew swords, id then charged. The effective fire of the long lines of infantry had shaken all confidence the charge of a cavalry which was no longer protected by armor ; consequently, riding was leglected, no movements could be executed at quick pace, and even at a slow pace frequent iccidents happened to both men and horses. " drill was mostly dismounted work, and icir officers had no idea whatever of the way if handling cavalry in battle. The French, it true, sometimes charged sword in hand, and Charles XII. of Sweden, true to his national tradition, always charged full speed without firing, dispersing cavalry and infantry, and sometimes even taking field works of a weak profile. But it was reserved for Frederick the Great and his great cavalry commander, Seyd- litz, to revolutionize the mounted service, and to raise it to the culminating point of glory. The Prussian cavalry, heavy men on clumsy horses, drilled for firing only, such as Frederick's father had left them to his son, were beaten in an instant at Mollwitz (1741). But no sooner was the first Silesian war brought to a close than Frederick entirely reorganized his cavalry. Fir- ing and dismounted drill were thrown into the background, and riding was attended to. " All evolutions are to be made with the greatest speed, all wheels to be done at a canter. Cav- alry officers must above all things form the men into perfect riders ; the cuirassiers to be as handy and expert on horseback as a hussar, and well exercised in the use of the sword." The men were to ride every day. Riding hi difficult ground, across obstacles, and fencing on horse- back, were the principal drills. In a charge, no firing at all was allowed until the first and sec- ond lines of the enemy were completely broken. "Every squadron, as it advances to the charge, is to attack the enemy sword in hand, and no commander shall be allowed to let his troops fire under penalty of infamous cashiering ; the generals of brigades to be answerable for this. As they advance, they first fall into a quick trot, and finally into a full gallop, but well closed ; and if they attack in this way, his ma- jesty is certain that the enemy will always be broken." "Every officer of cavalry will have always present to his mind that there are but two things required to beat the enemy: 1, to charge him with the greatest possible speed and force ; and, 2, to outflank him." These passages from Frederick's instructions sufficiently show the total revolution he car- ried out hi cavalry tactics. He was seconded admirably by Seydlitz / who always commanded his cuirassiers and dragoons, and made such troops of them that for vehemence and order of charge, quickness of evolutions, readiness for flank attacks, and rapidity in rallying and re- forming after a charge, no cavalry has ever equalled the Prussian cavalry of the seven years' war. The fruits were soon visible. At Hohenfriedberg the Baireuth regiment of dra- goons, 10 squadrons, rode down the whole left wing of the Austrian infantry, broke 21 battal- ions, took 66 stand of colors, 5 guns, and 4,000 prisoners. At Zorndorf, when the Prussian infantry had been forced to retreat, Seydlitz, with 36 squadrons, drove the victorious Russian cavalry from the field, and then fell upon the Russian infantry, completely defeating it with great slaughter. At Rossbach, Striegau, Kes- selsdorf, Leuthen, and in ten other battles, Fred- erick owed the victory to his splendid cavalry. When the French revolutionary war broke out, the Austrians had adopted the Prussian system,