Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/160

152 CAVALEY poleon. In the whole of the 18th century we find cavalry charging in column in one case on- ly, i. e., when it had to break through a sur- rounding enemy. But Napoleon, whose cav- alry was composed of brave men but bad riders, had to make up for the tactical imperfections of his mounted troops by some new contrivance. He began to send his cavalry to the charge in deep columns, thus forcing the front ranks to ride forward, and throwing at once a far greater number of horsemen upon the selected point of attack than could have been done by a line at- tack. The desire of acting with masses, during the campaigns succeeding that of 1807, became with Napoleon a sort of monomania. He in- vented formations of columns which were per- fectly monstrous, and which, happening to be successful in 1809, were adhered to in the later campaigns, and helped to los'e him many a bat- tle. He formed columns of whole divisions either of infantry or of cavalry, by ranging de- ployed battalions and regiments one behind the other. This was first tried with cavalry at Eck- muhl, in 1809, where ten regiments of cuiras- siers charged in column, and two regiments de- ployed in front, four similar lines following at distances of about 60 yards. With infantry, columns of whole divisions, one battalion de- ployed behind the other, were formed at Wa- gram. Such manoeuvres might not be danger- ous against the slow and methodical Austrians of the time, but in every later campaign, and with more active enemies, they ended in de- feat. We have seen what a pitiable end the great charge of Murat at Wachau, in the same formation, came to. The disastrous issue of D'Erlon's great infantry attack at Waterloo was caused by its being made with this forma- tion. With cavalry the monster column ap- pears especially faulty, as it absorbs the most valuable resources into one unwieldy mass, which, once launched, is irretrievably out of hand, and, whatever success it may have in front, is always at the mercy of smaller bodies well in hand that are thrown on its Hanks. With the materials for one such column, a sec- ond line and one or two reserves might be pre- pared, the charges of which might not have such an effect at first, but would certainly by their repetition ultimately obtain greater results with smaller losses. In most services, indeed, this charge in column has either been abandon- ed, or it has been retained as a mere theoretical curiosity, while for all practical < purposes the formation of large bodies of cavalry is made in several lines at charging intervals, supporting and relieving each other during a prolonged engagement. Napoleon, too, was the first to form his cavalry into masses of several divi- sions, called corps of cavalry. As a means of simplifying the transmission of commands in a large army, such an organization of the reserve cavalry is eminently necessary; but when maintained on the field of battle, when these corps had to act in a body, it never, except in the American civil war, produced any ade- quate results. In the present European armies the cavalry corps is generally retained, and in the Prussian, Russian, and Austrian services there are even established normal formations and general rules for the action of such a corps on the field of battle, all of which are based on the formation of a first and second line and a reserve, together with indications for the pla- cing of the horse artillery attached to such a body. We have hitherto spoken of the action of cavalry so far only as it is directed against cavalry. But one of the principal purposes for which this arm is used in battle, in fact its prin- cipal use at present, is its action against infan- try. We have seen that in the 18th century infantry, in battle, scarcely ever formed square against cavalry. It received the charge in line, and if the attack was directed against a flank, a few companies wheeled back, en potence, to meet it. Frederick the Great instructed his infantry never to form square except when an isolated battalion was surprised by cavalry ; and if in such a case it had formed square, " it may march straight against the enemy's horse, drive them away, and, never heeding their at- tacks, proceed to its destination." The thin lines of infantry in those days met the cavalry charge with full confidence in the effect of their fire, and indeed repelled it often enough ; but where they once got broken, the disaster was irreparable, as at Hohenfriedberg and Zorndorf. At present, when the column has replaced the line in so many cases, the rule is that infantry always, where it is practicable, form square to receive cavalry. There are indeed many in- stances in modern wars where good cavalry has surprised infantry in line and had to fly from its fire ; but they form the exception. The old question, whether cavalry has a fair chance of breaking squares of infantry, has lost a good deal of its importance, owing to the im- provement in firearms and to the new ten- dency in the use of cavalry. It appears to be generally admitted that, under ordinary cir- cumstances, a good, intact infantry, not shatter- ed by artillery fire, stands a very great chance against cavalry ; while with young foot soldiers, who have lost the edge of their energy and steadiness by a hard day's fighting, by heavy losses and long exposure to fire, a resolute cav- alry has the best of it. There are exceptions, such as the charge of the German dragoons at Garcia Hernandez in 1812, where each of three squadrons broke an intact French square ; but as a rule, a cavalry commander will not find it advisable to launch his men on such infantry. At Waterloo, Ney's grand charges with the mass of the French reserve cavalry on Wellington's centre could not break the English and German squares, because these troops, sheltered a good deal behind the crest of the ridge, had suffered very little from the preceding cannonade, and were almost all as good as intact. Such charges, therefore, are adapted for the last stage of a battle only, when the infantry has been a good deal shattered and