- mendation made by the late General Dragomirov of the Russian
army is, at any rate, worthy of consideration.[1] He proposed that cavalry ride at full speed through infantry lines deployed with three paces between files. Some infantrymen are, indeed, bound to be injured in such charges, but the wounds produced are not likely to be serious. Infantry accustomed to such charges will not lose its steadiness so easily in action as when it comes in contact with cavalry for the first time on the battlefield.
The success of the charge made by Captain Bechtoltsheim of the
Austrian army at Custozza with three platoons of Sicilian Uhlans, may
be ascribed principally to the fact that the Italian infantry was not accustomed
to field service and lacked training. This small force of cavalry
broke entirely through Pisa's deployed Brigade (Italian) and struck the
route column of Forli's Brigade, throwing it into complete panic, so that
of five battalions only one remained intact. The three platoons of cavalry,
which numbered about 100 sabers, lost 2 officers, 84 men, and 73
horses killed and wounded. The charge made by three troops (Eskadrons)
of the Dragoons of the Guard at Mars-la-Tour, to facilitate the retreat
of the defeated 38th Brigade, and that made by two platoons of the 7th
Hussars at Sapignies were likewise successful.
Any formation that permits effective firing is suitable for
warding off cavalry. Skirmish lines through which a cavalry
charge passes suffer losses that scarcely deserve mention. The
fight is not hopeless even when the hostile troopers halt within
the ranks of the infantry. When cavalry has charged through
a skirmish line, the latter should be careful not to face about
to fire at the troopers,[2] as that would give a second cavalry
line an opportunity to approach and strike it unawares.
The supports in rear of the first line form the objective of the cavalry after it has charged through the firing line. These supports must therefore open fire on the cavalry regardless of the skirmishers in front.
- ↑ Vorbereitung der Truppen für den Kampf, I, p. 55.
- ↑ "The French firing lines through which the cavalry had charged (evening attack made by Rauch's Brigade in the direction of Rezonville on August 16th, 1870) fired after the Hussars, while the French Infantry units in rear fired in the opposite direction. The result was a frightful cross-fire, which, while undoubtedly disastrous for the Hussars, certainly must have worked havoc among the French." Kunz, Reiterei, p. 153.
