A charge has a better chance of succeeding if it is prepared by artillery fire.
During the attack made by two troops (Eskadrons) of Landwehr
Hussars against the 1st Battalion Gyulai at Tobitschau, an Austrian
square was broken by shells before the cavalry penetrated it. During the
attack of Bredow's Brigade at Vionville, the artillery was able to send its
last shells against the enemy immediately past the right flank of the
cavalry brigade.
The employment of cavalry in masses, contemplated in
all armies, compels us to consider the case when infantry must
advance over open ground in the face of hostile cavalry. Special
units must then be designated, who, by means of long range
fire, repulse the cavalry or keep it at a distance. At Minden
(1759), Anglo-Hanoverian infantry succeeded in driving the
hostile cavalry from the field, and at Vauxchamps and Etoges
(14th February, 1814), Prussian infantry succeeded in breaking
through the French cavalry. It will be easy to do the
same thing with modern weapons, so long as cavalry is not
very superior in numbers, and is not supported by infantry,
machine guns, or artillery.
Infantry attacking dismounted cavalry should endeavor to bring long range fire to bear on the led horses or threaten them by a flank attack. For infantry to prolong the action at long and medium ranges is only playing into the hands of the cavalry, and besides, the better marksmanship of the infantry is bound to make itself felt at short ranges. When the infantry has once gotten to within 700 paces (560 m.) of the dismounted cavalry, it is very doubtful whether the latter will still be able to mount; at the very least, it will be difficult for it to do so (par. 362 German C. D. R.), even though the withdrawal can be effected under cover, or when fresh troops take a hand in the fight.
