Bavaria: 4 battalions Rifles (numbered apart).
Württemberg. Dragoon.
Cavalry.
The Cavalry is intended for fighting chiefly at close quarters and on open ground. Their use on the battle-field is generally confined to the attack in close order.
Although both branches of the Cavalry, the Heavy and the Light, receive an identical training, yet the distinction between them has not yet entirely lost its old significance. The Cavalry of the German Army is divided into four groups, distinguished by different equipment and arms; they are the Cuirassiers, the Dragoons, the Lancers, and the Hussars. The chief weapon throughout is the sword, though the Cuirassiers differ from the others in being armed with a long straight sword, whilst that of the latter is slightly curved. Besides this weapon, the whole of the Cavalry is being armed with lances. As it may happen that the men may have to dismount and use firearms on foot, at present they are all armed with a useful carbine (Mauser, 1871 pattern); the non-commissioned officers and trumpeters wear a revolver instead.
The main point in a Cavalry fight is the shock, i.e., the moment when they come into contact with the enemy. This must be the result of gradually quickening the pace till at the supreme moment an irresistible mass is hurled with crushing force on the ranks of the enemy. The best powers of man and horse must therefore be reserved for this moment, and it is a fact that the turning-point of an action has often been decided by the mere impetus of the charge, and without any use whatever of cold steel.
German Empire. II. [LHS]
