| [INTRODUCTION] | [25] | |
| [EMPLOYMENT IN WAR THE BASIS FOR TRAINING] | [33] | |
| A. | [Reconnaissance, Screening, and Raids]: | |
| I. | RECONNAISSANCE BY THE ARMY CAVALRY | [40] |
| 1. The Main Body of the Army Cavalry | [40] | |
| 2. Reconnoitring Squadrons | [51] | |
| 3. Distant Patrols | [64] | |
| 4. Close Reconnaissance and Reconnaissance duringthe Fight | [76] | |
| II. | RECONNAISSANCE BY THE DIVISIONAL CAVALRY | [82] |
| III. | THE SCREEN | [91] |
| IV. | RAIDS | [97] |
| B. | [The Action of Cavalry:] | |
| I. | GENERAL | [104] |
| II. | ATTACK AND DEFENCE | [113] |
| III. | CAVALRY IN COMBAT AGAINST THE VARIOUS ARMS,MOUNTED AND DISMOUNTED | [119] |
| IV. | THE FIGHT OF THE INDEPENDENT CAVALRY | [137] |
| 1. The Battle of Encounter | [138] | |
| 2. Attack of Localities | [155] | |
| 3. The Defence | [164] | |
| 4. Breaking off the Fight, Retreat, and Pursuit | [166] | |
| V. | THE ACTION OF CAVALRY IN BATTLE | [173] |
| 1. The Army Cavalry on the Flank of the Battle | [178] | |
| 2. The Army Cavalry as a Reserve behind theFront | [185] | |
| 3. Pursuit and Retreat | [190] | |
| 4. The Rôle of the Divisional Cavalry | [196] | |
| VI. | DEPTH AND ÉCHELON | [198] |
| VII. | FORMATIONS FOR MOVEMENTS | [208] |
| VIII. | THE VARIOUS UNITS IN THE FIGHT | [213] |
| [APPENDIX: Cavalry at Peace Manœuvres] | [221] | |
The great changes which have taken place in military science since the year 1866 have forced all arms to adopt new methods of fighting. It was, first and foremost, the improvement in the firearm which wrought the transformation of the battlefield and called forth an increased demand for cover against the murderous effect of fire. The infantry sought safety in sparser formations and in utilising the smallest accidents of the ground for cover, while the artillery adopted armoured shields, covered positions, and indirect methods of fire. It was only the cavalry that could not keep pace with these developments. Forming a conspicuous target, capable of being concealed only behind considerable inequalities of the ground, it could indeed seldom find cover within the range of the enemy's fire. As, at the same time, its strength in comparison to that of the great armies of the present day has sensibly diminished, it might be concluded that its particular value in battle had decreased considerably in possibility and importance.
This conclusion is thoroughly justified, but not altogether in the way that one is inclined to assume. For one reason, the cavalry is now supplied with an excellent firearm, which its mobility enables it to employ against the most sensitive parts of an enemy's line of battle. For another, the composition of modern armies offers, as I have frequently said, many new possibilities of success. Newly raised levies, such as will often have to take their place in the great armies of the day, cannot possess the same steadiness as standing permanent troops. They are, according to experience, very sensitive to moral impressions, and will often enough, when shaken in battle, offer a tempting and suitable object of attack to the cavalry. At the same time, the fact remains that, by reason of its relative numerical weakness, cavalry can no longer retain its former importance in the battle, and that the manner of its intervention in the fight must often be of a very different nature from what it has been in the past.
On the other hand, the duty of cavalry in the sphere of reconnaissance has increased in importance. For all strategical movements the main body of the modern army demands considerably more time and, generally also, comprehensive preparatory measures. If, therefore, intelligence as to the disposition of the enemy is to be of use in operations, it follows that it must be procured at the earliest possible moment. Whoever gets the earliest and best information possesses nowadays a far greater advantage than formerly, when, with the small armies of the day, movements and combinations of force could often be successfully carried out in the immediate presence of the enemy's army. These are indeed still possible in occasional cases and where sufficient depth of formation is maintained, and it is this circumstance that has made early and full intelligence, combined with successful screening of one's own movements, one of the most important factors of success.
There are people who, in fancy, already see cavalry replaced in this rôle by an air fleet. Such prophets cannot, however, be treated seriously. The air cruisers will not be designed for all the possibilities of war. In the period of concentration and in fortress warfare they would doubtless be able, even in their present condition, to render excellent service. Whether they can be adapted for use in a war of movement remains to be seen; but, even if they can in time be of more service for war than at present appears to be the case, their capabilities in this direction will always be limited. They can only observe at night under favourable conditions—such things, for example, as large detrainments of troops or bivouacs with fires burning. They are under all circumstances dependent upon the weather. By day the air fleet of the enemy will seek battle with them in order to hinder their reconnaissance. Hostile artillery will be particularly dangerous to them, and will be able, thanks to the developments in modern ordnance, to wage successful war against them. All detachments cannot possibly be supplied with airships, owing to the great cost and enormous apparatus entailed, and their usefulness will therefore only be realised with the larger formations. Finally, one or the other of the air fleets will be driven from the field, or rather from the air, and that side which meets with defeat will be deprived of all means of reconnoitring unless it can rely on its cavalry. So in the most modern war the cavalry remains the principal means of reconnaissance. Its activity may indeed be supplemented by airships, but will never be replaced by them.[1]
These circumstances, however, necessitate a new rôle for cavalry. It must drive the hostile cavalry from the field, a cavalry which will do all in its power to secure its own army against intrusion. It will find this cavalry reinforced not only by horse artillery and machine-guns, but also by cyclist battalions, mounted and other infantry, and will therefore have to be prepared, in order to properly carry out its service of exploration, to fight against detachments of all arms. But the same thing will also happen when it seeks to veil the movements of its own army, or to undertake some enterprise against the enemy's communications, or to defend its own against similar hostile raids. Our cavalry thus finds itself face to face with totally new duties of a most real kind, towards the carrying out of which it has no previous experience to help it.
In the wars of Frederick the Great and of Napoleon, as well as in the German war of Unification, there is a total absence of analogy from which to draw conclusions that can be practically applied. The wars in South Africa and Manchuria, on the other hand, reveal conditions which have very little in common with those of a European war such as the German cavalry will have to fight. Nowhere can the few experiences of cavalry action gained in these wars be immediately applied, and there are but few bases for the formation of judgment as to what is practical and possible under modern conditions. The same may be said to hold good of the Russo-Turkish war. The most interesting and instructive campaigns for the service of modern cavalry appear to be those of the American War of Secession, which are, however, almost unknown in Germany, where there is a lack of opportunities to study them.[2]