CHAPTER XVII
THE EVOLUTION OF CAVALRY
Modern Cavalry has perhaps but slight claim to be descended from feudal Chivalry. The Man-at-Arms, the fully armoured Knight, with his mounted retinue of a squire, a page, and a few retainers, acted indeed by “shock,” but individually, with jealous independence of his fellow knights; whereas the efficiency of Cavalry action has from the first rested on a combined disciplined attack. But the traditions of Chivalry may be traced in the “Cavalry Spirit,” which preaches, like Danton, “de l’audace, encore de l’audace, et toujours de l’audace,” and in the prestige which still clings to the Mounted Arm. Cavalry has never forgotten its aristocratic and romantic ancestry, and is inclined to look down somewhat on the Infantry without whom battles cannot be fought, and still less won. Cavalry is to this day the premier Arm in the British and in many other Armies. In Germany the logical insight of the Hohenzollerns has long since made Infantry the senior Arm of the Service.
The word Cavalry—French Cavallerie, Italian Cavaleria—is, like Chivalry, derived from the Late Latin word caballus, in common use for horse when equus had become highflown. But caballus became cheval in Early French, whence Chivalry; while the Italian Cavaleria was directly derived from caballus. The Knight’s arms, the sword and lance, are still those of Cavalry, and his armour survives in the metal helmet and cuirass.
The introduction of pikes and firearms for Infantry was the cause of the extinction of the man-at-arms, although he met them by himself adopting a firearm for use on horseback. This was at first the petronel, or poitrinal, fired from the breast (poitrine) on a rest rising from the saddle bow; then the harquebus, or match lock fired from the shoulder; later the pistol, a shorter and lighter weapon, used with one hand, which was introduced in Spain in 1520, and in Germany in 1540. But by 1500 fire action had attained superiority over shock action, and the mounted men in armour became definitely inferior to the Infantry, whose bullets pierced their armour, and whose pikes they could seldom break through. Armour was reduced to helmet and cuirass, and the lance given up, not to be revived till two centuries later.
Origin of true Cavalry in the “Reiters”
We first find true Cavalry of the modern type in the German “Reiters” of the early sixteenth century, who were disciplined troopers, acting in rank and file in organized bodies, as distinguished from the individual man-at-arms of feudal days. The organization of the Reiters is practically the same as that of the infantry Landsknechts already described. They were similarly raised by their Captains, in bodies termed Troops, a name which was soon replaced by a tactical unit composed of several Troops, which arose from the tactical requirements of the battlefield. This was the Squadron, a word derived from squadra, Italian for square, because the earliest bodies of horsemen had equal front and depth. The numbers in a Troop depended on the popularity of the Captain; but Squadrons were of a strength based on the fact that one man could command by voice a body of Cavalry with a front of 50 men. Thus the “Reiter” Squadrons with six ranks were 300 strong, but those of Gustavus, with three ranks, had 150 men. This is still the strength of a Squadron to-day.
The Officers of the Troops of Reiters were the Captain, still called Rittmeister (or “Reiter”-master) in Germany to-day; the Lieutenant; the Fähnrich (or Colour-bearer); the Wachmeister (or Watch-master), as the Sergeant-Major is still called; the Fourier (or Quarter-Master), charged with allotting quarters and subsistence, and also with reconnaissance, as explained on page [174]. He had an assistant, answering to our Q.M.S. Each Troop had a Trumpeter. He accompanied the Colour-bearer, whose hornshaped pennon (Cornette in French) gave its name to the officer carrying it, known as “Cornet” down to our day.
The Reiters carried sword and pistol, and wore helmet and cuirass. They were the ancestors of all Heavy Cavalry, generally called Cuirassiers abroad, but simply “Regiments of Horse” in England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. There were always less regular Cavalry, or Light Horse, for scouting, pursuit, and independent action to front and flanks. This division of duties and names has long survived.
To obtain better fire effect, Henry IV. of France armed his Horse with a short arquebus called a carabine, whence the Carbineers. In Italy a larger firearm, called a dragon, was given to horsemen, so as to enable them to use fire with more effect when dismounted. Hence originated Dragoons, originally merely Mounted Infantry. We have thus got the three Arms of the Service, as commemorated in the old expression Horse, Foot, and Dragoons, to denote the whole Army; for Artillery did not become an Arm before 1700.