PREFACE
In this book no attempt has been made to produce an exhaustive treatise on Cavalry; it has been written principally for junior officers of all arms.
M. F. R.
CONTENTS
| [CHAPTER I] |
| Introductory |
| Cavalry in past ages—Drawn from horse-lovers, success followed on fixed principles, these are as applicable to-day—Ballistics from horseback—Always a sign and cause of weakening—The charge of good moral—Gunpowder and other improvements notwithstanding—Good scouts always available—Best lessons are learnt in war—Expense of cavalry—Duty of cavalry leader Page 1 |
| [CHAPTER II] |
| Armament |
| Constant changes—Cut v. thrust—Gerard’s experience—Point more deadly—The case for the lance—The revolver—Confidence in the arm selected is of highest importance—The rifle—The insistence of continental writers inapplicable to British cavalry Page 10 |
| [CHAPTER III] |
| The Horse |
| Colossal bill for horse-flesh in South Africa largely due to national ignorance of horses—The suitable horse, two classes—Chest measurement test for stamina—Small blood horse stands work best—Arabs bred for war—English and Australian horses for size—Care of horse in war—An exception to this Page 18 |
| [CHAPTER IV] |
| Tactics of Cavalry v. Cavalry |
| The squadron attack—Cohesion—And its result in moral—Tactics—Cunning—The rally—Cromwell—Supports—Conclusions Page 29 |
| [CHAPTER V] |
| Cavalry v. Cavalry |
| Forming to the Flank |
| I. The squadron—Forming to the front or flank—Defensive or offensive flank. |
| II. The regiment, advantage of Echelon attack. |
| III. The Brigade—Training of leaders—Co-operation of R.H.A.—Two forms of attack, when both forces get away from the guns—Formations for moving to a flank—Relative effect of artillery fire on the two formations—Column of masses preferred—Formation for the attack—Time for horse artillery to unlimber—Form of attack must be simple—Conclusions Page 37 |
| [CHAPTER VI] |
| Fire Action in Tactics of Cavalry v. Cavalry |
| Not a question to be shirked—Danger of recourse to fire action weakening our leaders’ desire for shock action—An instance of fire versus shock action—Rifle fire against charging horsemen is ineffectual—Contradictory memoranda on the subject—Henderson’s dictum—Dismounted action of cavalry—German regulations—Prince Kraft Page 50 |
| [CHAPTER VII] |
| Cavalry Brigade in Action |
| First objects in the attack—Concentric shock of fire and horse—Plan to get a good field of fire by alternate advance of two squadrons—Desiderata in artillery position—Broad principles—Utilization of ground—Deception—Get away from our artillery—An example of attack—The action of the artillery—Moral necessary to leader—Unreasoning hasty advance deprecated—If anticipated by enemy, how we may have to act—Passage of defiles—Dribbling squadrons into a fight—Cure for dissemination Page 59 |
| [CHAPTER VIII] |
| Action of Cavalry in the General Engagement |
| Independent cavalry, danger of their detachment at inopportune times—Cavalry and horse artillery at Loigny-Poupry—Unsatisfactory direction of cavalry in 1870–71 followed by peace belief in rifle—Fallacy of tendency to dismounted action shown by South African and Manchurian Wars—The line our training should take—Cavalry instructional rides—Value of initiative—Conclusions—Frederick the Great’s cavalry compared with our South African cavalry—Pursuit—Neglect of, a British failing—The parallel pursuit—Its value—Blücher at Katzbach on cavalry pursuit Page 69 |
| [CHAPTER IX] |
| The Disposition of Cavalry in a Campaign |
| [FIRST PART] |
| Dependence on forage—Principles on which cavalry is placed in the front—Want of direction in 1870—Galliffet’s influence—Service of information separated from that of security—The Napoleonic traditions revived—And generally adopted—French view—The cavalry of exploration—The cavalry of army corps—The divisional cavalry—Generalissimo’s use of his independent cavalry—Movement en bondes—The effect of modern rifle—Difficulties in the attack of protective cavalry and mixed detachments. Page 86 |
| [SECOND PART] |
| The modern disposition is theoretical—Tendency to increase independent cavalry at the expense of protective, for sake of initial advantages—Difficulty of weaker cavalry rôle—Von Bernhardi on German cavalry strength—Improvisation of cavalry—Dilemma—Cyclists—Difficulty of training for non-professional cavalry—Danger of amateur cavalry officers—The Ulm Campaign—Effect of first success—Boer tactics unsuitable to European war Page 93 |
| [CHAPTER X] |
| Horse Artillery and Cavalry in the General Engagement |
| Deficiency in peace training—The energy of the attack—An instance—Plan of the attack—In the defence—Value of artillery in the retreat Page 101 |
| [CHAPTER XI] |
| Co-operation of Horse Artillery and Cavalry |
| German tendency in 1870 to deprive cavalry of horse artillery—Reversed by 1907 regulations—Effect of modern horse artillery—Probable necessity to allocate horse artillery—Mukden—Arrangement of artillery support in attack on infantry—Sir Douglas Haig on the counter-attack—Principles—Conclusions Page 108 |
| [CHAPTER XII] |
| Horse Artillery Fire Effect compared with Rifle Fire |
| Comparative efficacy in bullets—Reasons of Henderson’s advocacy of mounted infantry—Demand for exceptional arrangements—An instance of masked fire—Von Bernhardi’s plan—A suggested alternative Page 117 |
| [CHAPTER XIII] |
| In Contact with the Enemy |
| Duties of the Commander—A day in the outposts—At night—The men—The horses—Care of men’s health—Wet weather—Hints for scouts—Moral—Sending out scouts at night—Sniping by nervous sentries—Fireflies—Ruses and duplicity—Value of a knowledge of strategy and tactics—To picket an enemy—Security and information—Instances of picketing the enemy—Practice in peace—Difficulty of instruction—Practice preferred to theory—Honest outpost work—Night work—Regiment’s practice of outposts Page 122 |
| [CHAPTER XIV] |
| Some Detached Duties of Cavalry |
| Despatch-riding, value in instruction—An instance of a scheme—Napoleon’s despatches—Tracking, etc.—Value of maintaining interest—Boy scouts—Influence of regimental moral in detached work—Prisoners—Convoy duty Page 139 |
| [CHAPTER XV] |
| Raids |
| Diverse views of the value of Stuart’s raid—Japanese raid on railway line—Vulnerability of railways—Boer and British Raids—Country which favours raids—Inopportune raids, Wheeler’s—Futile raids by De Wet and Botha—An exception to them—Mischenko’s raid—Rennenkampf’s reconnaissance—Von Pelet Narbonne—Japanese methods—Conclusions Page 145 |
| [CHAPTER XVI] |
| The Training of the Cavalry Officer |
| The cavalry candidate—Causes of scarcity—Work now and thirty years ago—Pay—Duties on joining—Hunting—The sense of duty—Pretence impossible in a regiment—The effect of a slack commanding officer—Counteracted by four or five good officers—Value of drill—Characteristic faults—The practice of possible situations in war—Officer without imagination is a bad trainer—Conclusions Page 154 |
| [CHAPTER XVII] |
| Training of Officer (continued) |
| Restless activity—The effect of hardship—Training—Preparation—Cynicism—Desirability of education for senior officers—A rearguard device—Study and discussion—A doctrine—Napoleon’s doctrine—He honoured bravery—Bis dot qui cito dat—The selfish officer—Comradeship—Conclusions Page 167 |
| [CHAPTER XVIII] |
| Training of a Squadron |
| Frederick the Great’s stern methods—How a good leader is trained—Description of his squadron at work—Compared with an indifferent leader—Five points in training a squadron: (i.) Efficiency for war of man and horse; (ii.) Avoid samples; (iii.) Use of weapons; (iv.) Self-reliance; (v.) The offensive spirit—The section system—Value of individual instruction—Dismounted work—Holding the balance—Problems as a means of training in resolution—Napoleon’s genius—The Zulu system—Conclusions Page 177 |
| [CHAPTER XIX] |
| Training of the Horse |
| Value of a well-trained horse on service—Ill-tempered horses—The ideal of training—Seydlitz’s leap—The mameluke—The aids, how arrived at from nature—Their adaptation to our needs—Progress towards the campaigning horse—A Boer method—Officers training horses—The wrong leg leading in a race—The free-jumping lane—Remount competition—Noisy instructors—Method of teaching horses to walk quickly—Duty of squadron leader—His value if he has ability Page 191 |
| [CHAPTER XX] |
| Training of the Man |
| Standard of proficiency—Riding, the old and the new system—Instruction in care of horse—Most difficult to teach or check—Result of a bad system—Napoleon’s cavalry in Russia—The care of horses must be the result of system—Long rides for recruits as a method of instruction—Riding to hounds—Care of horse now more necessary—Shooting—Is good, but fire discipline is essential—The personal weapon—Method of instruction—Mental and muscular development—The handy man—Influence of sports—Swimming—Pioneering—Cooking—Seaside work for a cavalry brigade—Squadron competition—Regular soldiers and colonials—The practical instruction—Theory—Instruction in moral—A Japanese view—Demonstration—Intercourse between officers and men—Grumbling Page 202 |