Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-08-13
Cavalry and Artillery.

The following extract is from an
able paper by Gen. George B. McClel-
Ian, In Hdr7er's Magazine for August
The long ranges and rapid and ac-
curate firing of the small arms and
field-guns of to-day have seriously af-
fected the uses and mode of employing
the different arms of the service. The
employment of large masses of cavalry
on the field of battle will probably not
again occur, unless under some very ex-
ceptional circumstances for where the
ground is sufficiently open for them to
form and act they will be fully exposed
to such fire as will prevent their adj
vancing or even retaining their position.
The experience of the war of 1S70-71,
as far rs it went, proved that cavalry
could not attack good infantry armed
with breech-loaders without mourning
certain destruction. Again in reference
to the other duties of the cavalry, such
as escort and patrol duty, it is quite
certain that the breech loader enables
very small parties of infantry to at least
annoy cavalry parties so much as to
hamper them exceedingly in their
operations. The fact that small par
ties of the German cavalry ranged so
far and freely in France will not serve
as rule for other cases. In a mod
erately broken or wooded country two
or three good men with breech-loaders
could, with entire safety to themselves,
very soon put an end to the movements
of ordinary cavalry patrols. 1t is quite
probable that the future changes in the
cavalry organization will be in the d.
rection of assimilating large part of
it to mounted infantry.
While the cavalry has lost something
of its importance, the artillery, on the
other hand, has gained in power and
independence. The breech-loading
field-guns can be so readily placed un-
der cover and fred so rapidly that it is
possible to place them in positions that
the old muZzle-loaders could never
have held, and also to trust them to
themselves with very slight infantry
supports. In 1S70-71, especially in the
latter part of the war, the German ar.
tillery was usually in advance of the
infantry line, and often really decided
the battle when practically entirely
without infantry supports. The
changes now being made in Europe
seem to be in the direction of small
calibers, heavy charges, fat trajectories,
and long ranges all this accomplished
by means of material so light that il
can pass over rough ground, and fine
positions almost anywhere. A conse
quence of all this Will probably be 8
large increase of the relative strength
of the artillery. In regard to the
mitrailleuse and similar inventions fol
the rapid and concentrated discharge OF
small-arm bullets, opinions vary ex
ceedingly. There is reason to believe
that the last war did not impress the
Germans with very high idea of the
value of such weapons, but that they
have reached the conclusion that in the
face of active and accurate and long
range artillery the mitrailleuse can &C
complish very little. There seems
good ground for believing, however
that for the defense of works, of defiles
or of position of limited extent, the
mitrailleuse, or, still better, the Gatlil
gun, will prove to be very reliable adj
junct.
The effect of the modern improve
ments upon the infantry has been NJ
less marked upon the other arms of th'
service. If, on the one hand, their new
weapon has freed them from all DANCE
from the once dreaded cavalry, on thu
other hand the new artillery is so for
midable as to render a resort to new
formations and new methods of attacl
obligatory for the dense columns ant
successive parallel lines OF former year
cannot withstand the distant, rapid, ant
accurate fire of modern guns. Neithe
can those old formations possibly sue
coed in the attack of positions held b.
good infantry armed with breech-load
ers. Destruction and Wild disorde
must be the results of any such at
tempt.