The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-08-22
! w CAVALRY IN WARFARE,

j. CAVALRY IN WARFARE. !
Firearms Of To-Day Have Made Its Utii
fly a Question.
A good man on good horse is tha
superior as an attacking force of three
good men on the ground This is
matter Of common knowledge in the
European capitals, wherein mobs are
dispersed by cavalry using the fiat OF
the sabre only more quickly than they
are scattered by the bullets of militia
In America. There Is something in the
speed. weight. and size of charging
man and horse that shakes the nerve
OF the most stout-hearted pedestrian.
The uncomfortable instinct of the foot
man is to get out Of the way. A cav.
alryman learns to love his horse with
love surprising that Of woman. Hu
learns to depend upon him. He ab-
serbs confidence from every swell OF
the giant muscles between his knees,
The man and the beast conjoined fur
nish mutual support that is admira.
Bile, and in battle OF incalculable value.
Dlsmounted cavalry are the most diff
cult Of troops to dislodge. for the rea-
son that the riders. deprived of their
horses, do not know when or how to
run.
Military experts believe that the in
vasion of Cuba by the American army
VIII furnish exceptional opportunities
Tor the use of cavalry. 1t is, for the
most part, good horse country, of
wide fields and level spaces. 1t is be-
lieved, too, that this picturesque arm
Of the service will demonstrate that its
usefulness Is not ended by modern
arms and projectles, though many the
orists incline to the opinion that the
days of cavalry as cavalry were ended
in the times Of Graveotte and Sedan.
The celebrated and fruitless charge of
the French cuirassiers, where men and
steeds went down in heaps and the
watching Wilhelm said, ut is magnif-
icent, but it is not war;" sticks in their
memories. That charge was Balaklava
over again. Somebody blundered. The
general efficiency of cavalry under
proper conditions Is not discredlted by
1t, nor Is the centuries-old record Of a
remarkably valuable arm to be stained
by an individual failure. Men who re-
member what the cavalry was and |
what the cavalry did in the war be-
tween the states demand something |
more than the crrmpling of one COL
umn before they surrender the beliefs
Of years.
The Napoeonic maxim that cavalry
cannot charge unshaken infantry was
due to Napoleon's experience with run
down forces. His mounted men were
badly drilled and his horsenesh was
poor. The great Frederick understood
the high value of this branch and his
campaigns gave many instances of the
value Of mounted troops in almost all
kinds of warfare. The records of all
great wars bristlc with the achieve
ments of the troopers. Even In the
Franco-Prussian struggle the actua!
damage wrought by the Uhlans was far
out of proportion with their numbers,
and the value of the fear they produced
was immeasurahle. At Salamanca LIE
Marchand's British "heavies" were
sent over bad ground against the stead
lest OF, French infantry. Men and
horses fell in swaths twenty yards from
the line. The rear line did steeple
chase jumping over piled corpses to get
to the front Le Marchand was in
stantly killed and many of his Off
GERS. but the infantry was broken and
the position carried The Peninsula
campaigns furnish repeated proofs of
the fact that infantry will not stand
against well handled cavalry. Prince
Frederick Charles, one Of the greatest
of modern warriors, was steady be-
lever in the efficiency of cavalry and
SO. too, was Won Wrangel.
The opponents of the trooper arm
and prophets of its utter effacement are
used to instancing the failure of the
brilliant Austrian cavalry at Sadowa
when sent against breech- leaders.
These were troopers seasoned by long
service and so drilled that thirty
squadrons Of them were manoeuvred
in mass with the case and certainty of
one. They were, however, led over
ground that slOped up three degrees.
1t was sodden with rain. The horses
nn,Jn |
fell from exhaustion when the charge
began The infantrymen WHO received
them had been selected by five hours
IF savage and continuous fighting. All
'aint hearts had gone to the rear, 1t
s safe to say that there was not
Prussian on the west ridge of Chlum
hat day who did not wish to be there,
Even under these conditions the charge |
'amc very near 10 success, though all
europe was shouting that cavalry waT
Useless against breech loading fire.
In the old days troops we're safe
when held In reserve 800 yards back j
Of the fighting line. Now for $500 4
Yards behind this line the ground is !
orn with bullets. Consequently troops 4
ire held 5000 yards back, and even at \
his distance there will be occasional /
To take part in an engage [
nent the reserve force must be moved {
entirely through this wide and danger. {
Jus zone. Infantry cannot do It In less :
han twenty-five minutes, and another
en- minutes will be used in getting |
hem into line. Cavalry can cover the G
distance in six minutes. The rapidly /
with which their range alters makes j
hem ditcult target, and the moral \
fleet Of their laundering and swift
advance Is great. 1t Is estimated that
he cavalry loss In charge should ,
lot exceed one-thiTd OF the infantry i