The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-12
CAVALRY IN MODERN WARFARE.
Instances of Their Effectiveness In
the FrancO-Germnn Struggle.
from the Chicago Times-Herald.

| the HFancO-Oernnan struggle.
From the Chicago Times-H Herald.
A good man on a good horse is the supe-
rior as an attacking force of three good
men on the ground. This is a matter OF
common knowledge in the European
! capitals wherein mobs are dispersed by
cavalry using the fat OF the saber only
more quickly than they are scattered by
the bullets of militia in America There
is something in the speed, weight and size
| Of a charging man and horse that shakes
| the nerve of the most stout hearted pedes-
| TRAN. The uncomfortable instinct Of the
| footman is TO get out of the way. A cav
alryman learns to love his horse with a
love SURPRISING that of woman. He learns
to depend upon him. He absorbs confidence
from every swell of the giant muscles be-
tween his knees. The man and the beast
conjOined furnish a mutual support that is
admirable and in battle of incalcuable
yaiue. Dismounted cavalry are the most
| difficult Of troops TO dislodge for the rea-
| son that the riders, deprived of their horses
do not know when or how to run.
| The Napoleonic maxim that cavalry can
not charge mistaken infantry was due 10
! Napoleons experience with rundown
! forces. His mounted men were badly drill
/ Gu ana MS .HOISCuESn was poor. Inc great
| Frederick understood the high value Of
this branch and his campaigns give many
| instances of the value of mounted troops
| in almost all kinds OF warfare. The records
| of all great wars bristle with the achieve
ments Of the troopers. Even in the Franco
Russian struggle the actual damage
wrought by the Uhlens was far out Of
| proportion with their numbers, and the
value Of the fear they produced was i'm
. l., =
| British "heaves" were sent over bad
ground against the steadiest of French IN
! fantry. Men and horses fell in swaths 20
| yards from the line. The rear line did
| steeple-chase jumping over piled corpses TO
| get to the front. lie Marchand was in
stantly killed, and many of his officers, but
! The infantry was broken and the position
carried. The Peninsula campaigns furnish
| repeated proofs of the fact that infantry
viii not stand against well-handled caval-
| ~. Prince Frederick Charles, one OF the
greatest Of modern warriors, was a steady
believer in the efficacy Of cavalry. and so,
! too, was Won Wrangel
The opponents of The trooper arm and
| prophets of its utter efacement are used
| to instancing the failure of the brilliant
| Austrian cavalry at Sadowa when sent
| against breech-lOaders. These were troop
| ers seasoned by long service and so drill
/ GQ Llidl AiItt HHtadAOHb Oh AuEul were
unanswered in mass with the ease and
certainty of one. They were, however,
led over ground that sloped up three de-
grees. It was sodden with rain. The
horses were so wearied that many Of them
| fell from exhaustion when the charge be-
| gan. The infantrymen who received them
! had been selected by five hours OF savage
| and continuous fighting. All faint hearts
| had gone 60 the rear. II IS safe to say
| 500 md a on, ,.sl.et
ridge Of Chlum that day who did not
wish TO be there. Even under there condi-
| tions the charge came very close 20 sue
cess, though an Europe was shouting that
cavalry was useless against breech loading
fire. r.
The French got their chaEsepots I'm 1863
J and 1853. No German officer believed that