Charge ( warfare ) A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in close combat . The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history . Modern charges usually involve small groups against individual positions ( such as a bunker ) instead of large groups of combatants charging another group or a fortified line . Infantry charges . Ancient charges . It may be assumed that the charge was practised in prehistoric warfare , but clear evidence only comes with later literate societies . The tactics of the classical Greek phalanx included an ordered approach march , with a final charge to contact . Highland charge . In response to the introduction of firearms , Irish and Scottish troops at the end of the 16th century developed a tactic that combined a volley of musketry with a rapid close to close combat using swords . Initially successful , it was countered by effective discipline and the development of defensive bayonet tactics . Bayonet charge . The development of the bayonet in the late 17th century led to the bayonet charge becoming the main infantry charge tactic through the 19th century and into the 20th . As early as the 19th century , tactical scholars were already noting that most bayonet charges did not result in close combat . Instead , one side usually fled before actual bayonet fighting ensued . The act of fixing bayonets has been held to be primarily connected to morale , the making of a clear signal to friend and foe of a willingness to kill at close quarters . Cavalry charges . The shock value of a charge attack has been especially exploited in cavalry tactics , both of armored knights and lighter mounted troops of both earlier and later eras . Historians such as John Keegan have shown that when correctly prepared against ( such as by improvising fortifications ) and , especially , by standing firm in face of the onslaught , cavalry charges often failed against infantry , with horses refusing to gallop into the dense mass of enemies , or the charging unit itself breaking up . However , when cavalry charges succeeded , it was usually due to the defending formation breaking up ( often in fear ) and scattering , to be hunted down by the enemy . European Middle Ages . The cavalry charge was a significant tactic in the Middle Ages . Although cavalry had charged before , a combination of the adoption of a frame saddle secured in place by a breastband , stirrups and the technique of couching the lance under the arm delivered a hitherto unachievable ability to utilise the momentum of the horse and rider . These developments began in the 7th century but were not combined to full effect until the 11th century . The Battle of Dyrrhachium in 1081 was an early instance of the familiar medieval cavalry charge ; recorded to have a devastating effect by both Norman and Byzantine chroniclers . By the time of the First Crusade in the 1090s , the cavalry charge was being employed widely by European armies . Twentieth century . In the twentieth century , the cavalry charge was seldom used , though it enjoyed sporadic and occasional success . In what was called the " " last true cavalry charge " " , elements of the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment attacked Villista forces in the Battle of Guerrero on 29 March 1916 . The battle was a victory for the Americans , occurring in desert terrain , at the Mexican town of Guerrero , in the state of Chihuahua . One of the most successful offensive cavalry charges of the 20th century was not conducted by cavalry at all , but rather by mounted infantry , when on 31 October 1917 , the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade charged across two miles of open terrain in the face of Ottoman artillery and machine gun fire to successfully capture Beersheba in what would come to be known as the Battle of Beersheba . Several attempted charges were made in World War II such as the charge of the Savoia Cavalry at Izbushensky near the Don , 24 August 1942 . Although this was a successful charge , it was defensive in nature . British and American cavalry units also made similar cavalry charges during World War II . The Soviet 44th Cavalry charged the German lines near Musino during the Battle of Moscow ; 2 , 000 cavalrymen were killed without inflicting a single casualty on the enemy . After World War II , the cavalry charge was clearly outdated and was no longer employed . Impact of firearms . In the firearms age , the basic parameters are speed of advance against rate ( or effectiveness ) of fire . If the attackers advance at a more rapid rate than the defenders can kill or disable them then the attackers will reach the defenders ( though not necessarily without being greatly weakened in numbers ) . There are many modifiers to this simple comparison – timing , covering fire , organization , formation and terrain , among others . A failed charge may leave the would - be attackers vulnerable to a counter - charge . There has been a constant rise in an army ' s rate of fire for the last 700 years or so , but while massed charges have been successfully broken they have also been victorious . It is only since the late 19th century that straight charges have become less successful , especially since the introduction of the machine gun and breech - loading artillery . They are often still useful on a far smaller scale in confined areas where the enemy ' s firepower cannot be brought to bear .