A Treatise on the Tactical Use of the Three Arms Part 12

At the battle of Rio Seco, in Spain, after Lasalle's twelve hundred horse had broken the Spanish infantry, they galloped at will among twenty-five thousand soldiers, some five thousand of whom they slew.

IX.-General Remarks.

1. Besides its uses on the field of battle, cavalry may render most important service in completing the destruction of beaten corps, or compelling their surrender, and so enable us to secure the great strategic objects of the campaign. Thus, after the battle of Waterloo, it was the Prussian cavalry that completed the dispersion of the French army, and prevented it from rallying. And, but for Napoleon's ill fortune in respect to Grouchy, in that battle, he would, to all appearance, have succeeded in accomplishing his plan of campaign, which was, to separate the English from the Prussians, beat them in detail, and complete their destruction with his twenty thousand cavalry.

2. The battles of the late War of the Rebellion, the earlier ones, at least, were mostly indecisive. One chief cause of this was, that neither side had a sufficient force of true cavalry to enable it to complete a victory, to turn a defeat into a rout, and drive the enemy effectually from the field. The cavalry charges were generally such as mounted infantry could have just as well made; charges in which the pistol and carbine played the princ.i.p.al part, instead of the spur and sabre. It was not until the fight at Brandy Station, in June, 1863, that sabres were used, to any extent, at close quarters. Thus, neither of the contending armies was able to break up and disperse, destroy, or capture its enemy's infantry ma.s.ses, in the manner practised in Napoleon's great wars, not having, to any considerable extent, that description of force called Cavalry of the Line, which alone is capable of effecting these results by its solid and compact formations, its skilful, yet rapid manuvring, and its crashing charges.

3. European cavalry of the line is divided into Heavy and Light. Heavy cavalry is heavily armed; that is, their weapons are larger and heavier than those of light cavalry, and to these weapons, carbines, in most of the corps, are added. Some of the corps wear steel or bra.s.s cuira.s.ses; and the men and horses are of the largest size.

In Light cavalry, the only weapons are the sabre and pistol; and the men and horses are light and active, rather than strong and large.

Lancers are considered a medium between Heavy and Light cavalry.

4. Great as may be the advantages of a large force of regular cavalry of the line, there were serious objections to its being raised at the opening of the late war.

(1.) The theatre of war presented nowhere any of those wide and level plains so common in Europe, and on which cavalry ma.s.ses are able to produce such decisive effects in battle. On the contrary, the ground was almost everywhere so rugged and mountainous, or else so densely wooded, as to be extremely unfavorable to the movements of cavalry of this description.

(2.) Since the introduction of the new rifled arms, exposing cavalry ma.s.ses to a deadly fire at far greater distances than ever before known, a fire often reaching to the reserves, it seemed doubtful whether the manuvring and charging in heavy, compact ma.s.ses, which formerly rendered cavalry of the line so formidable, would any longer be practicable.

(3.) The comparative cost of this kind of force is so great, that, if it had been raised and kept up on the scale required, the expense of this war, enormous as it has been, would have been vastly augmented. Three years are required for the thorough training and instruction of the men and horses; so that it would not have been until the fourth year of the war that we could begin, even, to reap the fruits of so enormous an outlay.

5. But to carry on any war successfully, what is needed, and is, in fact, indispensable, is an ample force of light cavalry, of a kind requiring comparatively but little time and training to fit it for the various and important duties devolving upon it in the field, and therefore far less expensive than cavalry of the line; and having all the discipline of this latter kind of force, though wanting its perfection of manuvre. Every army, or considerable detachment, must have enough of this kind of force with it to furnish what is requisite for Outpost duty, Patrols offensive and defensive, Escorts to trains, Foraging parties, Reconnoissances, and the various other purposes necessarily incidental to operations in the field; and in marches, all Advanced, Rear, and Flank guards should consist, in part, at least, of cavalry. Finally, this description of force is needed for the performance of those arduous, but most valuable, services often rendered by the quasi-independent bodies called Partisan Corps; services usually requiring great celerity of movement.

6. This kind of force being "the eyes and ears of an army," it often contributes powerfully to the success of strategic operations.

In the campaign of 1813, Napoleon complained that, for want of light cavalry, he could get no intelligence of the enemy's movements.

So, in the rebel campaign of 1863, culminating at Gettysburg, General Lee attributed his ignorance of our position and movements, which led to the failure of his operations, to his being dest.i.tute of this arm; Stuart's cavalry, on which he depended for information, having got too far away from him.

In Pope's campaign in 1862, the rebels, by their cavalry raid on Catlett's Station, obtained possession of the commanding general's correspondence, plans, and orders from Washington.

On the other hand, whilst keeping us informed of the enemy's movements, an abundant light cavalry, active and well commanded, may be so used as to const.i.tute an impenetrable screen of our own movements from the enemy, as effectual as would be a lofty and impa.s.sable mountain range.

Again, if we are greatly inferior to the enemy in cavalry, our own cavalry will have to keep itself within our infantry lines; and the consequence will be that the enemy will obtain control of the entire country around us, and so deprive us of all the supplies it contains.

As, besides this, cavalry is absolutely necessary for the protection of convoys, and, from its celerity of movement, is the kind of force best fitted for guarding our communications, it is evident that the subsistence of an army is dependent, to a great extent, upon this arm.

From what has been said in relation to the three arms, it is evident-

1. That Artillery, within the range of its fire, is powerful in preventing the enemy's approach to it; but, only to a limited extent, can pursue and drive the enemy from his position; and that its function is, therefore, mainly DEFENSIVE.

2. That Cavalry, by the impetuosity of its charge, is peculiarly fit for driving the enemy from his position; but, remaining in position itself, has but feeble power to prevent the enemy's approaching it; and this, only by its carbine and pistol fire, which is far from effective; and that its function is, therefore, mainly OFFENSIVE.

3. That Infantry has great power, both in keeping the enemy at a distance by its fire and in driving him from his position with the bayonet; and that this arm is, therefore, both OFFENSIVE and DEFENSIVE.

4. That although artillery is mainly a defensive arm, it plays an important offensive part in the powerful a.s.sistance it renders to infantry, in shattering and disorganizing the enemy's ma.s.ses; thereby opening the way for our attacking columns.

5. That although cavalry is mainly an offensive arm, its defensive value is also very great in the protection it affords, in various emergencies, to the other arms, by its actual charge, or by its threatening position.

The special parts usually played in battle by the three arms respectively, may be briefly stated thus:-

Artillery prepares the victory; Infantry achieves it; Cavalry completes it, and secures its fruits.

THE END.