Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/152

 144 CAVALRY seat of war during the crusades to the eastern homes of their enemies, they were in their turn defeated, and in most cases completely destroyed ; neither they nor their horses could stand the climate, the immensely long marches, and the want of proper food and forage. These crusades were followed by a fresh irruption of eastern horsemen into Europe, that of the Mongols, who, under the leadership of the great khans, organized cavalry armies number- ing according to Marco Polo as many as 300,- 000 men. Having overrun Russia and the provinces of Poland, they were met at Wahl- stadt in Silesia, in 1241, by a combined Polish and German army. After a long struggle, the Asiatics defeated the worn-out steel-clad knights, but the victory was so dearly bought that it broke the power of the invaders. The Mongols advanced no further, and soon, by di- visions among themselves, ceased to be danger- ous, and were driven back. During the whole of the middle ages cavalry remained the chief arm of all armies ; with the eastern nations the light irregular horse had always held that rank ; with those of western Europe, the heavy regu- lar cavalry formed by the knighthood was in this period the arm which decided every bat- tle. This preeminence of the mounted arm was not so much caused by its own excellence, for the irregulars of the East were incapable of orderly light, and the regulars of the West were incredibly clumsy in their movements; it was principally caused by the bad quality of the infantry. Asiatics as well as Europeans held that arm in contempt ; it was composed of those who could not afford to appear mount- ed, principally of slaves or serfs. There was no proper organization for it ; without defensive armor, with a pike and sword for its sole weapons, it might now and then by its deep formation withstand the furious but disorderly charges of eastern horsemen ; but it was easily ridden over by the invulnerable men-at-arms of the "West. The only exception was formed by the English infantry, which derived its strength from its formidable weapon, the long- bow. The numerical proportion of the European cavalry of these times to the remainder of the army was certainly not as gteat as it was a few centuries later, nor even as it is now. Knights were not so exceedingly numerous, and in many large battles we find that not more than 800 or 1,000 of them were present. But they were generally sufficient to dispose of any number of foot soldiers, as soon as they had succeeded in driving from the field the enemy's men-at- arms. The general mode of fighting of these men-at-arms was in line, in single rank, the rear rank being formed by the esquires, who usually wore a less complete and heavy suit of armor. These lines, once in the midst of the enemy, soon dissolved themselves into single combatants, and finished the battle by sheer hand-to-hand fighting. Subsequently, when firearms began to come into use, deep masses were formed, generally squares ; but then the days of chivalry were numbered. During the 15th century, not only was artillery generally introduced into the field of battle, while part of the infantry, the skirmishers of those times, were armed with muskets, but a general change took place in the character of the infantry. This arm" began to be formed by the enlistment of mercenaries who made war a profession. The German Landslcnechte and the Swiss were such professional soldiers, and they very soon intro- duced more regular formations and tactical movements. The ancient Doric and Mace- donian phalanx was in a manner revived ; a helmet and a breastplate somewhat protected the men against the lance and sword of the cavalry; and when, at Novara (1513), the Swiss infantry drove the French knighthood from the field, there was no further use for such valiant but unwieldy horsemen. Ac- cordingly, after the insurrection of the Nether- lands against Spain, we find a new class of cavalry, the German Reiter (reitres of the French), raised by voluntary enlistment, like the infantry, and armed with helmet and breastplate, sword and pistols. They were fully as heavy as the modern cuirassiers, yet far lighter than the knights. They soon proved their superiority over the heavy men-at-arms. These now disappear, and with them the lance ; the sword and short firearms now form the general armature for cavalry. About the same time (end of the 16th century) the hybrid arm of dragoons was introduced, first in France, then in the other countries of Europe. Armed with muskets, they were intended to fight, ac- cording to circumstances, either as infantry or as cavalry. A similar corps had been formed by Alexander the Great under the name of di- machce, but it had not yet been imitated. The dragoons of the 16th century had a longer ex- istence, but toward the middle of the 18th century they had everywhere lost their hybrid character, except in name, and were generally used as cavalry. The most important feature in their formation was that they were the first body of regular cavalry which was com- pletely deprived of defensive armor. The creation of real hybrid dragoons was again attempted, on a large scale, by the emperor Nicholas of Russia; but it was soon proved that before the enemy they must always be used as cavalry, and consequently Alexander II. very soon reduced them to simple cavalry, with no more pretensions to dismounted ser- vice than hussars or cuirassiers. Maurice of Orange, the great Dutch commander, formed his reiters for the first time in something like our modern tactical organization. He taught them to execute charges and evolutions in sep- arate bodies, and in more than one line; to wheel, break off, form column and line, and change front, without disorder, and in separate squadrons and troops. Thus a cavalry fight was no longer decided by one charge of the whole mass, but by the successive charges of separate squadrons and lines supporting each