CAVALRY _V._ CAVALRY
FORMING TO THE FLANK
“When you charge make a change of front and attack them in flank.
This manœuvre can always be successfully practised against an
enemy like the English, who make a vigorous and disunited charge,
whose horses are not very manageable, and whose men, brave but
uninstructed, begin their charge too far away from the enemy.”--DE
BRACK.
“Ten men on the flank do more than 100 in front.”--VON SCHMIDT (p.
90).
I. THE SQUADRON
1. In the mounted attack of cavalry on cavalry that side will win
which makes use of a wall of mounted men, advancing knee to knee with
no intervals showing. Two means of quickly forming and launching this
wall are as follows: 1st. The head of the squadron column is directed
towards the enemy, and line is formed to the front. 2nd. The head is
led obliquely to the enemy’s advance, and at such a distance as will
enable the troops to wheel into line, get up pace, and attack.
2. _Forming to the Front or to the Flank._--The first plan is that
which the beginner almost invariably adopts; the enemy’s squadron has a
fatal attraction for him; he distrusts himself and imagines that there
is not time to manœuvre. This attack generally “leads to undecided
cavalry duels.”
The second plan is that which is always advocated, as, though it
demands more _sang-froid_, practice, and experience on the part of the
squadron leader. Its advantages are considerable; they are as follows:
(_a_) It gives more space and consequently more time to the leader.
(_b_) The enemy’s squadron, if already formed, will usually shoulder
towards the attacker, and thus become disintegrated. (_c_) The movement
does not entail the disorder consequent on front forming; on the
contrary, a wheel into line generally ensures well-ordered and cohesive
ranks. (_d_) The squadron is usually successful in striking the flank
of the enemy.
Von Schmidt says:
An attack direct to the front must be an exceptional thing; to
advance and at the same time gain ground to a flank must be the
rule.
General Sir D. Haig says:
The efficacy of flank attack is so universally admitted as to need
no argument to support it. A more difficult question is--how should
we protect our own flanks from attack?
3. _Defensive and Offensive Flanks._--Usually the best protection
is afforded by either a defensive or an offensive flank; that is, a
portion of the unit, say, a troop from a squadron, a squadron from a
regiment, should drop back or be ready to drop back in echelon; or, on
the other hand, should be thrown forward. The duty of the defensive
flank is to act against an enemy overlapping or taking in flank the
unit in front. The object of the offensive flank is to threaten even
more completely than with the remaining force the flank of the enemy,
who will be tempted to edge across to meet it.
What is true for a squadron is true for a regiment, and is still
more true for a brigade, because with this comes in the question of
artillery fire.
II. THE REGIMENT
4. Let us then picture a regiment moving in “mass” from the south to
the north of the paper, map, or ground.
Our regimental commander seeing the enemy’s mass in front and bearing
down on him, say, eight hundred yards away, gives the command, “Left
shoulders,” and moves N.E. The first effect is that the enemy have a
moving mark to hit, and to do so must “shoulder” or change direction;
while at the same time they are deploying to the front.
Both forces move three hundred yards. Then our regimental commander
gives the command, “Echelon attack to the Left.” The squadron nearest
to the enemy wheels into line and attacks; the remaining squadrons
continue their direction and wheel into line in succession and attack
as required.
The attack eventuates somewhat as in the diagram.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM I.]
5. _Advantages of the Echelon Attack._--This form of attack has the
following advantages: (_a_) The wheel into line, the least discomposing
of evolutions, takes but a few seconds to carry out, and then there
is presented a formed body to charge the enemy. (_b_) A succession of
formed bodies coming up on the unprotected flank give confidence to
the squadron, which feels it is supported by other lines near enough
to catch any outflanking enemy. (_c_) An echelon of squadrons, seen
from the enemy’s point of view at a distance of three hundred yards, is
practically indistinguishable from line. It is, moreover, easier than
in forming to the front to abolish all intervals between squadrons; a
point of the greatest importance in an attack. (_d_) To be the last to
form the attack from a compact formation is a considerable advantage.
(_e_) The leader may even be able to change the direction of his mass
so as to attack from due east to west.
III. THE BRIGADE
6. _Training of Leaders._--Our present squadron leaders, our future
brigade and divisional leaders, must be brought up to regard this
forming to the flank as the only plan, as second nature; they must
believe that if they act otherwise they are voluntarily tying one hand
behind their back. Otherwise the maintenance of horse artillery with a
view to co-operation with cavalry is almost useless.
7. _Co-operation of R.H.A._--In the cavalry fight horse artillery is
the only factor which has assumed totally different proportions in the
last ten years (_i.e._ since Q.F. guns were introduced) to those which
formerly obtained. Von Schmidt, p. 163, writing in the middle of last
century, says:
The co-operation of horse artillery with the shock of the cavalry
must be a very exceptional occurrence, as when the circumstances of
the ground are very favourable, allowing it to act and at the same
time protecting it.
Nor does it appear that any instance of ideal co-operation between the
two arms occurred in the War of 1870. With the old guns the help which
horse artillery could give was not great; and consequently co-operation
was not practised in peace nor attempted in war.
Strange as it may appear, our cavalry officers still find it hard not
to deserve the reproach cast upon them by the Duke of Wellington, who,
writing after the battle of Salamanca, remarks: “The trick our officers
of cavalry have acquired of galloping _at_ everything; they never think
of manœuvring before an enemy.”
8. _The Two Forms of Attack._--A brigade of cavalry which moves in mass
with its guns alongside it and attacks straight to its front, masking
its guns by means of its squadrons’ extensions, voluntarily throws away
at least ¼ of its power, _i.e._ its guns. It will be beaten every time
by the brigade which sends its guns to one of the flanks and goes to
the other itself. By this last method both gun fire and charging power
are fully applied. Further, it is probable the guns will be able to
enfilade the enemy’s lines before they attack. A very short experience
of fighting a cavalry brigade shows this conclusively, and both sides
will learn to drop their guns’ trails at a favourable opportunity
and move their squadrons away from them or, _vice versa_, the guns
moving from the squadrons. The latter may be an excellent plan, and it
certainly entails less wear and tear on the squadrons. Directly the
guns come into action the horses can rest.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM II.]
The choice between the two will usually be dictated by the ground; and
in most cases there will be a combination of the two. Thus a brigade is
advancing towards a crest, the brigadier ahead. He sends his guns away
to the high ground on one flank, and his squadrons over or round the
ridge and down to the level ground on the other.
9. _When both Forces get away from their Guns._--Both sides will
usually drop the trails on the same, say, the west side, and move
eastwards, opposite to each other, to attack. If working along a ridge,
both sides will usually keep their guns on the higher ground.
Other things being equal, the squadrons which move farthest, fastest,
and in the best order will have an advantage--(1) because they will put
the enemy’s squadrons between themselves and the enemy’s gun fire; (2)
because they will compel the enemy’s squadrons to form so that they are
fired on by artillery and very probably enfiladed.
It becomes obvious, then, that if these tactics are adopted, and the
squadrons of both sides act in exactly the same way, they will meet on
perfectly level terms.
10. _Formations for moving to a Flank._--The point then to aim at is to
bring some deciding factor in the attack. In what formation is it best
to move the squadrons away to the flank?
11. _Column of Regimental Masses compared with Column of
Squadrons._--Let us compare column of regimental mass with column of
squadrons, and let the pace be a trot. Allow thirty seconds for the
shoulder of a regimental mass, five seconds for the wheel of troops. At
the end of four minutes the head of the mass will have gone 820 yards;
the head of the column 920 yards. But if there are twelve squadrons,
with a front of 64 yards, nine intervals of 8 yards, and two of 16
yards, the last squadron will have only gone 50 yards; while in the
mass the rear squadron will have gone 630 yards. It follows, then, that
the leader who adopted column of regimental masses practically has all
his squadrons within reach of his voice, and they have moved well away
from his guns.
[Illustration: _Column of Squadrons_
1. _Stationary Target for 4 minutes._
2. _Difficult Target thereafter._
_Column of Masses_
_Moving Target, able to change pace, direction or position, and to
use ground if fired on._
DIAGRAM III.]
12. _Relative Effect of Artillery Fire on the two Formations._--The
relative effect of the guns on the two columns may be compared. For
four minutes the column of squadrons affords, before it gets on the
move, a stationary though every moment decreasing mark. After that the
target might be taken where the column has to pass some tree or house,
and each squadron saluted in succession as it reaches this place.
Otherwise it is not a very easy mark, and certainly not such a large
mark as column of regimental masses, but the latter moves at once, is
easily hidden, and can more easily change pace and direction.
13. _Column of Masses preferred._--On the whole, the column of
squadrons formation compares unfavourably with the mass formation, not
only as a means of moving rapidly to a flank, but also for facility of
evolution when arrived there.
14. _The Formation for the Attack._--If, then, we take mass as the best
formation, in what mode shall we move our mass, and evolve our lines of
attack from it?
We will compare two methods. One, ours, being the echelon attack from
mass to a flank, and the other, the enemy’s, being an attack to the
right from quarter column. Ours only involves sufficient distance being
taken between regimental masses, and we are ready to attack at once.
Theirs involves the formation of lines of squadron columns and then
lines, and must commence at such a distance from the enemy as to allow
for the time and space used up in these two formations. For our echelon
attack little or no ground is consumed in the direction of the enemy;
and this means late formation. Consequently our mass can go on moving
away from the guns for a longer period.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM IV.]
Another great point, directly we see him begin to open to squadron
column we can give one more change to our direction, and so gain his
flank. He will either be taken at an angle, or have to shoulder his
line of squadron columns. Thus we have gained the outside; he must mask
his own guns, and must be taken in flank by ours.
15. _Time for Horse Artillery to unlimber._--It would appear as though
the leader who first dropped his guns’ trails would be likely to win;
but there is a saving clause to this. If the other side see the trails
dropped in an obviously good position, they will avoid the combat
there, or perhaps leave a section or portion of their horse artillery
to deal with these guns, and take the remainder with them to the flank.
They will avoid the cavalry combat till they are well away from the
enemy’s guns, and will then fight, when they have guns and cavalry,
against cavalry alone. This shows that in the cavalry combat it is a
very difficult matter to know just when to drop the trails, and get
away to a flank and attack. It must come as an inspiration, something
like Wellington’s move at Salamanca.
16. _Form of Attack must be simple._--To have to decide between a great
many complicated forms of attack is out of the question. The form of
attack must be simple, understood by all, and only the timing of it can
be left to the leader at the supreme moment.
17. _Conclusions._--Our conclusions, then, are:
1st. That it is always advisable to move diagonally to an attack coming
at us, even with a squadron or regiment.
2nd. That when we have to consider the combination of horse artillery
and cavalry squadrons in attack, it is still more necessary.
3rd. That the mode in which we move to a flank prior to throwing in our
squadrons must be carefully considered, and the plan adopted which
gives us most squadrons at the critical point, and the handiest and
simplest mode of evolution.
4th. That intervals between squadrons are a positive evil in an
attacking line.
5th. That in an echelon the supporting body must be near enough to give
confidence to the body in front, far enough to catch the enemy on the
turn.
6th. That no squadron must form line till it sees an enemy before it to
charge. Therefore, if, as the echelon opens out, the squadron leader
sees that he will be beyond the flank, he should not form to the flank,
but should lead round in squadron column and look for his opportunity.
* * * * *
“Why is it,” asks Ardant du Picq, “so hard to use cavalry well?” and
replies: “Because the rôle is all movement, all _moral_; _moral_ and
movement so closely allied, that often the movement alone without a
charge, without physical action of any sort, makes an enemy retreat,
and if that is followed up, causes his total rout. The latter follows
from the rapidity of cavalry for those who know how to use it.”