Posted: 04 Nov 2002, 09:29
Sorry BB, that is pretty kludged up there...but you are right, it would take a book. I think most folks ideas of cavalry come from the Napoleonic times and/or the U.S. Civil War. More on those below...
Cavalry mobility has never been limited by its support units on the battlefield - mobility and shock factor is why cavalry came into being. It was, however, a stupid commander that allowed his cavalry to range outside the support net of the rest of the army. Cavalry were often deployed as single type forces to conduct raids on rear area bagggage trains (supply) and harrass enemy troops - all on their own. Sometimes (as in light cav in the Napoleonic times) they were broken down into smaller than regiment size forces to be used as pickets, recon, screening and security forces. This type of use continued until the demise of the organized cavalry units.
Cavalry was actually developed from war chariots - which were quite shocking themselves in their first deployments.
It took many centuries for the actual use of horses with individually mounted riders to be developed past the chariot stage (saddles, bridles, etc. had to be invented) - once they were it did not take long for mounted soldiers to be common and desirable. They evolved from the mounted spearmen and archers of ancient times to the medieval knight (once stirrups were invented) into the Napoleonic Cavalry... Due to gunpowder...the armor of the knight was no longer useful, so it was dropped for speed, endurance and mobility. There were distinctions in the type of cavalry units - those being light and battle (heavy) with a few sub-types within those categories depending upon weapon and useage. I won't repeat what I have found to be a good reference as to the types of cavalry in the Napoleonic eras... All armies had cavalry of these types at the time, they were just called different things due to language. Also throughout the history of mounted soldiers, there have been light and heavy cavalry.
http://www.3rdcuirassiers.org/cavalry/napcav.htm
In the U.S. Civil War, cavalry was still used mounted for the most part, although the soldiers would dismount to fight fairly often as well. Before the reorg at the beginning of the war, 3 of the Northern regiments were dragoons or mounted riflemen. Later in the war they were used as typical Napoleonic cavalry...often as seperate cav-only units deep into enemy territory. It is noteworthy that the Southern cavalry was immensely superior to the Northern cavalry, especially at the bneginning of that war. Here is a brief on the Northern cavalry during the war:
http://www.civilwarcavalry.com/cavalry.htm
In the Indian Wars typical cavalry use as we imagine/know it was on the decline. They did occasionally conduct mounted charges, but it was extremely rare. The cav soldier preferred to fight from the ground, as in dragoons. Horses were used mostly as a means of fast transporation... WWI saw the absolute demise of cavalry as a viable type of combat unit, beginning to be replaced by armored vehicles after the war...
So, to sum it up cavalry was either: light which includes light cav., light horsemen, mounted archers, lancers, chasseurs, etc. or heavy which includes heavy cav., battle cav., carabiniers, curassiers, etc. A potential third distinction could be dragoons and mounted infantry, which dismounted to fight. Sometimes Dragoons are included in the Heavy Cavalry designation - not sure why. The largest difference in a heavy and light designation lies in the type of horse, sometimes the stature of the men (heh! - or women, how many of you know that there is a doumented female buffalo soldier?), and the role assigned to the unit.
Disclaimer: Of course this is all my interpretation of the historical facts I am familiar with and have researched!
Cavalry mobility has never been limited by its support units on the battlefield - mobility and shock factor is why cavalry came into being. It was, however, a stupid commander that allowed his cavalry to range outside the support net of the rest of the army. Cavalry were often deployed as single type forces to conduct raids on rear area bagggage trains (supply) and harrass enemy troops - all on their own. Sometimes (as in light cav in the Napoleonic times) they were broken down into smaller than regiment size forces to be used as pickets, recon, screening and security forces. This type of use continued until the demise of the organized cavalry units.
Cavalry was actually developed from war chariots - which were quite shocking themselves in their first deployments.
It took many centuries for the actual use of horses with individually mounted riders to be developed past the chariot stage (saddles, bridles, etc. had to be invented) - once they were it did not take long for mounted soldiers to be common and desirable. They evolved from the mounted spearmen and archers of ancient times to the medieval knight (once stirrups were invented) into the Napoleonic Cavalry... Due to gunpowder...the armor of the knight was no longer useful, so it was dropped for speed, endurance and mobility. There were distinctions in the type of cavalry units - those being light and battle (heavy) with a few sub-types within those categories depending upon weapon and useage. I won't repeat what I have found to be a good reference as to the types of cavalry in the Napoleonic eras... All armies had cavalry of these types at the time, they were just called different things due to language. Also throughout the history of mounted soldiers, there have been light and heavy cavalry.
http://www.3rdcuirassiers.org/cavalry/napcav.htm
In the U.S. Civil War, cavalry was still used mounted for the most part, although the soldiers would dismount to fight fairly often as well. Before the reorg at the beginning of the war, 3 of the Northern regiments were dragoons or mounted riflemen. Later in the war they were used as typical Napoleonic cavalry...often as seperate cav-only units deep into enemy territory. It is noteworthy that the Southern cavalry was immensely superior to the Northern cavalry, especially at the bneginning of that war. Here is a brief on the Northern cavalry during the war:
http://www.civilwarcavalry.com/cavalry.htm
In the Indian Wars typical cavalry use as we imagine/know it was on the decline. They did occasionally conduct mounted charges, but it was extremely rare. The cav soldier preferred to fight from the ground, as in dragoons. Horses were used mostly as a means of fast transporation... WWI saw the absolute demise of cavalry as a viable type of combat unit, beginning to be replaced by armored vehicles after the war...
So, to sum it up cavalry was either: light which includes light cav., light horsemen, mounted archers, lancers, chasseurs, etc. or heavy which includes heavy cav., battle cav., carabiniers, curassiers, etc. A potential third distinction could be dragoons and mounted infantry, which dismounted to fight. Sometimes Dragoons are included in the Heavy Cavalry designation - not sure why. The largest difference in a heavy and light designation lies in the type of horse, sometimes the stature of the men (heh! - or women, how many of you know that there is a doumented female buffalo soldier?), and the role assigned to the unit.
Disclaimer: Of course this is all my interpretation of the historical facts I am familiar with and have researched!
). I am a bit at lost as to spotting the the Big Horn/Isandlwana link tho apart from both commanders under estimating the opposition.