ered in its
use.

All are agreed that a general attack of cavalry against a line in good
order cannot be attempted with much hope of success, unless it be
supported by infantry and artillery. At Waterloo the French paid dearly
for having violated this rule; and the cavalry of Frederick the Great
fared no better at Kunnersdorf. A commander may sometimes feel obliged
to push his cavalry forward alone, but generally the best time for
charging a line of infantry is when it is already engaged with opposing
infantry. The battles of Marengo, Eylau, Borodino, and several others
prove this.

There is one case in which cavalry has a very decided superiority over
infantry,--when rain or snow dampens the arms of the latter and they
cannot fire. Augereau's corps found this out, to their sorrow, at Eylau,
and so did the Austrian left at Dresden.

Infantry that has been shaken by a fire of artillery or in any other way
may be charged with success. A very remarkable charge of this kind was
made by the Prussian cavalry at Hohenfriedberg in 1745. A charge against
squares of good infantry in good order cannot succeed.

A general cavalry charge is made to carry batteries of artillery and
enable the infantry to take the position more easily; but the infantry
must then be at hand to sustain the cavalry, for a charge of this
character has only a momentary effect, which must be taken advantage of
before the enemy can return offensively upon the broken cavalry. The
beautiful charge of the French upon Gosa at the battle of Leipsic,
October 16, is a fine example of this kind. Those executed at Waterloo
with the same object in view were admirable, but failed because
unsupported. The daring charge of Ney's weak cavalry upon Prince
Hohenlohe's artillery at Jena is an example of what may be done under
such circumstances.

General charges are also made against the enemy's cavalry, to drive it
from the field of battle and return more free to act against his
infantry.

Cavalry may be successfully thrown against the flank or rear of an
enemy's line at the moment of its being attacked in front by the
infantry. If repulsed, it may rally upon the army at a gallop, and, if
successful, it may cause the loss of the enemy's army. This operation is
rarely attempted, but I see no reason why it should not be very good;
for a body of cavalry well handled cannot be cut off even if it gets in
rear of the enemy. This is a duty for which light cavalry is
parti