I am currently reading "His Britannic Majesty's army in Germany" and I just read his section upon the Battle of Minden. The battle is unique because of the attack of the British and Hanoverian infantry upon the French cavalry and its defeat of them.
This is considered an unusual feat of arms as infantry rarely attack and defeat cavalry. So how could it happen? Cavalry's power lies in its mobility and if you rely upon the sword as did the French cavalry it is specifically the ability to move forward and charge. The redcoats are described as moving swiftly forward and by moving across the front of another French unit achieved a measure of tactical surprise upon the cavalry. The French cavalry had to either charge or allow the redcoats to close to musket range, well I suppose they could also have have retired. Forced to charge the now stationary infantry a single volley was enough to defeat these cavalry for the day. This was no fluke as the French committed their second line and it suffered a similar fate. After this the redcoats moved forward pushing a bulge into the French lines and allowing access to their flanks and rear. The French now launched a third attack with their reserve cavalry to take advantage of that opportunity. Now assailed on all sides the redcoats held firm while supporting troops came upto their support and helped drive off the French. Three times infantry defeated fresh cavalry including some of the best in Europe.
Well again how could it happen? The thing that struck me was that the infantry were moving forward and forcing a response from the cavalry. Normally we assume that cavalry as a shock weapon gains its benefit as moves into contact with the enemy and functions as a single fixed value that never changes. But cavalry is a weapon based upon mobility what if as the speed of the horse changes so does its combat power. So it functions more as a ranged weapon with a short range of reduced efficiency as the unit accelerates to the charge, a medium range of maximum efficiency as the unit is at full charge speed and long range as the unit fails to maintain speed and cohesion.
Just something to think about for the moment.
This is considered an unusual feat of arms as infantry rarely attack and defeat cavalry. So how could it happen? Cavalry's power lies in its mobility and if you rely upon the sword as did the French cavalry it is specifically the ability to move forward and charge. The redcoats are described as moving swiftly forward and by moving across the front of another French unit achieved a measure of tactical surprise upon the cavalry. The French cavalry had to either charge or allow the redcoats to close to musket range, well I suppose they could also have have retired. Forced to charge the now stationary infantry a single volley was enough to defeat these cavalry for the day. This was no fluke as the French committed their second line and it suffered a similar fate. After this the redcoats moved forward pushing a bulge into the French lines and allowing access to their flanks and rear. The French now launched a third attack with their reserve cavalry to take advantage of that opportunity. Now assailed on all sides the redcoats held firm while supporting troops came upto their support and helped drive off the French. Three times infantry defeated fresh cavalry including some of the best in Europe.
Well again how could it happen? The thing that struck me was that the infantry were moving forward and forcing a response from the cavalry. Normally we assume that cavalry as a shock weapon gains its benefit as moves into contact with the enemy and functions as a single fixed value that never changes. But cavalry is a weapon based upon mobility what if as the speed of the horse changes so does its combat power. So it functions more as a ranged weapon with a short range of reduced efficiency as the unit accelerates to the charge, a medium range of maximum efficiency as the unit is at full charge speed and long range as the unit fails to maintain speed and cohesion.
Just something to think about for the moment.
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