Published By Constables Originally published in French in 1781, English Edition March 1798) Although outside the Napoleonic period, this is an excellent introduction to cavalry tactics. As Brent Nosworthy explains in his superb introduction to the work, it's influence on cavalry in Europe was immense, with the book remaining in point until 1828 (French). The true value lies in the fact that Von Warnery was an experienced soldier and had served in a considerable number of actions, so his explanations ofthe use of cavalry are backed up with his own experiences, giving the reader an insight jllto what it was actually like. Comparing it to Nolan and the 1798 Cavalry Regulations, Von Warnery does not go into the history of Cavalry, but explains it's war-time service, which Nolan lacked in Europe. Compared to the Regulations, Von Warnery adds greater detail to the dry drill book. His or the Prussian system can be clearly seen in the regulations, but the regulations do not explain why cavalry should make as much noise as possible when charging infantry whilst Von Wannery does. He also makes clear the ditterent types of cavalry: Curassiers, Dragoons, Hussars and their capabilities on the battlefield and on campaign. Here he falls outside the Napoleonic period, as he has no experience of the Light Dragoon and its European equivalents which were introduced after his cavalry service. There is also no mention of some of the more eccentric cavalry manouevers which have been mentioned in recent works, such as the SCHWARM attack which was used with such success at Auerstädt. Von Warnery definitely believes in keeping everything simple, relying on the shock value and maneuverability of the cavalry to win any action after the target has been outflanked (if cavalry) or weakened by fire if infantry. His comments on the effect of mounted firing are also very enlightening. Von Wannery saw, during his service, the transformation of cavalry fighting from ranks of 3 to 2. It is fascinating to see that both formations had benefits and the deployment in 2 or 3 ranks seems to be very fluid in Prussian Hussarrs of this period. This does pose the interesting question of how much the cavalry's change to 2 ranks influenced the same changes in the infantry in the Napoleonic period. This is by far the best book republished on cavalry tactics since Nolan was Published last century. An excellent work - any-one interested in the subject or considering wargaming rules, should have a copy. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #36 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com