The Prussians in 1806
Dispelling the Myths

Part IV Tactics

Cavalry

by James Gaite, UK

“Under a leader as renowned as Seydlitz, the Prussian cavalry achieved the nearest to a state of perfection that it was ever going to. So great was its reputation in the Seven Years’ War that Napoleon made a special point of warning his men at the beginning of the 1806 campaign to beware of the Prussian cavalry. However, their performance in that campaign proved something of a disappointment.” [M162 3]

Some historians would consider Peter Hofschroer’s verdict on the Prussian Cavalry of 1806 an understatement.

Maude claims the “prevailing mania for economy” within Prussia after the Seven Years’ War led to the deterioration of that arm’s mounts, which in turn led to… “…the suppression of the “gallop” altogether and the use of the “trot” only for limited periods…When after twenty to thirty years young subalterns have risen to command - who have never, or rarely, seen the whole regiment gallop - they do not care to take the responsibility of trying the experiment.” [TJC 16-7]

It was not, however, just the quality of the horses that had deteriorated. “With this elimination of the faster paces, there followed a decided lowering of the standard of equitation demanded from the individual man, and since as soon as he was passed as efficient he could be allowed to go on furlough, and his pay be saved for the squadron chest, the men spent less and less time with the colours, till as Marwitz has proved to us in his Diary, a troop of 66 privates could only have 7 well-trained riders, whilst of the remainder, 33, were on furlough, and only mounted their horses 35 times in the year; 10 were “Freiwächter” and rode even less, and 16 were still doing recruit training.” [TJC 17]

Maude concludes that “It is…a certainty that not a single squadron in the Prussian Cavalry that took the field in 1806 could have come up to the King’s requirements of 1754.” [TJC 17]

However, the Prussian Cavalry of 1806 did have some admirers. Petre claimed that:

“In cavalry alone could the Prussians stand fairly against Napoleon. Under Seidlitz and the other great cavalry leaders of the Seven Years’ War, Frederick’s horsemen had acquired a reputation which they still enjoyed.” [NCP 24]

He claimed that they were better mounted than their French counterparts and their troopers, as well as the Saxons, were better man for man. However, he believed that any deficiency would stem from the officers and not the men.

“That Napoleon saw good reason to fear the result of cavalry conflict on the battlefield is clear from his advice to Soult, to avoid pitting his own cavalry against that of the enemy until the latter had broken itself against the French infantry squares. At the same time, he evidently realised that the enemy’s leaders would play into his hands by injudicious attacks on his own unbroken infantry. In the shock tactics of cavalry against cavalry there had not been much need for change since Frederick’s days…for the cavalry weapon has changed but little. In the combat of cavalry against infantry the case is different; the improvement in firearms has been continuous, and the difficulties of the attack by horsemen with the arme blanche on unbroken infantry have proportionately increased, until at the present time its impossibility is generally recognised. The Prussian and Saxon cavalry officers had failed to appreciate the change wrought in their role by the improvement in the infantry arm. Napoleon perhaps overestimated the superiority of the German cavalry to his own, but the complete failure of the Prussian squadrons against Davout’s squares at Auerstädt demonstrated clearly the correctness of his assumptions as to their uselessness against his own infantry.” [NCP 25]

Hofschroer is slightly more moderate in his views on the two above matters. He claims that the difficult terrain in the Saale valley made cavalry operations difficult and blames the cavalry’s ineffectiveness in battle on inappropriate military formations and tactics.

“In the wars of the 18 th century it was usually enough to gain the flank and rear of the enemy’s infantry formations to decide the outcome of the battle. Time and again on 14 October 1806 the Prussian cavalry did just that - but they failed to make any headway against such a determined foe.” [M152 13]

Moreover, although he states that the 1796 Regulations dealing with cavalry operations were competently written, the cavalry suffered from both old officers, like so much of the army, and poor training as espoused by Maude above. What also made the cavalry more ineffective in 1806 was the change in the Prussian tactical formations, claiming that the formation of Divisions was inhibitive.

“All the cavalry was scattered amongst the divisions, each receiving ten ‘battle’ squadrons, and some five more of hussars. The French, however, held only a few squadrons at corps level and kept their heavy cavalry together as a strong reserve. This was exactly how the Prussian cavalry was used so successfully in the days of Frederick the Great, and that is how it should have been used in 1806.” [M152 13]

In way of an epitaph to Frederick’s great squadrons, Hofschroer concludes:

“The spirit of Seydlitz and Ziethen may well have lived on in the Prussian cavalry of 1806; but its senior leaders did not use it with sufficient vigour and determination, and thus it did not perform as well as it was capable of doing.” [M152 13]

The Prussians in 1806 Dispelling the Myths Part IV [FE65]

Other Parts

Prussians in 1806 Dispelling the Myths Part Vb: Jena [FE68]

Prussians in 1806 Dispelling the Myths Part Va: Tactics [FE66]

The Prussians in 1806 Dispelling the Myths Part III [FE63]

The Prussians in 1806 Dispelling the Myths Part II [FE61]

The Prussians in 1806 Dispelling the Myths Part I [FE60]

Related

1806: A Precis [FE59]

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