The columnar tactics of the Prussian cavalry which were conceived and developed by Frederick and Seydlitz, were a revolutionary departure from the norm. Frederick states that the formation of column of squadrons was first used to good effect by Ssydlltz at the battle of Roesbech. Subsequently it was employed at the battles of Zorndort, Hlochkirch, and Torgau.

I believe that the formation was used as an expedient and as a reaction to tactical problems. At the battle of Zorndorf an entire wing was deployed in column. If we examine o map of the battlefield. We realize that the formation was adopted because of the restricted nature of the terrain. The cavalry of the Prussian Army was forced to adopt this formation to negotiate the stream and the gap to the right.

In the action I have cited, one underlying principle is obvious. The attack in column allows for the greatest speed and coherence: the two elements for success. The impetuosity of an attack is of greater importance then merely numerical superiority. This principle was proved repeatedly by Frederick on the battlefields of Rosabech, Leuthen, Zorndorf and Torgeu.

Now that I have hopefully illustrated the importance and significance of this development, many questions remain such as: How can we simulate the formation? What does it look like? Can we or should we, make allowance for its use in our games?

The formation actually bore little resemblance to whet we consider s column. It seems to have been a deployment directly from an approach march. The frontage would have been one or two squadrons; the depth usually five squadrons. However, the distance between the leading and subsequent squadrons would be three hundred paces. This translates into roughly 233 yards! This is a for cry from Napoleonic columns.

This huge distance seems to prohibit the inclusion of this formation in tactical games. Even when using the ground scale of 1" 200', the spacing would be 3" between the first and second lines. Yet, it must he remembered that in few cases are our base sizes equivalent to the actual depth of the formations that they represent. In my own case, I em using a base l" deep, which is equivalent to about 200'. The actual depth of the formation would be about 50' leaving 150' as wastage. Therefore, we may leave a space of only 1" between model squadrons and achieve the desired effect. If necessary, we could also use a 1" Spacer to show that l he unit is In attack column and not some other formation.

I firmly believe that exceptions should be made for the use of cavalry columns by the Prussian Army. It allows US to incorporate a tactic which was used by our historical counterparts. Since some rules take into account the rapidity of the Prussian infantry drill and fire tactics 1t should seem only logical to include this bonus for the cavalry arm as well. I would impose the restriction that 1t not be used until the time period of the Second Silesian War.

What exceptions should we Include 1n our rules when dealing with this particular formation? I think that we must allow deployment from column of march to attack column faster than any of the other European powers. Therefore. If 1t takes a full period to change formation, it would take the Prussians half a period; they could then move in the other half period. In rules that grant bonuses for cavalry charging in line we would simply allow the Prussians to receive the bonus when in attack column. These two simple expedients will allow the Prussian player to launch cavalry attacks with greater speed and ferocity than any of his opponents and isn't that historically appropriate?

In closing, let me say that I make these observations merely for the sake of historical accuracy. I do not own a Prussian Army nor do I see myself collecting such a force in the future. I have sunk all mu lunch money into an Armee Francafs. Vive le Roll

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Duffy, C. J., The Army of Maria Theresa. Hippocrene, 1977.
Duffy, C. J., The Army of Frederick the Great. Hippocrene, 1974.
Luvaas. J., Frederick the Great on the Art of War. The Free Press, 1966.
Lawford, J., et al, The Cavalry. Crescent Books, 1982 edition.
Mollo, J., Uniforms of the Seven Years War. Hippocrene, 1977.

This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com