One of the major areas of the Civil War that has not yet been touched upon in THE ZOUAVE is the use of cavalry for purposes other than death and glory charges. Certainly such charges existed, making names like George Custer and J.E.B. Stuart famous. More true to form, however, most ACW cavalry involvement tended to be in the form of mounted infantry or hit and run tactics.
Most ACW miniature garners have painted very few cavalry castings. This is likely due to having to paint both mounted and dismounted versions of each figure, and also to a question of how to best utilize them on the table. This article is meant to give one garners personal 'secrets' to cavalry tactics, and to provide a small scenario to test out those tactics on the wartable.
For our purposes in this article, we will assume the use of a four regiment cavalry brigade that contains two 400 man and two 300 man units armed with carbines, along with a horse battery of four 3" Rifled guns. Learning to use them to best advantage with or without infantry support will make you more prone to want mounted troops in your games.
Speed of movement is the main advantage to mounted troops. Small arms firepower is the drawback. Carbines do not have the range of rifled muskets, creating a situation where a stand up firefight is not in the cavalryman's best interest.
To utilize the speed, and minimize the disadvantages, cavalry will almost always do best on the flanks of a battle. Mounted troops also make good targets riding in column in almost every rules set, so use cover such as orchards, hills, or woods to shield them from taking too many casualties before making contact with the enemy.
Before continuing with this article, it is a good deal to re-read the section of your chosen rules set on how cavalry are used. Important points to familiarize yourself with are the times needed to mount or dismount, and to look at the tactical factors for cavalry in melee, both in a mounted charge and in receiving a charge dismounted. Since the New Orleans club tends to use JR2 primarily, this article and its views on the use of cavalry is geared to the mechanics of those rules.
After reviewing your own rules, look at the scenario map below to formulate your own plan of action. What you are presented with in the map drawing is a perfect opportunity to not only pin down an enemy infantry brigade, but, with luck, a real possibility of being able to roll up the flank in a combined infantry/cavalry charge. However, this will require coordination with another brigade commander something that may not happen, leaving you with the need for flexible planning.
That horse battery of yours can be quite important in your operation. It is highly vulnerable to enemy artillery or small arms fire when limbered, making it necessary that you protect it at all costs.
If I were the cavalry brigadier, my orders would be along these lines: "Dismount two regiments to the front of the enemy within carbine range, swinging the remaining two regiments and horse battery around to the extreme flank. Once the enemy regiment on the flank turns to refuse flank, dismount one regiment, and continue with the last regiment and the battery to circle around the rear. The last mounted regiment should form in line, remaining mounted and ready to charge, while the battery finds a position to unlimber that gives it an enfilade fire. All units pour as much fire into the enemy flank regiment as possible, with the mounted unit charging in with drawn sabres once sufficient casualties or morale problems have set in."
Your opponent is being forced into several decisions, none of them very comfortable. If he draws reinforcements from the center of his line, he opens it up to your allied infantry to attack. With the cavalry in a position to force a flank no matter what is done, the enemy must either retreat or face loss of at least one regiment. Of course, he can elect to charge your dismounted troopers, but you still have a mounted cavalry regiment that can counterattack after his charge, almost certainly routing him, plus you have the advantage of enfilading artillery fire to possibly break his morale in a charge attempt. His artillery is, for the most part, pinned down because limbering the guns in the face of small arms fire is likely to wipe out the artillerists. The diagram below is what I would have hoped to achieve in my cavalry maneuvering.
Of course, there are no "sure fire" plans that a smart opponent can't figure a way to defeat. It is vitally important that you recognize the limitations of any plan, no matter how well conceived, and be flexible enough to be willing to draw back and try something else.
Under the JOHNNY REB rules there are very definitely some serious blunders to avoid. These include the following:
- 1. Don't have a stand up firefight against musket armed enemy infantry.
2. Don't charge enemy infantry armed with bayonets unless they are so severely weakened that they are likely to fail their morale test.
3. Never conduct a frontal assault with mounted troops on anybody other than skirmishers.
4. Do not allow yourself to be shot at while in column from either flank or front unless at very long range.
5. Never allow mounted cavalry to be charged by enemy infantry....you won't believe the results!
Just as there are a number of "Don'ts' with your cavalry, there are also some nice advantages to seek with them under the JR2 (or JR1) rules. It is probable that the same things will exist with most of the major rules sets, but read the sections dealing with cavalry to make sure. Some of the advantages that are available include:
- 1. Use your mounted speed to outmaneuver the enemy infantry.
2. Use at least one cavalry unit mounted to charge home if the opportunity of a flank charge presents itself in the course of a battle.
3. Always keep some mounted troops available, if possible, to charge enemy infantry that have already gone into disorder from charging one of your units.
4. Use any horse artillery sparingly, with the idea of only unlimbering to fire onto an enemy flank or to support a charge.
5. If you have dismounted cavalry in line that are within an enemy's charge reach, do not elect to "First Fire" (JR term) with them. Instead, give them a "Hold" order so that, if charged, they can fire into the face of the enemy at point blank range. This will cause most charges against you to fail.
6. Use your horsemen to keep the enemy off balance, always reacting to you rather than maintaining the initiative.
Above all, learn to experiment with your cavalry. They do not have the effect of Napoleonic horse, and should not be used as a primary weapon. If you do not have the kind of opportunity illustrated in the ideal example given here, learn to use the cavalry in feignts, appearing to close in on the enemy, only to draw them away. As enemy units turn to react to your movements, enfilade opportunities should present themselves to either your infantry or to some well placed artillery batteries. Remember, ACW tactics often revolved around wearing an opponent down before charging home!
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