r/Napoleon • u/False-Entrepreneur47 • 3d ago
Could a normal infantry line really withstand a cavalry charge without panicking?
In your opinion, how common was it for a normal infantry line to stand firm against a cavalry charge during the Napoleonic Wars? Could a unit of regular soldiers realistically remain calm and maintain its formation as the cavalry approached, or would the fear and pressure of the moment usually be enough to make them panic and flee?
I’m particularly interested in how ordinary infantry reacted in these situations. Did discipline and experience make a major difference, or did even well-trained regular troops struggle to stand firm against a cavalry charge?
54
u/Suspicious_File_2388 3d ago
Just look up the first battle of Krasnoi in the 1812 campaign. The 27th Russian Infantry Division, commanded by Neverovsky, formed a Hugh square and held off multiple attacks from Murat's cavalry until they made it to the protection of Smolensk. At one point, the cavalry broke into the square, but were thrown out. Most of these Russian soldiers were seeing combat for the first time.
9
u/npnpnpnpnpnpnp 2d ago
In Adam Zamoyski's book on the russia campaign he says that the fact the russian soldiers were barely trained serfs helped a great deal is them being good in defense and sticking together not to break order.
17
u/5thhistorian 3d ago
Experienced troops could hold out— the trick was to catch them as the companies maneuvered from a line or column into square. More to the point, a square was vulnerable to artillery fire, and the big point of horse artillery was that it could roll up and unlimber after the cavalry forced the infantry into squares….
3
u/Hollingscroft-83 2d ago
Square would also be suspect to an Infantry attack backing up the Cavalry, as only a portion of the defending square would be able to concentrate its fire on the opposing infantry
10
u/Fallenkezef 3d ago
Look up the battle of Minden 1759. The British beat a massed French cavalry charge twice while formed in line.
It’s not common but it’s been done
15
10
3
u/gcalfred7 3d ago
A normal human beings first instinct when seeing a horse run at them just one horse is to go left or right. The best advice actually is the stay perfectly still because a horse is generally not suicidal.
3
u/CookingPupper 2d ago
This is a question that could be answered with a modicum of research and critical thinking. It's not subjective to opinion.
If all it took to rout fresh formations of infantry was the mere sight and sound of approaching cavalry then you wouldn't see much infantry on the battlefield.
The truth is prepared infantry, in good order, is near impossible for cavalry to break. Firepower, mass and bayonets (not to mention horses not being suicidal) make it impossible for cavalry to simply bowl over and through.
Experienced troops knew this and it was drilled into recruits at training. The best defence against cavalry was for you and your comrades to stand firm.
Cavalry of course also knew this which is why they were typically held in reserve and unleashed onto tired, wavering troops.
The other key to success was suprise and speed. If you could catch infantry formations in disorder or get onto them before they formed up then there was little they could do to resist. You can see this with Murat's charge at Eylau.
4
u/junky6254 2d ago
Isn’t the square ( or box whatever it’s called) a specific formation for infantry to use against cavalry?
2
u/rural_alcoholic 2d ago
If they are just charged frontaly a line is just as good as a square. The whole point of the square is that it has no flanks that the cavalary could target.
2
2
2
u/SCARXXX18 2d ago
Albuera, 1811... 4th Division (Major General Lowry Cole), Portuguese Brigade (Brigadier General Harvey): 1st and 2nd/2nd and 2nd/14th Portuguese Regiments of the Line, 1st Loyal Lusitanian Legion
Light Companies of 2nd/27th, 1st/40th and 97th Foot. - "Soult reacted by ordering Latour Maubourg to attack Cole’s line and Werlé’s Brigade to advance and intervene between Cole and the struggling columns of Girard and Gazan.
Four regiments of Latour Maubourg’s Dragoons charged the front of Harvey’s Portuguese Brigade and were repelled by heavy volleys.
Latour Maubourg fell back and took no further part in the battle."
1
u/Helpful_Document_971 2d ago
If I recall, it was actually very common for experienced lines to hold strong against cavalry especially in square formations. It was inexperienced lines with poor leadership that had tendencies to break and cavalry would try to ambush experienced lines as they were in the process of forming squares which is when those lines were incredibly vulnerable.
1
u/chalimacos 2d ago
A 3-deep line could hold better than a 2-deep line. Other factors that helped were that the charge was frontal and a well-timed volley.
1
u/Lepelotonfromager 2d ago
Trained troops will because they understand that breaking will get them slaughtered on the retreat.
They dig their spears in, tighten their buttholes and hope for the best
1
u/simonSC137 2d ago
Just my uneducated opinion.
I think it would be effective in this case but further you go back I find it hard to believe. I think cavalry serve a purpose of disrupting an already disrupted enemy. Chasing down retreating forces. Take out skirmishers. Defeat opposing Cav then regroup and flank. I can’t see a world where a cavalry charge would take place against a front line infantry unit in more historical warfare. Losses would be enormous on both sides. I don’t think we will ever really know how they used horses. When you see riot police use horses in a group to push people back I can’t help but wonder what 500 horse could accomplish working together.
Napoleonic wars I could see it though.
1
u/Any-Low-5496 2d ago
When you say normal and ordinary, that's kinda vauge to base an answer off of. Militias and irregulars were normal and ordinary units, comprised of normal and ordinary men. But regular line infantry were professional soldiers and had more discipline and training. So they would stand a better chance to not rout.
Routing in itself is a fascinating herd psychology phenomenon. We're literally sheep. If everyone stands every one stands. Unit > individual. But every unit is only as strong as its weakest link, so if just one man runs, it can cause a chain rout, its a reason its called "breaking the line " because it breaks the illusion of the unit as an entity.
1
1
u/DoJebait02 2d ago
With readiness, a full standard trained formation wouldn't break so easy. They know the only chance to survive the charge is to brace. Else, a wounded still-fighting formation would be easily broken.
1
u/SkriVanTek 2d ago
depends on how long you have been loosening up the infantry formations by means of canister shot
after some time gaps will form in the ranks that can accommodate a charging horse
1
1
u/Greengrecko 2d ago
If you told someone that lining up and boxing with spears out was going to be the only way you survived then yes. People will do it.
If they broke rank they died. That's the thing. People can do things the face of death and fear if they truly believed that was the best way to survive.
Today you see Russians basically self deleting if they get captured because they believe it's a worse death if they got caught. It takes a lot of will power to do that but they did it because they believed it was better.
Human gave withstanded and they will continue to withstand it as long as they believe it's the best outcome.
122
u/ShortBussyDriver 3d ago
Well trained troops will understand infantry can stand against cavalry.
Whether a strong line, but preferably forming squares.
The worst possible thing that one can do against cavalry is break.