Note 309 — THE FORMAL TACTICS OF INFANTRY. (continued 6)
Walter Krueger translation
“The best preparation against rapidly executed mounted charges is for all commanders to keep their eyes open, quickly and coolly to size up the situation, and to act with determination. All precipitation or haste would be disastrous, for it would communicate itself to the troops. Infantry has never yet fired too late upon cavalry.” Feldzeugmeister v. Wäldstatten.
[310] At Sedan, the 5th Company of the 46th Infantry fired only at 140 and 80 paces, and repulsed the charge. Geschichte des Regiments Nr. 46, p. 186. In the same battle the 9th and 12th Companies of the 87th Infantry repulsed a charge at 60 paces. Gen. St. W., II, p. 1217.
[311] The France Militaire contains the following statement in regard to the effect produced on horses by bullets from the French Lebel rifle in the engagements near Casablanca in 1907: “Many officers serving in the field observed that the small caliber bullets stopped horses only when a foot had been shattered or when a vital organ had been hit. At Casablanca, horses that had been hit by several bullets continued to gallop for a long while. This is a remarkable phenomenon, for the gentlemen of theory count as out of action every horse that has been hit by a projectile. This is entirely incorrect. Many wounded horses carry their riders into the melée and do not die until the day after the fight. This was observed on the French as well as on the Moroccan side.
“Troopers charging full tilt, with the firm determination of penetrating the hostile line, are not stopped so easily. In the first place, they would have to be hit, and that, in itself, is not such an easy matter. This is still more difficult for the infantry, if it knows the dash of the hostile troopers. Let us cultivate the dash of our cavalrymen, even if unreal situations are thereby produced in our peace exercises. If, on the other hand, we teach our troopers in time of peace to turn tail in the face of imaginary projectiles, we are training our cavalry for panic in time of war.”