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24 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[PEBIOD I. 



and arrows. The archers, though never numerous, were 

 very useful in action. 



The small force of cavalry that was maintained was 

 necessarily most inefficient. The men did not own the 

 horses they rode, and consequently were not accustomed 

 to them, so that we may safely assume that they were 

 badly drilled and individually unskilful in the use of 

 weapons on horseback. When therefore the Greeks 

 had cavalry in the field they were generally too weak 

 both in numbers and discipline to be divided upon the 

 two flanks, and were consequently placed upon one flank 

 or in front to open the action, or what was more common 

 in the rear to act as a reser\^e. This was the usual 

 method among the Greeks from the Messenian war until 

 the invasion of the Persians under Xerxes. The Thes- 

 salians were the only nation that were attached to the 

 use of cavalry, and of all the Greeks they alone preferred 

 serving in it rather than in the infantry. 



When the decisive battle took place at Marathon, 

 which settled the fate of the first Persian invasion, the 

 Athenians had ten thousand heavy armed infantry all 

 spearmen. Their allies the Platseans, one thousand 

 strong, were similarly armed, but neither of them had 

 cavahy or archers. The Persians had large numbers of 

 horsemen, and were well supplied with archers. Miltia- 

 des adopted two precautions to guard his army as much 

 as possible from the Persian horse, for he evidently felt 

 strongly the importance of counteracting the influence 

 of the hostile cavalry. In the first place, he extended 

 his line so as to prevent his flanks being turned by the 

 enemy's horse, which usually fought on the two wings, 

 weakening his centre considerably in order that the 

 flanks might be safe ; his next step was to abandon the 

 usual slow pace of the phalanx, and to lead on his men 

 at a ran, partly to take the Persians by surprise, but 

 principally to get into action before the cavalry could 

 mount and form up and manoeuvre against him. 



The system among the barbarians of fettering their 

 horses in camp was no doubt known to Miltiades, and 

 he was governed in his movements accordingly. We 



