I' 



CHAPTER XXI. 

 Austrian Cavalry in Frederick the Great's Wars. 



The cavcalry in the Austrian army at this epoch con- 

 sisted of cuirassiers, dragoons, and hussars. At the 

 celebrated battle of Prague, the horsemen were in the 

 following proportions : seventy-seven squadrons of cuiras- 

 siers, forty-two squadrons of dragoons, and thirty-five 

 squadrons of hussars. 



There was a marked difference in the cavalry of the 

 Prussian and Austrian services, Frederick, as we are 

 aware, had devoted his principal efibrts to render his 

 cavalry effective in manoeuvring, and charging in large 

 masses upon the field. The great attention bestowed 

 upon this point caused less care to be taken in training 

 them fully in the minor duties that fall upon cavalry. 

 They were consequently not so well trained in outpost 

 and reconnoitring work. 



The Austrian army, on the contrary, had large bodies 

 of irregular light cavalry, quite incapable of withstanding 

 in the open plain the impetuous rush of the serried 

 squadrons of the Prussian king; but in scouting, re- 

 connoitring, and covering the front of an army, they 

 were more than a match for their opponents. They 

 excelled in swarming about in woods and broken ground, 

 attacking detached parties whenever opportunities oc- 

 curred, but if vigorously pressed they usually fell back, 

 leisur(4y taking advantage of every inequality of the 

 ground to cover their retreat. 



The well-performed outpost service of the Austrians 



