378 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[period IV. 



cavalry, but this time on the side of the French. Murat, 

 at the head of his seventy squadrons, was close upon 

 the Russian lines before his approach was discovered. 

 The shock was irresistible. The front line was thrown 

 into disorder, the cavalry obliged to fall back, and a 

 most obstinate struggle ensued. The Russian battalions 

 though broken would neither fly nor surrender, but 

 uniting in little knots, maintained the fight with dogged 

 pertinacity. Some French horse forcing their way 

 through the Russian lines penetrated far among their 

 reserves, but being charged while in confusion by 

 Platoft"s Cossacks of the Don, thoy were at once 

 destroyed. The long lances of the Cossacks, their 

 wonderful dexterity in using them, and tlie activity of 

 their horses, gave them a. great advantage in the mMee, 

 over the unwieldy and ponderous cuirassiers. 



At Serpallen in this part, of the field, Benningsen sent 

 his cavalry to charge the flank of Morand's infantry, 

 which caused them to fall back more than 300 yards. 

 After most obstinate fighting in which the carnage was 

 fearful, the action ceased about ten at night, neither party 

 having gained a victory. In fact, an impartial judge 

 would say that both were defeated, for Benningsen 

 retreated, and Napoleon discovered it just in time, to 

 prevent him from also falling back, as he was in fact 

 obliged to do a few days after. 



The battle of Eylau has been often referred to by 

 writers on cavalry tactics ; and the circumstance of the 

 snowstorm rendering the muskets of the infantry useless, 

 mentioned, to illustrate the fact that in heavy rains and 

 snows, infantry might often be placed at the mercy of 

 cavalry, who relying upon the " armes bhmches " could 

 charge the foot-soldiers, when deprived of their great 

 defensive power, the musketry fire. At the present 

 day, however, since the discovery of fixed ammunition, 

 such a thing cannot again occur, and that point loses 

 therefore its interest to the cavalry oflicers of the 

 future. 



It is also stated by Thiers that the Russian infantry 

 in this action, seeing that they could not resist the 



