384 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[rKUIOD IV. 



cooped up in a fortross, niul no resource \v.ft open to him 

 save to surrender. In this ('am|);iign Napoleon's cavaLy 

 formed a screen, behind which Mack could see nothin;^', 

 and so a magnificent strategical combination was suc- 

 cessfully completed. 



In the campaign of Jena, in 1806, wu have seen how 

 Napoleon took the Prussians entirely by surprise, which 

 was also in a great measure due to the judicious manner 

 in which the ctivalry were employed to cover his move- 

 ments. In Spain also Napoleon's marshals used their 

 dragoons after the example set them by their great 

 leader. There, however, the French worked at a great 

 disadvantage, as the whole population was bitterly 

 hostile, and a national war was being waged. The 

 dragoons, however, won great glory in the Spanish 

 campaigns, and were the most useful force that could 

 have been employed in the style of guerilla warfare, which 

 was carried on for so long a time in that country. 



Napier says, in his " History of the Peninsular War," 

 that in the operations in Portugal, before the battle 

 of Vimiera in 1808, the number and activity of 

 Junot's cavalry completely shrouded his position from 

 the English general, and hemmed in the British troops 

 so closely that they could obtain no information of 

 what was going on outside their lines.' After the battle 

 of Valencia we see Marshal Suchet sending detachments 

 of dragoons in pursuit of the flying Spaniards, each 

 dragoon having an infantry man behind him. These 

 parties by their rapid movements prevented the enemy 

 from rallying, and completely dispersed them.^ In this 

 war the French dragoons often dismounted to use their 

 carbines on foot. 



Napoleon's wars produced some very good cavalry 

 generals, although hardly any that would be classed as 

 the equals of Seidlitz and Ziethen. Many had the dash, 

 the elan, but lacked the cautious judgment that is so 

 necessary a qualification for a cavalry commander. 

 Napoleon had not a single cavalry general who could 

 be considered so great a genius as Oliver Cromwell. 



I Napiei^ 55. 



2 Ibid. 421. 



