398 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



11 



1. 

 ■)"■ 

 Hi 



liM 



[period IV. 



with indignation, kept firing till their last cartridge was 

 exhausted ; and Pacthod, in the centre of the square, 

 only surrendered his sword to the Emperor in person. 

 Three thousand of the French, many of them national 

 guards, fell nobly resisting on this fatal occasion."' 



The examples quoted in the foregoing pages will 

 convey to the r(\ader a pretty clear idea of the method 

 of fighting in action, adopted by the rival forces of 

 cavalry in the wars of Napoleon, but the influence 

 of the light horse of the allied armies, and particularly 

 of the Cossacks of Russia, in the minor operations of 

 war, were of so important a character as to require very 

 careful consideration. We have seen the extraordinary 

 influence exerted upon the operations of Frederick the 

 Great by the irregular and undisciplined horsemen of 

 the Austrian service, who, although totally unable to 

 stand before the highly trained cavalry of the Prussian 

 king, were nevertheless far more than a match for them 

 in detached or outpost service. 



Napoleon also met his first check, from the same 

 cause, namely, the superiority of his enemy in light 

 horsemen suited to partisan warfare. We have already 

 drawn attention to this point, in our last chapter, in 

 referring to the services of the Cossacks under Benningsen 

 after the battle of Eylau. This was the first instance in 

 Napoleon's life, in which he was obliged to retreat after 

 a pitched battle. Although technically victorious at 

 Eylau, it was really a drawn battle, but one that would 

 have been rapidly turned into a great success, had it not 

 been for the Cossacks. 



From this period we can trace, from step to step, the 

 tremendous influence these irregular horsemen exerted 

 upon his fortunes, until at last in the campaign of 1814, 

 Napoleon, driven to the wall, was obliged to abdicate 

 his empire. It was after the arrival of Napoleon at 

 Moscow that the Cossacks began to make themselves 

 seriously felt in the operations against the invading 

 army. For some time, a species of armistice was 

 tacitly observed between the main armies, and it 



^ Alison, iv. 382, 383. 



