508 A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. [period vi. 



defend with equal facility, tlie cavalry could only act 

 upon level and unobstructed country, and always upon 

 the move : cavalry proper could never assail strong 

 positions, if covered by obstacles, and could not resist 

 an attack at the halt. 



These facts led to the employment of infantry in 

 great numbers as soon as the introduction of fire-arms 

 and pikes gave them a chance of defending themselves 

 against the onset of charging horsemen. 



The great value of cavalry in outpost and detached 

 service, on account of their mobility and speed, always, 

 however, kept up their reputation and rendered necessary 

 the maintenance of large bodies in all armies. For this 

 service they have always been pre-eminently qualified, 

 no matter how armed or equipped, or against what 

 enemies they have been opposed. The light horse 

 of the Greeks, of the Persians, of the Eomans, all 

 were of great service in outpost duty, as have been 

 all good light cavalry in every age and under all 

 the changing conditions of warfare, from the time that 

 the Assyrian charioteers began to mount their chariot 

 horses, down to the period when the Prussian'^Uhlans 

 spread terror far and wide through the fields and country 

 villages of France. 



In this important characteristic their fitness for 

 scouting, reconnoitring, raiding, &c., cavalry have always 

 been the foremost arm and without rival. In covering 

 an advance, in pursuing a retreating foe, their capacity 

 has always been unequalled, but upon the battle-field 

 there has been a constant and unceasing struggle, which, 

 with varying success, has been, and probably may be, 

 carried on continually. 



It is curious to trace, as we have in the preceding 

 pages, the ever-varying conditions which have given 

 success now to the cavalry and now to the infantry, 

 with an almost impartial uncertainty. 



The infantry in the earliest times were the only force 

 and the mainstay of armies. The charioteers soon began 

 to assume a superiority, and for a time formed an im- 

 portant item in the military systems of states. Then 



