Editing Cavalry (section)

==18th-century Europe and Napoleonic Wars==
[[File:Battle of Eylau 1807 by Jean-Antoine-Siméon.jpg|thumb|left|Cavalry charge at [[Battle of Eylau|Eylau]], painted by [[Jean-Antoine-Siméon Fort]]]]

Cavalry retained an important role in this age of regularization and standardization across European armies. They remained the primary choice for confronting enemy cavalry. Attacking an unbroken infantry force head-on usually resulted in failure, but extended linear infantry formations were vulnerable to flank or rear attacks. Cavalry was important at [[Battle of Blenheim|Blenheim]] (1704), [[Battle of Rossbach|Rossbach]] (1757), [[Battle of Marengo|Marengo]] (1800), [[Battle of Eylau|Eylau]] and [[Battle of Friedland|Friedland]] (1807), remaining significant throughout the [[Napoleonic Wars]].

[[File:Johann Ludwig Tietz - Portret van Johan Hendrik van Isendoorn à Bloys - GK 00004 - Geldersch Landschap.jpg |thumb|upright|right|Portrait of a [[Dutch States Army|Dutch]] cavalry officer at the [[Battle of Ekeren]]]]

Even with the increasing prominence of infantry, cavalry still had an irreplaceable role in armies, due to their greater mobility. Their non-battle duties often included patrolling the fringes of army encampments, with standing orders to intercept suspected shirkers and deserters,{{sfnp|White|2012|pp=257, 266}} as well as, serving as [[Picket (military)|outpost pickets]] in advance of the main body. During battle, lighter cavalry such as [[hussars]] and [[uhlans]] might skirmish with other cavalry, attack light infantry, or charge and either capture enemy artillery or render them useless by plugging the touchholes with iron spikes. Heavier cavalry such as [[cuirassiers]], [[dragoons]], and [[carabiniers]] usually charged towards infantry formations or opposing cavalry in order to [[rout]] them. Both light and heavy cavalry pursued retreating enemies, the point where most battle casualties occurred.{{sfnp|White|2012|p=266}}

The greatest cavalry charge of modern history was at the 1807 [[Battle of Eylau]], when the entire 11,000-strong French cavalry reserve, led by [[Joachim Murat]], launched a huge charge on and through the Russian infantry lines. Cavalry's dominating and menacing presence on the battlefield was countered by the use of [[infantry square]]s. The most notable examples are at the [[Battle of Quatre Bras]] and later at the [[Battle of Waterloo]], the latter which the repeated [[Battle of Waterloo#The French cavalry attack|charges by up to 9,000 French cavalrymen]] ordered by [[Michel Ney]] failed to break the British-Allied army, who had formed into squares.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/battle_waterloo_01.shtml#five |title=BBC History: The Battle of Waterloo |access-date=2019-12-20 |archive-date=2015-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326233740/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/battle_waterloo_01.shtml#five |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Butler Lady Quatre Bras 1815.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|The British 28th infantry Regiment formed into a square at the [[Battle of Quatre Bras]] for protection from cavalry]]

Massed infantry, especially those formed in squares were deadly to cavalry, but offered an excellent target for [[artillery]]. Once a bombardment had disordered the infantry formation, cavalry were able to [[rout]] and pursue the scattered foot soldiers. It was not until individual firearms gained accuracy and improved rates of fire that cavalry was diminished in this role as well. Even then light cavalry remained an indispensable tool for scouting, screening the army's movements, and harassing the enemy's supply lines until military aircraft supplanted them in this role in the early stages of [[World War I]].