Editing Lance (section)

===Twilight of use===
[[Image:Lance point.JPG|thumb|A lance head from the reenactment of the [[Eglinton Tournament of 1839|Eglinton Tournament]] (1839)]]

In the [[American Civil War]], the [[6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment]] was equipped with lances modeled after [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s forces in France.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rush's Lancers by Mort Kunstler |url=https://vladimirarts.com/products/rushs-lancers-by-mort-kunstler |website=vladimirarts.com |publisher=Vladimir Arts USA Inc. |access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref>  American troops had never previously used the lance in combat.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Frank H. |title=Philadelphia in the Civil War 1861-1865 |date=1913 |publisher=City of Philadelphia |location=Philadelphia |pages=162–164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ge4LAAAAYAAJ |access-date=8 March 2024}}</ref> The lances proved ineffective in battle and were replaced with carbine rifles in 1863.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wittenberg |first1=Eric J. |title=The Union Cavalry Comes of Age - Hartwood Church to Brandy Station, 1863 |date=2002 |publisher=The History Press |location=Charleston, South Carolina |isbn=978-1-43966-007-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8aNDQAAQBAJ |access-date=8 March 2024}}</ref>

The [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870 saw the extensive deployment of cavalry armed with lances on both sides. While the opportunities for decisive use of this weapon proved infrequent during the actual conflict, the entire cavalry corps (93 regiments of [[hussar]]s, [[dragoon]]s, [[cuirassier]]s, and [[uhlan]]s) of the post-war [[Imperial German Army]] subsequently adopted the lance as a primary weapon. After 1893 the standard German cavalry lance was made of drawn tubular steel, covered with clear lacquer and with a hemp hand-grip.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ulrich|last=Herr|pages=126–128|title=The German Cavalry from 1871 to 1914|year=2006|publisher=Verlag Militaria |isbn=3-902526-07-6}}</ref> At {{convert|3.58|m|ft|sp=us}} it was the longest version then in use.<ref name=EB>''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Eleventh Addition, Volume XVI, p. 150</ref>

The Austrian cavalry had included regiments armed with lances since 1784. In 1884, the lance ceased to be carried either as an active service or parade weapon. However the eleven [[Uhlan]] regiments continued in existence until 1918, armed with the standard cavalry sabre.<ref>{{cite book|first=James|last=Lucas|page=112|title=Fighting Troops of the Austro-Hungarian Army 1868-1914|year=1987|publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=0-946771-04-9}}</ref>

During the [[Second Boer War]], British troops successfully used the lance on one occasion - against retreating [[Boer]]s at the [[Battle of Elandslaagte]] (21 October 1899).<ref>Thomas Pakenham, pages 139-140, "The Boer War", {{ISBN|0-7474-0976-5}}</ref> However, the Boers made effective use of [[trench warfare]], rapid-fire [[field artillery]], continuous-fire [[machine gun]]s, and accurate long-range [[repeating rifle]]s from the beginning of the war. The combined effect was devastating, so much of the British cavalry was deployed as mounted infantry, dismounting to fight on foot. For some years after the Boer War, the six British lancer regiments officially carried the lance only for parades and other ceremonial duties. At the regimental level, training in the use of the lance continued, ostensibly to improve recruit riding skills. In 1909,<ref>{{cite book|first=Marquess of|last=Anglesey|page=410|title=A History of British Cavalry Vol. 4|isbn=978-0-436-27321-6}}</ref> the {{convert|2.7|m|ft|sp=us|adj=on}} bamboo or ash lance with a steel head was reauthorized for general use on active service.<ref name=EB/>

The Russian cavalry (except for the [[Cossack]]s) discarded the lance in the late 19th century, but in 1907, it was reissued for use by the front line of each squadron when charging in open formation. In its final form, the Russian lance was a long metal tube with a steel head and leather arm strap. It was intended as a shock weapon in the charge, to be dropped after impact and replaced by the sword for close combat in a [[melee]]. While demoralizing to an opponent, the lance was recognized as being an awkward encumbrance in forested regions.<ref>Vladimir Littauer, pp. 115-116, ''Russian Hussar'', {{ISBN|1-59048-256-5}}</ref>

The relative value of the lance and the sword as a principal weapon for mounted troops was an issue of dispute in the years immediately preceding World War I. Opponents of the lance argued that the weapon was clumsy, conspicuous, easily deflected, and inefficient in a melee. Arguments favoring the retention of the lance focused on the impact on morale of having charging cavalry preceded by "''a hedge of steel''" and on the effectiveness of the weapon against fleeing opponents.<ref name=EB/>