Horses in the Napoleonic Wars
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Horses were widely used during the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
for combat, patrol and reconnaissance, and for logistical support. Vast numbers were used throughout the wars. During the
War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...
, depletion of the French cavalry arm through attrition (mainly suffered during the Russian Campaign) and loss of horse-producing allies to provide remounts contributed significantly to the gradual French defeat and downfall of the
French Empire French Empire (french: Empire Français, link=no) may refer to: * First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon I from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 and by Napoleon II in 1815, the French state from 1804 to 1814 and in 1815 * Second French Empire, led by Nap ...
. During the
Waterloo Campaign The Waterloo campaign (15 June – 8 July 1815) was fought between the French Army of the North (France), Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army was commanded by ...
, the ''Armée du Nord'' had 47,000 horses: 25,000 cavalry, 12,000 for artillery, 10,000 for infantry and supply columns.


Cavalry

Although in larger forces the cavalry might be sufficient in numbers for the heavy regiments to be concentrated for use in ‘shock’ action, in armies with less cavalry the available troops might have to fulfill whatever role was needed, without the luxury of being able to allocate particular units to a specific duty. Wellington advocated the view that ''all'' cavalry should be capable of doing whatever was required ‘be they dressed or armed as they may’. Despite such opinions, the distinction between heavy and light regiments was generally maintained. On the battlefield, the
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
's main offensive role was as shock troops, providing a mounted charge. Charges were carefully managed for speed, with a charge's maximum speed being . Faster progress resulted in a break in formation and blown horses. Murat merely demanded that his squadrons should ‘walk on the march and trot in the presence of the enemy’; Wellington’s cavalry always charged at full gallop – even if they sometimes got out of hand. A witness of one of the most celebrated charges of the period, that of the Royal Scots Greys at Waterloo, described how different it was to the attack ''à outrance'' depicted in ''Scotland for Ever''. In reality, the regiment came over the crest of the Mont St-Jean ridge, passed through their own infantry, and almost immediately ran into the advancing French, so that the ‘actually walked over this Column’. Charges were undertaken across clear, rising ground, with the cavalry deploying in line or column, and often accompanied by horse artillery. Frequently, infantry followed behind, in order to secure any ground won. Once an enemy army had quit the field of battle and was on the retreat, cavalry would invariably be utilized in pursuit to further exploit a beaten foe's withdrawal and harass that army's rearguard. In defence, cavalry could be used to attack and harass the enemy's infantry flanks as they advanced. In addition, cavalry were used to break up enemy lines following successful infantry action.Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', pp. 175–176 Cavalry were extremely effective against infantry on the march, or when formed in
line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...
or
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
.Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', p. 176 A battalion formed in line was particularly vulnerable to cavalry, and could be broken or destroyed by a well-formed cavalry charge, such as when Lt-Col Colborne's brigade was
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during the
Battle of Albuera The Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) was a battle during the Peninsular War. A mixed British, Spanish and Portuguese corps engaged elements of the French Armée du Midi (Army of the South) at the small Spanish village of Albuera, about south ...
in 1811, with the loss of 1,250 out of his 1,650 men. For protection, infantry sought their own cavalry screens and support. Otherwise, the infantry's only defence was to form square: a tight four-sided formation, presenting walls of muskets and bayonets, each side protecting the others' flanks. These were generally impenetrable to cavalry, but vulnerable to artillery or other infantry. Cavalry were frequently used prior to an infantry assault, so that their charges might force an infantry line to break and reform, into formations vulnerable to infantry or artillery.Nofi, ''The Waterlooo Campaign'', p. 204 During these manoeuvres, they remained especially vulnerable to cavalry.


Artillery

Another major use of horses throughout the period was as draught animals for the heavy artillery. In addition to
field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...
, where horse-drawn guns were attended by gunners on foot, the armies generally had horse batteries, where each of the gunners were provided with mounts.Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', p. 124 Horse artillery generally used lighter pieces, although the British had some 9-pounder (medium-weight) horse batteries; for added speed, these had a team of 8 horses to pull them, rather than 6.Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', p. 129 In addition, horse artillery ammunition wagons were harnessed with an extra pair (6 horse instead of 4).Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', p. 130 Heavy artillery pieces needed a team of 12 horses. With the individual riding horses required for officers, surgeons and other support staff, as well as those pulling the artillery guns and supply wagons, an artillery battery of six guns could require 160 to 200 horses.Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', pp. 128–130. By contrast, in 1813, Captain Bogue’s Troop, armed solely with
Congreve rockets The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor William Congreve (inventor), Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon Mysorean rockets, the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the E ...
, a type of rocket artillery, required only 105 horses. Agility was important; the ideal artillery horse was 15 to 16 hands high, strongly built, but able to move quickly. Horse artillery was generally used to support the cavalry units, and so came under the command of cavalry divisions, but in some battles, such as at
Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...
, the horse artillery were used by the British as a rapid response force, successfully repulsing attacks from the French, and assisting the infantry recapture of La Haye Sainte from the French.Holmes, ''Military History'', p. 415''


Horse types and breeds

The war horse was traditionally of moderate size for both officers and troopers, since heavy horses were logistically difficult to maintain, and less adaptable to varied terrains. Most armies at the time preferred cavalry horses to be and . For example, in the French service in 1812, the mounts for the cuirassiers and carabiniers were those larger than , the dragoons from , the hussars on horses about , whilst the chasseurs à cheval were on horses between ; lighter horses were restricted to scouting and raiding. In his ''Despatches'' Wellington insisted that the remounts to be sent out from England should not be under 15 hands for cavalry and artillery. Even so, in 1813 the average size of the horses of the British 10th Hussars was about 15 hands, but the 2nd Dragoons had 340 ponies of 14.2 hands and 55 ponies of ; Cavalry horses were generally obtained at 5 years, from 10 to 12 years service (barring loss) could be expected. MaresWellington also stated that ‘mares should be sent in preference to geldings as it has been found that they bear the work better'. and geldings were used in preference to the less-easily managed stallions.Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', p. 108 Losses of 30–40% were common during a campaign, due to the lack of suitable forage, conditions of the march as well as enemy action.Nofi, ''The Waterloo Campaign'', p. 109 As regimental structures developed, many units selected horses of uniform type, some, such as the
Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard ...
and
2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays) The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several t ...
, even specifying colour. Trumpeters, too, often rode distinctive horses, such as greys, so they might stand out.Holmes, ''Military History'', p. 417 Regional armies developed preferences, such as the British 15 hh hunters, the Central Germans' Hanoverians, the Prussians’ Trakehner horses from East Prussia and the Cossacks' steppe ponies.


See also

*
Horses in warfare The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...
*
Types of military forces in the Napoleonic Wars The types of military forces in the Napoleonic Wars represented the unique tactical use of distinct military units, or their origin within different European regions. By and large the military forces during the period had not changed significantly ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * {{Equine Cavalry Warhorses Military animals Working horses Horse history and evolution Napoleonic Wars