"Crippled Splendour: The French Cavalry from Valmy..." Topic

…to Toulouse.

"GRACEFUL and agile, the horse combines strength, agility, and intelligence in a degree found in no other beast of burden. Used to toiling long hours in harness to plough, cart, wagon or coach, the horse could also be found beneath his master, bearing him to market or into battle. With the invention of gunpowder, and the development of weapons to use it, the horse soon found himself harnessed to heavy, cumbersome artillery pieces. With the evolution of lighter and more mobile artillery in the eighteenth century, the horse came to dominate draught work, exceeding all other work-animals in its capacity to move artillery at speed.
The armies of the nineteenth century relied almost exclusively on the horse for their transportation needs, not only to provide mounts for the cavalry and horse artillery, but the horses to pull the guns, the ammunition wagons and ration wagons. The structural limits of France's pre-industrial economy, however, prevented too many animals being easily replaced all at the same time. Hence efforts were made to conserve and care for the horses that were serving with the armies. The cavalry, although no longer constituting the primary arm for a decision on the field of battle, fought essentially in a shock role and remained indispensable for the gathering of intelligence, for reconnaissance, screening missions and for pursuit after a victory had been won.

This book aims to outline the development and use of the cavalry and related mounted troops in the French army from 1789 to 1814. I hope to show that France, contrary to popular myth, was a horse country, and that the Peninsular war was not a grave yard of horses. Indeed, the French army from 1806 had robust systems in place to keep its horses alive…"

More here
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Amicalement
Armand

Tango01: I will keep an eye out for this when it arrives in the US. Thanks, John Miller

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand