"French Cavalry 1914" Topic

"The French strategic cavalry was composed of ten cavalry divisions. This strategic cavalry would be reinforced by infantry battalions and artillery. Each French corps had a light cavalry regiment assigned (six squadrons). There was no divisional cavalry. French reconnaissance patrols were to avoid combat. In reconnaissance and security the French relied on combined-arms teams to confuse the enemy concerning the location of the main body and force him to deploy. The French thereby separated reconnaissance, which was conducted far forward by the strategic cavalry, from security, which was the responsibility of the corps cavalry and at the infantry division, by local foot patrols.

In August 1914 the French cavalry failed to perform both the reconnaissance and security roles. The French cavalry divisions manoeuvred almost aimlessly. The French corps cavalry remained so close to the infantry that tactical security was non-existent. As a result, the French higher commanders were poorly informed concerning German operational movements and the French infantry was repeatedly surprised…"

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Amicalement
Armand

This article is poorly researched and is unbalanced in its conclusions. "The German Failure in Belgium, August 1914: How Faulty Reconnaissance Exposed the Weakness of the Schlieffen Plan", by Showalter, Robinson and Robinson, is one of several examples that demonstrate the problems and failures of the German strategic cavalry formations.

Second, the French 4th and 9th Cavalry Divisions (Corps Cavalrie provisoire) were not turned back by one German infantry regiment near Longlier. The two divisions make contact with 4 German infantry regiments, engaged them in a firefight, and then broke off contact despite being outnumbered at least 2:1 by the Germans.

Finally, the catastrophe that occurred at Rossignol should not be pinned on French cavalry. The failures of the 3rd Colonial Infantry Division rest with the commander. No force should advance without adequate security being maintained by that force, irrespective of the intelligence reports. It is no excuse to walk into a fight unprepared just because intelligence suggested that major enemy forces are not in the vicinity.

Robert

Glup!…

Amicalement
Armand