| In the 16th century, the knighthood started to
transform into cavalry. A knight was a well-trained individual fighter. In the Middle Ages,
knights played the key role in battle. It was said of knights
of that time that "The Ancient World brought forth a centaur and the Middle Ages made him the Lord of Europe". But
by the 17th century, the cavalry was no longer made up of
knights. Now it comprised mercenaries, who formed
tactical units. Cavalrymen lost part of their armour, they
became lighter and, most importantly, cheaper. Owing to this their numbers grew. At the
beginning of the 17th century, cavalrymen became interested in firearms (they did not thrust with a pike or strike with a sword, but fired point-blank with
a gun), and riding skills deteriorated. But these tactics did not
prevail. Under Gustaf Adolf (1590-1632, King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632), the cold steel attack was revived. Cold steel riders could easily smash
marksmen and their tactics gained a foothold and were successfully used
until the modern rifled guns appeared (late 19th century). By
the 17th century, the classic regular cavalry had been formed. Basically it was divided into
heavy and light cavalry. The difference between them lay in
the quality of their horses and their combat tactics. Heavy cavalry had big, strong horses,
were slower during the attack, but inflicted mightier
strokes.
Light cavalry horses were faster and more manoeuvrable. Heavy cavalry charged in tight
formations and heavy riders wore cuirasses, protecting them from
splinters and bullets fired from more than 50 steps away. Units able to preserve
their tactical array during an attack had a great advantage. After
a hand-to-hand fight, the quick restoration of their array was essential, while the enemy could send fresh cavalry units into attack and annihilate the new victors. |
