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Acharge is anoffensive maneuver inbattle in whichcombatants advance towards their enemy at their bestspeed in an attempt to engage in adecisiveclose combat. The charge is the dominantshock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of many battles throughout history. Modern charges usually involve small groups offireteams equipped with weapons with a highrate of fire andstriking against individual defensive positions (such as aconcertainer orbunker), instead of large groups of combatants charging another group or afortified line.
It may be assumed that the charge was used inprehistoric warfare, but clear evidence only comes with later literate societies. The tactics of theclassical Greek phalanx included an ordered approach march, with a final charge to contact.[1]
In response to the introduction of firearms, Irish and Scottish troops at the end of the 16th century developed a tactic that combined a volley ofmusketry with a transition to rapid hand-to-hand combat using melee weapons. Initially successful, it was countered by effective discipline and the development of defensive bayonet tactics.[2]
A term used by the Allied forces to refer to Japanesehuman wave attacks andswarming staged by infantry units armed with bayonets and swords. This term came from the Japanesebattle cry "TennōheikaBanzai" (天皇陛下万歳, "Long live His Majesty the Emperor"), shortened to banzai, specifically referring to a tactic used by theImperial Japanese Army during thePacific War.
The development of thebayonet in the late 17th century led to the bayonet charge becoming the main infantry charge tactic through the 18th and 19th centuries and well into the first half of the 20th century. As early as the 19th century, tactical scholars were already noting that most bayonet charges did not result in close combat. Instead, one side usually fled before actual bayonet fighting ensued. The act of fixing bayonets has been held to be primarily connected to morale, the making of a clear signal to friend and foe of a willingness to kill at close quarters.[3]
The shock value of a charge attack has been especially exploited incavalry tactics, both of armoredknights and lighter mounted troops of both earlier and later eras. Historians such asJohn Keegan have shown that when correctly prepared against (such as by improvising fortifications) and, especially, by standing firm in face of the onslaught, cavalry charges often failed against infantry, with horses refusing to gallop into the dense mass of enemies,[4] or the charging unit itself breaking up. However, when cavalry charges succeeded, it was usually due to the defending formation breaking up (often in fear) and scattering, to be hunted down by the enemy.[5] While it was not recommended for a cavalry charge to continue against unbroken infantry, charges were still a viable danger to heavy infantry.Parthian lancers were noted to require significantly dense formations of Roman legionaries to stop, and Frankish knights were reported to be even harder to stop, if the writing ofAnna Komnene is to be believed. However, only highly trained horses would voluntarily charge dense, unbroken enemy formations directly, and in order to be effective, a strong formation had to be kept – being the result of efficient training.Heavy cavalry lacking even a single part of this combination – composed of highmorale, excellent training, quality equipment, individual prowess, and collective discipline of both the warriorand the mount – would suffer in a charge against unbroken heavy infantry, and only the very best heavy cavalrymen (e.g.,knights andcataphracts) throughout history would own these in regards to their era and terrain.
The cavalry charge was a significant tactic in the Middle Ages. Although cavalry had charged before, a combination of the adoption of a frame saddle secured in place by a breast-band,stirrups and the technique of couching the lance under the arm delivered a hitherto unachievable ability to utilise the momentum of the horse and rider. These developments began in the 7th century but were not combined to full effect until the 11th century.[6] TheBattle of Dyrrhachium (1081) was an early instance of the familiar medieval cavalry charge; recorded to have a devastating effect by both Norman and Byzantine chroniclers. By the time of theFirst Crusade in the 1090s, the cavalry charge was being employed widely by European armies.[7]
However, from the dawn of theHundred Years' War onward, the use of professional pikemen and longbowmen with high morale and functional tactics meant that a knight would have to be cautious in a cavalry charge. Men wielding eitherpike orhalberd in formation, with high morale, could stave off all but the best cavalry charges, whilst English archers with thelongbow could unleash a torrent of arrows capable of wreaking havoc, though not necessarily a massacre, upon the heads of heavy infantry and cavalry in unsuitable terrain. It became increasingly common for knights to dismount and fight as elite heavy infantry, although some continued to stay mounted throughout combat. The use of cavalry for flanking manoeuvres became more useful, although some interpretations of the knightly ideal often led to reckless, undisciplined charges.
Cavalry could still charge denseheavy infantry formations head-on if the cavalrymen had a combination of certain traits. They had a high chance of success if they were in a formation, collectively disciplined, highly skilled, and equipped with the best arms and armour, as well as mounted upon horses trained to endure the physical and mental stresses of such charges. However, the majority of cavalry personnel lacked at least one of these traits, particularly discipline, formations, and horses trained for head-on charges. Thus, the use of the head-on cavalry charge declined, althoughPolish hussars, Frenchcuirassiers, and Spanish and Portugueseconquistadores were still capable of succeeding in such charges, often due to their possession of the previously mentioned combination of the traits required for success in such endeavours.
In the twentieth century, the cavalry charge was seldom used, though it enjoyed sporadic and occasional success.
Elements of the7th Cavalry Regiment of theUnited States attackedVillista forces in theBattle of Guerrero on 29 March 1916. The battle was a victory for the Americans, occurring in desert terrain, at theMexican town ofVicente Guerrero, Chihuahua.[8][failed verification][9][10][11]
One of the most successful offensive cavalry charges of the 20th century was not conducted by cavalry at all, but rather bymounted infantry, when on 31 October 1917, the Australian4th Light Horse Brigade charged across two miles of open terrain in the face of Ottomanartillery andmachine gun fire to successfully captureBeersheba in what would come to be known as theBattle of Beersheba.[citation needed]
On 23 September 1918, the Jodhpur Lancers and Mysore Lancers of the 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade charged Turkish positions on horseback at Haifa. Together the two regiments captured 1,350 German and Ottoman prisoners, including two German officers, 35 Ottoman officers, 17 artillery guns including four 4.2 in (11 cm) guns, eight 77 mm (3.0 in) guns and four camel guns as well as a 6 in (15 cm) naval gun, and 11 machine guns. Their own casualties amounted to eight dead and 34 wounded. 60 horses were killed and another 83 injured.[citation needed]
On 16 May 1919, during theThird Anglo-Afghan War, the1st King's Dragoon Guards made the last recorded charge by a British horsed cavalry regiment[12] at Dakka, a village in Afghan territory, north west of theKhyber Pass.[13]
During theSpanish Civil War, there was a massive cavalry charge by a Francoist division during theBattle of Alfambra on 5 February 1938, the last great mounted charge in Western Europe.[14]
Several attempted charges were made inWorld War II.ThePolish cavalry, in spite of being primarily trained to operate as rapid infantry and being better armed than regular Polish infantry (more anti-tank weapons and armored vehicles per capita) did execute up to 15 cavalry charges during theInvasion of Poland. The majority of the charges were successful and none were meant as a charge against armored vehicles. Some battles featured mutual charges by the Polish and German cavalry such as theBattle of Krasnobród (1939). The German cavalry scouts from4th Light Division (Germany) charged the Polish infantry from10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade (Poland) and were countered by Polish tankettes moving from concealed positions atZakliczyn.On November 17, 1941, during theBattle of Moscow, the Soviet 44th Cavalry Division charged the German lines near Musino, west of the capital. The mounted Soviets were ravaged by German artillery, then by machine guns. The charge failed, and the Germans said they killed 2,000 cavalrymen without a single loss to themselves.[15] On 24 August 1942, the defensivecharge of the Savoia Cavalleria at Izbushensky against Russian lines near theDon River was successful. British and American cavalry units also made similar cavalry charges duringWorld War II. (See26th Cavalry Regiment). The last successful cavalry charge of World War II was executed during theBattle of Schoenfeld on March 1, 1945. The Polish cavalry, fighting on the Soviet side, overwhelmed the German artillery position and allowed for infantry and tanks to charge into the city. The cavalry sustained only seven dead, while 26 Polish tankmen and 124 infantrymen as well as around 500 German soldiers were killed.[16][17][18])
After World War II, the cavalry charge was clearly outdated and was no longer employed[citation needed]; this, however, did not stop modern troops from utilising horses for transport, and in countries withmounted police, similar (albeit unarmed) techniques to the cavalry charge are sometimes employed to fend off rioters and large crowds.
At the start of the war in Afghanistan by United States forces, there was a cavalry charge by a unit ofGreen Berets led by Captain Mark Nutsch, and their use of horses in the charge was made into a Hollywood movie,12 Strong. Across from the site of the formerWorld Trade Center (1973–2001) there is a monument to the 'horse soldiers' who took part in that daring cavalry charge.[19]
In the age offirearms, the basic parameters are speed of advance against rate (or effectiveness) offire. If the attackers advance at a more rapid rate than the defenders can kill or disable them then the attackers will reach the defenders (though not necessarily without being greatly weakened in numbers). There are many modifiers to this simple comparison – timing, covering fire, organization, formation and terrain, among others. A failed charge may leave the would-be attackers vulnerable to a counter-charge.
There has been a constant rise in an army's rate of fire for the last 700 years or so, but while massed charges have been successfully broken they have also been victorious. It is only since the mid-19th century that straight charges have become less successful, especially since the introduction of therepeating rifles,machine guns, andbreech-loadingartillery. They are often still useful on a far smaller scale in confined areas where the enemy's firepower cannot be brought to bear.Bayonet charges are still seen in the early 20th century, but are often limited to use against adversaries with inferior firepowers, when ammunition supply is scarce, or simply as a form ofsuicide attack toinflict fear on the enemy.
In modern times,melee charges are practically extinct outside ofriot control andstreet fighting, with a few exceptions such as the bayonet charge at theBattle of Danny Boy, but military charging tactics mainly take place witharmored fighting vehicles such astanks,infantry fighting vehicles, andarmored cars. Theseground combat vehicles can either advance directly withmarching fire, or transport infantry attackers quickly into proximity with the target position in order to assault and capture it.Air assaults are also a frequently used tactic to insertspecial operation raids againsthigh-value targets.
