Reconnaissance part one

Reconnaissance part 1

Reconnaissance in 1914 was nothing like modern-day reconnaissance. Aviation and horse-mounted reconnaissance were entirely separate. All the cavalry organizations had a glaring absence of aviation. The same higher staff would have to analyze the results, but they came from completely different sources. Cavalry reconnaissance, moreover, depended on the unit training of man and horse. A trained rider could not compensate for an untrained horse. Using the word “improvised,” Balck went as far as saying that generally cavalry could not be regenerated during wartime—not quickly, at least—because the horse had to be trained. Cavalry, in short was not an expendable asset. Reconstitution was not easy even when possible.

Riding hard with fresh horses, a cavalry regiment could cover fifty miles (eighty kilometers) a day. Distances of eighty to one hundred miles were not unheard of in a twenty-four-hour period—and all with the horse’s average load of 250 pounds (113 kilograms). A standard cavalry division was supposed to cover between twelve and twenty miles or up to thirty-two kilometers per day, with the most frequent marching gate the walk—about three and one-half miles per hour. While infantry moving very quickly could match that speed, the horse could keep up the pace for a very long time. The horse’s speed could be increased when required to a trot, or about eight miles per hour. However, a very short burst of a gallop or extended gallop could be used for several hundred meters.

A cavalry division would deploy for reconnaissance at three different levels: patrols, reconnaissance squadrons, and the main body of the regiments. The furthest and smallest point of the spear was that of the reconnaissance patrol. These patrols came from a specifically assigned “reconnaissance squadron” that operated as backup in case their patrols needed to replenish ammunition or exchange horses. A cavalry division could have two or three of these squadrons, and each squadron could dispatch as many patrols as needed. The main body of a cavalry regiment followed a reconnaissance squadron. The reconnaissance squadron could come from a different regiment than the one following it, and regularly no more than one reconnaissance squadron would be appointed per regiment. After a couple of days, the reconnaissance squadrons had to be withdrawn and replaced by other squadrons to rest the men and horses.

In theory, the divisions had reconnaissance squadrons patrolling a strip fifteen to twenty kilometers wide. In fact, these sectors could be much wider, increasing to thirty-five, even up to seventy, kilometers per squadron as the tactical situation required, as shown by the reconnaissance exercise in eastern Prussia in 1905.