Cav vs INF square.

[Uxbridge]

I guess they will arguing about it 200 years from now.

>  and my gr.gr.gr.grand father and homonym, was in the 6th Cuirassiers ......

I regret I can make no such claim. But I do live very near to Uxbridge, on the western edge of London.

[gazfun]

I have had a rethink on this.
It doesnt matter if Cavalry charge the square, I mean why should they. It would be suicide, besides the horses have a lot of bearing on this, as they will not run willing run into rows of bayontes.
The tactic was to force the infantry into square, of course if they could not they would route.  But the main reason, was that and especially in Waterloo, there suppose to be infantry support to back up the charge! There was not. Ney charged without Infantry support!
Infantry attacking a square is far more devastating, artillery especially horse artillery is suppose to support a Cavlary charge as well, that too can deliver a far harder blow on infantry square, and then when the sqaure routs, the Cavalry just folow them up, and destroy, and or capture.
In waterloo Ney didnt enough support of either Artillery or infantry if at all!

[oster1815]

It doesnt matter if Cavalry charge the square, I mean why should they. It would be suicide, besides the horses have a lot of bearing on this, as they will not run willing run into rows of bayontes.

Hello,

I also had new rethink about this fascinating  topic 

It is difficult to think like a horse but consider :  Steeple chase with stone walls and thick thorn  hedges,  Charge of the Light Brigade against guns blazing  behind fieldworks,  less than 200 lancers against 3000 mahdists in Omdurman,  etc...... We  consider these facts as suicidal in cold blood but, I guess,  for the men IN, it was adrenalin - and the horses were so trained and excited as to move forward in mass until it was too late to turnback _ hence the many anecdots of horses ...and riders crashing in the square if they survived long enough to reach bayonets.....

Was it of any military value is another story  ?  but they did ......

Now, about Waterloo and particularly Ney's Command, I  think it was an exceptionnal moment in History were most leaders lost their reason and led their men to carnage : the British cavalry acted almost as foolishly and the Old Guard was wasted for naught......so, it'ld be "sanctuarized" in memory but not considered as a normal military lesson _ save perhaps for a cold mind and big bataillons winning in the end   

But this is a very personnal view of an elder