Notes on Lance-Training.

The Lancers.
The Poles had fueled a "lance craze" that swept the armies of Europe
and inspired tens of regiments to clad in outfits modeled
on the uniform of the Polish uhlans.
The Polish Guard lancers knew how to fight and they intended to do just that.
It was Napoleon who said: "These men only know how to fight !" after
they charged in their usual impetous, stormy fashion at Somosierra. The Poles used to say that every commander loved the lancers for their looks, but not every man wished to carry the heavy weapon for all year long. The lance was traditional weapon of the Poles. First the Polish legendary Winged Knights (husaria) used it with great success against their enemies. Husaria's lance was approx. 5 m long. They attacked frontally smashing everything on their way. The times changed and the Winged Knights were replaced with uhlans (ulani) - armed with 2.5 m long lances. During march the weight of the lance bore down on the stirrup, where its lower end fitted into a small 'bucket'; carried on the march slanting back from a small sling around the rider's arm.
Mastery with lance required training and strong hand. "It took a lot of extra training to produce a competent lancer. A British training manual produced some years after Waterloo stated that he had to master 55 different exercises with his lance - 22 against cavalry, 18 against infantry, with 15 general ones thrown in for good measure." (Adkin - "The Waterloo Companion" p 247)
Giving lances to poorly trained men didn't make them good lancers, they were 'men with sticks' not uhlans. Lancer was a formidable opponent. Mr. Wilkinson "have watched and recorded hundreds of competitions between men equally experts in the use of their weapons but lance won by the every large majority of them."
In 1809 in Vienna, Polish NCO Jordan of Guard Lighthorse, called upon dragoons of Napoleon's Old Guard, to "fight" him. Two battle-hardened veterans stepped out, he unhorsed both. (see picture -->)
The friendly duel was watched by Napoleon, Marshal Murat and several French generals.
Napoleon was impressed with the Polish lancers and ordered the formation of nine regiments of lancers in his army. In the memoirs of Waterloo, the French lancers, galloping at will over the battlefield, sending saber-armed cavalry fleeing before them, and calmly stopping to finish off the wounded without even having to dismount, appear as an image of horror. Wyndham of the Scots Grays saw the lancers pursuing British dragoons who had lost their mounts and were trying to save themselves on foot. He noted the ruthlessness of the lancers' pursuit and watched them cut their victims down.
The Poles had fueled a "lance craze" that swept the armies of Europe and inspired tens of regiments to clad in outfits modeled on the uniform of the uhlans. The Russians increased number of uhlan regiments from 5-6 to 12 and armed their 12 hussar regiments with lances. The Austrians increased from 3 to 4 regiments and the Prussians from 1 to 8 regiments. All lancers were uniformed in Polish style and design. Even the British formed their own lancers styled on the Poles. Uhlans were also formed in Italy and Spain.
Right: the legendary charge of British lancers at Balaklava, October 25th 1854. Their uniforms closely resembled the dress of the Polish Vistula uhlans.
Left: German lancers in 20th Century. In 1914 the German Army included nineteen uhlan regiments, and there were eleven regiments of uhlans in the Austro-Hungarian cavalry. The Russians also had cavalry armed with lances.  The 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers was originally one of the dragoon regiments and served under Wellington in Spain. "After 1816 they became Lancers, on the model of the celebrated Polish Lancers, who rendered Napoleon such devoted service."

French officer de Brack on lance. Q: Is the lance a very effective weapon?
A: Its moral effect is the greatest, and its thrusts the most murderous of all weapons.
Q: In war, should the use of the lance conform to the directions contained in the regulations?
A: No; as a general rule the trooper must consider himself the centre of a circle whose circumference is described by the point of his weapon; but the lancer must limit his points to the half-circle in his front, and cover the rear half by the "around parry."
Q: Why?
A: The points are certain only so long as the nails are up and the forearm and body control the direction of the weapon. Where these two indispensable conditions do not exist, points which the enemy might easily parry, and which might disarm you, should not be risked. The very least objection to thrusts thus hazarded would be their uselessness, and, in war, uselessness is the synonym of ignorance and danger.
Q: What then are the "points" to which one should confine himself in action?
A: The "right-front" and "left-front" points; the "right" and "left" points against infantry; the "right," "left," and "around parries."
Q: But, should the hostile cavalry follow and press you closely?
A: Use against them the "right," "left," and "around parries," which become powerful offensive movements, when properly employed. In fact, the point cannot fail to reach the man, or the head of his horse, and the weight of the arm doubling the force of its impulsion, the enemy will be at once overthrown, or the horse be immediately stopped by the thrust.
I have witnessed a hundred illustrations of the truth of this, and, among others, may cite the case of the intrepid Captain Brou (now Colonel of the 1st Lancers), who, while near Eylau, in a charge which we made upon the Cossacks, believed himself already master of one of them, whom he had taken on his left side, and who held his lance at a "right front;" but the Cossack, standing up in his stirrups, and executing rapidly an "around parry," threw the Captain to the ground; his horse was captured, and he would have been made prisoner also, but for a courageous and skilfully executed charge made by Major Hulot, then commanding the 7th Hussars. I saw the Captain's wound dressed, and his shoulder was gashed as though cut with the edge of a sabre.
…. I have seen old Cossacks, charged by our troops with their short weapons, face and await them firmly, the point of the lance not to the front, because they judged from the boldness of the attack that their points would be parried - and that once closed in upon they would be lost - but with the lance to the right front, as in the first motion of "left parry," then responding to the attack with a "left parry," brush aside the attackers by this movement, volt to the left, and find themselves, in their turn, naturally taking the offensive by pursuing the enemy on his left.
Q: How should lance thrusts be made in action?
A: I repeat, the lance must always be held with the whole hand closed upon it, the fingers upwards, and no movement requiring the fingers to be held downwards, should be attempted, because the weight of the weapon may cause it, if parried by the enemy, to escape from the hand.
… To carry the hand to the rear only to thrust it forward again, is both useless and dangerous. Your point will always have enough spring, strength, and reach to traverse the body of a man.
… In campaign an officer should frequently inspect his lances, and see that they are kept sharp and well greased. Wounds made in the body by lances kept in good condition are almost always mortal. I have seen troopers of our army receive as many as twenty wounds, made by Cossack lances, without dying of them or even being disabled.
Q: To what do you attribute that?
A: To the inferior quality of the Cossack weapons, to the little care taken of them, and, above all, to a cause worth while to explain. The lances of the Cossacks who used to fight against us were not shod at the butt end, so, when the lancer dismounted, to avoid leaving the lance lying on the ground, he stuck the point into the soil, and thus blunted it. Hence you will remember that, under no pretext, are you to stick the point of your lance into the ground, and that it would be a hundred times better to throw it on the ground than to keep it standing up at such a cost.
The French lance needs improvement; the ash of which the staff is made is so heavy that it makes it difficult to handle, and, when carried in the socket, injures the horse's withers. The wood does not, by its strength, compensate for this disadvantage; for being cut in blocks and the grain crossed, it breaks easily and in a way that makes repairing difficult.
Another fault is the too great size of the pennons which present to the wind so large a surface that the staves are quickly bent, so that points cannot be made as accurately as they should be; quickness and lightness in handling them are diminished, and on the road the horse and the lancer's arm are uselessly fatigued by the constant backward pressure.
To correct these faults, in route marches the pennons should be removed, and attached only when it is desired to make ourselves recognized by friends or enemies; to shift the lance alternately from the right boot to the left, and frequently to remove it entirely from the boot, so that it may be carried by the lancer himself.
The rolled coat may be considered a defensive weapon. The habit of rolling it, and crossing it over the chest, in view of an engagement, has three advantages: first, it clears the opening of the pistol holster; second, it allows the bridle hand to be carried nearer to the horse's neck, which facilitates the control of the horse; and, third, it protects the trooper. But the trooper must be careful of two things: first, to so roll and cross his coat as not to be constrainted by it, and, second, in a charge to avoid being seized by it, and unhorsed and captured.
Although to lose one's arms is, generally speaking, a shame, yet there is one case where a lancer is excusable for losing his lance - that is, when he has run it clean through an enemy.
Several times, I have seen lances so well used that the weapon, caught between the ribs, after having penetrated the shoulder blade, could not possibly be withdrawn; the dying man, convulsed with pain, carried away by his horse, drew along with him the lance and the lancer vainly struggling to disengage his weapon. At Reichenbach, the bravest lancer of my regiment was killed under similar circumstances, in disobedience of my orders, through a misunderstood, stubborn sense of honor. In vain I called out to him, "Your lance is well lost"; he did not believe me, and being cut off from his comrades, was overwhelmed by numbers, and killed.
Near Lille, a young soldier of the same regiment found himself in a similar condition; I made him abandon his lance. The Prussian whom he had run through fell about 50 paces from the spot where he was wounded; we retook the ground which he had been obliged to yield for a few minutes, and my lancer having dismounted to recover his lance, succeeded in doing so only by carefully pushing it through in the same direction in which it entered.
At Waterloo, when we charged the English squares, one of our lancers, not being able to break down the rampart of bayonets which opposed us, stood up in his stirrups and hurled his lance like a spear; it passed through an infantry soldier, whose death would have opened a passage for us, if the gap had not been quickly closed. That was another lance well lost. “

Lancers vs Cavalry.
Lance was the most dangerous in the
first contact during line-vs-line combats.
Lance was the most dangerous in the first contact during line-vs-line combats. The long weapon allowed cavalrymen to wound or kill an enemy armed with shorter weapon first. Once the enemy had got past the point of the lance then the lancer was vulnerable. General Jomini wrote that lance is the most aggressive weapon as one can simply outreach every opponent.
Jomini writes: "Much discussion has taken place about the proper manner of arming cavalry. The lance is the best arm for offensive purposes when a body of horsemen charge in line; for it enables them to strike an enemy who cannot reach them; but it is a very good plan to have a second rank ... armed with sabers, which are more easily handled than the lance in hand-to-hand fighting when the ranks become broken. It would be , perhaps, better still to support a charge of lancers by a detachment of hussars... the advantegeous use of lance depends upon the preservation of good order..."
De Rocca described how lancers were defeated: "... they [Spaniards] marched in close column; at their head were the lancers of Xeres. This whole body began at once to quicken their pace, in order to charge us while we were retiring. The captain commandimg our squadron made his four platoons ... wheel half round to the right. This movement being made, he adjusted the front line of his troop as quietly as if we had not been in presence of the enemy. ... The Spanish horse, seized with astonishment at his coolness, involuntarily slackened their pace. Our commandant ... ordered the charge to be sounded. Our hussars, who in the midst of the threats and abuse of the enemy had preserved the strictest silence, then drowned the sound of the trumpet as they moved onwards ... The Spanish lancers stopped; seized with terror, they turned their horses at the distance of half-pistol-shot, ... our hussars mingled with them indiscriminately ..."
But more often than not the lancers routed the hussars. In 1815 near Gosselies the excellent French 1st Hussars met Prussian 6th Uhlans and 24th Infantry. The uhlans attacked and drove the hussars back in disorder, only to be attacked in turn by French lancers of Pire's division. Heinrich Niemann of 6th Uhlans writes: "By command of Gen. Ziethen we engaged the French; but it was nothing more than a feint; they retreated before us."
Disadvantages of lance:

- the preservation of good order was a must for the lancers. It was however difficult to keep order during charge, as abandoned equipment, trees and bushes, falling horses, stress and over-excitement could put the riding men into disorder. It was one of the reasons why not all cavalry were lancers, and not every uhlan charge was successful.
The regulations for Saxon cavalry recommended an unusual attack against the lancers. It was called a la debandade and was executed in the widest intervals and only by the hussars (excellent horsemen and swordsmen) or cuirassiers (with body armor). The wide intervals allowed them to get behind the lancers. It was assumed that the effectiveness of the lance was reduced because the target was not concentrated and the lancer would have to constantly aim his lance at a moving target rather than just point it forward.

- in a melee where one has to parry blows from the left, right and rear and do it quickly the lance was too long and too heavy. In such situation many lancers discarded their weapons and fought with sabers. It happened in 1809 at Wagram where the Austrian uhlans threw away their lances after being attacked by Polish Guard lighthorsemen (not yet armed with lances).
According to the Journal of Prussian 1st Leib Hussar Regiment: "When a lance-armed cavalry is charged home and when the melee begins, it is lost when opposed by any other cavalry armed with shorter arms. Proof for this is given by the attack of the regiment on the 2nd and 4th Polish Lancers at Dennewitz. Both regiments belonged to the cream of the French army. They were defeated easily, we took 10 officers and 120 others prisoner, the battlefield was covered with dead, and we had not a single serious casualty caused by lance stabs. The shorter cold steel arms are, the more secure and deadly. French cuirassier and dragoon swords are definitely too long, and maybe even our own sabres are."
(There are several problems with this story. At Dennewitz was present only the 2nd Uhlan Regiment, the 4th Regiment was with Dabrowski's corps. The single unit (2nd Uhlans) faced not only the Prussian hussars but also infantry. George Nafziger wrote in his "Napoleon's Dresden Campaign" (p 260) "...the Polish cavalry operating with Bertrand's IV Corps threw itself through the skirmish line and attacked the formed infantry behind them. The Prussian 4th Reserve Infantry Regiment formed square, as did three battalions of 3rd East Prussian Landwehr Regiment. The Poles then passed on and were engaged by Tauentzien's cavalry... The 1st Leib Hussar Regiment also joined the attack. The Poles were crushed, losing 9 officers and 93 men..."
Thus the casualties were inflicted not only by the hussars but also by 6 battalions of infatry and by Tauentzien's cavalry. Ney sent orders to the Westphalian Cavalry Brigade to support the Poles but the Westphalians refused. Furious Ney sent the colonel of the Westphalians to Napoleon after "ripping off his epaulettes." Lancers vs Cuirassiers.
Lance's point couldn't penetrate the armor.
Some of the Polish veterans however
used lances as battering rams
- striking at tops of opponents' helmets
with force.
When in 1809 Napoleon's horse carabiniers suffered heavy casualties from Austrian uhlans he gave them armor. Lance's point couldn't penetrate the armor.
In 1812 at Shevardino, the lancers fought with cuirassiers. Thirion writes: "General Nansouty orders the Red Lancers of Hamburg to charge the Russian cavalry and throw it back. This regiment flew to the attack, delivered its charge and fell on the enemy with felled lances, aimed at the body. The Russian cavalry received the shock without budging, and in the same moment as the lance heads touched the enemy's chests the regiment about-faced and came back towards us as if in its turn had been charged. We, the [French] 2nd and 3rd Cuirassiers, thought this is a poor show, and moved briskly forward to support them and repulse the enemy cavalry." Britten-Austin add "... nothing can induce them [Hamburg lancers] to launch a second attack."
In 1813 in the Battle of Leipzig the Austrian Sommariva Cuirassiers went into action against Berkheim's French lancers. The lancers broke and fled closely followed by the Austrians. A Saxon officer recalled the event as follow: "When we [Saxon cuirassiers] reached Berckheim, his men were mixed up with the enemy in individual squadrons, so that there were Austrian units to the north of the French lancers. We Saxons had only just come up wwhen Berckheim rallied his men to face the ever-increasing enemy pressure. But they could not stand even though Berckheim - bareheaded, as his hat had been knocked off - threw himself into the thick of the melee. He was also swept back in the flood of fugitives ... Despite this chaos, we stood fast and hacked away at the Austrians. Shortly before they charged us, the Austrians had shouted to us to come over to them; we ignored them. However, we were overpowered and broken. The chase now went on at speed, friend and foe all mixed up together, racing over the plain."
Antoni Rozwadowski of Polish 8th Uhlans described fighting with Russian cavalry at Borodino: “On that day (Sep 5th) the 6th Uhlans formed the first line, and we the 8th were formed in echelon” when Russian dragoons attacked. According to Rozwadowski the soil was dry and a huge, thick cloud of dust made his 8th invisible to the enemy. The Russians continued their advance against the 6th before the 8th attacked the left flank of the dragoons. The enemy fled in disorder. After this action the 8th and 6th Uhlans moved to a new position behind a wood. The regiments were now formed in column, one after another and only the brigades stood in echelon. Soon the uhlans noticed Russian cavalry again charging against them. At a long distance the enemy looked similar to the dragoons just recently defeated and the Poles rushed forward certain of victory. When both sides were closer the uhlans realized that these “dragoons” were cuirassiers and the 6th fled toward the 8th. The 8th became disordered and both regiments fled and broke the Prussian hussars who stood in the rear. Only the next cavalry brigade who stood in echelon to the Poles counterattacked and threw the Russian cuirassiers back. (Rozwadowski Antoni - “Memoir” Biblioteka Zakladu Ossolinskich, rekopis 7994)
Only few lancers were able to deal with armored cavalry. In 1813 at Leipzig, Polish 3rd, 6th and 8th Uhlan Regiment, mostly veterans, didn't shy away from the cuirassiers. Near Auenhain Sheep-farm the three regiments charged numerous times against six Austrian and two Russian cuirassier regiments. The Poles pointed their lances at cuirassiers' faces, necks and groins. (According to P. Haythornthwaite "lance can be aimed at a target with greater accuracy than a sword.") They also used lances as battering rams - striking at tops of opponents' helmets with force.
Lancers vs Infantry.
"a cavalry charge against infantry in square
would be thrown back 99 times out of 100."
- Mark Adkin
According to Mark Adkin "a cavalry charge against infantry in square would be thrown back 99 times out of 100." Simple mathematics was against the cavalry when they attacked a square. An average strength battalion with 600 men formed a square 3 ranks deep, this meant that on one side were some 150 soldiers, all of whom could fire and contributed bayonets to the hedge. They covered a frontage of about 25 m (50 men x 0.5 m). The most cavalrymen that the enemy could bring to face them were 50 in 2 ranks (25 men x 1 m). But only the men in first rank could attack at a time, some 6 muskets + bayonets confronted a single lance or saber.
The man with saber could not strike the infantrymen behind the bayonets - he did not have the reach.
A lancer had a better chance although he was still outnumbered by 6 to 1. Either the lancer or his horse was far more likely to be spiked than he was to inflict any damage at all."
In 1812 at Borodino and in 1813 at Leipzig masses of lancers and uhlans were unable to break a single square. However, if the infantry was not in square formation the chances increased for the lancers. In 1811 at Albuera one regiment of Polish uhlans and one of French hussars, demolished the entire British brigade, captured several Colors, several cannons, and hundreds of prisoners. I know only few cases where the lancers broke infantry formed in square.

In 1813 at Dresden the Austrian square repulsed French cuirassiers but surrendered without a fight to lancers. Another square also repulsed cuirassiers but broke when 50 French lancers attacked them. The frustrated cuirassiers joined the lancers and together finished off the enemy.

In 1813 at Katzbach the lancers were called after the 23rd Chasseurs was repulsed. The lancers came and broke the square, inflicting heavy casualties on the Prussians.

In 1813 at Dennewitz one squadron of Polish 2nd Uhlan Regiment attacked Prussian battalion of 3rd Reserve Infantry Regiment. The infantry was formed in a column with skirmishers as its screen. The uhlans routed the skirmishers killing several and attacked the column. The Prussians were "savagely handled". The 2nd Uhlans also broke 2 other squadrons at Dennewitz.