04-23-2013, 09:43 PM
Uhm... This is a description of cavalry charging standing infantry and killing them with impact of long lances strikes, so that they are no longer standing but lying on the ground and dead. 
Cataphracts were also armed with rather long lances, by the way. Surely longer than gladius.
Lance in general was a weapon used by large percentage of all shock cavalry in history.
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Another fragment of cavalry charging (and defeating) close ordered infantry in close combat:
From the military report of Brigadier General Skarżyński, commander of the Reserve Cavalry Division, to the Commander In Chief, HQ in Miastków, written on 03.04.1831.
"Colonel Dembiński reporting: Seeing enemy infantry of the left wing forming squares*, I went with order from divisional commander to the head of our column. Along the road on the right side I gathered the 4th Squadron (Cpt. Zylewicz), moved it left and soon charged against that Russian battalion, which opened fire to the 4th Squadron. When only the 3rd Squadron formed in a battle formation, it also charged that infantry and surrounded them (...). General Skarżyński reporting: Our cavalry battalion [two squadrons mentioned above - Peter] quickly and bravely charged that infantry, despite shrapnel fire and rain of musket bullets. The enemy even for quite a long time fought against our cavalry in a square formation in close combat with use of bayonets, but in the end the entire enemy infantry force which was on the right side of the road was killed or surrendered."
*Note: in original report word "carré" was used when describing enemy infantry formation (square).
Sources:
http://ebuw.uw.edu.pl/dlibra/plain-content?id=94975
http://mazowsze.hist.pl/files/Rocznik_Mi...-s7-29.pdf
Events described above took place during the battle of Dębe Wielkie on 31.03.1831.
Report of the charge was written on 03.04.1831 as we can see - a few days after the battle. Fragments of the report quoted above were also published in a newspaper later, in 1831 (see the first link).
Cataphracts were also armed with rather long lances, by the way. Surely longer than gladius.
Lance in general was a weapon used by large percentage of all shock cavalry in history.
=============================================
Another fragment of cavalry charging (and defeating) close ordered infantry in close combat:
From the military report of Brigadier General Skarżyński, commander of the Reserve Cavalry Division, to the Commander In Chief, HQ in Miastków, written on 03.04.1831.
"Colonel Dembiński reporting: Seeing enemy infantry of the left wing forming squares*, I went with order from divisional commander to the head of our column. Along the road on the right side I gathered the 4th Squadron (Cpt. Zylewicz), moved it left and soon charged against that Russian battalion, which opened fire to the 4th Squadron. When only the 3rd Squadron formed in a battle formation, it also charged that infantry and surrounded them (...). General Skarżyński reporting: Our cavalry battalion [two squadrons mentioned above - Peter] quickly and bravely charged that infantry, despite shrapnel fire and rain of musket bullets. The enemy even for quite a long time fought against our cavalry in a square formation in close combat with use of bayonets, but in the end the entire enemy infantry force which was on the right side of the road was killed or surrendered."
*Note: in original report word "carré" was used when describing enemy infantry formation (square).
Sources:
http://ebuw.uw.edu.pl/dlibra/plain-content?id=94975
http://mazowsze.hist.pl/files/Rocznik_Mi...-s7-29.pdf
Events described above took place during the battle of Dębe Wielkie on 31.03.1831.
Report of the charge was written on 03.04.1831 as we can see - a few days after the battle. Fragments of the report quoted above were also published in a newspaper later, in 1831 (see the first link).
