Distance marching rates, infantry v cavalry

[Nathan Ross]

Hate to be a bit nit picky but if you put hay in a bag under the horse's nose you'll probably suffocate it. Grain, yes; hay no. And I'm not sure if horses would eat on the march in this manner...

Hate to try and out-nitpick Moi on equine matters, but wouldn't giving a horse unlimited access to a nosebag be a good way to give it colic? :-?

in which case, however, and pre-supposing interior lines of communication with infantry forces already on-site at the other end, as well as logistical support - then using an all cavalry reinforcing force becomes quite viable.

As for a central cavalry reserve; it makes strategic sense to have a reserve or units on call which can provide the sort of rapid reaction force you are talking about.

the cavalry would arrive on day 3 and the infantry day 4.

So it sounds like all are agreed that a cavalry reserve force could move faster than an infantry one, but only over lines of communication with supply depots, possibly even remounts along the way. And even then, they don't outdistance the infantry by a great amount of time! mile: