Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

CAVALRY ON FOOT. 205made ready to resist or fly should the phalanx advance.Alexander marched and countermarched theThenbody by eitherflank, going through the complicated drill of which Philip'sphalanx was supreme master.The enemy, who had been watching this i)arade with amazementalmost amounting to awe, and whose uncertainty aswhat it all meant gradually made him careless of his ownformation, was quite unprepared for a real attack, for thisdrill must have lasted some time.oftoSuddenly, as it were a partthis wonderful review, Alexander ployed his phalanx intoa wedge and launched it at a pas de charge by the leftat that part offlankthe enemy's army which was nearest him andmost open to attack. The barbarians made not even a pretenseof sustaining the shock, but at once fled from the lowermountain ridges. Hereupon Alexander gave the Macedoniansthe order to raise their war-cry and clash their spearsupon their shields.Still more alarmed, the Triballians, whohad so far been outside the gates, retired precipitately intothe town.A small force still remained on one of the ridges whichespecially commanded Alexander's line of retreat and theriver-ford over which he must cross.To dislodge this he hurriedthe Companion cavalry and some light horse towards theridge, with orders for half of them to dismount and fight onFor mountedfoot if the enemy remained to defend the place.men alone might not suffice. It will be seen that Alexanderfound useful, as we did in 1861-G5, that species of cavalrywhich could fight on foot as well as mounted. Traversing,as he often did, a rugged country, to perform this doubleduty made his horse doubly valuable.This same cavalry weshall see doing as splendid work in the saddle as the mostexacting heau sahreur could demand ; in fact, work neversurpassed in the world's history, despite the idea so often