ttle. Often the cavalry reserve
is almost entirely with the advanced guard; but this does not prevent
its taking, when necessary, the place fixed for it in the line of battle
by the character of the position or by the wishes of the commanding
general.

From what has been stated above, my readers will gather that very great
changes of army organization took place from the time of the revival of
the art of war and the invention of gunpowder to the French Revolution,
and that to have a proper appreciation of the wars of Louis XIV., of
Peter the Great, and of Frederick II., they should consider them from
the stand-point of those days.

One portion of the old method may still be employed; and if, by way of
example, it may not be regarded as a fundamental rule to post the
cavalry on the wings, it may still be a very good arrangement for an
army of fifty or sixty thousand men, especially when the ground in the
center is not so suitable for the evolutions of cavalry as that near the
extremities. It is usual to attach one or two brigades of light cavalry
to each infantry corps, those of the center being placed in preference
to the rear, whilst those of the wings are placed upon the flanks. If
the reserves of cavalry are sufficiently numerous to permit the
organization of three corps of this arm, giving one as reserve to the
center and one to each wing, the arrangement is certainly a good one. If
that is impossible, this reserve may be formed in two columns, one on
the right of the left wing and the other on the left of the right wing.
These columns may thus readily move to any point of the line that may be
threatened.[45]

The artillery of the present day has greater mobility, and may, as
formerly, be distributed along the front, that of each division
remaining near it. It may be observed, moreover, that, the organization
of the artillery having been greatly improved, an advantageous
distribution of it may be more readily made; but it is a great mistake
to scatter it too much. Few precise rules can be laid down for the
proper distribution of artillery. Who, for example, would dare to advise
as a rule the filling up of a large gap in a line of battle with one
hundred pieces of cannon in a single battery without adequate support,
as Napoleon did successfully at Wagram? I do not desire to go here into
much detail with reference to the use of this arm, but I will give the
following rules:--

1. The horse-artillery should be pla