Reprint (with battle orders from 1792) of a work published in 1907 by Major Édouard Desbrière (1859-1924) and Captain Maurice Sautai (1868-1915), both of whom were working in the historical department of the French Army General Staff at the time. It was part of a more comprehensive study on the organisation and tactics of the three branches of the land forces: cavalry, infantry and artillery. The aim of this important work was to meet the wishes of senior military personnel and to instruct officers on the successive changes in the organisation and tactics of each branch of the armed forces. The aim was to restore the confidence of French soldiers, who were still suffering from the defeat of 1870 and eager to return to the path of victory, in their commanders and in the doctrine of the General Staff... The need for the army general staff to complete its work quickly at the beginning of the First World War had forced the authors of the historical section to present what they considered to be only a first attempt, which was to be perfected in the course of historical research. This work was not completed, but did it really need to be? The renowned military authors Édouard Desbrière and Maurice Sautai have left us this relevant and comprehensive study of the French cavalry at the time of the Revolution, accompanied by a brief presentation of their opponents at the time, who were to make life difficult for them in the first battles of 1792.
