War and the Arme Blanche

The opening of this work places listeners squarely in the debate that shaped cavalry in the late nineteenth‑century battlefield. It traces how mounted troops, long defined by lance and sword, began to confront the reality of rifled firearms and the uneasy shift from shock tactics to firepower. By anchoring the discussion in the South African conflict, the author shows how tradition and technology collided on dusty plains and in fierce charges.

Drawing on historic figures from Cromwell to contemporary field‑marshals, the narrative examines the training methods that prized uniformity of pace and massed maneuver while often neglecting the individual soldier’s skill with a rifle. It asks whether the old “arme blanche” doctrine could survive when rifles were relegated to buckets on a horse’s side. Listeners will gain insight into the tactical dilemmas, the physical and psychological challenges of mounted warfare, and the broader question of how armies adapt—or resist—change.