The 17th Lancers Regiment at Ulundi, 4 July 1879

Cavalry regiments were the pride of 19th-century European armies. They were, however, increasingly anachronistic, with battlefield opportunities for the unleashing of the arme blanche (the sabre) becoming ever more rare in an age of magazine rifles, machine-guns, and quick-firing artillery. Many cavalrymen trained, exercised, and served through long careers without ever participating in that ultimate experience: the mounted charge to contact. Despite the huge expense of cavalry regiments, despite the bling and braggadocio of the regimental messes, virtually all the serious fighting was a matter of infantry and guns. Yet, when the opportunity arose, the ‘shock and awe’ of a mounted