Ju wrote:Two books with a similar lesson of sabre, but the most interesting is the spear!
[nb. I believe the english word (at least in period) is also "lance"]
Ju wrote:They are the last evocation of spear-fencing in french military books!
Much as I would like to think that the practical experiences of the poilus had something to do with the disappearance from the curriculum, it's possible this was the last evocation simply because, once past tent-pegging, the lance seems to have been a difficult weapon to teach safely:
Reglement #354 wrote:Le combat [individuel] entre cavaliers armes l'un de la lance et l'autre du sabre, ou tous deux de la lance, ne s'execute qu'à l'allure du pas.
Reglement #361 wrote:Les coups de hampe et de sabot peuvent être d'un grand secours ; ils servent dans la mêlée pour se dégager de plusieurs attaques, et aussi pour arrêter au besoin le cheval d'un adversaire qui poursuit. Il en est de même des moulinets en roue qui, lorsqu'ils sont vigoureusement faits, tiennent tout le monde à distance. Mais ces coups sont interdits en instruction, car ils risqueraient d'atteindre les chevaux et de les rendre rétifs
My interpretation is that, even though troopers who had to practice individual combat under the instructors' watchful eyes were strictly limited to walk when a lance was involved, the troopers who were judged to have enough control to join the group combats[0] had free choice of gait[1]. Even so, they still weren't allowed to use « moulinets en roue » for safety reasons[2].
[0] is "bourgeron vs. veste" something like the english "shirts vs. skins"?
[1] otherwise the reference to pursuit is almost comical.
[2] anticipating Patton's comment that T-boning, however effective in the field, was too dangerous to train.