3-039-001 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

A squadron of cavalry of General Chanzy's army, 1871. Franco-Prussian War. 'A French correspondent with the army of General Chanzy, in the west of France, contributes an illustration of the odd mixture of uniforms, men, and horses in the cavalry of that luckless army, which was hastily and imperfectly formed after the loss of Orleans. It is now stationed in the neighbourhood of Laval, in Brittany, having been greatly weakened by the eight days' fighting which ended with the capture of Le Mans. Many of the newly mounted troopers were raw recruits, who had scarcely ever sat a horse before, and had never seen fire. Each of these inexperienced youths, as shown in our Artist's sketch, was placed between two of the older cavalry soldiers'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.