At the Battle of Mars-la-Tours, the Prussian 12th Cavalry Brigade, commanded by General Adalbert von Bredow, conducted a charge against a French artillery battery. The attack was a costly success and came to be known as "von Bredow's Death Ride", which was held to prove that cavalry charges could still prevail on the battlefield. Use of traditional cavalry on the battlefields of 1914 proved to be disastrous, due to accurate, long-range rifle fire, machine-guns and artillery. Von Bredow's attack had succeeded only because of an unusually effective artillery bombardment just before the charge, along with favorable terrain that masked his approach. COUNT 5
QSN1 Who commanded the Prussian 12 Cavalry Brigade? ANS1 General Adalbert von Bredow QSN2 What did General von Bredow lead a charge against at the Battle of Mars-la-Tour? ANS2 a French artillery battery QSN3 What did von Bredow's Pyrrhic victory become known as? ANS3 von Bredow's Death Ride QSN4 What military tactic proved to be unsuccessful on the 1914 battlefields? ANS4 Use of traditional cavalry QSN5 What was one of two factors that led von Bredow's narrow success on the battlefield? ANS5 favorable terrain that masked his approach