Scherma di sciabola: metodo d'insegnamento adottato presso la scuola militare di cavalleria

It has been a while since we have taken a look at a non-Radaellian sabre text, and that has largely been due to such texts gradually becoming available elsewhere (I am obliged to mention KU Leuven and their ongoing high-quality digitisation of the Corble Fencing Collection). As a rare book, the subject of this article is one which has flown under the radar seemingly for its entire existence, although it has great relevance to our usual Italian context. The book's full title is Scherma di sciabola: metodo d'insegnamento adottato presso la scuola militare di cavalleria ('Sabre fencing: teaching method adopted at the cavalry military school'), published in 1861 by Giuseppe Chiantore of Pinerolo.

*** Scans ***

The Pinerolo cavalry school was at the time of this book's publication the only dedicated cavalry school for the Italian army, giving two-year long courses for NCOs and low-ranking officers. Although no author is named in the book, through military records we can make an educated guess as to who may have had a hand in writing it or contributing to the method it contains.

The 1858 and 1860 editions of Calendario generale del regno list the cavalry school's head fencing master as Lieutenant Clemente Doux.¹ Although there is no 1861 edition of this yearbook, it is likely that Doux relinquished this role that same year after being promoted to captain in March and then adjutant major in July.² The roll was filled in March 1862 by Carlo Marella, who stayed there for 3 years. In late 1862 the school began a brief experiment of being split into two separate institutions under unified command, one called the Cavalry Military School and the other the Cavalry Normal School, with only the latter aimed at creating instructors for the cavalry. No specific individual is named as fencing master for the Military School, merely 'a non-commissioned officer of the Cavalry Normal School', while Marella assumed direction of fencing at the Normal School.³

If Doux was not actually directly involved in the writing of this book, it is nevertheless likely that he taught the method described, given that it was supposedly a summarised account of the school's fencing curriculum:

The soldiers who take part in a training course at this Cavalry Military School are generally, when they return to their unit, entrusted with directing the teaching of fencing to the lowest ranks of their respective squadron.
This instruction has been compiled in order to facilitate their task, and in it one finds the lessons which they received here laid out progressively, and briefly reminded of the indispensable notes for the regular execution of the same.

Nothing is known of Clemente Doux's pedigree as a fencer, but he would later be known for his public criticism of Radaelli's method, submitting several articles to the military journal L'Esercito.⁴ Attempts to obtain these articles have so far been unsuccessful, but at the very least this short treatise provides the best guess as to what kind of sabre method Doux preferred.

Although the book describes what was being taught at a cavalry school, the method resembles a typical on-foot sabre fencing system of the time, and in fact it contains no specific exercises or technical advice for applying the method on horseback. Like most 'military fencing' books of the time, it is clear that fencing is the end for which the method is intended, as further reflected in its description of bouting and the recommended lesson structure: the material in part one of the book—describing the guard position, footwork, parries, exercise molinelli, and the lunge—is to be taught as a group, while parts two and three are done as individual lessons, with the master wearing a mask and plastron.

It is expected that 15 to 20 lessons are sufficient to teach the material in the book's first part, 35 to 40 lessons for part two, and part three taking even longer. The only note in the entire book about a cavalry application of the method is that such an application means that only the material in sections one and two are sufficient 'to make a soldier of even mediocre aptitude capable of fighting advantageously', requiring 50 to 60 lessons in total.

The techniques described are fairly standard for the time and, in part, recognisably Italian, namely the high extended guard of 3rd as well as the familiar parry positions and numbering: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th (the latter also taking the name 'yielding 2nd'). The exercise molinelli are wrist-centric done with an extended arm; only descending and rising molinelli are included, but separate cuts to the head and face are described later on. It is interesting to note that while the cutting mechanics in this book focus on wrist motion, unlike Parise the molinello is performed before contact is made with the opponent's body, instead of afterwards while recovering from the lunge.

The book contains one large fold-out plate of illustrations, depicting first position, the guards of 3rd and 4th, the seven parries, and a drawing of the master's plastron. The book is only 67 pages long, but is a valuable point of comparison with the other Piedmontese works of the period, such as the 1853 cavalry sabre instruction, Blengino, and Ferrero.⁵ Given that Giuseppe Radaelli was interacting with various cavalry officers such as Gerolamo Avogadro while teaching in Turin in the 1850s, his hall would have been visited by those who had previously learnt this very method, some at the Pinerolo school itself.

Special thanks to the kind staff of the Biblioteca Sportiva Nazionale for helping me see this book and the rest of their wonderful collection.

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1 Ministero dell'Interno, Calendario generale del regno pel 1858 con appendice di notizie storico-statistiche (Turin: Stamperia dell'Unione Tipografico-Editrice, 1858), 538; Ministero dell'Interno, Calendario generale del regno pel 1860 con appendice di notizie storiche sull'ultimo decennio (Turin: Stamperia dell'Unione Tipografico-Editrice, 1860), 914.^↩
2 See the March and July 1861 issues of Giornale militare 1861: Bollettino delle nomine, promozioni ed altre variazioni occorse negli uffiziali dell'armata di terra e di mare non che delle amministrazioni militare e marittima.^↩
3 Ministero della Guerra, Annuario ufficiale dell'esercito italiano 1863 (Turin: C. Cotte e F. Capellino, 1863), 779–804.^↩
4 Cited in: Achille Angelini, Osservazioni sul maneggio della sciabola secondo il metodo Redaelli (Florence: Tipi dell'Arte della Stampa, 1877), 3; Ferdinando Masiello, L'Italia Militare, 19 January 1878, 3.^↩
5 Istruzione pel maneggio della sciabola approvata dal Ministero di Guerra (Turin: Officina Tipografica di Giuseppe Fodratti, 1853); Cristoforo Blengino, Teoria di scherma sulla sciabola (Ivrea: Tipografia Violetta, 1851); Giovanni Battista Ferrero, Breve trattato sul maneggio della sciabola (Turin: Tipografia Subalpina di Marino e Gantin, 1868).^↩

1889 Italian Cavalry Regulations

Having already made available the 1873 and 1885 editions of the Italian cavalry regulations, today I am pleased to present the first volume of the 1889 edition, with its slightly shortened title Regolamento di esercizi per la cavalleria.

***Click here to view***

As it states on the title page and the notes on the following two pages, this version was explicitly 'experimental' due to the number and nature of the changes made to the previous 1885 version, the primary goal being to simplify the material and put it in a more logical order. While the first volume of the 1889 edition, containing the fencing material, is actually longer than the first volume of the 1885, the fencing material itself is indeed shortened slightly, reduced from 52 pages down to 48.

Like the previous edition, the fencing instruction of the 1889 regulations is heavily based on the Radaellian method, with Masaniello Parise's proposed cavalry sabre method having been rejected by a ministerial commission earlier the same year. In the years following, however, Parise's method would finally be approved for use in the cavalry with the help of Salvatore Pecoraro. Thus the 1889 cavalry regulations mark the last edition to feature Radaelli's method prior to the introduction of the Parise-Pecoraro method in 1891, which would remain in force until a more Radaellian-aligned method was reintroduced in 1912.

Compared to the previous version, the fencing instruction of the 1889 regulations gives less emphasis to the on-foot instruction and prioritises techniques that can be done as part of the come a cavallo or 'as if on horseback' part of training. Cut and thrust drills against a stuffed dummy are added to this section as well as paired drills between soldiers wearing masks and gloves. Slight changes to the positions can be seen for example in the guard position, which becomes a more retracted but still high 3rd, more resembling the first position for the thrust on horseback. A curious change is also found in the 'Principles and general rules', where instead of being told that the sabre should be wielded with a firm wrist, 'through movement of the forearm and never the hand' as in the 1885 edition, the 1889 regulations say to wield the sabre 'through movement of the forearm with the assistance of the hand.'

Due to the sheer number of pages in all three volumes of the regulations and the reduced relevance of the other material in relation to this blog, I have only provided scans of the first volume here. Nevertheless, if any researchers wish to read the second and third volumes (containing unit manoeuvres and accessory instructions, respectively), I would be more than happy to oblige.

Radaellian resistance at the Pinerolo cavalry school

In early 1891, the Italian cavalry was a hot topic among the nation's fencing commentators. The finishing touches had just been made to the new cavalry regulations which included Masaniello Parise's thrice-modified sabre method—referred to by some as the Parise-Pecoraro method. Although this new sabre instruction retained some features of the old Radaellian method, these reforms were mostly seen as a defeat by pro-Radaelli commentators and an example of Parise's tightening grip on fencing instruction in the Italian military.

Meanwhile a seemingly unrelated debate had been going on with regard to a proposal to move the army's cavalry school from the Piedmont town of Pinerolo to Albano, just outside Rome. While this debate would continue for a few more years and end with the school remaining in Pinerolo, at least one commentator thought that this existential threat to the school had rather insidious origins: in the director of the military fencing master's school Masaniello Parise. Below is a translation of this anonymous commentator's article, taken from the 22 January 1891 issue of Lo Sport Illustrato.

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After six years have passed without any more talk of it, this matter is back in the picture, which will certainly be under consideration, but on which we believe we are able to assert that no decision has been made, as one of the most important considerations is also that—which it is not clear how to provide for—of compensating Pinerolo in some way for the serious loss which it is going to suffer economically with the departure of the Cavalry School.

The reasons, aside from being less eccentric and closer to the capital, by transporting it to Albano there would be the better pastures and the better climate, since in winter everything in Pinerolo is under snow, while in Albano—save for the truly exceptional case of this icy cold year—there is never snow. But as for pastures, rather than better, they would perhaps be more abundant, but of poorer quality. And if it is true that the climate around Rome is milder in the winter, vice versa in summer—it is perhaps too hot.

It is true, however, that in Albano there would be very nice establishments, already offered by that municipality, and beautiful surroundings, offered by the nature of the place, among which the Campo di Annibale, excellent for drills.

There are the obvious reasons, but we believe there are also some hidden reasons to draw the Pinerolo School into the vicinity of the capital, and that is that, if we are not mistaken, to us Pinerolo seems to have always been the home of opponents of the Parise cavalry sabre method. Parise prevails at the Ministry, and with the school no longer being in Pinerolo but under the immediate gaze of he who can say with Dante:

Thus is it willed there where

what is willed can be done…

it would end with there being no more opposition.

But will it be so easy to succeed in this?

Besides, these are our ideas, and it is also possible that they are not exact. But they seem to us so likely and acceptable as to even add that, in order to settle things and not kick the hornet's nest, the school will perhaps end up being moved not to Albano, nor to Palestrina, nor to Pisa, but…to Florence, and specifically to the barracks and riding school in front of the Fortezza da Basso.

Only time will tell!

Parise's Method is Rejected

As mentioned in my previous article, on the 11th June 1889 Lo Sport Illustrato reported on the verdict of a commission headed by the Duke of Aosta, Prince Amedeo I, who was at the time Inspector General of the Cavalry. Here is the brief article in question:

"Cav. Masaniello Parise, winner of the competition announced by the Ministry of War in 1882 and Director of Scuola Magistrale Militare in Rome, presented as a practical application of his treatise an instruction in the handling of the sabre for the cavalry.
The Commission presided over by HRH the Duke of Aosta, Inspector General of the Cavalry, has voted against Cav. Parise's instruction, declaring itself in favour of keeping that which is in force, which is informed by Radaellian principles.
We will now see how the maestri of the cavalry and artillery regiments will act, given that at the Scuola Magistrale in Rome they officially teach a sabre system which cannot be implemented in practice in the army."

Thus we have yet more evidence that Radaelli's method was not only still in force in the cavalry in 1889, five years after Parise's sabre method became regulation, but that it was explicitly endorsed by Prince Amedeo, the Inspector General of the Cavalry.

As we will see in a future article, however, Parise did not give up on trying to implement his sabre method in the cavalry despite the fact that his implementations had been rejected multiple times.

1853 Italian Cavalry Sabre Exercise

Today I present the scans of the Italian military sabre exercise Istruzione pel maneggio della sciabola approvata dal Ministero della Guerra ("Instruction for the handling of the sabre, approved by the Ministry of War"), released in 1853 in Turin, which was then in the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. Since certain parts of the scans are difficult to read, I have also provided a transcription.

Original  |  Transcription

This short manual instructs cavalrymen in basic positions on foot (e.g. attention, flank left, etc.) and sabre exercises performed as if on horseback. Although it does not contain the Radaellian method, it is most likely the system that Radaelli was instructed to use during his volunteer military service in 1859. It therefore serves as a good insight into what Radaelli was responding to when he was developing his own cavalry system in the 1860s.

Here is a short list of some of the notable features of the sabre system detailed in this manual:

• The basic guard position is similar to Radaelli's parry of 5th.
• The "semicircle" parries seen in the 1873 cavalry regulations are also taught here.
• Cuts are numbered 1 to 6, identical to the English cuts.
• Thrusts are done with accompanying body movement.
• The molinelli exercises are performed entirely with the wrist and are not done on horseback.

Special thanks to Biblioteca Benincasa Ancona for providing the scans.

Radaelli's Military Campaign in 1859

If you have read Jacopo Gelli's short biography of Giuseppe Radaelli, you may remember that he served in the Monferrato Light Cavalry Regiment in the 1859 campaign against the Austrian Empire. Today I'm going to go over some of the details of that service, including an account of his squadron's action in the Battle of San Martino written by the commanding captain.

Much of this information comes from a 1908 book named Patria Esercito Re ('Homeland, Army, King') by Leopoldo Pullè, which is essentially an autobiography of his proud military career. Most importantly for us, though, is that in 1859 he served in the same squadron as our Giuseppe Radaelli.

Leopoldo Pullè

At the beginning of 1859, tensions between Piedmont-Sardinia and the Austrian Empire were reaching an all-time high due to the large military mobilisation taking place in Piedmont with their ally France (for a more detailed run-down of the political situation at this time I would encourage you to do your own reading on the Italian Risorgimento). Piedmont-Sardinia and France were mobilising for war against Austria in an effort to unite the Italian Peninsula. By February 1859 rumours of the coming war were all through the streets of Milan, which was then in the Austrian dominion.

With the great desire to see the Austrians kicked out of their homeland, about a dozen Milanese men, including Radaelli and Pullè, decided to flee Milan to avoid possible conscription in the Austrian army and to instead volunteer in the Piedmontese army. They crossed the Ticino River and went to Vigevano, where the Monferrato Light Cavalry was posted, the second squadron of which being under the command of Captain Gerolamo Avogadro. With more and more volunteers joining them in Vigevano over the coming weeks, Avogadro had the task of turning them into effective cavalry soldiers. Among their intensive training over the following months, Avogadro taught them a method of thrusting on horseback that was supposedly of his own invention. Here is how Pullè describes its execution:

The man on horseback, with his sabre in hand, had to prop himself up on the stirrups, tighten his knees, rise from the saddle, turn the left hand over and grip the horse’s withers between the thumb and index finger, and thus by leaning the body as far forward as possible, he strikes, then immediately goes back into guard.

This description closely resembles the method of thrusting on horseback described in the 1873 Cavalry Regulations, which was the implementation of Radaelli's sabre system on horseback. It seems possible, then, that Avogadro's method had some influence on Radaelli.

With their training completed and war being declared at the end of April, the volunteers joined the Monferrato Cavalry's 2nd squadron, with Avogadro taking command. The Monferrato regiment consisted of four squadrons, each with about 100 men. For a few weeks these four squadrons provided protection and reconnaissance as the Austrian army attempted to out-manoeuvre the French and Piedmontese armies. Once the majority of the French forces had arrived by mid May, however, the Austrians started pulling back eastward, at which point the allied forces took the offensive.

The allied forces were victorious in several engagements over the next month, with two squadrons of the Monferrato cavalry taking part in the Battle of Montebello; however, it wouldn't be until the 24th of June that Radaelli's squadron would take part in any action. On this day in eastern Lombardy, the French-Piedmontese forces unexpectedly came into contact with the Austrians. The engagements took place over a front of about 18 km centring on the town of Solferino, from which the battle takes its name. The Italians, however, engaged the Austrians about 7 km to the north of Solferino, near the town of San Martino. Below is the report written by Captain Avogadro himself, addressed to the regimental commander Alberto La Forest de Divonne, of his squadron's action on that day:

During the day of the 24th June, at about 12 o'clock, Your Lordship commanded me to escort the 5th Battery commanded by Captain di Bassecourt. When the battery was in position, one section was protecting its left flank, the other its right flank. With the retreat ordered, a platoon of each section spread out in open order to cover and protect the retreat of the artillery and a few battalions of the Pinerolo Brigade, who carried out a textbook retreat under deadly fire. In this action I lost the brave soldier Noirat, who was severely wounded in the thigh and died immediately after the surgical operation; his horse died on the spot. I am very grateful to be able to report to the commander of the Corp that the soldiers all kept a praiseworthy composure, even though it was the first time they had truly been under fire. The lieutenant Count Girolamo Fè conducted himself admirably well; not only by staying firm, but by showing great intelligence in transporting his section where it was needed, in due time; especially since a gun controlled by his section was missing its limber due to it having left a moment earlier for ammunition. Sergeant Martinoli distinguished himself in helping and guiding the young scouts and was the last to retreat, not wanting to leave the field without leading Noirat to safety. In order to inform Your Lordship well of each individual, one should not omit saying a few words of praise for the medic in 2nd [Squadron], who tended to several wounds under cannon fire, ahead of his squadron, and was admired by those who saw him.
The scout platoon on the right side commanded by the brave Cav. Della Rovere advanced to the right, and being informed by the infantry that a farmstead was occupied by the Austrians, they took action. Sergeant Crescio was the first, then Cav. Della Rovere accompanied by Corporal Contat, volunteer soldier Pullè, Corporal Ravoire, and soldiers Rischis, Deambrogio, and Mandreri; and they forced fifteen Tyroleans including their captain to surrender.
The captain handed over his sabre and sash to Cav. Della Rovere, the prisoners were divided with the infantry, and our men continued to hastily push back many Tyroleans who were harassing in the countryside.
With the retreat ended, and after a brief rest, the squadron resumed its escort of the 5th Battery; and if I am not mistaken, at around 4 o’clock, seeing that the infantry, tired and weary, were retreating in somewhat conspicuous groups, I brought the left section forward, and through cries and good example my soldiers encouraged their brothers-in-arms to move forward. On this occasion I lost the soldier Rasino, struck in the head by a ball. The volunteer soldier Franchelli, who stayed out of rank for special service, distinguished himself on every occasion. He rallied many deserters and once succeeded in leading a very large group onto the Bianca farmstead with the cry: Long live the King!
The section commanded by Count Fè encouraged other squads to advance. At the last slope the charge was struck by three cannons, but the death of Colonel Carminati rendered our efforts vain. The artillery advanced greatly. After a brief rest, helped rather strongly from the left through the effective use of artillery directed by Major Thaon di Revel, the position was finally occupied.
The artillery took position; part of the infantry too, and I—with the consent of the head of general staff Cav. Ricotti—brought myself along with the whole squadron to the right flank of the artillery, as it was the weakest side, covering myself with the slope of the hill.
The cannons on both sides had almost stopped firing; only the musketry on the right flank made itself heard. When this suddenly became stronger, and our exhausted infantry hastily retreated, I immediately sent out a request for assistance, and seeing the position so strongly threatened, I immediately sent Cav. Della Rovere, with the platoon in open order, to cover our retreat. Having seen myself that I had to deal with more than 500 men, I brought forward the whole squadron and had them charge in a column against the Austrians, perpendicular to our right flank. After the first charge I rallied the squadron, and charging towards our front I managed to sweep up the plateau and drive them back to the valley. The few infantry that were still found on the plateau pursued the enemy and victory was sealed with the cry of Long live the King and Long live Monferrato.
Everyone did their duty, but yet there were those who distinguished themselves among the good ones. Della Rovere’s horse was wounded and died the next day. This young man was admirable all day. Sergeant Crescio and the volunteer Franchelli did as much as they humanly could, and even the former, wounded in the first charge, carried on the second charge and only withdrew on the order of his captain. Corporal Chaperon, the bugler Giaj-via, corporals Feroglio, Rossi, and Astesiano; Sergeant Martinoli, volunteer Radaelli, Turati, soldier Gamba, Corporal Contat, Corporal Beauquis, Corporal Raviore, Corporal Domange, soldier Colletta, soldier Cucaredo, and volunteer Pullè. In short, it was a true challenge; everyone wanted to be the best.
Colonel, I am glad to also have been able to add a laurel leaf to the crown already made in Montebello, work which will not be the last.

For this action at San Martino, Avogadro was awarded the Gold Medal of Valour and the squadron was 'put on the order of the day' by the army (essentially equivalent to a mention in dispatches). As we can also see at the end of this account, both Pullè and Radaelli are given honourable mentions by Avogadro for having performed admirably in the day's action. Radaelli and Avogadro would continue to be in contact following the war, with both of them serving in the Monferrato Cavalry again in 1866. When Settimo Del Frate (who also volunteered with the cavalry in 1859) wrote his 1868 manual on Radaelli's sabre system, it was dedicated to one Colonel Gerolamo Avogadro.

1885 Italian Cavalry Regulations

Today I bring you digital scans (of photocopies) of the 1885 edition of volume 1 of the Italian Ministry of War's Regolamento di esercizi e di evoluzioni per la cavalleria:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B90B1IqWDLowa0JjajZiWTVRTGs

Previously I have provided the same volume from the 1873 edition and pointed out that it detailed the cavalry application of Radaelli's sabre system. Despite Parise's system becoming the new regulation system in 1884, these 1885 regulations still retain almost exactly the same sabre section from the 1873 edition, meaning that Parise's system had not yet been officially adopted in the cavalry by this time. What makes this all the more interesting is that in Gelli's 1888 booklet Resurrectio he claims that at that time the cavalry were still practising Radaelli's method on a large scale. Perhaps the cavalry never officially adopted Parise's system over Radaelli's, which would have been an implicit acknowledgement of the deficiencies of Parise's method in a cavalry application.

One curiosity particular to this document is a hand-drawn correction of the depiction of the second movement of the molinello to the head from the left.

A previous owner of this document evidently noticed that the depicted fencer's weight was not shifted fully to left leg as the description states, and so took it upon himself to correct this. There also seems to be some very faint writing to the right of the drawing, but sadly it is not legible on my photocopies.

As for the rest of the volume, a large section was added for instruction on the use of the cavalry carbine. This section consists of instructions for using the rifle both on horseback and on foot, and some bayonet exercises. There is also a section on the use of the Modello 1874 revolver. Aside from the removal of the section "Scuola delle Distanze", there do not seem to be any other major changes.

Special thanks to Biblioteca Malatestiana for providing the photocopies.

Radaelli's Horseback Sabre Method

**EDIT: A full translation of the cavalry regulations by Chris Holzman is now available here**

As a follow-up to my post from a few months ago in which I released the first volume of the Italian Ministry of War's 1873 cavalry regulations, I have written up a rough English translation of the section detailing the use of the sabre on horseback, which you may view with the following link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1m7GTEBnKkXLFt6RQUYCxbn6PRDLjbusZS0WntB6CGqw/edit?usp=sharing

Those of you familiar Masiello's 1891 manual La Scherma di Sciabola a Cavallo will notice the extreme similarity between Masiello's method and that detailed in this manual. Nevertheless, the 1873 cavalry regulations provide some other details that the reader may find interesting. I have also provided a summary of this cavalry system below. For further reading, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Holzman's translation of Masiello's aforementioned cavalry manual.

Guard Positions

The manual gives three guard positions, with all of them being "similar to the guard of 3rd" in Radaelli's system. It only describes the forward guard however, which has the grip above the bridle hand, the point in the direction of the left shoulder, and the edge facing down. The other guards are to the right and the left, which I can only assume are just the normal 3rd guard but with the arm on the right or left side.

Parries

The parries that are used on horseback are those of 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, low 3rd, low 4th, semicircle parry to right, and semicircle parry to the left. The parries of 1st to 6th are the same as those described in Del Frate's 1876 text, whilst low 3rd and low 4th are more similar to Rossi's versions of those parries, with the grip next to the right hip for low 3rd, and next to the left hip for low 4th.

The "semicircle" parries are the same as Masiello describes in his horseback sabre manual, and are used to parry thrusts from bayonets and lances. They are performed by holding the arm and sabre straight up, then vigorously swinging the sabre in a circle, finishing back in the starting position, ready to strike a downward blow.

Cuts

The cuts are distilled down into descending and horizontal cuts. The descending cuts are performed in the same manner as Radaelli's coupés, and are aimed either at the opponent's head or bridle hand. The horizontal cuts are exactly the same as Radaelli's two molinelli to the face. Note the complete absence of the molinelli to the head and the rising molinelli. In all the blows, the cavalryman must also lean their body in the direction of the blow to increase its power and reach, supporting themselves by leaning on the horse's neck with their bridle arm.

Thrusts

Thrusts are performed either horizontally to an opposing cavalryman's chest or abdomen, or downward towards infantry. The cavalryman brings their elbow back to the line of their shoulders, the sabre in line with the forearm, then thrusts in the desired direction with the supporting movement of the torso.

The Charge

The first row of cavalrymen are in the position described above for the thrust, with their elbow drawn back and the sabre pointing forward in line with the forearm. The second row is in the position of parry of 5th.

1873 Italian Cavalry Regulations

***NOTE: A full translation of this text is now available here, courtesy of Chris Holzman.***

Below you will find a link to scans of the first volume of a military cavalry manual entitled Regolamento di esercizi e di evoluzioni per la cavalleria (basically "Regulation exercises and movements for the cavalry"), published by the Ministry of War in 1873.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B90B1IqWDLowNUhYTFU1MHVoejg

This manual contains various exercises for cavalry troopers training in the Italian army. Most importantly, at least in relation to this blog, are the exercises related to the handling of the cavalry sabre both on foot and on horseback. Although the manual is only attributed to the Ministry of War, the sabre method shown on foot is distinctly Radaellian. Furthermore, the section detailing the use of the sabre on horseback shows great resemblance to Masiello's cavalry system (See Holzman's Sabre Fencing on Horseback, 2015), which he supposedly based off Radaelli's cavalry method. Therefore I do not think it unreasonable to assume that this manual does indeed contain the direct application of Radaelli's method for the cavalry.

For those of you who have read Jacopo Gelli's Resurrectio (translation provided in here), you may remember Angelini citing an "1873 Regulation Exercise" to claim that Radaelli advocated the prioritisation of offending over parrying when on horseback. What I have published today is indeed the manual Angelini was referring to (the passage he references is on page 81), and while it is highly unlikely that Radaelli wrote this manual himself, Angelini's belief that he did supports the assumption that Radaelli at least had something to do with the system presented.

In addition to these sabre exercises, the manual also contains gymnastic exercises, exercises for handling the lance, troop movements on foot, methods of judging distances, and sheet music for bugle calls.

Special thanks to Bibliotecha Statale di Cremona for providing the scans.