LANCE, a form of spear used by cavalry. The date of its introduction into civilized armies is difficult to trace. Its employ ment can definitely be traced to the Assyrians and Egyptians. The Greeks and Romans also appear to have used lances, no standard pattern and common to both horse and foot.' An act of Henry II., in 1181, referring to military organization, states that : "All burgesses and the whole community of freemen shall have a wambais (i.e., a leather doublet padded with cotton), a chaplet of iron and a lance." The purpose of the lance in the lat ter part of the i6th century is described by Barnaby Rich in his Pathway to Military Practice (published 1587), thus: "Cavalry hath been divided into foure kinds, the first men at armes, them selves armed complet, and theyr horses likewise barded, and were to give the first charge, to discover the squadrons or battalions of pikes. The second launces, lighter armed with corselets. . . . The third light horsemen, commonly armed with a coat of plate, with a light staffe charged on the theigh. . . . The fourth and last called shot-on-horsebacke, but now lately called Carbines . . . these carbines may skyrmidge loosely, and delivering theyr vol leies are not able to stand any charge, but must retire to the launce for his safety." As the "weapon of chivalry" it was about 16f t. long,' but with the passing of the mail-clad knight it disappeared from the armies of Europe for a few centuries, though Cromwell's troops are recorded as having suffered severely from "Scottish lancers" at the battle of Dunbar in 1650. In 1655 some Spanish 'Alexander Adam, in Antiquities of the Romans, calls lances "long javelins." 'On the George of the Order of the Garter a long lance is shown.
lancers at San Domingo put to flight many times their number of English not so armed. The introduction of firearms revolutionized the tactics of cavalry, as of other arms, and when Frederick the Great reorganized his cavalry in he introduced a lancer troop into each of his hussar regiments. Lancer regiments in the modern sense date from 1807, when Napoleon raised a regiment of Polish lancers. In fact, lances were used much more in eastern Germany, Poland and Russia than elsewhere in Europe. In 1811 Napoleon converted nine dragoon regiments into lancers, whose success against the British at Waterloo (1815) led directly to the formation of the first British lancer regiments in 1816. Under a General Order dated 19th Sept., 1816, the 9th, 12th, 16th and 23rd Light Dragoons were converted into "Lancers." The 17th Light Dragoons were similarly converted in 1822 and the 21st Hussars in 1896. The 5th Dragoons were disbanded in 1799 but were re embodied in 1859 as the 5th Lancers (which now forms, with the i6th Lancers, a composite regiment known as the i6th-5th Lancers).
Since 1816 there has been a perennial controversy—sword v.
lance. Though Montecucculi called it "the queen of weapons" its chief disadvantage has been that it is not adapted for swift parries; it was useful in the "first shock" but not in the "melee" that might follow. This led to the lancer being armed with a sword as well as a lance, thus adding weight to the horse, and as the opportunities for shock action in modern warfare are now so few, this increased burden is hardly justified. Further, the present day thrusting sword practically takes the place of the lance, without the latter's disad vantage in the melee. Moreover, the lance was always in the way when dismounting for fire action. The charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman in Sept. 1898 demonstrated the value of the weapon against a savage or semi-civilized enemy. In the British service it was abolished in 1927 (Army Order 392) except for ceremonial purposes. The World War provides very few instances of charges with the lance, those of the 12th Lancers at Cerizy and the 9th at Moncel, in Aug. and Sept. 1914, being practically the only in stances in France; the 21st Lancers delivered an effective charge against the Mohmands on the North-west Frontier of India in 1916, and in Palestine, the 2nd (Indian) Lancers brought off a very successful charge against the Turks at Lejjun in Allenby's final advance over the Plain of Esdraelon in Sept. 1918.
In the Japanese army the lance is only carried by the Guard cavalry regiment and that only for ceremonial purposes. It is not taken to the field. In Europe the lance still survives in (a) Poland, where the front rank personnel below the rank of sergeant carry lances as well as swords; (b) Estonia, where 5o% of each squad ron carries lances; (c) Latvia; and (d) Lithuania, where a propor tion of cavalry carry lances. All other European countries have abolished it as a fighting weapon.
As regards design, in 1816 it was i6ft. long and had a small Union flag below the point. The length was reduced to 9f t. iin. in 1829 and the familiar red and white pennon substituted for the Union flag. The point or head has varied from time to time. The small pike point, the broad spear point and a leaf-shaped point have all been tried, but a triangular point was finally adopted.
The staff was originally made of ash, impregnated with a mixture of linseed oil and tar, but was superseded in 1868 by the male bamboo, which is tough and elastic. However, difficulties arose in connection with the supply of bamboos and the ash was re introduced in 1885 and the two types were used together, until 1926, when bamboo was alone used. The lance always had a sling of hide, and a leather protector was added in 1883 to prevent the carbine from chafing the staff when slung. The butt was carried in a leather "bucket" attached to the stirrup. (T. J. E.)