Chap­ter IV – The Cav­al­ry Gen­er­al begins by high­light­ing the need for cal­cu­lat­ed move­ment and proac­tive think­ing dur­ing a mil­i­tary cam­paign. A cav­al­ry gen­er­al must reg­u­late the pace of the march to pre­serve the sta­mi­na of both hors­es and rid­ers. Alter­nat­ing between rid­ing and march­ing light­ens the load and keeps the unit respon­sive over long dis­tances. The gen­er­al is encour­aged to avoid fatigue by observ­ing indi­vid­ual con­di­tions and adapt­ing the order of move­ment accord­ing­ly. These march­ing pat­terns should be prac­ticed reg­u­lar­ly to increase cohe­sion and dis­ci­pline. By keep­ing the rou­tine flex­i­ble yet struc­tured, the troops gain con­fi­dence in the lead­er­ship and trust their readi­ness. A unit trained to adapt its for­ma­tion to var­i­ous ter­rains will find itself stronger when unpre­dictabil­i­ty aris­es.

Flex­i­bil­i­ty in for­ma­tion is empha­sized, espe­cial­ly when nav­i­gat­ing tight pas­sages or cross­ing open ter­rain. Nar­row fronts must be employed when pass­ing through defiles, while broad­er lines should be adopt­ed in spa­cious areas to main­tain align­ment and vis­i­bil­i­ty. These shifts must be seam­less, achieved only through pri­or drills con­duct­ed dur­ing the march. Rep­e­ti­tion ensures that reac­tions become instinc­tive, min­i­miz­ing hes­i­ta­tion in real com­bat sce­nar­ios. Strate­gic for­ma­tions are not only practical—they sig­nal pre­pared­ness to both allies and adver­saries. Drilled for­ma­tions can also boost morale by instill­ing a sense of order and mas­tery over com­plex move­ments. Sol­diers who feel com­pe­tent in their exe­cu­tion are more like­ly to remain calm under threat, rein­forc­ing uni­ty with­in the ranks.

Patrols play a vital role in extend­ing the gen­er­al’s aware­ness beyond the imme­di­ate path. Scouts are sent to sur­vey the ter­rain ahead, iden­ti­fy poten­tial haz­ards, and assess ene­my activ­i­ty from a dis­tance. A skilled gen­er­al places sig­nif­i­cant trust in these advance units, using their reports to adjust posi­tion­ing and avoid dan­ger­ous con­fronta­tions. Ter­rain that appears open may con­ceal threats, and scouts help deter­mine which routes offer the best advan­tage or pro­tec­tion. This form of pre­emp­tive intel­li­gence gath­er­ing is cru­cial to avoid­ing ambush­es and ensur­ing the safe­ty of the rear guard. With­out effec­tive scout­ing, even a large, well-trained cav­al­ry could fall into sim­ple traps set by a more informed ene­my. For this rea­son, the prac­tice of recon­nais­sance becomes as essen­tial as com­bat train­ing.

Local knowl­edge is a pow­er­ful asset. Whether drawn from friend­ly cit­i­zens, mer­chants, or vet­er­ans of pre­vi­ous cam­paigns, such insight allows the gen­er­al to plan ambush­es or evade detec­tion with greater effi­cien­cy. In unfa­mil­iar lands, trust­ed locals can reveal secret paths, water sources, or rest­ing points unknown to out­siders. The use of spies before con­flict begins gives the cav­al­ry an edge that no amount of brute strength can replace. How­ev­er, depen­dence on espi­onage must nev­er over­ride the dis­ci­pline of rou­tine watch-post duties. A strong bal­ance is needed—intelligence should sup­port, not replace, con­sis­tent sur­veil­lance. When spies go unde­tect­ed and blend into the envi­ron­ment, they can relay invalu­able updates about ene­my plans or vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties. Their infor­ma­tion, paired with alert sen­tries, becomes a pow­er­ful tool for antic­i­pat­ing threats and dis­rupt­ing oppos­ing move­ments.

Ambush­es and hid­den pick­ets are pre­sent­ed as tools of psy­cho­log­i­cal and strate­gic war­fare. A gen­er­al who con­ceals his posi­tions well can force ene­mies to hes­i­tate, sow­ing doubt before swords are even drawn. Secret­ly placed out­posts cre­ate a sense of invis­i­bil­i­ty and threat that keeps the ene­my from advanc­ing con­fi­dent­ly. Occa­sion­al­ly, decoys—such as exposed vedettes or scat­tered guards—are delib­er­ate­ly posi­tioned to mis­lead ene­mies into advanc­ing toward traps. This dual use of con­ceal­ment and vis­i­ble bait becomes a pat­tern of mis­di­rec­tion that is hard to counter. When used effec­tive­ly, it not only con­serves resources but achieves objec­tives with min­i­mal con­fronta­tion. Fear of the unknown, espe­cial­ly at night or in unfa­mil­iar ter­ri­to­ry, often proves more effec­tive than direct engage­ment. Thus, the psy­cho­log­i­cal impact of hid­den defense is ampli­fied when paired with accu­rate ter­rain knowl­edge.

Strate­gic effi­cien­cy demands that attacks tar­get only the weak­est points of the ene­my line. Cav­al­ry should avoid broad con­fronta­tions unless ter­rain and tim­ing are entire­ly in their favor. By apply­ing pres­sure selec­tive­ly, gen­er­als can cause pan­ic or con­fu­sion, weak­en­ing ene­my morale and dis­rupt­ing for­ma­tions. Recon­nais­sance from high ground or con­cealed areas should guide all major deci­sions. Mak­ing informed choic­es based on these obser­va­tions allows for more focused oper­a­tions that reduce unnec­es­sary risks. This form of pre­ci­sion war­fare reduces casu­al­ties while increas­ing con­trol over engage­ments. The general’s goal is not only to win but to win smart­ly, pre­serv­ing strength for the broad­er cam­paign ahead.

A key take­away from this chap­ter is the val­ue of strate­gic fore­sight paired with on-the-ground flex­i­bil­i­ty. No mat­ter how well-trained a cav­al­ry unit may be, suc­cess depends on how intel­li­gent­ly that force is deployed. From man­ag­ing ter­rain to lever­ag­ing decep­tion, every deci­sion must be weighed against long-term goals. Effec­tive lead­er­ship stems not just from courage or charis­ma, but from an abil­i­ty to under­stand sub­tle shifts in oppor­tu­ni­ty and threat. That’s why drills, obser­va­tion, and intel­li­gence gath­er­ing are not sup­port­ing elements—they’re foun­da­tion­al. A gen­er­al who plans every move­ment care­ful­ly, trains con­sis­tent­ly, and adapts swift­ly can out­ma­neu­ver larg­er forces with few­er loss­es.

These lessons remain rel­e­vant even in mod­ern strate­gic plan­ning. Whether in mil­i­tary, cor­po­rate, or civic lead­er­ship, the abil­i­ty to antic­i­pate risk, react nim­bly, and apply force where it counts sep­a­rates the suc­cess­ful from the over­whelmed. Com­mand isn’t about overpowering—it’s about out­think­ing. In The Cav­al­ry Gen­er­al, Chap­ter IV shows how con­trol, clar­i­ty, and cal­cu­lat­ed move­ment build the foun­da­tion of true strength on and off the bat­tle­field.