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 CAVALRY to passage, and to make the turns and circles; after this he will be taught to canter. All this having been done on the bridoon or snaffle-rein, he will now be bitted, steady straightforward work being done for about a fortnight so as not to spoil his mouth. The drill of the ride is gradually taken up, and the horse is accustomed to carry the sword and the carbine bucket. After about six months’ training he should be taught to jump, first of his own accord without a rider, and then mounted. He must be trained to stand fire, and after about eight months to go down the heads and posts. Finally, he may work with the other young horses in the field; and after twelve months he should be fit to take his place in the ranks, as a five- or six-year-old, as the case may be. An article in the “ Badminton Library ” volume on Riding, by Captain Robert Weir, gives an excellent description of how to train young horses. Throughout his training the horse must be encouraged, lessons being short, and everything done as quietly and gently as possible. “ Never act with anger towards a horse is the first and best precept that can be impressed upon the mind.” Xenophon wrote this twenty-three centuries ago, and it is as true now as it was in his time. Generally speaking—for war naturally creates an exception—the supply of troop horses for the British cavalry comes principally, but by no means exclusively, from Ireland. They are bought at ages of from rising 4 to 7 (usually rising 4 to 5 and untrained); their height ranges from 15.2 to 16 hands, and the price paid is, as a rule, from £30 to £40. The remount department, with which the horse supply rests, consists of the inspector-general of remounts, 3 assistant purchasing officers, 2 staff captains who have charge of the remount depots at Woolwich and Dublin, 2 captains and quartermasters of the Army Service Corps who deal with forage, &c., and 3 veterinary surgeons. The horses are sent direct to their destined regiments, or temporarily retained at one of the two remount depots at Woolwich or Dublin. For purposes of supply in time of war there is a system of registration which was introduced by General Ravenhill in 1892, by which a retaining fee of 10s. per horse per annum is paid to owners on condition that they produce the horse at forty-eight hours’ notice, or render themselves liable to a fine of £50. The price at which each horse is to be bought, if taken, is arranged between the owner and inspector from year to year; the agreement may be terminated at six months’ notice on either side. For purposes of registration Great Britain and Ireland are divided into fifty districts, to each of which a veterinary surgeon is attached. It is estimated that there are 3,000,000 horses in the British isles. Selected officers are also sent to foreign countries for the purchase of remounts when occasion demands. With regard to the supply of horses to foreign armies, some are obtained by purchase as in England, but many are bred at the Government haras or breeding establishments. Horses are, as a rule, well trained before being sent to their regiments, a system which prevents men from being taken from the ranks in order to break the young horses. 'The same organization of cavalry holds good, with few exceptions, throughout the great military nations of the world. A cavalry division consists of 2 brigades ; ffon"'*3" a t)rigade of 2 regiments (3 in the case of England) ; a regiment of 4 to 6 service squadrons and a depot squadron. In the British army there are only 3 service and 1 depot squadrons, and an English cavalry regiment meeting a foreign regiment in the field would consequently be outnumbered by from 150 to 450 men. The tactical unit is the squadron, which consists as a rule of 150 men, and is divided into four troops of roughly from 25 to 35 men, and each troop is divided into three or

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four sections. The war establishment of an English cavalry brigade consists of the following :— Staff—4 officers, 17 warrant 17.0.0.s, and 19 men. 3 Cavalry regiments—75 officers and 1518 men, 3 machine guns. 1 Battery R.H. A.-—6 officers, 176 men, 6 guns. Ammunition column—4 officers, 106 men. 2 Companies mounted infantry—12 officers, 294 men, 2 machine guns. Supply column—5 officers, 120 men. Bearer company—3 officers, 94 men. Field hospital—5 officers, 56 men. Total, 114 officers and 2383 men. 2448 Horses, of which 9 are pack and 556 draught. 32 Two-horse vehicles, including 5 machine guns. 82 Four-horse vehicles. 22 Six-horse vehicles, including 6 R.H.A. guns. Although the squadron system obtains throughout Europe, there are of course details of equipment which vary in different armies. Thus the Germans since the war of 1870 have armed the whole of their cavalry with lances, using hollow steel instead of ash or bamboo poles. The Austrians, on the other hand, since 1885 have abolished the lance; and the French have no lancers, but the front rank of their dragoons carry lances. In Great Britain, besides the regular lancer regiments, the front ranks of dragoon guards and dragoons are also armed with lances. The Russians have two lancer regiments of the guard, and vast numbers of Cossack lancers, but the 56 dragoon regiments of the line which form the main body of the Russian regular cavalry are armed with long rifles and bayonets. The Italians arm their first 10 regiments with lances. The remaining Italian cavalry carry carbines with a light bayonet, which when not wanted is inverted over the cleaning-rod. The French supplement their cavalry with infantry cyclists, using the folding cycle invented by their commander, Major Gerard. The machine can be folded up and slung on the back in thirty seconds. It is claimed by the French that the cycle has proved its usefulness for military purposes, and that wherever the roads are good and the country suitable they will play an important part in future wars. Other nations are beginning to follow suit, all using cyclists as messengers whenever possible, to save their horses. TheBerthon boat accompanies German cavalry. In Great Britain two companies of mounted infantry are attached to a cavalry brigade; these are simply mounted riflemen, and are not expected to fight on horseback. A machine gun is attached to every British cavalry regiment and to each company of mounted infantry, but has not as yet been adopted by the cavalry of foreign nations. The French alone maintain the cuirass for war, unlike other nations who use it only for parade. The 13 regiments of cuirassiers are armed with straight swords, 47 inches long, and revolvers, and are also provided with 60 carbines per regiment. The Hungarian cavalry are all hussars. The Austrian cavalry consists of uhlans and dragoons. The Austrians supplement their cavalry with quick marching infantry, and 35 miles in a day is no unusual distance for Austrian foot to cover on manoeuvres. Signallers are trained to a great degree of proficiency in the British cavalry, but are little used by other nations. Automobiles and motors have been experimented with in both Austria and France for military purposes, and particularly for cavalry transport. The above are some of the points of difference of equipment that occur in the cavalry of Europe. Drill, except in the case of the Russian dragoons, is practically the same throughout, the great desideratum being to make it as simple as possible. Yeomanry.—The first idea of yeomanry appears in 1745, when the gentlemen of Yorkshire raised a royal regiment of hunters to fight against Prince Charles Edward. The idea was resuscitated at the end of the 18th century, when Great Britain was in dread of an invasion by Napoleon.