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 Japanese commanders on the flank of the army a burden to them. Instead of which, life in the rear of the Japanese front has been a sinecure, a positive dolce far niente, undisturbed even by the distant flash of any of these sabres. Is this a proof that, if the sabres had been rifles, something could have been accomplished? Very far from it. It is because the Russian cavalry, armed as it is with rifle and—shade of Seydlitz!—bayonet, is trained to fight only on foot, thereby throwing away its most valuable weapon, mobility, that it has proved no more effective in the field than a flock of sheep. That the microscopic force of Japanese cavalry has held the Russian throughout the campaign—an exceedingly remarkable performance when it is remembered how indifferently the Japanese are mounted—testifies clearly enough that there must be something futile about the arming and training of the Russians They failed as cavalry and they failed as riflemen, and the reason of the failure was that they are neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring. They are organised as cavalry, but have been trained to dismount on service. In peace they are armed with lance and sword, and in war they are asked to fight with rifle and bayonet. Truly an absurdity, worthy of one of those nebulous units evolved by our own Parliamentary reformers. Last month Mishchenko, marching forty-five miles in four long summer days, again descended on the Japanese flank, accounted for a couple