Colonel Trench of the British Army says "the organization of the
regular cavalry is very defective," and especially complains of the
maladministration we have just noted. Demands for cavalry for the
Soudan were met by a heavy drain on the already depleted strength of
regiments in England. The Fifth Dragoon Guards, which stood next on
the roster for foreign service, gave away nearly two hundred horses
and one hundred men. Colonel Trench says that the reserve cavalry
have no training, and that there is no reserve of horses. It is
doubtful if more than seventy per cent. of the enlisted strength and
fifty per cent. of the horses, on paper, could be put in the field
now.
Allusion has already been made to the notorious weakness of the
British transport system. [Footnote: Captain Gaisford, who commanded
the Khaiber Levies in the Afghan campaign, recommended reforms in
the system of transport and supply. He advocated certain American
methods, as wind and water-mills to crush and cleanse the petrified
and gravelled barley, often issued, and to cut up the inferior hay;
the selection of transport employes who understand animals; and more
care in transporting horses by sea.
Pages:
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113