Speaker 1: Chapter five of the British Army from Within by E.
Speaker 1: Charles Vivian. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
Speaker 1: Chapter five Cavalry. Practically any man of the twenty eight
Speaker 1: cavalry regiments of the Line will announce with pride that
Speaker 1: he belongs to the right of the line. By this
Speaker 1: claim is meant that if the British Army were formed
Speaker 1: up in line, the regiment for which the claim is
Speaker 1: made will be on the right of all the rest.
Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, this claim on the part
Speaker 1: of the cavalryman is incorrect, for when the Royal Horse
Speaker 1: Artillery parade with their guns, they take precedence of all
Speaker 1: other units except the household cavalry. British cavalry is divided
Speaker 1: normally into three regiments of household cavalry and twenty eight
Speaker 1: cavalry regiments of the Line. These latter are subdivided into
Speaker 1: seven regiments of dragoon guards, three of dragoons, and eighteen
Speaker 1: regiments of lancers and hussars. Theoretically, lancers take precedence over hussars,
Speaker 1: but in action will practice. The two classes of cavalry
Speaker 1: are about equal. Dragoon guards and dragoons rank as heavy cavalry.
Speaker 1: Lancers are supposed to be of medium weight, and hussars
Speaker 1: like cavalry. In reality, dragoon guards and dragoons are slightly
Speaker 1: heavier than other core except the household cavalry, who are
Speaker 1: heaviest of all, but lancers and hussars are of about
Speaker 1: equal weight. Both as regard horses and men, the possession
Speaker 1: of a horse and the duties involved thereby render the
Speaker 1: work of a cavalryman vastly different from that of an infantryman.
Speaker 1: In the matter of guard duties. For instance, it would
Speaker 1: be possible, in time of peace to abolish all infantry
Speaker 1: guard duties without affecting the well being of the units concerned.
Speaker 1: In cavalry regiments, on the other hand, it is absolutely
Speaker 1: necessary that a certain number of men should be placed
Speaker 1: on night guard over the stables, since horses are capable
Speaker 1: of doing themselves a good deal of harm in the
Speaker 1: course of a night if left to the mind. This
Speaker 1: is only one instance of the difference between cavalry and infantry,
Speaker 1: but it must be apparent to the most superficial observer
Speaker 1: that a vast difference exists between the two arms of
Speaker 1: the service. Cavalrymen affect to despise the infantry, whom they
Speaker 1: term foot sloggers and beetle crushers, while various other uncomplimentary
Speaker 1: epithets are also applied at times to the men who
Speaker 1: walk while the cavalry ride. Each section of the cavalry
Speaker 1: has its own particular prides and prejudices. The household cavalry,
Speaker 1: for instance, consider themselves entitled to look down on the
Speaker 1: regiments of the line. Lying cavalrymen conversely affect to despise
Speaker 1: the men of the household brigade, who they say counted
Speaker 1: a hardship to go to Windsor and never get nearer
Speaker 1: to foreign service than Aldershot. Further, a dragoon guard considers
Speaker 1: himself immensely superior to a mere dragoon. Both look down
Speaker 1: a long way down on the thought of service in
Speaker 1: the lancer, and all three affect to despise the idea
Speaker 1: of serving as hussars. In the meantime, The hussars declare
Speaker 1: that dragoons are big, heavy and useless, while lancers are
Speaker 1: not much better, and the hussar is the only perfect cavalryman.
Speaker 1: All this, however, is a matter of good humored chaff,
Speaker 1: and in reality Dragoons and lancers, or dragoons and hussars,
Speaker 1: are any two regiments belonging to different branches of the cavalry,
Speaker 1: when placed side by side in the same station, respect
Speaker 1: each other's qualities without undue regard to their particular designations.
Speaker 1: Among the many little legends and traditions of the cavalry
Speaker 1: that attached to the Carabineers six Dragoon Guards is as
Speaker 1: interesting as any, though not a particularly creditable one. It
Speaker 1: is alleged that some time during the Peninsular Campaign this
Speaker 1: regiment misbehaved itself in some way, and the sentence passed
Speaker 1: on it was to the effect that officers and men
Speaker 1: alike should no longer wear the red tunic to Dragoon
Speaker 1: and Dragoon Guard regiments. Thenceforth a blue tunic is substituted
Speaker 1: for the more brilliant red, and in addition, a mocking
Speaker 1: tune was substituted for the ordinary cavalry revelle, while the
Speaker 1: band was ordered to play before revelle each morning. Possibly
Speaker 1: the band was guilty of exceptionally bad behavior in order
Speaker 1: to merit this extra special punishment. In any case, the
Speaker 1: blue tunic, the revelle, and the band playing have persisted
Speaker 1: unto this day, and even yet it is unsafe to
Speaker 1: inquire too closely of a carabineer into the reason of
Speaker 1: his wearing a blue tunic while all others of his
Speaker 1: kind were read, although the regiment elected to retain the
Speaker 1: blue tunic when a further change of color was proposed.
Speaker 1: Another tradition is that of the eleventh Hussars, who, on
Speaker 1: one historical occasion were supposed to have covered themselves in
Speaker 1: gore and glory to such an extent that the original
Speaker 1: color of their uniforms, and especially that of their riding bridges,
Speaker 1: was no longer visible. For this meritorious feet, which is
Speaker 1: more or less authentic, the regiment was granted the privilege
Speaker 1: of wearing cherry colored riding breeches and overalls, and this privilege,
Speaker 1: like the carabineer's blue jacket, still survives. It is hardly
Speaker 1: necessary to add that the cherry picker, as the eleventh
Speaker 1: Husar names himself, is considerably prouder of his cherry colored
Speaker 1: pants than is the carabineer of his jacket. A different
Speaker 1: explanation of the color is that it was adopted in
Speaker 1: honor of the Prince Consort, and since the regiment still
Speaker 1: retains as its title the Prince Consort's own. The latter
Speaker 1: is more probably correct. From the beginning to the end
Speaker 1: of his service, the cavalryman never gets quite clear of
Speaker 1: riding school. Riding school work forms the chief portion of
Speaker 1: his training as a recruit, when he is taught to
Speaker 1: ride both with and without stirrups, to take jumps with
Speaker 1: folded arms, to vault on too a horse's back, and
Speaker 1: in brief to do all that can be done with
Speaker 1: a horse. Supposing him to be an average horseman, he
Speaker 1: comes back to riding school annually, at least to refresh
Speaker 1: his memory with the old riding school lessons, while if
Speaker 1: he is a really good horseman, he is set to
Speaker 1: training remounts, in the course of which he has to
Speaker 1: train practically unbroken horses to do their part in the
Speaker 1: work which he himself has learned on the back of
Speaker 1: a horse already trained. The best riders of all in
Speaker 1: a regiment are singled out as rough riders or riding
Speaker 1: school instructors, and their duty is to take charge of
Speaker 1: rides or remounts, to instruct men and horses too, and
Speaker 1: to pay particular attention to the breaking in of especially
Speaker 1: unmanageable young horses. The riding school training adopted in the
Speaker 1: British Cavalry is based on the system inaugurated by Beauchet,
Speaker 1: the famous French riding master who came over to England
Speaker 1: and revolutionized all ideas with regard to horse mastership in
Speaker 1: the early part of the nineteenth century. Under this system,
Speaker 1: a horse is taught to obey pressure of leg and
Speaker 1: rain to the fullest possible extent, and the bit mouthpiece
Speaker 1: forms only a part of the rider's means of control.
Speaker 1: By this means, the horse has saved a good deal
Speaker 1: of unnecessary exertion, which is an important thing as far
Speaker 1: as cavalry riding is concerned, since the object of the
Speaker 1: cavalrymen on active service is to save his horse as
Speaker 1: far as possible against the need for speed or effective
Speaker 1: striking power. Following on the work of the riding school,
Speaker 1: the cavalryman is taught on the drill ground to ride
Speaker 1: in line of troop at close order. Theoretically, the interval
Speaker 1: between men is six inches from knee to knee, but
Speaker 1: in practice the knees of the men are touching. When
Speaker 1: a troop of men can keep the line perfectly at
Speaker 1: a gallop a squadron line is formed. The culminating point
Speaker 1: of cavalry training is perfection of line in the lad
Speaker 1: the charge of which the rate of progression is the
Speaker 1: fastest pace of the slowest horse. A charge produces its
Speaker 1: greatest effect when the men ride close together and keep
Speaker 1: in line, the object being to effect a definite shock
Speaker 1: by throwing as much weight as possible against a given
Speaker 1: point at as great a pace as possible. The impact
Speaker 1: of the charge, in theory, carries the men who make
Speaker 1: it through and beyond the enemy against whom they have charged,
Speaker 1: when they are expected to break up their formation and reform,
Speaker 1: facing in the direction from whence they have come. The
Speaker 1: training which a man has to undergo in order to
Speaker 1: fit him for participating in these shock tactics is necessarily
Speaker 1: long and severe. In addition to this, cavalry training is
Speaker 1: directed toward a multiplicity of ends. In any military action,
Speaker 1: infantry have their definite place, which involves bearing the full
Speaker 1: brunt of attack, maintaining the defensive, or, in exceptional circumstances,
Speaker 1: assuming the offensive, and charging with the bayonet. Cavalry, however,
Speaker 1: very rarely bear the full brunt of a sustained attack,
Speaker 1: as their organization and equipment render them unfit for prolonged
Speaker 1: defensive operations. They are used generally on the flanks of
Speaker 1: a field force, for making flank attacks and pursuing retreating enemies.
Speaker 1: They are also used in small bodies known as patrols,
Speaker 1: as the eyes and ears of an army, preceding other
Speaker 1: arms of the service in the advance. They spy out
Speaker 1: and bring back information of the position and strength of
Speaker 1: the enemy, avoiding actual contact as far as possible. Work
Speaker 1: of this kind calls for such initiative and self reliance
Speaker 1: on the part of the rank and file, as infantrymen
Speaker 1: are seldom called on to exercise. Further, all cavalrymen are
Speaker 1: expected to be as proficient in the use of the
Speaker 1: rifle as are infantrymen, while they have also to learn
Speaker 1: the use of the sword and lance, still carry and
Speaker 1: use the lance, which carried by a certain proportion of
Speaker 1: the men in the ranks of the dragoon guards and
Speaker 1: dragoons at the end of the last and beginning of
Speaker 1: the present century, is no longer used by them. It
Speaker 1: will be seen from the foregoing that a properly trained
Speaker 1: cavalryman must be a thoroughly intelligent individual, and must be
Speaker 1: capable of greater initiative and possessed of more resource than
Speaker 1: his brother on foot. In many directions, also, he is
Speaker 1: required to exercise more initiative than the artillery man, who
Speaker 1: is always protected by an escort either of cavalry or infantry,
Speaker 1: and is called on to think for himself and work
Speaker 1: the gun himself only when all his officers and non
Speaker 1: commissioned officers have been shot to stillness. At first sight,
Speaker 1: it would appear that the lancer has an immense advantage
Speaker 1: over the man armed only with a sword, but in
Speaker 1: actual practice the man with the sword is slightly better off.
Speaker 1: The lancer gets one effective thrust, but if this is
Speaker 1: parried or misses its object, the man with the sword
Speaker 1: can get in two or three thrusts before the lancer
Speaker 1: has the chance for another blow. Thus, dragoons and dragoon
Speaker 1: guards lose little by the absence of the lance, since they,
Speaker 1: in common with all other cavalry regiments, still carry the sword.
Speaker 1: The American Army, by the way, is the only one
Speaker 1: so far which has tried the experiment of arming the
Speaker 1: rank and file of its mounted units with revolvers or pistols.
Speaker 1: In the British Army revolvers are carried only by sergeants
Speaker 1: and those of higher rank, and the rank and file
Speaker 1: trust to cold steel for mounted work, reserving the rifles
Speaker 1: which they carry for use on foot. The bane of
Speaker 1: the cavalryman's life, in his own opinion, is stables, where
Speaker 1: he spends about four hours each day in grooming, cleaning,
Speaker 1: sweeping out, taking out, betting and bringing it in, and
Speaker 1: various other duties. Grooming in a cavalry regiment is a
Speaker 1: meticulous business. The writer has personal knowledge of an acquaintance
Speaker 1: with a troop officer who used to make his morning
Speaker 1: inspection of the troop horses with white kid gloves on,
Speaker 1: and the horses were supposed to be groomed to such
Speaker 1: a state of cleanliness that when the officer rubbed the
Speaker 1: skin the wrong way, his gloves remained unsoiled. Such a
Speaker 1: state of perfection as this, of course, is possible only embarracks,
Speaker 1: and it is hardly necessary to say that the officer
Speaker 1: in question was not exactly idolized by his men. Like
Speaker 1: most youths fresh from Sandhurst, he was incapable of making
Speaker 1: allowances on maneuvers and under canvas, generally grooming is not
Speaker 1: expected to be carried to such a fine point as this.
Speaker 1: On active service, it frequently happens that there is no
Speaker 1: time at all for grooming, but the general rule is
Speaker 1: to keep the horses in such a state of cleanliness
Speaker 1: as will avert disease and assist in keeping the animals
Speaker 1: in condition. During the South African War, it was found
Speaker 1: that gray and white horses were dangerously conspicuous, and animals
Speaker 1: of this color were consequently painted khaki. It is not
Speaker 1: many years since a proposal was made that the Second Dragoons,
Speaker 1: known in the service as the Scots Grays, from the
Speaker 1: nationality of the men and the color of the horses,
Speaker 1: should have their gray horses taken from them and darker
Speaker 1: colored animals substituted. From the time of the founding of
Speaker 1: this regiment, its men have been proud of their Grays,
Speaker 1: and the order necessitating their disappearance caused a certain amount
Speaker 1: of outcry. In spite of the fact that modern military
Speaker 1: conditions rendered the substitution desirable. Regimental traditions die hard, and
Speaker 1: the Scots Grays elected to remain Grays in reality, while
Speaker 1: they will retain their name as long as the regiment exists.
Speaker 1: The cavalrymen, far more than the infantrymen, makes a point
Speaker 1: of wearing posh clothing on every possible occasion, Posh being
Speaker 1: a term used to designate superior clothing or articles of
Speaker 1: attire other than those issued by and strictly conforming to
Speaker 1: the regulations for walking out in town, a business commonly
Speaker 1: known as square pushing. The cavalryman who fancies himself will
Speaker 1: be found in superfine cloth overalls, wearing nickel spurs instead
Speaker 1: of the regulation steel pair, and with light, thin soled
Speaker 1: boots instead of the wellingtons with which he is issued.
Speaker 1: It is a commonplace among the infantry that a cavalryman
Speaker 1: spends half his pay and more on posh clothing. But
Speaker 1: probably the accusation is a little unjust. There is in
Speaker 1: the cavalry a greater percentage of gentlemen rankers than in
Speaker 1: any other branch of the service, and there are more
Speaker 1: queer histories attaching to men in cavalry regiments than in
Speaker 1: units of the other arms. The gentleman ranker usually shakes
Speaker 1: down to a level with the rest of the regiment.
Speaker 1: It has never yet come within the writer's knowledge that
Speaker 1: any officer accorded to a gentleman ranker different treatment from
Speaker 1: that enjoyed by the majority of the men. In spite
Speaker 1: of the assertions of melodrama writers on the subject, favoritism
Speaker 1: in the cavalry, as in any branch of the service,
Speaker 1: is fatal to discipline, and is not indulged in to
Speaker 1: any great extent, certainly not to the benefit of a
Speaker 1: gentleman rankers. As a whole, work and efficiency stand first.
Speaker 1: Social position in civilian life counts for nothing, and the
Speaker 1: gentleman ranker who joins the service with a view to
Speaker 1: a commission must prove himself fitted to hold it. From
Speaker 1: a military point of view, the gentleman ranker is frequently
Speaker 1: a remittance man, and in that case he is certain
Speaker 1: of many friends. For the frequenters of the canteen are
Speaker 1: usually short of money a day or two before pay
Speaker 1: day comes round, and thus the man with a well
Speaker 1: lined pocket is of material used to them. Disinterested friendships, however,
Speaker 1: are too in the army to call for comment, and
Speaker 1: many and many a case occurs of one cavalryman quick
Speaker 1: at his work, helping another at cleaning sadlery or equipment
Speaker 1: after he has finished his own, without thought or hope
Speaker 1: of reward. The mention of sadlery takes us back to stables,
Speaker 1: where the cavalryman goes far too often for his own
Speaker 1: peace of mind, although as a matter of fact, the
Speaker 1: three stable parades per day which he has to undergo
Speaker 1: are absolutely necessary for the well being of the horses.
Speaker 1: The really smart cavalryman is conspicuous not only for keeping
Speaker 1: his horse in exceptionally good condition, but also for the
Speaker 1: way in which he keeps the leather and steelwork of
Speaker 1: his saddle and head dress. Regulations enact that all steel
Speaker 1: work in the stables shall be kept free from rust
Speaker 1: and slightly oiled, and leather work shall be cleaned and
Speaker 1: kept in condition with soft soap and dubbin only. This regulation, however,
Speaker 1: is honored in the breach rather than in the observd
Speaker 1: for by the use of brick dust followed by the
Speaker 1: application of a steel link burnisher. Steel work is given
Speaker 1: the appearance of brilliantly polished silver, and various patent compositions
Speaker 1: are used on leather to give it a glossy surface,
Speaker 1: this latter with very little regard for the preservation of
Speaker 1: the leather. All this means a lot of extra work
Speaker 1: in the stable. For the cavalrymen. It is induced in
Speaker 1: the first place by one man desiring to give his
Speaker 1: outfit a better appearance than the rest. The squadron officer
Speaker 1: approves of the polish and brilliance, or perhaps the troop
Speaker 1: officer is responsible, and as a result all the men
Speaker 1: take up what is merely extra work with no real
Speaker 1: resulting advantage. In some extra smart units, the men are
Speaker 1: even required by their superiors to scrub the stable, wheelbarrows
Speaker 1: and burnish the forks used for turning over the bedding,
Speaker 1: but this, it must be confessed, is not a general practice.
Speaker 1: At the same time, the fetish of polish and burnish
Speaker 1: is worshiped far too well in cavalry units, with the
Speaker 1: occasional result that efficiency takes second place in time of
Speaker 1: peace to mere surface smartness. As has already been stated
Speaker 1: in a different connection, the barrack room life of the
Speaker 1: cavalryman is easier than that of the infantryman. Kit inspections
Speaker 1: and arms inspections take place at stated intervals, and barracks
Speaker 1: rooms are kept clean, though not kept with such fussy
Speaker 1: exactness as in infantry units. The trained cavalryman, in normal
Speaker 1: time finishes the main part of his work at midday.
Speaker 1: He then has his dinner, and after this makes down
Speaker 1: his bed as it will be for the night. Unless
Speaker 1: it is his turn for fatigue, he generally snoozes through
Speaker 1: the afternoon until about half past four, when it is
Speaker 1: time to get ready for stable parade. In India, especially,
Speaker 1: a cavalryman has a light time of it, for there
Speaker 1: is allotted to each squadron a definite number of siices
Speaker 1: or native grooms, who assist the men, as well as
Speaker 1: the non commissioned officers in the care of their horses,
Speaker 1: and who do a good deal of the necessary saddle cleaning.
Speaker 1: Cavalry serving in Egypt also get a certain amount of
Speaker 1: assistance in their work, and on the whole a cavalryman
Speaker 1: is far better off on foreign service than he is
Speaker 1: in home station. The advantages of the home station consist
Speaker 1: mainly in the presence of congenial society among the civilians
Speaker 1: of the station. The soldier abroad is a being apart,
Speaker 1: and for the most part civilians leave him very much alone.
Speaker 1: There remains, however, the ever present football by way of consolation.
Speaker 1: As in infantry units, bodies of signallers and scouts are
Speaker 1: necessary to the establishment of every cavalry regiment. Signalers, for
Speaker 1: the period of their training are excused from all duties
Speaker 1: connected with horses and stablework. Cavalry scouts, on the other hand,
Speaker 1: have to use their horses in the course of their training,
Speaker 1: and thus attend stables like the rest of the men,
Speaker 1: although stable discipline in their case is somewhat relaxed. The
Speaker 1: cavalry scout requires more training than the infantry scout. With
Speaker 1: his horse, he is able to go farther afield, and
Speaker 1: his work is more definitely that of reconnaissance and the
Speaker 1: obtaining of information, which may be of more use to
Speaker 1: a brigade or divisional commander than that any infantryman is
Speaker 1: capable of obtaining. Without a horse to carry him to
Speaker 1: his other accomplishments. The cavalryman is expected to add some
Speaker 1: slight knowledge of veterinary matters in order that when forced
Speaker 1: to depend upon himself and his horse, he can find
Speaker 1: remedies for simple ailments and keep the horse in a
Speaker 1: state of fitness. The shoeing smith and farriers, who form
Speaker 1: a special department of every cavalry regiment, are under the
Speaker 1: control of the veterinary officer. Included in the establishment of
Speaker 1: each cavalry unit, and the veterinary officer constitutes the final
Speaker 1: court of appeal when anything affecting a long faced chum
Speaker 1: is in question. Sufficient has been said about the cavalryman
Speaker 1: on duty to show that his tasks are legion. His
Speaker 1: fitness to perform them has been attested on recent battlefields,
Speaker 1: as well as on earlier historic occasions. Off duty and
Speaker 1: in time of peace, he is, in the main a
Speaker 1: fairly pleasant fellow, often a very shy one, and usually
Speaker 1: capable of using the King's English in reasonable fashion. The
Speaker 1: average cavalryman has a sufficiency of aspirits, and in the
Speaker 1: matter of intelligence the nature of the duties he has
Speaker 1: pulled upon to perform voices his claims quite sufficiently. End
Speaker 1: of Chapter five