DOOM OF THE HORSE IN THE BRITISH ARMY

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 126, 23 November 1935, Page 31

DOOM OF THE HORSE IN THE BRITISH ARMY

The whole British Army is to be I turned over from horses to mechanism I as fast as the money is available, says the "Daily Mail." That is now the decided policy of the War Office. The idea has been growing rapidly since the war. The recent Army manoeuvres have clinched the matter. Horses and cavalry are being retained only because it is difficult to change them suddenly and because the change would be enormously expensive To this policy there is one important set of exceptions. Owing to the fact that Great Britain is an Imperial Power there is always the possibility that our Army will be called to serve in regions where no mechanical traction could operate. For these regions, as was shown in some of the operations in the recent North-West Frontier campaign, horses' must be used. It is intended, therefore, that there shall always be a certain number of cavalry units retained in the Army. These will be not only for action in case of necessity, but for training men and officers for co-operation with the mounted units in the Dominions. The exact number of cavalry regiments to be retained is still under consideration, but it is certain that it will be very small. Already the 12th Lancers and the 11th Hussars have been turned over from horses to armoured cars. Twenty cavalry regiments, however, still retain their horses. Among them are: — The Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues); Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards); Royal Scots Greys; 10th Royal Hussars (The Prince of

Wales's Own), in which so many Royal Princes- have served; Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards; and msjiy other famous regiments. The acceleration of the policy of mechanisation is largely due to the operations of the 3rd Hussars in' this year's manoeuvres. One of its three squadrons early in the year was changed from horses to mechanical transport. They travelled in special vehicles in the same way as they had previously travelled on horse-back. They dismounted to fight, using their lorries and cars for every purpose for which horses are used in cavalry regiments except charging. The experiment has been a complete and a conspicuous success, and the transformation of the other cavalry regiments will be in accordance with the results of this experiment. No more cavalry regiments will be turned into armoured car units like the 12th Lancers and the 11th Hussars. Mechanisation in all other branches is to be speeded up. The 6th Infantry Brigade is now entirely horseless. The sth and 7th have the whole of their first-line transport mechanised. If the money is forthcoming there will be no horses at all left in the engineers and signals in three years' time, nor in the artillery in five years. The movement is towards a mecnanised mobile division as already in existence in the chief Continental armies. This would give an entire division which could travel 120 to 150 miles a day and so completely transform the whole scope and speed of warfare. The normal infantry division could in mechanised form travel more than forty miles a day compared with a present maximum of about fifteen I miles.