A FAMOUS CAVALRY REGIMENT.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 272, 9 April 1898, Page 1 (Supplement)

A FAMOUS CAVALRY REGIMENT.

It will probably have occurred to the general public that when a regiment so celebrated in war as the Guides Cavalry is deliberately reported upon by so eminent an authority as Sir George Luck as below the average of Bengal civalry regiments there must be something either temporarily wrong with the regiment or something permanently wrong with the system of inspections in vogue and the basis on which the merits of various regiments are judged. We are reduced, therefore, to the conclusion that a somewhat fallacious standard of excellence lias been made the basis on which the good or bad qualities of a re«iment are judged. After careful inquiry we are incliuecl to think that two words will be found to explain the seeming anomaly, and those two words are the '" Russian bugbear." Sir George Luck was full of the idea of great cavalry raids, and the manoeuvring of great bodies of cavalry on the European method against great bodies of Russian cavalry either on the plains of Southern Afghanistan or perchance in Europe. The Guides Cavalry, on the other hand, having been born and bred, so to speak, within a few miles of the Afghan border, knowing intimately the country and the methods that must be employed for cavalry to nave any success there, has endeavoured, and it must be acknowledged with no little success, to give prominerce to those point 3 in cavalry training which may any day be of practical value. It is perhaps, therefore, not surprising, when tho day of battle conies, to find that a regiment which, to use a vulgar term, '' knows what's what" should show up in strong relief when compared to regiments whose training has been based upon the assumption that they will be called upon to meet regular bodies of cavalry in great plains, such as exists in Northern Europe or Southern Afghanistan. It may, therefore be of some interest to cavalry officers to analyse the system which in the Guides Cavalry has produced such brilliant results- In the first place comes a factor which is much talked about but seldom flourishes in its truest sense, and that is esprit de corps. In the Guides esprit de corps is more than a word. It is a living part of the regiment. Even the last-joined recruit feels no punishmont so deeply as the reproach " you do no credit to the corps," and mature soldiers in very shame voluntarily take thtir discharge if so addressed by an officer. Sir Harry Lumsden, and later an equally famous colonel of the crops, Sir Francis Jenkins, laid down that what was required of a trooper of the Guides was first and foremost bravery, for what's a soldier without bravery ? Next he must be a good rider, a good and determined man in the use of bis weapons, and a goo I horse master, whose horse is the apple of his eye. As to training in peace time, it was laid clown that the men should be kept occupied and happy, and the horses fit. A few simple manoeuvres such as are used in battle, were to be practised and perfected, while special care was to be taken in giving the men a thorough interest in reoouno'sance work and in having the regiment ready at a moment's notice to move off, bag ami baggage, and in the care of horses ano transport animals during forced marches Are the Indian cavalry to s!rive after the same idea as the British cavalry, so as to become a portion of a highly drilled organisation suitable chiefly for battle work, and shock tactics against organised cavalry, or are they to bo trained on the lines of the cossacks and Guides, as rough and ready light cavalry ? Illustrative of the high value placed on personal bravery in the Guides as against a Babu-liko knowledge of the " Drill Book," the following interesting instance is mentioned by the Times of India : Tbe incident occurcd when Sir Frauds Jenkins was colonel. The Guides, with other troops, having made a turning movement, dropped down into the Khvber Puss in rear of Ali Musjid, 30 as to cut off the enemy's retreat when the frontal attack should be driven home. Amongst th« first batch of the fugitives to come up the pass was a squadron of Afghan cavalry, which, making a rush for it. managed with some loss to run the cauntlet and get through. One man alone was seen quietly walking his horse in the wake of the fugitives and defiantly waving his sword in the face of tbe heavy fire of 800 rifles. How he came not to be hit wns a marvel, but Sir Francis immediately ordered the " cease fire " to sound. The colloquy which ensued was delightfully uuitiuc. "Who are you?" said the coloucl. "I am Sultan Jan Kazilbash, and I don't care a box of grapes for you and the whole of your army." " You tiro A D D brave man anyway," said tbe colonel. " "Will you enlist in my regiment?" " Yea, 1 will," said Sultan Jan, " for I have heard of you and the Guides as brave warriors." And enlisted lie was on the spot, made a Duffadar (native sergeant) there and then, and afterwards served with distinction throughout the campaign. At the end of two years, when tho war was over, ho went to his colonel and said, " I am a man of war and cannot face all tho drill and monotony of an Indian canton* mont in peace time ; with you Highness s permis;ion I will now tako my discharge," And away he went a freelance born, and as such determined to die.