The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-30 00:00:00

.30
10 117:

THE SUN, LON.OO/4I'L iy,EDNI-4]SDAT EVENING, MA. Y 30 1855

THE TURKISH CAVALRY IN THE
CRIMEA.

•
Compan

yesterday,

ess.
this day..

EUPATORIA, May 14. Yesterday morning a
Russian Lancer of the Harovsky Regiment came
over with horse and arms. He was conducted to
the cavalry camp, where he became, as you may
easily imagine, an object of curiosity and interest.
After the Colonel of the regiment which had been
the night on outpost duty and which brought him
in had examined him, he was taken to the tents of
the soldiers, where each vied in showing hospitality
to the new comer.
Russian deserters are on our side of the Crimea
rare birds, but rarer even are Turkish deserters.
During the time that the Turkish troops were here
not more than one deserted. I mentioned it at the
time. He had chosen his time well : it was during
an armistice, while a conference was taking place
between the Russian and Turkish Commanders of
outposts about the exchange of prisoners. He was
supposed at first to be a Tartar, but afterwards
found to be an Egyptian officer.
Yesterday, the weather being unfavourable for
practical exercise, the superior officers, from the
major upwards, were called together for a theore-
tical lesson. I ani afraid theory will never mend
things, for the Turks are not a theoretical people ;
and however well they may arrange the longer and
shorter pieces of wood representing squadrons and
pelotons on the table, they will only be bewildered
if they have to apply knowledge thus acquired to
real squadrons and pelotons. Most of the officers
work on theory alone, and knowing nothing of
practical difficulties, they fall into absurdities. For
instance, the other day at a manoeuvre the question
arose which would be the best way to retire aft6r
a charge. Some were for "threes or fours about,"
others for turning by pelotons. Now, whoever saw
a good cavalry charge in reality must only smile at •
this. Let any one who made the cavalry charge
at Bajaklava be asked how he returned, and he
will answer "As best I could." In such a mo-
ment of maddening excitement all that can be done
is to collect again the men and make them form
around a common centre, which is usually the
standard guard which does not charge, or else, as
the Russians do, or, at least, as they are ordered to
do, to charge through and form on the other side.
I think the best—at any rate, the most practical—
instructions for the Turkish cavalry when charging,
would be one in the style of the answer which,
during the late Hungarian war, an old hussar
gave to a recruit going through the sword exercise,
who, after having learnt all the cuts, asked how
he had to parry the cuts of the enemy, and to whom
the old hussar answered, "Never mind the parry-
ing ; only you cut, and let the other parry." So
the instruction for the Turkish cavalry ought to be,
" Never mind about returning ; only you charge,
and make the others turn."

-
100 - 102

1

- •••
1:34 - IL6

0 - 109

12 - 13
23 -- 24
114 -

24 - 2i

7 6

par ip
57 t.)9

130 133

74 -
3 - '

- 33
91 - 93

"CE STIARgf-!

100 - 102
,90 -92

ii :9i

98 - 100

••• - •••
34 - 4
- 6i

i - 1
i - 1
13 -13 i

But, instead of following a few such simple and
clear rules, which would be easily understood by
every one, the poor Turkish cavalry, men and
horses, are made to perform all the numerous evo-
lutions prescribed by their cavalry manual. This
manual is a translation of an old French hand-
book, made for heavy European horses, entirely
different from the small but fiery Turkish horses.
They are excellent riders so far as sticking on
goes, and falling from or with the horse, without
which scarcely any great cavalry manoativre takes
place in Europe, is unheard of in the Turkish
cavalry. In order to get up full speed he pokes
his rusty spurs into the sides of his steed and
throws him back on his haunches by pulling as
hard as he can on the heavy bit, by which he pro-
duces a forced irregular jumping, and drives the
spirited horse to a degree of excitement quite in-
credible, then he leans forward with his body and
goes off madly.
They are all entire horses, most of them young,
and nearly all with a good deal of Arab blood in
their veins. Quiet as sheep when they are
along, they get fearfully excited in company, and
fall immediately into a kind of jogging walk.
Under these circumstances, a regular trot becomes
impossible even for the best rider. Regular move-
ments, as European cavalry understand them,
would be only possible by breaking the ardour of
the horses, and what would these small-sized
horses then, do in a charge against weighty Dragoon
horses ? Their only chance is in the celerity and
violence of the impetus ; take that away, and they
become baggage ponies.
The people who formed the Turkish cavalry
seem not to have known themselves whether they
would form a light or a heavy cavalry. The Turkish
cavalry is neither one nor the other. It has not
celerity enough for the first and not weight enough
for the second. The horses are, indeed, fleet and
enduring enough for the best light cavalry in the
world ; but on the backs of those horses are tall,
strapping fellows, heavily armed, and drilled like
French Chasseurs and Lancers. The idea seems to
have been, Lancers and Chasseurs in France form
the light cavalry ; consequently, if we organise
them as they are we shall have a light cavalry. They
are, indeed, light cavalry in comparison with Dra-
goons- and Cuirassiers, but, in comparison with
Turkish horses, their horses are heavy.
If, instead of adopting the heavy, unwieldy lance
of European Lancers, which they do not know bow
to wield, and which is rather an encumbrance than a
weapon, they had kept the light cane lance from the
banks of the Tigris, with which the Arabs hit the run-
ning bare and the fleetgazelle—if, instead ofimitating
the European sabre and arming themselves with that
nondescript toy -like weapon called a Turkish ca-
valry sabre, they had stuck to their scimitars,
which they knew how to handle—if instead of try-
ing to stretch their legs and to balance the stirrup
they had sat down in their saddles as their fathers
did—if, instead of learning to trot or to retire en
echelon, they had been taught to make the most of
the speed and agility of their horses—if they had
been accustomed to scour the enemy's country
with that marvellous celerity which seemed to im-
part to the old Spahis the character of übiquity—
if they had confided their evolutions to bold skir-
mishing, to rapid forming and charging at any
point of the line of the enemy—then the Turkish
cavalry would be what it ought to be—one of the
most formidable cavalries in the world.

58 - 62

116 - 118

110 - 111
101 - 103

ip

6 -
97 - '9
90 - 92
op 94
10 - 11
17 - 17
10i 10-i
73 -75
19i - 20
9 - 10
14 -15
137 139

••• ••
21 -•
3 i

13i - 13
- IP

- 139
9r - !-t8
41 -