The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-10-07
CAVALRY TRIES
new MANEUVERS
Regiments Encamped at Fort
Myer Go Through Prac-
tice Drills.
SIGNALS ARE USED
Public Reception to the Tenth Will
Be Given in Convention
Hall Tonight.
SIGNALS ARE USED

To the tune of thousands of pounding
hoofs. the first exhibition of the new
cavalry maneuvers now under consider
alton by the United States was held
Yesterday at Fort Myer. There were
drills in the morning and afternoon and
many made the trip to the post to see the
h-talked-of-system the development
Of which has engaged a board of mill
tary experts from the army for many
months and 1900 troopers for the better
part Of the summer at Winchester, Va.
TOday Ill FoIamac Park the cavalry
men will hold morning and afternoon
drills and the elimination of their opera
tiOns in Washington will come Thursday
afternoon when the troopers will be re-
viewed by the President and the officers
of the army in Potomac Park.
New Cavalry Drills.
To the INITIATED in military tactics, the
drills of yesterday did not appear to
differ materially from the drills under
the syseem that now is used by the
twelve regular cavalry regiments. Under
the present maneuverS there is the same
stirring swing of the long lines Of troop
ers and horses, the music OF the thou
sands of hoofs pounding on the baked
ground of the field and the same majestic
array of massed men and horses. But
the experts in tactical science aver that
d
the side Of the new system and same back
ing up the regulations as they now stand.
The drill of yesterday lasted for two
hours, starting at ! o'clock and lasting
till ;. Fort Myer is a much changed
place from the Fort Myer Of ordinary
times, when there are not 200 guests to
care for.
The parade ground is now a city Of
small shelter tents and on the edge of
no
all day getting ready food for the visi-
tors. During the morning, bedding is
spread out on the field to air and sun
and many other unusual sights meet the
visitor who is used to the Fort Myer Of
ordinary times.
Silent Signal Used.
The drill of yesterday started with
drills by separate platoons and gradually
worked up to evolutiOns by squadron and
then by the entire regiment The ''silent
signal was probably the most unusual
part of the whole to those IMMERSED
in military manners. The sharp cry
IF order ringing down the long line" is a
hing of the past as far as the provisional
regiment is concerned. Hardly a word
was spoken from the start to the finish
Every change in the formation was ac-
complished by waves of the hand of the
commanding officers. This system of
commands resembles closely the system
pf 'wigwagging."
To most this was remarkable and the
silent command" has been touted gen
orally as the outstanding feature of the
new system of maneuvers. This entirely
s incorrect, military men say. For years
has been the practice to issue COM
nands by signal wherever possible, but
the provisional system the method of
signaling by motion has been enlarged
and made more thorough and practical.
The really new feature of the system
hat is being tried out is the double rank,
or double line OF riders. 1t is this fea-
.ure that the proponents extol and the
opponents condemn.
Under the system now generally used
II the army, which was based on the
.actics devised by Gen. Emory Upton,
he men moved in single lines up to the
mass formations. The double rank Of
he provisional tactics is taken from the
,avalry arm of the French army. The
second difference. which not generally
5 recognized by those unfamiliar with
cavalry formation, is in the makeup and
size Of the regiment Under the pro-
posed system the total strength of the
regiment is So enlisted men, and four
teen officers. Under the old system the
regimental strength is loo men and fifty
one officers.
Reduced Size Preferred.
This reduction in the size OF the reGi-
ment and in the difference in the forma-
ton of the line is held by the proponents
of the system to make for fleXibiIity
and rapidity of movement. 1t makes the
wheels, or changes in direction of the
bodies of troopers, more easy to accom-
pIish.
After the drill, Col. c. H. Murray, in
charge of the brigade and president of
the cavalry board that compiled and rec
commended the new system, expressed his
satisfaction at the way the men had
taken hold of the proposed changes and