New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-02-06

diersl Of a state which recognizes '"'N
nm its military preparedness depends Us
c,isteuce. That state must dedlcsIe I'D
nest talent To- It's land dcfences.
rn,nber Of Deputies. France. 1872
", Gav. mo- intention Of cfiticla.nE ,he
iurr.,s. given 10 the artillery, Dut WIN
il th,. usc or multiplying DalteiIcs .t,
stretching out the trains II ~ Ne
them the COMMANDER mas ~ NJ niit
posjtion only a few horsemeIi' VIII ~
i,. fatie1l. and condemned on ACCOUNT ~
their small number 10 an necessary No. ,d
lnsufllciently protccS,d' our NM ~, ,ha
guns with their precious SuppnJs' - tbS
pisk of falling into the hanGs % w
.r.,,v 81 military writers, an ecHeI 40
who from the most ancient times nc
written mon this subject, nave bt,n
unanimous in proclalmins lne iv, oIIiiy
OF increasing tie caviar! GU le'P - ~
with an increase of the forces anu VI
r. there any need Of reminding you
that the German theorists haFe Hiatt C,iso
axiom the base Of their ihin''t! d.,
zatiOnr Not Tor an instant MAJ ,,, - .'o.
Thought of disputing IT, ana we WI. 80
further ON with what a persistent L.
luton they have pursued u ln ~. ~
lion Among our neighoois each one W
the arms has always been increase" III q
parallel measure H. otto
'Those who think that one can De SUI
cessful with the minimum Oh cay "ls
said General Won klelst, nav IT, IT,
truly studied the mechanism OF 'i.v nv" oa y.
ineuts OF hn army. TO weaken N o.
.i,.,- bv reason II the economy lhhs ~
,aired or Increase beyond measure the
iufnntrv and the artillery ainoVH'S -
clipping the wings OF an eagle III '"o "'P'
Of making his taloHs grow. Ne.
Tb. cents of the Hussu-Japanes" NaI'
as well as those Of the Iiah7Na''' u"
justified this opinion. v.r
When the German Minister Va
General Won Einem. presented 10 me
Relchstae the project OF the law ot 10,
for the Increase OF cavalry, the extreme
orient VAS bleeding from the husso-'"Y
anese war. The minister stfoESN III
sisted that the operations "i th.A Wa.
.muhasized the extreme importance oi
~ The japanese" said lie. had had a
sufficient cavalry the war would De az
ready over We. as Germans nave ever;
reason 20 value the ca'ai =. itnos s
cavalry Sedan would not have been pos
-ibl- even Tor Moltke. without caNary
tLe iuyesture of Paris would have been
impossible And yet. In is'' the 1eFilaH
,a,alrN was not up 20 the marx.
G@uera. Kouzmuc- karaWaef assistant
"a mo Russian chief II artillery. lately
remarked 10 our military auache j"
Russia: .,- .,,
disturbed about the relative inferlority oi
your cavalry. To diminish IT w0uId We
An economy which / would not dare TO
PROPOSE under any circumstances.
"P,ople seem 20 think that our cavalry
mas not rendered - great service IN INC
las. war These are the ideas OF probes
-or4 who find nothing new 10 ada ID the'r
theses ON strategic reconnaissance OF uP"'
The use Of masses ot cavalry on thc od'-
tleheld But nevertheless ~ n1n} 49,
and notably at LiaO-IaH ana Mouhdeh' II
was our cavalry which saved the atInN
from complete destruction Without tAat
great superiority Of our caIalfN, III ,he
state Of exhaustion OF ouI uoopS arc
euch prolonged fighting, We should ma e
me, n disaster II the Japanese CaNhlry
had charged our infantry IN retreat. Ana
do YOU know At Sandepou some japanese
infantry. stll. uushakeh mt caught az 10
sailed I'm front OF MitChenko's cavalry,
vas thrown into q panic | do not affirm
that our cavalry war well handled during
this war far from tive ala not even
have true cavalry general on the spot:
but. nevertheless Il rendered us notable
service
opinions like these should not be lost
70 preserve an army from obstruction.
go give Il the opportunity 70 REFORM foI
further resistance. 10 obtain, IN spite or
defeat an honorable peace. what more
do We need 20 emphasize the prepon.
derating role OF cavalry? II is asser ed
that II AT the commencement OF hostih-
ties the Japanese General oku had had
under his orders f"" regiments OF cav,
arlv. the concentration ana feeding OF
the Russian army would nave become
practically impossible
This would have meant an end 10 tho
struggle ami the economy ~ billions, tho
saving of uumberless human lives
General Won Kl'ist emphasizes these OBJ
Servtlons IN striking language
Armies thus composed OF infantry and
artillery may perhaps for II long .ime
ofrer q pa ssivc resistance. never VIII they
gain - decisive victory
In considering the sabre best suited 80
American cavalry the possibility OF meet
ing cavalry armed with long sabres CT
With Iancrs was not ignored. rs between
,hrus,ing and cutting there can he no
nti.atlon a. to the relative military I'M
portauce OF the former, Dut recognizing
that the natural imp Use or man is 10
strike. the long. straight thrusting sabre
selected will be provided with sharpened
edge on both sides. The moment thrust
inc il given precedence over cutting the
straight sabre becomes the logical seiec-
ton.
T'o supaest that the sabre ia becoming
obsolete IN TO suggest that cavalry IL los
ing it's importance, it is equivalent TO
ignoring the value Of extreme mobility.
II smacks of the statement quite largely
accepted in certain quarters that the
areat improvement In firearms had ZEN
dered warfare impossible. Regardless OF
these improvements. all modern warfare.
even TO our experience IN the Philippines.
shows that close lighting with bayonet,
IA Dre and bolo continues.
The editorial in question also safes:
The change may please the cutlery
trade. but II will lie hard un the torty-
six hundred odd officers whose old style
swords have never seen enough actual
service to get dented.' This sentence
seems to include the same degree or accu-
racy as is manifested in practically all
the other sentences. The war Depart
ment has never intended IN give the new
sabre TO others than to officers atd en-
listed men OF the cavalry branch and
as such weapons are made IN govern
ment arsenals the cutlery trade VIII
neither suffer nor profit by The chahst.
HENRY T. ALLEN.
Lleutenant-Co Colonel. cavalry Section, War
Department
Washiu ston, Jan 81. 1913
lIf the writer Of the foregoing letter
had read The Trlbune's article more
carefully he would not have got the
idea that an underestimate OF the value
of cavalry in war was intended. We
meant to show that the chief functions
Of cavalry were scouting and convoy
duty. including the protection Of lines
Of communication. The foregoing ex-