Grand Forks daily herald., 1914-12-21
(By Herbert Corey.)

Copyright, 1914. by Herbert Corey.)
Salisbury Plains. England. Dec. 81.
Nowadays a cavalrynan is Il soldier
who rides from place to place on a
horse. When he gets to his destina-
ton he hiees his horse and does his
work on foot
War has become sternly practical.
All the spectacu' lr features of the
old days have been abandoned. The
men burrow in the ground to hide
from shells and are invisible. The
big guns are sheltered in pits or
masked by trees, and are invisible.
Even the Germans are modifying their
mass tactics. They rarely charge un-
til the enemy has been we'll shaken
by shell fire. Their latest instructions
direct that more attention be paid to
the science of advancing in open or
der. The men are ordered to take
every bit OF CO. er possible.
SO far as has been told here. the
English cavalry have attempted but
one cavalry charge on u grand scale
in the four months of the war. That
was during the tretreat from Mons.
when General De Lisle tried to hold
up the German advance. He did not
know of the wire entanglements on
the German front. and his Hussars
We're cut up badly. Now the Ger
mans have learned the same lesson.
Their cavalry leaders have been ad-
vised that a charge is seldom sue
cessful. Cavalry have become merely
mounted riflemen.
British cavalry are being made into
something more. Here on the Plains
Tommy Atkins Of the Horse is being
reconstructed into something between
Il cuirssier and a sapper. He is to
the rest OF the army what the marines
are to the navy. lie must know n lit
tie something of everything. One Of
these days he may be told off for
work with the artillery. 1t wouldn't
is growing on him. There are more
requests proportionately for permis-
sion to enter the air service from the
cavalry than from any other branch.
Doesn't Like to Dig Trenches.
'"This." sair Mr.. Atkins. sourly. "is
the day when We learns to dig bloom
ing 'oles in the ground"
Mr.. Atkins holds the theory that
digging holes in the ground is an
any man. He doesn't think that es-
pecial training Is required, especially
as digging a practice hole involves
the accumulation Of as many water
blisters as the digging of a real hole.
His officers sympathize with him, but
hold he is wrong. Digging trenches
nowadays is n highly specialized form
OF fighting. A trench must be not only
n fortification but suburban villa.
The men live in them for weeks on
end. They must afford shelter from
shells bursting overhead, from rain
and snow, from rifle balls. and from
raking fire. An amateur trench would
be just man-trap.
Then he is taught how to shoot
Cavalrymen in the past have largely
engaged their energies in riding hor-
sesand swinging swords. Their short
carbines were not of the value Of the
infantryrnan's rifle. Nowadays the
trooper Is instructed in the use of the
revolver--a proper cavalry weapon
and likewise in the long rife of the
foot soldier. He is made over into
quite as good a marksman on the
average as the despiseA foot-slogger
used to be-. Two hours day he gets
bayonet drill. That is excellent for
the muscles-and will also be of value
to Mr.. Atkins when he fights in the
trenches. The trench is where Tom