New-York tribune., 1918-07-24
Foch's Tactics Have
Restored Cavalry to
Place in Battle


of French cavalry has marked General
Foch's tactics ever since he took con-
troll of the Allied armies as supreme
commander, according to information
reaching military circles here. The
horsemen have played an important
role in the battle of 1918. as the strug-
gle which began March 21 with the first
German drive has come to be known.
The employment of the swift moving
mounted columns in the present counter
stroke from the Aisne Marne line has
been noted in the dispatches. Again
General Foch took advantage of the
great mobility CT the mounted arm to
threw them in wherever his advancing
infantry units threatened to lose touch
with each other in the heat and con-
fusion Of the contest. No gaps have
been lef. where the enemy might strike
back, for always the horsemcn came up
to fiji the hole until .he infantry line
could be rectitied and connected in a
solid front.
The same tactics marked the first use
of French cavalry in the battle Of
Picardy, when the French took over
eighty-eight kilometres CT front from
the British TO permit the latter to mass
reserves at seriously threatened points
of the line further north.
A French cavalry corps, complete
cyclists, arrived first on the scene in
Picardy and relieved the British. They
fought it out afoot until the heavy
French infantry arrived and took over
the task
Three days later the horsemen were
on the move again, this time hurrying
to the front where the enemy was hit
ting hard at the Lys line. The cavalry
rode hard as the advance guard of the
French infantry columns marching tow
ard St. Omar. In the first twenty-four
hours, despite the long strain of fight
ing in Picardy, they covered 1876 kilo-
metres without losing a man or horse
In sixty-six hours they had transferred
their whole corps over 200 kilometres
and arrived east of Mont Cassel.
'It was a wonderful sight" writes
the chief of staff of a division. "The
horses were in fine condition.; the men
were cheerful and went singing, in
spite of the sufferings and privations
they had to endure.
I'm truth, our boys looked little
tired, but they all looked very PROUD
that such an effort had been asked OF
them, and all were bearing it cheer.
fully"
The cavalry corps stood in support OF
the British for ten days in April, after
the enemy had forced the line held BY
the Portuguese division. 1t maintained
communication between two British
armies and organized the ground from
Mont Cassel to Mont KENNEL while
the French army moved up behind it
AS the French infantry took over, the
cavalrw was drawn off to the left ir
the Mont KENNEL region, and for five
days the horsemen. fighting afoot witt
two infantry divisions. withstood the
terrific assaults Of the Germans, who
sought to hammer a way through be-
hind Ypres at any cost. They endured
steady bombardment for days, and wher
the infantry hemmed on top of Mon
KENNEL the cavalry drove forward il
counter attack and held off the shocl
divisions of the enemy while the French
gunners got their pieces away.
Later, at the battle of Locre, the cav
airy also shared fully with the infan
try, blocking gaps in the line, and III
hnal definite occupation of the tow
Tor the Allies was accomplished by
cavalry battalion. A sergeant and
handful of dragoons drove forty Ger
mans out of the town and at anothc
point cavalry officer and twenty me
backed up the infantry at a critica
moment, the officer waving a pistol +
one hand and shovel in the other a
. he led the dash which restored the stu
alton.
A few days later the same cavalr,
after another long ride, met tn
enemy advance against Villers- Cotter
cts Woods, in the Aisne sector, wher
; the fighting to-day is waging fiercl
and where the horsemen again are en-
gagged. When the Germans drove for
ward in their effort to get around tn
forest to Compiegne the horsene
blocked the road between the woode
region and the river Ourcq.