The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-02-23
Cavalry Won the War"

Washington, Feb. 23.-Cavalry
won the war--at least so much of
the world conflict as was fought out
in Notwithstanding to Lieut.. Col.
Edward Davis, U. S. Army, who has
just returned to Washington to pre-
sent to the general staff his obserya-
tions on more than six years. service
whit the armier of other nations.
Before the entry of the United
States in the world war, and after
wards, Col. Davis served with the
forces of Great Britain, France, Rus
sia, Italy, Serbia and Greece. Later
he served as military attache in Hol-
land and at Berlin According to
Col. Davis, his most valuable mill
tary experience was with the British
cavalry during the Jerusalem cam
paign, and he stated he was surprised
to find that SO little was known in
the United States regarding the facts
of General Allenby's two remarkable
campaigns in the Holy Land, each of
which he characterized as IAN ex-
quisite example of the combined op-
erations of all arms of the service
under master strategist and great
natural leader of men,"
In both the Jerusalem and Damas-
Gus campaigns, Col. Davis said, the
master stroke was delivered by cav
airy. He described several of the
mounted charges made by Allcnby's
forces, and explained that the most
striking results were attained by
those swift and unexpected blows at
enemy infantry and artillery groups.
after the British had reached
what looked like a stale-mate on the
GazaBeersheba line," Col. Davis
said, 'it was decided to employ cav
airy in final effort to pierce the
Turkish defenses. The British stra-
tegists decided cavalry could oper-
ate best against one end of the line,
and a mounted squadron was sent to
bite Off an end of the entertainments
that had resisted every effort at cap
ture. Within an hour the cavalry had
effected contact with the Turks, and
then began process that might best
be described as rolling up that thin
line that so long had resisted every
effort at assault. The operation was
complete success and the entire line
was in British control within ten
hours.
THE value of cavalry against
heavy artillery was strikingly demon
strated at Hui, where the Goth di-
vision was engaged. The cavalry un-
der Colonel Shea charged IL cannon
protected by machine gun nests, and
in ten minutes had captured IL of the
big guns and cleaned out the nests.
The success of that operation was
repeated in the charge at El-Mughar
one week later. There the cavalry
charged to the top of hill 125 feet
high, with 20 per cent grade, and,
leaping over a series of trenches cap
tured three Krupp IT'S and nearly a
score of machine guns.
without water, without baggage
of any sort, the cavalry made long
hard marches and outflanked the
enemy column again and again. Fin
ally, on the plain of Armageddon, the
last struggle took place. During the
first stage of that battle the Turks
fought we'll but were steadily forced
back. Presently the Turkish front
between the sea and the Jordan was
broken, and through the gap along
the sea coast Allenby launched his
cavalry which swept northward and
then eastward to Nazareth, across
the rear of the whole Turkish host
The German commander, Liman Won
Sanders, barely escaped from the net
by precipitate flight, but what was
left of the Turkish armies, more than
10000 men and 400 guns fell into
Allenby's hands. A month later
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