Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-25
The &c
OF Belgium.

horses by the British, French, Ger
man and Polish Armies. The
French artillery which fought IN
Flanders was largely horse-draWn.
The Belgians relied on horses to
null their gun caissons. And many
mixtures of German detachments
occupying French cities showed the
soldiers riding horseback or IN
horse drawn gun carriages.
German Reliance.
wavne Dinsmore, secretary OF the
Horse and Mule Association OF
America, has made the statement
that "it is likely that the Germans
are using more horses in proportion
to men than were used in the last
World War.
Conformation possessed by our
Army officers" Mr.. Dinsmore SAID,
Indicates that the Germans nave
made very exhaustive use OF horse
drawn artillery and some use OF
cavalry. They recognize clearly that
such equipment is needed for on
the road mobility. The sensational
performance of their alrplaneS ana
tanks in breaking through IN the
battle with France has completely
nbscured the much greater NUMBER
of horse-drawn implements ana
munitions of war and their use OF
cavalry and mounted units with
infantry"
The United States Army is fairly
well supplied with horses, accorolng
to reliable statistics. In May OF
this wear, the Regular Army and the
National Guard had approximately
rs 600 horses. Since then approx
matelv 1000 pack mules have been
purchased by the Army and the
remount officers are now buying ad-
ditional cavalry and artillery horses
The United States always has been
q good source of horses and mules
for army use. many OF which nave
been sold to France and Great
Britain. On January l, 1899, TINS
country had total of 100000
horses and 1882 900 mules. Pur-
chases of these animals from the
United States were large during the
World War. but much smaller during
the present war. France bought
about 5000 head last fall which were
exported to that country this spring,
and had purchased about 1000 more
which were never shipped.
Germany is known to have been
building up reserves OF horses ana
mules for the past three years by
heavy purchases from nearby ma
tions. Much of the army needs IN
France and Great Britain were
filled by drafting horses from argl-
culture.
United States Army Units.
The United States Army retains
many horse units, although mech
anizatioo is increasing, according
to Col. r.. A. Kelser of the United
States Army Veterinary Corps,
Surgeon Generals Office. while
mechanization of the Army properly
brings into play every bit OF me-
chanical equipment and transporta-
ton which can be used to advant-
age" Col. Kelser said. "the horse
and mule are by no means elm
mated.
while it is true that the number
of Army animals will be less than
has heretofore been the case, still
horse cavalry, horse-drawn field
artillery and horse or mule pack
artillery will be found in our new
Army. Thus, the treatment OF SICK
and injured animals will still be an
important phase of Army veterinary
service"
Enlargement of the Veterinary
Corps of the United States Army
was recently announced concur
rently with the expansion OF the
military service. Although no pro-
visions have yet been made to in
crease the commissioned personnel
of the Regular Army, 80 Reserve
officers have been placed on ex-
tended active duty and the addition
of 46 more has been authorized
Moreover, the number of enlisted
men In the corps has been In