A Russian infantry battalion which was retreating by a pontoon bridge across the Taitzu River was almost annihilated by a Japanese cavalry regiment, accompanied by machine guns, which swept the bridge; “and for the first time in this war,” adds the _Standard_ correspondent with Kuroki’s army, “a machine gun was used with decisive effect.” CHAPTER IV EMPLOYMENT IN THE FIELD WITH THE PROTECTIVE CAVALRY Each army will usually be divided into several columns, each preceded by its advanced guard, the whole covered by the Protective Cavalry. The bulk of the latter will be scattered or remain concentrated according to the size of the zone in which it is to operate, the nature of the ground, and the first dispositions of the enemy. The veil thus formed will only be torn aside when the artillery and infantry of the advanced guards open fire.[11] It is probable that the side which is weak in cavalry will dispense with Independent Cavalry altogether, and will meet the Independent Cavalry of the enemy with their Protective Cavalry supported by machine guns. The Japanese, who were outnumbered by six to one, were unable to use Independent Cavalry, and during the early stages of the war supported their cavalry by infantry. The Russians, who possessed masses of cavalry, used them principally as Protective Cavalry, if we except the raids made by the Division under Lieutenant-General Mishchenko after the fall of Port Arthur. The Protective Cavalry will therefore, in such a case, not only have to prevent the enemy’s Independent Cavalry from obtaining information by penetrating their screen, but will also have the task of obtaining information as to the enemy’s numbers and direction of march. That they are able to do this even in the face of greatly superior numbers has been proved by the Japanese, whose cavalry, outnumbered and badly horsed as they were, succeeded throughout the war in a remarkable degree in penetrating the enemy’s screen and obtaining information. The Russians, on the other hand, in spite of their masses of cavalry, failed not only to destroy the diminutive force opposed to them, but even to penetrate their thin veil or obtain any information of what was taking place behind it. Are we not in precisely the same position as the Japanese in our numerical weakness in cavalry, and should we not be confronted by the same problem in the event of war with a military nation?