A very frequent question, also quite a justifiable one and one which cavalry soldiers must not shirk, but must on the other hand thoroughly understand and thresh out in their own minds, both by practical experiment and theoretical discussion,[24] is the following:-- Since cavalry are armed with an excellent magazine rifle, may they not more easily and effectually inflict loss and defeat on the enemy’s cavalry by that means rather than by employing shock action, with its gambling uncertainty, its losses in men and horses, its need of intense resolution or complete absence of _arrière pensée_ on the part of the leader? Those cavalry soldiers who have had experience in such affairs, who have thought the matter out and thus obtained certain guiding principles, will reply: “There are certainly many occasions when the conditions of terrain or the nature of the combat favour such action. We have only to mention a rearguard or a running fight and many instances come to mind at once in the case of those pursued.” Intricate ground always favours fire action, and in small affairs, as a sequel to a dash at the flank of an enemy holding a position on a rough and unrideable kopje, it is obviously the right course. Of all these occasions it is our intention to take full advantage; never to miss an opportunity. At the same time, practical experience has convinced us that we must guard against such action being adopted to the prejudice of shock action in cases where the latter is of supreme value, and we must also recognize the “inherent weakness of mounted troops who attempt to force a decision with fire action without combining it with shock action.” In the _Report on the Cavalry Division Training_, 1909, by General Sir D. Haig, we find the following:-- The principles which should determine the choice between mounted and dismounted action require to be more thoroughly considered. Small units have been seen on several occasions to dismount on open ground when mounted action was the only sound course to adopt. On the other hand, squadrons have been seen to remain mounted in enclosed country when under fire at close range of dismounted men.