Armies -- Europe -- History -- 19th century; Europe -- Armed Forces -- History -- 19th century
(f.) Schools of Gymnasium and Signalling at Aldershot, the Army Medical
School at Netley, the Veterinary School at Aldershot, and the School
of Music at Hounslow, whose titles sufficiently explain their _raison
d’être_.
[Sidenote: +Mounted Infantry, &c.+]
A glance at the latest accessories to the Army in the shape of Mounted
Infantry, Machine-guns, and Cyclists, may not be out of place here.
The authorities consider that a force of Mounted Infantry (_i.e._,
Infantry with rifles on horseback) will be of the greatest use to the
Army in case of war. Accordingly, a force is being trained, little by
little, which would be available to act as such on active service.
For the past two or three years 2 companies at Aldershot, formed of
volunteers from the different Infantry battalions quartered there,
and 1 company at the Curragh, consisting of 150 men each, have been
trained during the winter months to act as Mounted Infantry. On the
conclusion of the course, the men are sent back to their regiments, and
a fresh lot come on the following winter. These companies are intended
to be formed into battalions when required. The duty of this force on
service will be to act as Infantry, but with a rapidity of transport
from one place to another unattainable by ordinary Infantry. Thus they
may be pushed forward to attack a village, to hold a defensive position
till supported by other Infantry, to assist the Cavalry, or to perform
a hundred other duties of Infantry far in front of the real Infantry.
It is proposed that every battalion of Infantry and regiment of Cavalry
should in future wars have a Machine-gun Detachment of 2 machine-guns,
worked by 1 officer and 12 men, attached to it. A large number of men
have been trained in this work, but there are at this moment but few
complete detachments in existence.
Corps of Cyclists, chiefly Volunteer, have also lately been started,
but it seems very questionable whether they would ever be of any use in
a hostile country except to carry messages to and fro along good roads.
[Sidenote: +Army Corps.+]
Finally, mention must be made of the recent apportioning of the British
Regular Army into Army Corps. Serious difficulties have arisen in
organising this matter, for, since regiments are always on the move
from point to point at home, or between home, India, and the Colonies,
it is a very difficult task indeed to arrange so that even one Army
Corps should be ready to take the field at the shortest possible
notice. It has, however, been done, and the 1st Army Corps is an
accomplished fact. The 2nd is on the high road to completion, though as
yet it is badly off for horses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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