be of course necessary, for in case
of War such creations cannot be improvised to work together without
most detrimental friction for any units, and least of all for those
which from the first moment of hostilities will be called on for
decisive action, and thus have less time and opportunity to shake down
into their new duties.

A practical Peace Organization, such as in fact we do not at present
possess, is a necessity of the first importance. But 'Mobility' in the
Arm itself remains the prime condition of efficiency in its
strategical activity, which, as we have seen above, must henceforward
be considered the most important sphere of its duties.

To secure this mobility is, therefore, our unconditional duty, and it
is in this direction in particular that, in my opinion, our Cavalry is
as yet hardly sufficiently prepared for the tasks that await it.

Strategical 'mobility' certainly depends in the first place on the
excellence of the horse supply and the suitable 'training' both of man
and horse; but the tactical independence of the troops themselves, and
the means of maintaining them in condition--_i.e._, conditions of
supply--are at least of equal importance. Owing to our experiences in
the French Campaign, where food and fodder were generally abundant,
sufficient attention has not been given universally to this factor.
Had we been compelled to undergo the same hardships as the Russians in
1877-1878, our views would doubtless have been very different.

The amount of forage that even under most favourable circumstances can
be carried on the horses is very small. To count on finding even that
amount always in the country through which we may have to operate
would be more than imprudent. Even in 1870-1871 we could not always
find what we needed in spite of the very favourable agricultural
conditions, and with the enormous Armies of the present day we shall
probably find the country even more exhausted of supplies than
formerly, particularly in the latter phases of the struggle, except
when one has the good-fortune to fall upon rich stretches of the
country which by chance may have escaped the devastation of previous
operations.

We may also be called on to work in sparsely settled districts with a
large export trade in corn, in which at times stocks may sink very
low. In short, unless we wish to be hampered at every step of our
movements by the necessity for wide-reaching foraging expeditions, we
shall have to re