e too much insisted
upon that carbine ammunition should be placed in the very first line;
our present allowance is altogether insufficient.

The importance of dismounted action, as we have already seen, has
enormously increased. Almost daily, under certain conditions, we shall
have to have recourse to our firearms, and often be obliged to expend
very considerable quantities of ammunition to attain the object we
fight for. The replenishment of this consumption is far more difficult
in our case than with the Infantry, particularly in operations
partaking of the nature of raids, in which our communications are
likely to be interrupted. These conditions require first of all a
considerable increase in the number of rounds carried on the man's
person, and also in the number of Small Arm Ammunition waggons
attached to the units, and the regulations for the replenishment of
these require also corresponding development.

Further, it must be pointed out with all possible insistence that the
present equipment of the trooper is thoroughly impracticable. That the
carbine should be carried on the horse and the sword on the man is
opposed to common sense, for the latter is only of use when mounted,
the former only on foot. The sword should, therefore, be attached to
the saddle, the carbine to the man, as is, in fact, the practice of
all races of born horsemen. A practicable method of attachment is
certainly capable of being devised; it is probably only the question
of expense that stands in the way of its solution. The consequences,
however, of the existing attachment to the saddle are that the weapon
must be shorter than that of the Infantry soldier, and hence has a
lesser range; but it is precisely the Cavalry that requires to be able
to obtain good results at long ranges. Even against Infantry it must
always be in a position to obtain decisive results in the shortest
time. To obtain these ends it needs a weapon at least equal, if
possible superior, to that of the Infantry; and instead it has only
the carbine, a weapon of most restricted range, and most inadequately
sighted. It is required of Cavalry that it should break off an
engagement when the enemy approaches within 700 metres (Drill
Regulations, No. 562), and all the training the man gets in Peace is
at 600 metres at target practice, and only quite occasionally, if at
all, at greater distances at field practice.

I consider it most important that the Cavalry should be suppl