requent must such incidents be in the
future.

Let us take the case of the Battle of Gravelotte only--the point was
to determine whether the French were still clinging to the fortress or
were marching away from it. Not one of the patrols, however, whose
doings can still be traced, or whose reports are still in existence,
seems to have possessed the comprehension of the situation which would
have enabled it to report on what it was of the utmost importance for
the Army Headquarters to know. None of them even noted the direction
in which the troops they saw were moving--a matter of most vital
importance--or estimated the strength of the several encampments, or
reported the fact that certain roads were clear, although they were
all moving in the immediate vicinity, and might easily have
ascertained these facts had they realized their importance. Thus,
because they were uncorroborated, the most important observations led
to false conclusions. The point of transcendent consequence--the
actual position of the French right flank--could not be determined
until hours after the battle had been begun under an entire
misapprehension of the actual circumstances. Similar experiences have
repeated themselves times without number.

When we now reflect upon the greatly increased importance of reliable
information in Modern War, we cannot escape the conclusion that a
proper training of our Cavalry Officers to meet their requirements is
of vital importance. Their present-day education does not sufficiently
guarantee their competence.

The knowledge of the military sciences acquired at the War schools is
on a very modest scale, nor is it, indeed, the business of these
schools to give higher education in such subjects. Hence it is all the
more deplorable that the higher intellectual training of our Cavalry
Officers practically ceases after the War School, because the
practical day-to-day duties of their profession furnishes them with
nothing which can replace the need for a higher theoretical training.
Generally, their attention is absorbed by the smallest of details,
which, though each is of immense importance to the efficiency of the
whole Arm, are not calculated to widen their intellectual horizon, and
in the few great manoeuvres in which an Officer might find an
opportunity of enlarging his knowledge, he finds himself lacking in
the foundation necessary to make full use of it.

The usual course of instruction, in fact, is not adapt