CHAPTER VII 



Base Remount Depots in France — I 



IF I say at the outset of this chapter that at the time of writing there are 

 towards half a milHon horses and mules on active service with the British 

 Forces in France, I may possibly excite the reader's doubt. Yet he must 

 banish his doubt, for the figure would be on or near the mark were a census 

 of war-horses and mules to be taken to-day. Then there are great numbers, 

 which are ever growing with amazing rapidity, issued to the American Forces. 

 Most of them have passed through the British Remount Service. That 

 Service primarily exists to horse newly created war units, to repair wastage 

 in war, and to receive and issue to fighting units and the many and varied 

 units on Lines of Communication those sick and worn animals, now restored, 

 that have passed through veterinary hospitals. Many of the vast total, which 

 is creeping so near to the half-million, came out with the Forces — with artil- 

 lery, light and heavy, cavalry, infantry, and all the various kinds of transport 

 that follow in the wake of armies. So it happens that from the beginning of 

 the war until 1918, well over a quarter of a million horses and mules came to 

 France from overseas as remounts. With very few exceptions, say, about 

 5,000 " waler " horses from Australia and a few mules landed direct from 

 America, the whole of these remounts were received from the United King- 

 dom. I have shown how most of these originally came from America and 

 were made fit in the interval in the British depots. 



Omitting the small contingent from Australia, the whole of the remounts 

 were landed at five base remount depots situated at intervals along the north 

 coast of France and within comparatively easy reach by train and road of 

 our armies in the field. It follows, therefore, that it was part of the function 

 of these base depots to issue as directed those animals, as well as others that 

 came to them again from veterinary hospitals and convalescent horse depots, 

 after having done work with the armies. Some of those " others " may have 

 come from the front, via the hospitals, more than once, even twice or thrice. 

 You will readily understand this when it is stated that up to the end of January 

 last the issues to the front from the depots were over half a milhon. Then in 

 addition considerable numbers of horses and mules have been despatched 

 to other theatres of war so that the total of animals that have passed out 

 from base remount depots from the beginning of the war to the middle of 1918 



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