242 THE WINGS OF AN ARMY 



With these few measures the mobihty of 

 mounted troops could be doubled. 



To quadruple the mobility of mounted forces 

 one has merely to add the stock-range system 

 of a pony herd supplying two mounts per man. 

 In an enemy's country each horseman would 

 ride, and lead his spare mount, changing over 

 at halts. A march would be continuous with 

 short halts, up to the limits of endurance for 

 the men and horses available, and this after 

 proper training would not be far short of one 

 hundred miles a day. From the moment when 

 a war of positions culminates in advance or in 

 retreat, flying brigades or even divisions could 

 play havoc with enemy's plans by threatening 

 his lines of communication. The raid, as 

 practised by the Confederate, General Morgan, 

 in the American Civil War, is no longer healthy 

 because there are aircraft about. Detached 

 units cannot, as in past times, be left in the air 

 to forage for themselves ; and yet mobility of 

 the screen and wings may prove as useful an 

 aid to a marching army as claws are to a crab. 



