EVACUATION OF SICK AND WOUNDED. 19 



the Eeception Veterinary Hospitals, L. of C, and from a relief 

 of congested traffic conditions inevitable during an offensive 

 period. 



At times evacuation by road was the only means possible, 

 and it may be said to be the normal system of clearance in most 

 theatres of war, at least for those animals able to walk. 



To conserve the small number of men of evacuating Veteri- 

 nary units, the expedient of a long rope was adopted, by means 

 of which twenty horses or mules could be transported by three 

 men. The animals were attached to the rope in pairs — one on 

 each side of the rope, a man guiding the leading pair, another 

 at the end of the rope and the third man in the middle. This 

 system of road transportation was greatly practised by both 

 Veterinary and Eemount Services during the war. 



The value of horse ambulances, either horse-drawn or motor- 

 drawn, for evacuation purposes, need not be further enlarged on. 

 They are indispensable factors. The Veterinary Service in the 

 B.E.F., France, had twenty-six motor horse ambulances, kindly 

 presented by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 

 Animals, and subscribed for by numerous well-wishers of animals 

 at home and in the colonies, at an approximate cost of i£30,000. 

 They were designed to carry two animals, and unquestionably 

 they paid for themselves in a very short space of time in the 

 number of animals saved. Their use in war need not be 

 restricted to the conveyance of sick or wounded horses, for 

 there are occasions when it may be necessary to get forward 

 quickly cows for the supply of fresh milk to medical units, or 

 even troops in the fighting line. The latter might particularly 

 apply to India. On one occasion in France a party of Royal 

 Army Veterinary Corps under an officer, and with three motor 

 horse ambulances, cleared a stud of brood mares and foals from 

 a district threatened by the enemy. 



Another method of evacuation practised in Flanders was by 

 canal barges. The Veterinary Service there maintained a fleet 

 of five barges drawn by steam tugs. Each barge was fitted up 

 for thirty-two animals, and a very limited number of personnel 

 was required. Starting say at 10 a.m. from the Evacuating 

 Station they would arrive about 4 p.m. at the Reception 

 Veterinary Hospital, and the journey was performed under the 



