THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
343 
A FEW NOTES ON THE 
HANDLIN8 OP HORSE ARTILLERY & CAYALRY. 
BY 
CAPTAIN I. KETCHEN, R.H.A. 
I feel strongly tliat a great many officers already know all that is 
contained in the following sentences, and that it seems presumptuous in 
me to ask a place for them in the Institution papers; but they are not 
meant for such officers, but for the few who, although I feel sure they 
will assent to what I have written, have not thought much on the 
matter before. 
Simple although the ideas are, they certainly are not generally acted 
upon; in fact I have never yet seen them acted upon at any brigade 
parade I have taken part in. For these reasons, possibly some few 
may think them worth reading. 
Except when preparing for an attack, horse artillery and cavalry 
should never be in motion in the same line. 
By “ preparing ” is meant, advancing in good open country together 
to meet an enemy, but at such a distance from him as would be beyond 
the proper limit for commencing actual fighting. 
In advancing to attack, the horse artillery should do so as soon as 
the order is given, and, if the ground admits, at full gallop. (By “ full 
gallop ” here and throughout this paper is meant, as fast as the nature 
of the ground will allow with safety.) The cavalry escort should move 
off at the same time, and follow on the outer flank at a trot, but never 
remain quite so far away from the guns as the enemy is from them; so 
that should the guns be suddenly charged by the enemy, the escort may 
intercept and at least check him. 
By the time the guns have come into action, or very soon after, the 
escort will have arrived at its proper position (on the outer rear of the 
guns), men and horses perfectly fresh and fit for work if really required. 
When the horse artillery have advanced about one-third of the 
distance between the cavalry and the enemy, the cavalry should 
then move off at a trot, watching the guns, and should on no 
account go past them (in fact, keep out of the enemy's fire as long as 
possible) until the guns are actually in danger by the rapid advance of 
the enemy, or the latter thoroughly thrown into confusion. In either 
case it will be the duty of the commander of the cavalry to decide ivhen 
he should pass the guns and charge the enemy ; and the officer 
commanding the horse artillery should always be held to be intelligent 
enough to know that when the cavalry advance so far as to be in danger 
