THE FRENCH MANOEUVRES OF 1891 . 
81 
The Cavalry is the arm of the service which received the most severe 
criticism, and in which the French, as a nation, appear to take the least 
pride. They will even go as far as to draw invidious comparisons 
between their own and the German Cavalry, for whom a very lively 
respect is still entertained throughout the country. The Cavalry was 
employed for shock effect in immense masses, operating principally on 
the flanks, but no great collision took place between Cavalry and 
Infantry till at the end of a battle, aad it was considered that the enemy 
were so shattered and beaten as to lend themselves an easy prey. At 
the engagement at Margerie during the last phase of the manoeuvres, 
advantage was taken of that part of the railway, between the stations 
of Chavanges and Chassericourt, to enable the Cavalry Division of the 
Western Army to deliver a very fine charge against the left flank, 
which was already being driven from its position by the attacking 
Infantry. The Cavalry have been well drilled, for after one of these 
great charges the ranks were still in good order, and the men were 
well in hand and under control. The Cavalry, themselves say, that the 
establishment of officers to each regiment is too small, and that any 
losses, which they might incur early in a campaign, might render a 
regiment quite inefficient. That the number of officers is small would 
seem to be the case, as the day M. Freycinet, the War Minister, 
attended the manoeuvres, an officer could not be spared for his escort, 
which was put in charge of a sous-officer. The want of a reserve of 
horses for each regiment was also a cause of complaint, each regiment 
numbers five hundred horses, but there does not appear to be any 
systematic plan for replenishing the losses which must incur at the first 
engagements. 
The horses are much smaller and lighter than with us, they do not 
look to average more than 15 hands, and appear much overweighted 
by the rider, heavy kit, and arms which they carry, they were all 
drawn very fine and showed signs of the severe work they had gone 
through, but this was not to be wondered at, as the distances they 
covered were very great. Thus, after the engagement at Margerie, 
a considerable number of Cavalry had to march into Vitry for their 
billets, a distance of about twelve miles, and that after taking a very 
considerable part in the great battle, which did not end till two o’clock 
in the afternoon. The Cavalry entered the town about six o’clock in 
the evening, the horses were stabled in the market place and surround¬ 
ing buildings, and a good many stood out in the bye roads of the town. 
The saddles were at once removed and the blankets put on, a wisp of 
hay being put under each side of the very narrow body roller to keep 
it off the horse’s back. Very little trouble was expended in grooming, 
the dust and mud was washed off each horse’s legs and then wiped 
over with a wisp of straw. The blanket was then removed and the 
body hurriedly brushed over with a dandy-brush, stables did not last 
more than a quarter-of-an-hour. When the saddles were taken off 
some bad raws could be seen, the side galls appeared to be the worst, 
these were apparent at a distance of many yards, and as a stranger did 
not have an opportunity of looking closely to the state of the horses, 
one might infer that girth galls and lesser rubs were also numerous. 
