Cyclist Cavalry in Battle
Cyclist Cavalry in Battle is a letter written by Arthur Conan Doyle published in the Daily Express on 10 february 1910.
Cyclist Cavalry in Battle
SWIFT AND SILENT ARMY FOR NIGHT ATTACKS.
GENERAL'S VIEWS.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to unshaken in his belief in the use of cyclists in war time for many purposes for which cavalry are now employed. He has not been disturbed by the criticisms advanced in yesterday's "Express" by Lieut.-Colonel Mark Mayhew, commanding the Army Motor Reserve, and replies to his critic in the following letter:—
To the Editor of the "Express."
Sir, — I was much interested by Colonel Mark Mayhew's answer to my letter. I would, however, venture to reaffirm one or two points.
The advantages of the cycle are all certain ones, which are beyond dispute. It is, for example, certain that the cycle is cheaper then the horse, that it is not exposed to wounds or disease, that it needs neither fodder, nor grooming, not stables, that it can traverse longer distances, and that it can be left without an attendant. None of these need important advantages can be denied.
On the other hand, the points in which the horse may claim the preference seem to me to be generally open to argument. Colonel Mayhew mentions the most important, the superiority in cross-country and in reconnaissance work.
But are they really so certain? In a foxhunt is it not notorious that a cyclist who knows the country is usually up at the finish? Can a cyclist send such regiments as I indicate would all be expert riders, not see a field footpath, lifting his machine over stiles and walls which would stop a horse?
Is invisibility not a factor in scouting, and is it not easier to conceal a cycle than a horse? Would a screen of mounted vehicles really have an advantage over an equal number of highly trained cyclist riflemen? It is at least not so certain as the advantages which I have indicated.
It would seldom be necessary in home defence to cover great distances in one day, but I am still of opinion that a forceful march of one hundred miles would be well within the powers of such a corps. Nor am I convinced that a cyclist at the end of a day's journey is less fit for action than a horseman under the same conditions.
With the ever-increasing drain upon the national purse for naval purposes, it becomes more important that we should economise where we can. Such a change as I suggest would, in my belief, give us a force which would be both cheaper and more efficient.
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.
Windlesham, Crowborough, Sussex.
SIR A. TURNER'S OPINION.
Many of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's suggestions have the endorsement of no few an authority than Major-General Sir Alfred Turner, who was Inspector-General of Auxiliary Forces from 1900 to 1904.
"I am decidedly of opinion," he told an "Express" representative yesterday, "that cyclists in small bodies might with advantage be permitted to do the following duties which are to-day, in many instances, performed by cavalrymen:—
Act for defensive purposes where good raids are available.
Reconnoitring, scouting, and patrolling along the roads both by day and night.
"The employment of cyclists by night would not only relieve many cavalrymen and their horse, but would have the additional advantage of strand complete silence of movement, in striking contract, with the clatter or thud of a horse's heals and the chance of an animal by its whinny giving the alarm to the enemy."
If Sir Alfred was quick to see the advantage of the extended use of cyclists in small tactics, however, he was equally swift to point out the fatal objections to their employment in large bodies as cavalry. He summed up these objections as follows:—
The inability of the cyclists to do cross-country work.
The fact that engagements do not take place in open rends.
The enormous amount of impediments which their use in large bodies would involve.
The absence of that moral effect on no enemy which cavalry can cause, and cavalry alone.
"I certainly think, however," he said, "that along the lines indicated Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's suggestion deserves the earnest consideration of all practical military men."
Sir Alfred added that he was likewise strongly in favour of the use of motors for transport. "But of course, they are at present useless for cross-country work," he said.
