for all my demands can very well be saved if we
make up our minds to leave out all superfluities in the daily routine
of duty; and as regards the question of school accommodation, it is
well within the bounds of possibility for most regiments to provide
themselves with a fourth school--eventually even with a fifth--out of
their own financial resources. No investment could be more
remunerative. Certainly under circumstances red tape may stand in the
way; but when his superiors will support the Regimental Commander, and
sometimes without, one will generally find appreciative backing, even
from the War Office (_Intendantur_).

If the drawbacks and difficulties in the way of the proposed changes
are, as I have endeavoured to show, to be surmounted, on the other
hand, the advantages accruing therefrom are so enormous that the
former need not be taken into consideration at all. In the first
place, as we have seen, better individual horsemanship and more
practice in riding on the bit are in themselves advantages which react
directly on the War efficiency of the whole squadron. Secondly, the
earlier completion of the remount training is a direct gain, for, in
case of mobilization, we shall be better able to place remounts in the
mobilized squadrons, leaving in exchange older horses behind, which is
again an advantage for the training of the recruits destined hereafter
to join us at the front. I cannot too earnestly warn against the
taking of _all_ the old horses into the field. No man can foretell how
great the losses will be, but that they will be great admits of no
doubt whatever. Nor is it at all certain that future Wars will be of
short duration; on the contrary, they may drag on for a very long
time. Hence it is absolutely indispensable that suitable horses for
recruit training should be left behind, even if the marching out
strength per squadron should be reduced by a file or two--it cannot be
many in any case. For the rest, the quicker and better training of the
recruits will be all to the good in case of War breaking out, as one
will be able to detail men for the field squadrons towards the close
of the winter season--_i.e._, some weeks sooner than under the old
system; and finally the proposed procedure brings with it an enormous
gain of time in the training of the whole arm.

To begin with, we gain in winter the months from the middle of
February to the beginning of the Drill Season (April). This time can
be devote