view raw text
169000 HORSES IN A E F Total of 1500000 Helped Allies Victory in French Fields War Could Not Have Been Won WonWithout Without Their Aid in inArtillery Artillery Service Stars and Stripes November 29 191S After the battle of Verdun in which the French held their lines against the desperate and prot tracted onslaughts of tho German crown prince with troops and munitions rushed forward almost wholly by automobile transport some one called this a gasoline war The term stuck Tho wonders of modern army transport the quickness with which large bodies of men and huge quantities of supplies are moved have become commonplace The automobile does it So it is recorded and so it has been acceptetl The horse hasnt figured much in the calculations Now however steps forward the billets and re ¬ mounts division of Gl which is charged with the responsibility of equipping and supplying the American Expeditionary Force with animals for draft and riding with a declaration that the horse and its hybrid offspring tlie mule have played a highly important part in this war and the assertion that this was still much a horse war warWHEBE WHEBE GASOLIKE CAN GO GOThe The automobile may have won at Verdun says the billets and remounts division but the horse lias won more victories than he has hairs on his top knot for say they no victory could have been attained no push could have succeeded unless the horse was on the job to pull the guns forward to take up the rations the water the ammunition through mud where trucks could not go or over shellswept ground equally impassable for the gaso ¬ linepropelled vehicle vehicleThere There are 1500000 horses and mules doing their bit for the allied cause in France now Approxi mately half or them are in the artillery service Practically all of the field artillery of all the allied armies below the sixinch nun is horse drawn The other half is working at a multi ¬ tude of duties most of which have taken them under fire at the front frontIt It is the horse which takes the ration cart for ¬ ward over the shellswept shellpitted roads to the men in the line It is the horse which likewise takes forward the water It is the horse too which transports most of the small arms animu nition and some artillery shells and it Is the horse which does this when conditions are the hardest and the weather the worst With the coming of winter witli its snow its cold and its mud the horse just begins his work in earnest Then he carries on while the automobile seeks firmer safer paths behind behindTOTAL TOTAL AT 210000 AT FIRST FIRSTTlie Tlie American army now lias 169000 horses and mules on active duty This is what is left fit for senice at present of a total of 210000 horses and mules put into service by the arm Die rest were killed were wounded or became sick and1 are beiiig treated in hospitals hospitalsOwing Owing to the scarcity of ocean transport facilities the value of an army horse in Euroi e is almost incalculable His cash value is several times what it Is in tlie States For that reason extraordi ¬ nary means are employed for conserving tlie present supply A mobile veterinary hospital is attached to each army corps This receives all sick and wounded horses which there is a possibility of sav ¬ ing If the case is a serious one tlie animals are sent to base1 hospitals either French or American AmericanOne One of the largest veterinary hospitals in France is operated by the American urrny It will acconir modate 3000 animals A horse goes the cycle of the hospitals about the same way a soldier does and when he is fit is returned to service serviceSOME SOME DOS AND SOME UONTS UONTSWith With all this careful treatment however tlie wastage of horses is high Some of this is attrib uted to improper care There are cases where horses have been allowed to starve to death To counteract this carelessness the billets and remounts division has issued this list of dos and donts I to driversGet drivers Get acquainted with your horse so that you will know when he is fit fitTreat Treat him kindly and he will trust you youAlways Always carry one days feed of grain grainHave Have a water bucket as a part of your equip niertt nierttIf If out of feed cut or pull grass Dead grass is better than none at all If there is no grass cut brushes or shrubbery shrubberyIf If you have no water bucket use your helmet helmetWhen When mounted If you know your horse you should know when he needs a rest If you dismount and lead him you will readily see how much it refreshes him himNever Never lose an opportunity to put your horse under shelter at night If you have no cover improvise it A grain sack is quite a protection from rain or cold
