General von Bernhardi is a distinguished cavalry officer, and he writes with remarkable independence on the special work of his own arm, never hesitating to criticise the regulations of the German Army, when he considers that they do not correspond to the actual conditions of war. The book, though written in the first instance for cavalry officers, will be found of interest to all who wish to understand what cavalry is called upon to do and how it does it in the war of to-day. It will be found to be full of useful instruction for not only officers of the regular cavalry and the yeomanry, but also for officers and non-commissioned officers of our cyclist battalions, whose work brings them into such close relation with our cavalry in war and man?uvres, and who have to perform much the same work as that of the cavalry in reconnaissance, screening, and outpost duties.
General von Bernhardi's work deals with cavalry in war and peace, but much of the second part, dealing with peace duties and training, is made up of a mass[Pg 6] of detail on parade and riding-school work, as carried out in the German Army. This has been omitted, but his remarks on cavalry training at man?uvres are included in an appendix. Sir John French's introduction gives us the views of the greatest of our own cavalry leaders, who is now commanding our Army in France.