[28] Snow lay on the ground in the Baalbek-Rayak area for a considerable part of the winter, and on the western side of the Lebanon, in the Beirût-Tripoli area, for short periods from time to time.
[29] Brigadier-General P.J.V. Kelly, C.M.G., D.S.O., commanded 5th Mounted Brigade in 1917 operations and 13th Cavalry Brigade in 1918.
[30] See p. 94.
TRANSPORT AND AMMUNITION SUPPLY
The advance to Damascus and Aleppo in September and October 1918 proved with what a small amount of transport cavalry can operate, when local supplies are available. As already explained, during this advance no transport accompanied the divisions, except ammunition wagons and a few motor ambulance cars.
The opportunities for cavalry making a raid such a great distance into enemy country have seldom occurred in the past, and are likely to become even more rare in the future. When they do occur, however, the experience of this campaign points to the conclusion that there can be few countries in which cavalry can operate as such effectively, where they would not be able to dispense almost entirely with transport. The fact that mounted troops can move freely, denotes that the country is not excessively mountainous, and is, therefore (excluding desert land), more or less cultivated, thus providing food for man and horse. It must be remembered that much of the country through which the cavalry passed between the 25th of September and the 28th of October is poorly cultivated, and all of it had been mercilessly laid under requisition by the Turks and Germans for the supply of their armies. Yet it was found possible to secure food and forage for three cavalry divisions, a total of nearly 20,000 men and a similar number of horses, without extreme difficulty, and without in any way depriving the inhabitants of essential food.
If, however, the country through which it is proposed to advance is incapable of supporting the force, sufficient transport must be taken to carry supplies for such a number of days as may be requisite. The pace of the cavalry will then be, to a great extent, limited by the pace of their transport, and for this reason every effort should be made to increase the mobility of cavalry transport vehicles.