effectives which constitute national armies was made possible
only by the railways, which are alone able to assure the supply
of food and munitions needed by such a mass of humanity. But
steel tracks are by nature rigid, and the employment of motor
transport on a large scale has both expanded their functions and
rendered them supple. It is by the organized combination of
these two means of transport that it is possible to rain on the
enemy such rapid and effective blows that he must succumb.
Strictly, the railways in times of peace function under conditions
quite comparable to those of war. For the economic requirements
of peace no less than of war demand incessant and strict attention
to ensure railway efficiency. On the other hand, there is only a
distant comparison between the use of motor vehicles one by one
in times of peace and their employment in compact groups
during war operations. There is, therefore, a special interest in
trying to trace, after the experience of the World War, the techni-
cal facts which would serve as a basis for the employment of
motor transport on a large scale in future operations. In the
following account, illustrated by practical examples, taken from
the use of motor vehicles during the operations of the Allied
armies on the French front, there will be discussed the general
principles underlying (I.) transport of troops, (II.) transport of
materiel and (III.) intensive traffic on roads.
I. TRANSPORT or TROOPS
The Vehicle. Troops have sometimes been carried in ordinary touring-cars. During the battle of the Marne (Sept. 9 1914), at the moment when the French army of General Maunoury was massing outside Paris, there were grouped together all available taxicabs to take direct to the front the infantry of a division which, arriving by rail from the Vosges, was detraining in the stations of the northern suburbs of Paris. This method can only be employed in exceptional cases, because the car or taxicab has so small a carrying power, requiring one driver for every three or four combatants carried, while such vehicles for the most part differ in speed. On the other hand, such motor-vehicles as are designed to convey a larger number of passengers in peace-time, e.g. motor omnibuses or chars-d-bancs, are eminently serviceable. Thus it was in motor omnibuses, which were employed in the first transport groups of the French army, that there were carried to Belgium, at the beginning of Aug. 1914, the detachments of infantry which operated in support of the cavalry. In the same way the British army employed at the outset the London motor omnibuses; and the " Bus Park," which was placed behind the centre of the English armies, was always able to supply rapid transport for reserves behind the front. Motor omnibuses, sight- seeing vehicles, private motor cars, and all other vehicles of a similar character utilized in towns in peace-time, have the advan- tage of being always prepared to carry passengers. They have often, however, the disadvantage of having been built for street use and not for any and every kind of route; moreover, they are useless for any other form of transport except for carrying men, so that they will often remain useless when the army has no need to move troops and yet the need for the transport of materiel is pressing. A park of motor omnibuses represents therefore a collection of drivers and machines that is frequently immobile; one must be very rich in means of transport to enjoy this luxury, and one can never be so rich when operations are active.
The ideal vehicle is the common motor lorry (or truck, as Americans call it). It is necessary to adapt it, i.e. to place in it movable benches, which can be very rapidly installed when it is necessary to carry men, and can be removed without difficulty when it is necessary to carry materiel. In accordance with the capacity of the body, which itself partly depends on its load capacity, the lorry can carry from 1 6 to 25 men with their arms and equipment. The lorry is designed for travelling long dis- tances over indifferent roads; having solid rubber tires, it does not suffer from breakdowns through punctures.
The method of loading men into lorries also requires considera- tion, since the efficiency of transport depends considerably on it. One good rule is for the driver or his assistant to supervise the loading, and to get the men on board first, their arms and
baggage following them. It is necessary to appoint a " chief of the lorry " who takes charge of the interior and keeps good order. Again, it is advisable to be very careful lest men lie on the floor boards and breathe the exhaust gases: this is a very serious cause of asphyxiation. It is, therefore, necessary to see to the ventilation of the lorry and to ensure that the exhaust pipes are in good condition.
During the World War not only were units of infantry trans- ported but also artillery formations; likewise, in some exceptional cases, cavalry with their horses. How can horses most easily be carried? The body of the lorry must be as large and the bottom as low as possible, to make the loading more easy, and the ceiling must be high enough to prevent the horses from being injured by striking their heads. In accordance with these arrangements, the horses may be placed either lengthwise or crosswise. But they should be close to one another, to save them from bump- ing; and there should be no difficulty of access to where their heads are, in order that they may eat and drink on the road. These precautions taken, it has been found that horses travel as well by motor lorry as in a railway wagon.
Is it better, generally, to have for transport of troops heavy lorries (of 5 tons or greater freightage) or lighter lorries (of 2-3 tons) ? This question has often been the subject of controversy. Experience shows that, with a proper arrangement of movable benches, it is possible to put in a heavy lorry, which has a very large body, many more men in proportion than in a light lorry; and it must not be forgotten that, for the greatest efficiency, one driver and one machine must carry the maximum number of men. On the other hand, if heavy and light lorries are both available, and troops as well as materiel have to be transported, it is better to use the light lorries for the transport of troops.
Organization of Lorries. Lorries move grouped in formations of varying importance, but two essential conditions must be observed: efficient control and effective maintenance. In propor- tion as there are built up and put into motion larger and larger masses of lorries, it is necessary to organize a succession of com- mands in such a way that each will be provided with proper supervision and direction. A type of organization modelled directly on that of infantry or artillery is here unsuitable. The basic unit, the smallest formation to be placed under the orders of an officer, should be formed of 15 to 30 vehicles. The officer who commands this unit is the veritable sheep-dog of his troop of lorries; he must himself have a touring-car (which should be open and not too fast), so as to allow him to follow his lorries wheri they are on the move, and above all when they are formed into a large column. The officer ought not to lead himself, but be able to keep his attention free, and to jump quickly from his car and speak to his drivers. In a large column the lorries ought to follow one another as closely as possible, because the efficiency of the route is dependent on the continuous progress of the lorries; a certain distance must be kept so as to allow the driver of a lorry to take note of what the lorry ahead is doing, and thus avoid collisions. This distance, which tends to increase uphill and de- crease downhill, should average 10 metres at night, when march- ing with lights extinguished. The drivers ought to be trained to keep their exact distance. For this purpose it is useful to paint, at the back of the lorry, marks on a white ground, percep- tible to the eye even in complete darkness. The use of lumi- nous paint has been found practicable. Next above the basic unit (which takes various names according to the armies, e.g. " section " or " platoon ") is placed the " company " or the " group," nor- mally comprising three or four sections. The commander of the group or company is no longer the sheep-dog of his lorries; he is the shepherd. It is he who guides them in their itineraries, places them in billets and allots them to their work. He must, therefore, have a much more powerful touring-car, so as to be able rapidly to reconnoitre ahead. He should have a liaison officer, with a motor bicycle or cycle-car, to transmit his orders rapidly, and also a second in command, to maintain continuity. There should be as many lorries in a group or company as are needed to transport a battalion of infantry. If the battalion has i ,000 men and the lorry holds 20, there must be 50 lorries always
