UHLANS AND THEIR LANCES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 18, 5 March 1915, Page 8 (Supplement)

UHLANS AND THEIR LANCES.

The Uhlan—the cavalry arm of th* German airmy—liar, had his full share of fighting at Liege and at dther places oil the long line of battle now raging. Splendid efficiency is the which the Uhlan enjoys both at home and in the camps of the enemy. This high standing was ivon mainly during the Franco-Prussian War. wlun they did wonderful scout service and were no mean factor in boating down the. opposition of the French in the field. The Uhlan hussar wa.s borrowed from the Pol/'ph military system. Uhlan meant simply lancer. Hussar is a word, that comes from the languages of the Hungarians, meaning twenty. It commemorates the time- when every group of twenty men hi the kingdom was required to furnish one cavalryman. So it means the representative of twenty men. The word dates from the time of Math'ns Corvinus. when, in Hungarian levins, every twenty men had to furnish one fully-equipped horseman, who. in accordance with tb;> fact, was called "hussar." So efficient was the Uhlan in the war of forty-fouir years ago that h e «a s called the "uhiluiitous Uhlan.'' The lance is the distinguishing arm of the Uhlan. It was the Polish lancers, th© finc=t regiments of light horse m the Austrian service, that made th-e arm popular in all the armies of Europe. Part of its success is owing to the great care takni in forming ihe regiments They are divided in groupe of 100 or less, and only men of like habits of mind are' admitted to a group. The officer in charge must understand each man intimately in character, physical strength, and temper, for horse and man must be matched with the utmost, care and judgment.