The British Army Regular Mounted Infantry 1880-1913 / Andrew Winrow.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 256-281) and index.

The quest for mobile firepower -- Foundations -- Doctrine -- Forging an identity -- Training the Mounted Infantry -- Colonial warfare and the Mounted Infantrymounted Infantry paradigm -- Imperial perspectives -- A wild goose chase: South Africa 1899-1902 -- Remonstrance, renaissance and re-designation -- Demise -- Conclusions -- Appendices -- Biographies of senior Mounted Infantry officers -- Mounted Infantry Camel Regiment 1884-85 composition -- The Square at Abu Klea 1885 -- Development of the Regular Mounted Infantry in South Africa 1899-1902 -- Evolution of tactics in South Africa 1899-1902: the "galloping charge".

"Rather than fight on horseback in the traditional manner of cavalry, the regular Mounted Infantry would use horses primarily to move swiftly about the battlefield, where they would then dismount and fight on foot, thus appearing to anticipate the development of mechanised infantry tactics during the twentieth century. Yet despite being one the most important innovations of the late Victorian and Edwardian British Army, the mounted infantry concept was abandoned by the British Army in 1913, just at the point when it may have made the transition from a colonial to a continental force. Exploring the historical background to the Mounted Infantry, this book untangles the debates that raged between its advocates and the supporters of the established cavalry."--Provided by publisher.