Page 149 - MustangEbook

run the show. His title literally means, “taking a Roman innovation. The drum was used to
the place of the colonel.” beat time. The regular rhythm of cadence
marching that moves tired troops along with
WHY A LIEUTENANT GENERAL a little more spirit and efficiency,
RANKS ABOVE MAJOR GENERAL particularly if the step is set by music. The
SAF / Army parade marches at a cadence of
In the Army, a Major is senior to a 120 paces per minute.
Lieutenant. So why does a Major-General
rank below a Lieutenant-General?
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMBAT
ARMS
The rank of Major-General was originally
known as “Sergeant-Major General”, later Armies are composed of “combat arms”
shortened to its present use. The rank of full which do the actual fighting and “supporting
General was known as “Captain-General.” services” which back them up
This explains our present General Officer administratively. The “Arms” in a modern
ranks of (in descending order): General, army are Infantry, Armour and Artillery.

The “Services” are Quartermaster, Medical,
Lieutenant-General, Major-
General. For starters, since a Major and Ordnance, Chemical, Transportation,
Captain are both higher up the chain of Engineers, Signal and Military Police.
command than a Lieutenant, why is a
Lieutenant-General above a Major- QUEEN OF THE BATTLEFIELD
General?
Infantry was the “Queen of Battles” in ancient
warfare and still is today. With the decline of
The answer is found in the original meaning the Romans, however, Infantry supremacy
of the word. Lieu comes from the Latin term
for “place” (locus) – so “in lieu of” is another died. It was almost a thousand years before
way of saying “in place of.” Tenant comes Infantry was again the decisive arm.
from the Latin word for “holding” (tenere.)
Put them together and you have someone During the feudal epoch, the man on
who holds another’s place or position. A horseback ruled the battlefield. Foot soldiers
Lieutenant is a deputy or substitute who acts were, for the most part, ragged mobs of
for a superior.A “Lieutenant-Colonel” is unkempt, undisciplined, poorly armed
immediately under a Colonel, therefore, and soldiers who just couldn’t afford to buy a
a “Lieutenant-General” is the closest person horse and equipment.
to a full-fledged General.
Within the general designation of “infantry
”
CADENCE MARCHING there have been many different kinds of
“soldiers who fight on foot. ”
Primitive armies marched in a column-of-
bunches formation without any attempt at CAVALRY/ARMOUR
keeping in step with each other. When
tactical formations were developed, it In ancient times Cavalry was a very
became necessary for men to keep step. But subordinate arm. It was not until the
the idea of keeping step during marches was development of the stirrup that a man on