U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps: Wheels of War

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The trip lasted 40 days: 34 spent in travel and six used for rest and repairs. Due to the extreme road and weather conditions, the men pushed their bicycles nearly 400 of the total 1,900 miles traveled. Initially, the corps averaged 52 miles a day, but once the unit passed beyond the Sand Hills the rate increased to 60 miles.

Moss reported several problems that needed to be addressed, including the increase of regulation rations, as provisions intended for two days lasted for only four meals. He also recommended the addition of shock absorbers to the handlebars to prevent jarring, as many men had suffered numbing pain from traveling over rough roads and railroad tracks. In some places they had actually found it easier to carry their fully loaded bicycles on their shoulders.

Nonetheless, the experiment demonstrated that a bicycle corps could travel twice as fast as cavalry and infantry under the same topographical conditions, at one-third the cost. Moss remarked that a bicycle corps would be particularly useful in situations that required speed rather than numbers, such as taking possession of bridges or passes and holding them until reinforcements arrived. ‘The bicycle has a number of advantages over the horse,’ Moss noted, ‘it does not require as much care, it needs no forage, it moves much faster over fair roads . . . it is noiseless and raises but little dust, and it is impossible to determine its direction from its tracks.’ Still, Moss made it clear that he didn’t believe a bicycle corps could in any way take over the duties of mounted cavalry. He maintained that the services complemented each other, and a bicycle corps would best serve as adjuncts to both cavalry and infantry.

In the end, the army decided not to establish a permanent bicycle corps. Lack of good roads, the large supply of horses, and the country’s vast expanse all worked against the plan. After returning by train to their post at Fort Missoula, the bicycle corps was disbanded as an active unit. Although several different types of bicycles were developed for the army–including some models that carried machine guns and repeating rifles–they failed to pass the strenuous field tests. The arduous experience of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps would never be repeated.

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Tags: African American History, American History, Military Technology

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