BICYCLES IN WAR

Caidin who writes both fiction and military history by the yard, here takes a quick look at some of the world's least famous warriors -- soldiers on bicycles. From the first cumbersome monstrosities used during the Franco-Prussian War to the trenches of WW I to Dien Bien Phu, the lowly, unheroic bicycle has been the secret weapon in many a battle. Though Americans have been partial to heavily mechanized, motorized transport Caidin opines that the two wheeler has always been ""ideally suited to what was to become known as guerrilla warfare."" The IRA used it with great success and so did the Vietcong pedaling silently and swiftly through the Asian jungles. Some will call this military marginalia of the most lightweight sort; to Caidin and his collaborator it's an inspiring variant on the David and Goliath story as the $20.00 bike bests the six million dollar jet bomber. A quirky little mix of social and military history.