Horses in World War I - Essay Example

Abstract The use of horses during the World War 1 marked a transition in the advancement of armed conflict. Mounted troops divisions were considered necessary initially but as the war progressed, the susceptibility of horses in the modern warfare artillery decreased their value in the battlefield. Calvary were ultimately replaced by the development of tanks. Even if the value of the horse changed drastically, horses still played a very important role in the war. Horses in World War I The conflict in the World War 1 begun with cavalry forces from the major combatants. Germany and Australia/Hungary, the central powers, stopped using horses on the western front shortly after the war begun. They were continually deployed in a restricted way on the eastern front during the war. Cavalry was used extensively by the Ottoman Empire. The United Kingdom, on the allied side, usually used mounted cavalry and infantry charges throughout the war unlike the United States who used cavalry for a limited period. Allied cavalry was somehow successful in the Middle Eastern arena possibly since the enemy was less technologically advanced and weaker, but less successful in the western front. Russia also used cavalry in the eastern front, but had minimal success. Logistical support was one of the key reasons military used horses. They were better than mechanised vehicles since they would travel through mud, however deep it was, and over rugged ground. Horses would carry messengers and pull ambulances, artillery and the supply wagons. They were also used for reconnaissance. Presence of horses increased the morale among the front soldiers though the animals contributed to the poor sanitation and diseases in camps due to their carcasses and collected waste ( Heineman Jr). The swelling difficulty of changing horses and their value became a greater concern than even the loss of a soldier. In the end, the allied barricade barred the importation of horses by the central powers to replace the lost ones, which contributed a great deal in the Germany’s defeat. Even when the war about to end, the United States’ army had few horses. At the front, horses were faced by severe conditions and suffered the brute of the war. Most of them were injured and killed by artillery fire, others injured by poisonous gases and others suffered from skin disorders like mange and respiratory diseases. Hundred thousands of horses were killed in the war and many when injured, were treated in veterinary hospitals and taken back to the front when treated. Equine food procurement was a main concern and Germany lost quite a number of horses from starvation due to lack of fodder. Many horses also died from exhaustion, falling in shell holes, drowning, and being mired in mud (Pamela ). Even before the war, it had been perceived that improvement in technology would mean that an era of mounted warfare would come to an end. Most senior cavalry disagreed with this and kept ready cavalry regiments throughout the war. Minimal wartime resources were used in the maintenance and training of horse soldiers and regiments that were rarely used. Continued use of mounted troops strategies caused a continued killing of soldiers and horses in a futile attempt to battle machineguns and modern warfare. British’s horse soldiers were trained to attack on both foot and while mounted, but most of the other European cavalry relied on the shock strategy of mounted attacks. Isolated instances of success in the shock mounted attacks on the western front existed, especially where cavalry divisions provided essential mobile firepower. Early in 1917, mounted troops were set up besides tanks and aircrafts especially in the Battle of Cambria (Pamela). Cavalry was supposed to go through the battle line that slower tanks could not. Later in the year, cases of deployed cavalry were still eminent with allied troops harnessing the retreating German troops in 1918 in the Hundred Days Offensive period where tanks and horses were continually used to in the same battles. Mounted troops were however not dispensable on the Middle East and Eastern front compared to their prevalent use in the western front. Some European armies, especially on the continental side, considered horses to hold a vital role in their battle, even before the war begun. Russia had a similar view and at the time it got into the war, it had thirty six mounted troops divisions. The Russian government even stated that its cavaliers would plunge deep into Germany’s heart. The Russian mounted soldiers were soon surrounded by the German forces and destroyed. Transport of cavalries was a hardship for Russian infrastructure especially because of the large distances they had to travel. Horse soldiers from central powers also faced similar problems with transport and tactics failure. Apart from being the cavalry mounts, horses also pulled ambulances and carried supplies and ordnance. Earlier in the war, German army depended on horses to transport their ammunition wagons for artillery and field kitchens ( Heineman Jr). Thousands of horses were being used to transport the large field guns. About six to around twelve were needed to pull every gun. Horses could also be used to recover guns netted by rival forces. In an occurrence, two groups of sixteen horses had had their hooves, pulling chains and tacks enveloped so as to reduce noise. Sometimes dummy horses could be used to cuckold the enemy about the location of their troops. There’s also evidence that Germany used some horses in their research on biological and chemical war tactics. Mediators from Germany were at an instance suspected to have infected horses and cattle bound for franc with glandes, a disease that could fatally spread to humans. They also used similar tactics on Russia, breaking down their ability to move weapons. The worth of horses was clear to all. In 1917’s battle of Passchendaele, soldiers at the frontage fully comprehended that losing a horse at that juncture would be worse than losing one of them, as men were replaceable but horses weren’t. Horses in Britain were so valuable that when a soldier’s horse died, he was supposed to cut a hoof and take it to the commanding officer to express that the two had not just been merely parted ( Heineman Jr). The horses that remained after the war did not always have good lives. Brooke Trust for instance was started in 1930 after a young woman arrived in Cairo and found hundreds of former troops’ owned horses staying in very poor environments. This was after the sale of horses when the war ended. Old War Horse Memorial hospital created in 1934 under the trust helped approximately five thousand horses that served in the World War 1. In several countries, memorials have been established to honour the horses that perished during the war. Artists have also documented comprehensively the role of horses in World War 1. Poems, plays, novels and even documentaries have also showcased the horses of World War 1. Works Cited Heineman, Jr, Ben W. The Real Story of War Horses on the Western Front. New York: Harvard Business Press, 2011. Print. Pamela, Rushby. The Horses Didn’t Come Home. Sidney, 2012. Print. Read More