The use of horses in World War I marks a transitional period in the evolution of armed conflict. The cavalry unit was originally regarded as an important offensive element of military power, but during the war, the horse's vulnerability to modern machine guns and artillery fire reduced their utility on the battlefield. This parallels the development of the tank, which will eventually replace the cavalry in a shock tactic. While the horse's perceived value in the war changed dramatically, horses still played an important role during the war.
All the major combatants in World War I (1914-1918) began a conflict with the cavalry forces. The Germans stopped using them on the Western Front as soon as the war began, but continued to be used confined to the Eastern Front well into the war. The Ottoman Empire used the cavalry extensively during the war. On the Allied side, the United Kingdom used infantry and cavalry troops deployed throughout the war, but the United States used the cavalry for only a short time. Though not very successful on the Western Front, Allied cavalry had some success in Middle Eastern theater, against weak and technologically undemanding foes. Russia used cavalry forces on the Eastern Front, but with limited success.
The military mainly uses horses for logistical support; they are better than mechanical vehicles while traveling through deep mud and above rough terrain. Horses are used for reconnaissance and for carrying couriers, as well as attracting artillery, ambulances, and wagon supplies. The presence of horses often raises morale among the soldiers up front, but the animals contribute to illness and poor sanitation in the camps, â € <â € His condition is severe for the horse in front; they were killed by artillery fire, suffering from skin disorders, and injured by poison gas. Hundreds of thousands of horses died, and many more were hospitalized and sent back to the front. Getting fodder is a big problem, and Germany lost many horses because of starvation. Several memorials have been erected to commemorate the dead horses. Artists, including Alfred Munnings, extensively documented horse work in war, and horses featured in war poetry. Novels, dramas and documentaries also feature World War I horses. Video Horses in World War I
Cavalry
Many British tactics experts outside the cavalry unit realized before the war that technological advancement meant that the era of war that was being installed would be over soon. However, many senior cavalry officers disagreed, and despite limited utility, maintained a cavalry regiment at the ready throughout the war. The scarce resources of war are used to train and maintain a rarely used cavalry regiment. Continuous tactical use of the cavalry charge resulted in the loss of many troops and horses in a fruitless attack on machine guns.
At the beginning of the war, cavalry battles took place on several fronts, and troops mounted on horses were widely used for reconnaissance. The British cavalry was trained to fight on foot and on horseback, but most other European cavalry still relied on the shock tactics of the indictment. There are isolated examples of successful surprise battles on the Western Front, where the cavalry division also provides important mobile weapons. Beginning in 1917, cavalry troops were deployed alongside tanks and aircraft, especially at the Battle of Cambrai, where cavalry were expected to exploit a breakthrough in a line no slower tanks could do. This plan never succeeded because of the loss of opportunity and the use of machine guns by German forces. In Cambrai, troops from Britain, Canada, India, and Germany participated in the action that was installed. The cavalry was still deployed at the end of the war, with Allied cavalry forces abusing German troops who retreated in 1918 during the Hundred Days Attacks, when horses and tanks continued to be used in the same battle. Compared to their limited use on the Western Front, "the cavalry is absolutely inseparable" on the East and in the Middle East.
Major changes in cactical tactical use were typical of World War I, because improved weaponry made frontal accusations ineffective. Although cavalry is used with good effects in Palestine, in the Third Battle of Gaza and the Battle of Megiddo, the mode of war generally changes. Tanks began to take over the role of a surprise battle. The use of trench warfare, barbed wire and machine guns made the traditional cavalry almost obsolete. After the war, the forces of world power began a process of mechanization in earnest, and most of the horsemen were converted into mechanized or dissolved units. Historian G.J. Meyer writes that "The Great War brought the end of the cavalry". From the Middle Ages to the 20th century, cavalry forces had dominated the battlefield, but since the beginning of the American Civil War, their value in the war declined as artillery became stronger, reducing the effectiveness of shock allegations. The Western Front in World War I showed that the cavalry forces were virtually useless against modern weaponry, and it also reinforced that they were difficult to transport and supply. British cavalry officers, much more than their counterparts in the European continent, insisted on using and maintaining cavalry, believing that the troops installed would be useful to exploit infantry breakthroughs, and in the right circumstances would be able to confront machine-guns. None of these beliefs is proved true.
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Britain has increased cavalry reserves after seeing Boer's effectiveness driven during the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Horse-mounted units were used since the earliest days of World War I: on August 22, 1914, Britain's first shot of war in France was fired by a cavalry, Edward Thomas of Ireland's Fourth Dragoon Guard, near Casteau, during a patrol in the buildup for the Battle of Mons. In 19 days Britain began its mobilization for war, on 24 August 1914, the 9th Lancers, a cavalry regiment led by David Campbell, involving German troops with the 4th Dragoon Bodyguard squadron against German infantry and weapons. Campbell obeys his orders to attack, though he believes the wiser action is fighting down. The allegations resulted in the loss of 250 British men and 300 horses. On September 7, Campbell's troops attacked again, this time toward the German Guard, Dragoons, another smooth cavalry regiment. That same year, the British Household Cavalry completed their second operation behind them on horseback - Allied withdrawal from Mons.
After reaching the Aisne River and facing the trench system, the cavalry was found ineffective. While the cavalry division was still formed in England, the cavalry forces quickly became accustomed to battle down. Britain continued to use cavalry during the war, and in 1917, the Household Cavalry made its final attack during a diversionary attack on the Hindenburg Line at Arras. On the orders of Field Marshal Douglas Haig, Life Guard and the Blues, accompanied by people from the 10th Hussars, attacked heavy machine gun fire and barbed wire, and massacred by German defenders; Hussars lost two-thirds of their amount in the indictment. The last British death of enemy action before the ceasefire came into force was a cavalry, George Edwin Ellison, of C Troop 5th Royal Irish Lancers. Ellison was shot by a sniper when the regiment moved to Mons on 11 November 1918.
Regardless of their poor record in Europe, the horse proved indispensable to British war effort in Palestine, especially under Field Marshal Edmund Allenby, in which the cavalry formed most of its troops. Most of its troops are not regular British cavalry, but the Installed Corps in the Desert, which consists of a mix of Australian, New Zealand, Indian and British regimental units from the Territorial Army, most of which are equipped with infantry mounted rather than cavalry. In mid-1918, Turkish intelligence estimated that Allenby ordered about 11,000 horsemen. Allenby's forces destroyed Turkish troops in a series of ongoing battles including the widespread use of cavalry by both sides. Some cavalry tactics view this act as justification for cavalry use, but others show that the Turks lost two to one at the end of 1918, and not the first-class troops. Horses are also driven by British officers from Egypt's Camel Transport Corps in Egypt and the Levant during the Sinai and Palestinian Campaigns.
India
Indian Cavalry participated in action on the West and Palestinian fronts throughout the war. Members of the first and second active Indian Cavalry Division on the Western Front, including in Germany withdrew to the Hindenburg Lines and at the Battle of Cambrai. The allegations by the 5th Cavalry Brigade (Mhow) of the 1st Division ended successfully at the Battle of Cambrai despite opposing a fortified position with barbed wire and machine guns. This successful ending was an unusual occurrence during the war. Several Indian cavalry divisions joined forces with Allenby in the spring of 1918 after being transferred from the Western Front.
Canada
When the war began, Lord Strathcona's Horse, a Canadian cavalry regiment, was mobilized and sent to England for training. The regiment served as an infantry in the French trench during 1915, and was not restored to their installed status until 16 February 1916. In defense of the Somme front in March 1917, the troops were capable of seeing the action, and Lieutenant Frederick Harvey was awarded Victoria Cross for his actions. Canadian cavalry in general have the same difficulty as other countries in solving deadcock trench warfare and little use on the front lines. However, in the spring of 1918, the Canadian cavalry was very important in stopping the last major German offensive in the war. On March 30, 1918, the Canadian cavalry accused the German position in the Battle of Moreuil Wood, defeating German troops backed by machine-gun fire. The allegations were made by Lord Strathcona's Horse, led by Gordon Flowerdew, who then anummenerically rewarded Victoria Cross for his actions during the allegations. Although German troops surrendered, three-quarters of the 100 cavalry participating in the attack were killed or wounded in an attack on 300 German soldiers.
Australia and New Zealand
The Mounted Division Australia and New Zealand (known as ANZAC Mounted Division) were formed in Egypt in 1916, after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were disbanded. It consists of four brigades, 1, 2, and 3 Australian Light Horse and New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigades. All have fought in Gallipoli down. In August, the division's dynamic capabilities were effectively combined with the static 52th (Lowland) Infantry Division at the Battle of Romani, where they deflected the Ottoman invasion attempted in the Suez Canal. This victory stopped the progress of Kress von Kressenstein's Expeditionary Force (the 3rd Infantry Division and Pasha I formation) into the Suez Canal and forced his withdrawal under pressure. An Ottoman garrison at Magdhaba was defeated in December 1916 by a division with the attached Imperial Camel Corps Brigade and another large Ottoman fort at Rafah captured in January 1917. They participated in the First Battle of Gaza in March, and the Third Battle of Gaza (including the Battle of Beersheba ) in October 1917. They attacked down in the Second Battle of Gaza in April 1917. In 1918, ANZAC and the Australian Mounted Division, together with the Yeomanry Division at the Desert Gate Corps, carried out two attacks across the Jordan to Amman on the moon March, then move to Ice Salt in April. The Australian Mounted Division was armed with a mid-year sword, and as part of the Battle of Megiddo captured Amman (captured 10,300 prisoners), Nazareth, Jenin and Samakh in nine days. After the Armistice they participated in Gallipoli's reoccupation in December.
ANZAC and Mounted Australia divisions carrying rifles, bayonets and machine guns, generally use horses as fast transportation and descend to battle. The men's four men were arranged, so the three men fought while the fourth held the horse. Sometimes they fought as horsemen: at the Battle of Beersheba during the Sinai and the Palestinian Campaign in 1917, the Light Mounted Fourth Brigade of the Australian Mounted Division made what is sometimes called "the last successful cavalry parade in history", when two regiments succeeded in raiding Turkish ditch. They formed over a large area, to avoid offering targets for enemy artillery, and running 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) into machine-gun fire, equipped only with rifles and bayonets. Some of the front rows fell, but most of the brigades broke through, their horses leaping over the trenches into enemy camps. Some soldiers descended to fight in the trenches, while others ran to Beersheba, to seize the city and its vital water supply. The accusation "plays a role in securing Allenby's victory [in Palestine]".
Australians are primarily riding Waler horses. The British cavalry officer, Lieutenant Colonel RMP Preston DSO, summed up the animal performance in his book, The Desert Mounted Corps:
... (16 November 1917) The operation now continues for 17 days non-stop, and the break is absolutely necessary especially for the horses. The cavalry division has traveled nearly 170 miles... and their horses have been watered on average once every 36 hours... The heat is also very strong and the ration is short, 9 1 / 2 A day without mass food, greatly weakens them. Indeed, the difficulties experienced by some horses are almost unbelievable. One battery from the Australian Mounting Division is only able to water the horses three times in the last nine days - the actual intervals are 68, 72 and 76 hours respectively. But this battery upon arrival has lost just eight horses out of exhaustion, not counting those killed in action or evacuated... Most of the horses in the Corps are Walers and there is no doubt that these loud Australian horses make the best cavalry ride. in this world...
Continental Europe
Before the war began, many continental European troops still considered the cavalry to hold an important place in the course of their battle. France and Russia expanded their military units before 1914. From the Central Bloc, Germany added thirteen armed regiments, Austria-Hungary expanded their troops, and Bulgarian troops also prepared cavalry in their troops. When the Germans attacked in August 1914, the Belgians had a cavalry division.
The French cavalry had a similar problem to horses on the Western Front as England, although the treatment of their horses created additional difficulties. The general opinion is that the French are a poor horseman: "The French cavalry of 1914 sat on his horse beautifully, but there was no horsemaster, not thinking of releasing his horse whenever he could, so there were thousands of animals with back pain... ". A French general, Jean-FranÃÆ'§ois Sordet, is accused of not allowing horses to have access to water in hot weather. By the end of August 1914, one-sixth of a horse in a French cavalry could not be used. The French continued to distance themselves from the war that was installed when in June 1918 it was loaded by the French lancers, the horses were abandoned and people were charged on foot.
Russia had thirty-six cavalry divisions when entering the war in 1914, and the Russian government claimed that horsemen would go deep into the heart of Germany. Despite Russian troops entering Germany, they soon meet with German troops. At the Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914, troops headed by Field Marshal Germany Paul von Hindenburg and Lieutenant General Erich Ludendorff besieged Russia's Second Army and destroyed Don Cossack's horsemen serving as the special guard of Russian General Alexander Samsonov. Other Russian cavalry units successfully harassed the Austro-Hungarian troops who retreated in September 1914, with fighting running eventually resulting in the loss of 40,000 of the 50,000 people in the Austrian-Hungarian Tyrolean XIV Corps, which included the 6th Regiment of the Rifle. Transporting cavalry created difficulties for the already tense Russian infrastructure, because the very distance they needed to move meant that they had to be transported by train. Approximately the same number of trains (about 40) were required to transport a cavalry division of 4,000 to transport an infantry division of 16,000.
The Central Bloc, Germany and Austria-Hungary cavalry faces the same problem with transportation and tactical failure as Russia. Germany initially used the cavalry extensively, including a spear battle against Britain in late 1914, and an engagement between the 1st British Cavalry Brigade and the German 4th Cavalry Division ahead of the First Marne War in September 1914. The battle ended "clearly for cavalry losses Germany ", in part because of artillery use by the British L Battery accompanying horse artillery. The Germans stopped using the cavalry on the Western Front shortly after the start of the war, in response to the Armed Forces' change-fighting tactics, including more sophisticated weaponry. They continued to use cavalry to some extent on the Eastern Front, including investigations into Russian territory in early 1915. Austria was forced to stop using cavalry due to large-scale equipment failures; The Austrian military sadel was so poorly designed to rub the skin from the horse's unharmed back to the equipment of the parade exercise; just a few weeks into the war half of all Austrian mounted mountains are disabled, and the rest is almost so.
Ottoman Empire
In 1914, Ottoman Turks began a war with a cavalry regiment in the Turkish army corps and four reserve regiments (originally formed in 1912) under the control of the Turkish Third Army. This reserve regiment consists of Kurds, rural Turkey and some Armenians. The performance of the reserve division was very poor, and in March 1915 the surviving troops turned into two divisions of only two thousand and seventy officers. Later that month, the best regiments were consolidated into one division and the rest were dissolved. Nevertheless, the cavalry was used by Ottoman troops throughout 1915 in engagements with Russia, and a cavalry unit even fired small arms with submariners at the Dardanelles in early 1915. The Turkish cavalry was used in engagements with Britain, including the Third Battle of Gaza at the end of 1917. In this battle, the two sides used cavalry troops as a strategic part of their troops. Cavalry continued to engage in engagements until 1918, including in conflicts near the Jordan River in April and May of that year, called by the Ottomans as the First and Second Battle of Jordan, part of the approaching Battle of Megiddo. In September 1918, regular army cavalry troops were deployed across the Turkish front, and the only reserve troops ready to operate in the Ottoman military were two cavalry divisions, formed after the initial problem in 1915.
United States
In 1916, the United States Cavalry consisted of 15,424 members organized in 15 regiments, including headquarters, supplies, machine guns and rifles. Just before officially joining the war effort, the US had gained significant experience in 1916 and 1917 during the Pancho Villa Expedition in Mexico, which helped prepare the US Cavalry for World War I. In May 1917, a month after the US declaration of war, The National Defense Act came into force, creating 18th through the 25th US Cavalry regiment, and then that month, twenty more cavalry regiments were created. However, the British experience during the early years of the war showed that the battle of trenches and weapons including machine guns and artillery made cavalry warfare impractical. Thus, on October 1, eight new cavalry regiments were transformed into field artillery regiments by Congress order, and in August 1918, twenty units of the National Army horse were converted into thirty-nine mortar trenches and artillery batteries. Some horse units from the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 15th Cavalry regiments accompany US troops in Europe. The soldiers work mainly as men and barriers, taking care of reman for artillery, medical corps and transportation services. Not until the end of August 1918 the US cavalry entered the battle. A temporary squadron of 418 officers and enlisted, representing the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and mounted on convalescent horses, was created to serve as scouts and couriers during the St Mihiel Offensive. On September 11, 1918, this army rode at night through the no man's land and penetrated five miles behind the German line. Once there, the cavalry is directed and must return to the territory of the Allies. Despite serving through the Meuse-Argonne Attack, in mid-October the squadron was removed from the front with only 150 people remaining.
Maps Horses in World War I
Logistics support
Horses are widely used for military trains. They are used to attract ambulances, carry supplies and weapons. At the beginning of the war, the Germans depended on horses to pull out their field kitchens, as well as carriages of ammunition for artillery brigades. Royal Corps of Signals use horses to pull cable cars, and the precision of couriers and delivery of drivers rely on their mounts. Horses often attract artillery and stable animals are essential for artillery effectiveness. The common internal mud on some fronts, caused by the damaged drainage system flooding the nearby area, making horses and donkeys important, because that is the only way to get supplies forward and weapons moving from one place to another. After the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, a Canadian soldier recalled, "the horses climbed into their stomachs in the mud, we put them on the picket line between the wagon wheels at night and they would sink over their restraints the next day. We have to shoot pretty much. "
Thousands of horses are employed to withdraw weapons; six to twelve horses are required to pull every weapon. During the Cambrai Battle, horses were used to recover weapons captured by the British from the no man's land. In one instance, two teams of sixteen horses each had their nails, nails and pulled chains wrapped to reduce the noise. The team and its handlers then managed to pull two weapons and return them to the British line, the horses jumping trenches in the process and awaiting artillery attacks by German troops on the path they had to take.
Artificial horses are sometimes used to deceive the enemy to misread the location of troops. They were effectively used by Allenby during his campaign in the east, especially at the end of the war. There is evidence that Germany used horses in their experiments with chemical and biological wars. German agents in the US are suspected of infecting livestock and horses leading to France with glands, a disease that can spread fatal to humans; Similar tactics were used by Germany against Russia, causing damage to their ability to move artillery on the Eastern Front.
Horse value is known to everyone. In 1917 at the Battle of Passchendaele, the people at the frontline understood that "at this stage the loss of a horse is worse than the loss of a man because after all, man can be replaced while the horse does not." For England, the horse is so valuable that if the soldier's horse is killed or dead, he has to cut his nails and bring him back to his commander to prove that they are not just separated.
Procurement
Strength of Allies
To meet its need for horses, the British imported it from Australia, Canada, the US, and Argentina, and took it from the British civilian population. Lord Kitchener ordered that no horses under 15 hands (60 inches, 152 cm) should be confiscated, at the request of many English children, who care for the welfare of their horses. The British Army's Remount Service, in an effort to increase the supply of horses for potential military use, provided high-quality horse service to British farmers to breed their muses. The rare Cleveland Bay was almost destroyed by the war; smaller members of this breed were used to carry British troops, while larger horses were used to attract artillery. New Zealand found that horses over 15.2 hands (62 inches, 157 cm) fared worse than those below that height. The perfect brutal of 15 hands and below works well, as does the compact horse of another race that stands from 14.2 to 14.3 hands (58-59 inches, 147-150 cm). Larger cross-horses are acceptable for routine jobs with many rations, but are shown to be less able to withstand short rations and long journeys. Shooters with high horses suffer more because of fatigue, because some times they are asked to climb up and down from the animals. Animals used for concept work, including artillery recall, are also found to be more efficient when they are medium-sized with good endurance than when they are tall, heavy and legged.
Continued horse supply is a major issue of war. One estimate mentions the number of horses dutyed in World War I about six million, with most of them dead because of the causes of war. In 1914, the year when the war began, the British Army had only about 25,000 horses. This shortage requires the US to assist with remounts, even before officially entering the war. Between 1914 and 1918, the United States sent nearly one million horses abroad, and 182,000 others were taken abroad with American troops. This placement greatly depletes the horse population. Only 200 returned to the United States, and 60,000 were killed. By mid-1917, Britain had bought 591,000 horses and 213,000 donkeys, and nearly 60,000 camels and oxen. The UK Remount Department spent Ã, Â £ 67.5 million on purchasing, training and horse shipping and mule going forward. The UK Remount Department became a major multinational business and a major player in international horse trade, through supplying horses to not only the British Army but also to Canada, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and even some to the US. Horse shipments between the US and Europe are both expensive and dangerous; American Expedition Force officials calculated that nearly seven times more space was needed per ton for animals than for the wartime average cargo, and more than 6,500 horses and donkeys were drowned or killed by bullet fire on Allied ships attacked by the Germans. In turn, New Zealand lost about 3 percent of the nearly 10,000 horses that were sent to the forefront during the war.
Because of the high number of casualties, even the American soldiers who were supplying were facing a horse deficit in the final year of the war. After the First American Army, led by General John J. Pershing, pushed Germany out of the Argonne Forest in late 1918, they were confronted with a deficiency of about 100,000 horses, effectively crippling the artillery. When Pershing asked Ferdinand Foch, French Marshal, for 25,000 horses, he was rejected. It is impossible to get more from the US, because the shipping space is limited, and Pershing's senior supply officer states that "the animal situation will soon be desperate." Americans, however, struggled with what they had until the end of the war, unable to obtain sufficient supplies of new animals.
Central Strength
Prior to World War I, Germany had increased horse reserves through state sponsored ranch (Germany: Remonteamt ) and annuities were paid to individual horse breeders. This breeding program is specially designed to provide high-quality horses and mules for the German military. These attempts, and the intensive nature of warfare on horses in the early 20th century, led to Germany increasing the ratio of horses to men in the army, from one to four in 1870 to one through three in 1914. Breeding programs allowed Germany to provide all the horses themselves at the beginning of the war. Horses are regarded as reserve armies; owners must register them regularly, and the army keeps a detailed record of the location of all the horses. In the first weeks of the war, the German army deployed 715,000 horses and Austria 600,000. Overall, the ratio of horses to men in Middle Powers countries is estimated to be one to three.
The only way the Germans could gain horses in large numbers after the war began was with conquest. More than 375,000 horses were taken from German-occupied France for use by the German military. The arrested area of ​​Ukraine provides another 140,000. Ardennes are used to attract artillery for French and Belgian soldiers. Their calm and tolerant nature, combined with their active and flexible nature, makes them the ideal artillery horse. This breed was deemed so useful and valuable that when the Germans established the Horse Purchase Commission in October 1914 to catch the Belgian horses, the Ardennes were one of two important breeds, the other being Brabant. The Germans were unable to catch the horses belonging to the Belgian royal family, as they were successfully evacuated, although they captured enough horses to disrupt the Belgian farm and breeding program. Horses used for transporting goods are also taken, resulting in a fuel crisis in Belgium next winter as there are no horses to pull the coaches. The Germans sold some of the horses they caught during the auction. Blocked by the Allies from importing remounts, the Germans eventually ran out of horses, making it difficult for them to move inventory and artillery, a factor that contributed to their defeat.
Victim and maintenance
The loss of horses was about 25 percent of all war-related horse deaths between 1914 and 1916. Disease and fatigue caused the rest and German soldiers specifically targeted horses with gunfire. The highest mortality rate in East Africa, where in 1916 alone deaths from the original mounts and remounts accounted for 290% of the initial stock count, mainly due to infection from the tsetse fly. On average, Britain loses about 15 percent (from initial military stock) of its animals annually to war (killed, lost, dead or abandoned), with a loss of 17 percent in French theater. This compares to 80 percent in the Crimean War, 120 percent in the Boer War and 10 percent in peacetime. During several periods of war, 1,000 horses per day arrived in Europe as remuner for British troops, to replace lost horses. Some horses, after fainting from exhaustion, drown in ankle-high mud, are too tired to lift their heads high enough to breathe. The victims of horses were very high during the atrial battles, such as the 1916 Verdun Battle between French and German troops. In a single day in March, 7,000 horses were killed by long-range shots on both sides, including 97 dead by a single shot from a French naval weapon. In 1917, Britain had over a million horses and mules in service, but harsh conditions, especially during the winter, resulted in heavy losses, especially among Clydesdale horses, the main types used to transport weapons. During the war, England lost more than 484,000 horses, one horse for every two people. A small number, 210, were killed by toxic gas.
Feeding horses is a big problem, and horses are the largest single commodity shipped ahead by several countries, including the UK. Horses eat about ten times as much food by weight as humans, and straw and wheat weigh more on overloaded transport services. In 1917, Allied operations were threatened when horse feed rations were reduced after German submarine activity limited oat supplies from North America, combined with poor Italian crops. The British rationed straw and wheat, though their horses were still issued more than those from France or Italy. The Germans face a worse cattle feed crisis, because they underestimate the amount of food they need to import and store supplies before the start of the war. Sawdust is mixed with food during deficiency time to reduce animal hunger, and many animals die of starvation. Some of the feed was taken from the territory that was seized on the Eastern Front, and more from Britain during the spring attacks of 1918.
Animals are supported morally up front, because of the warrior's affection for them. Some recruitment posters from World War I showcased the partnership between horses and humans in an effort to get more recruits. Despite the encouragement in spirits, horses could also be a health hazard to the soldiers, mainly because of the difficulty of maintaining a high level of cleanliness around the horses, which are especially noted in the camps of Egypt. Horse dung is common in battle and staging in some sections, creating a breeding ground for disease-carrying insects. Manure should be buried, but fast-moving battle conditions often make this impossible. The sanitation worker is responsible for the burial of the horse carcass, among other tasks.
Many horses died as a result of the conditions ahead - fatigue, drowning, falling into the mud and falling into the shell hole. Other horses were arrested after their driver died. Horses also experience bad food and care, poison gas attacks that injure the respiratory system and their skin, and skin conditions such as scabies. When the gas war began in 1915, the nasal plugs were improvised for the horses to allow them to breathe during the attack. Then, some types of gas masks were developed by Central and Allied countries, although horses often confused them with bait and destroyed it. The army found that well-raised horses were more likely to suffer shock and action when exposed to the sights and sounds of war from less well-bred animals, who often learned to lie down and take refuge in artillery fire. Animal hospitals were established to assist the horses in recovering from the shells and battle wounds, but thousands of horse corpses still lined the streets of the Western Front. Within a year, 120,000 horses were treated for injuries or illness by British animal hospitals alone. Ambulances and field animal hospitals are required to care for the horses, and horse trailers were first developed for use on the Western Front as a horse ambulance. Illness is also a big problem for horses up front, with equine influenza, ringworm, sand colic, wound from a fly bite, and anthrax among the diseases that affect them. Veterinary Corps Hospital The British Veterans Corps treated 725,216 horses during the war, successfully healing 529,064. Horses are moved from the front to the animal hospital with several transportation methods, including walking, by train and by barge. During the final months of the war, barges were regarded as ideal transportation for horses suffering injuries from shells and bombs.
When the war ended, many horses died of age or disease, while younger ones were sold to slaughterhouses or to local residents, often angering the soldiers who had to leave the mountain they loved. There were 13,000 Australian horses left at the end of World War I, but due to quarantine restrictions, they could not be sent back to Australia. Two thousand people were appointed to be killed, and the remaining 11,000 sold, mostly going to India as remuner for the British Army. Of the 136,000 horses sent from Australia to the battlefield in the war, only one, Sandy, was returned to Australia. The horse of New Zealand was also abandoned; which is not required by British or Egyptian soldiers to be shot to prevent persecution by other buyers. The abandoned horses do not always have a good life - Trust Brooke was founded in 1930 when a young British woman arrived in Cairo, only to find hundreds of horses belonging to the previous Allied life in poor condition, which had been sold to Egypt after the cessation of war. In 1934, the Old Horse War Memorial Hospital was opened by faith, and is thought to have helped more than 5,000 horses who had served in World War I; In 2011, the hospital continued to serve equines in the Cairo area.
Legacy
Horses are the animals most associated with war, and warnings have been established for its services, including those at St. Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, who bore the inscription "The most obedient and often the most painful they die - faithful to death." The Animals in War Memorial in London commemorates animals, including horses, presented with England and their allies in all wars. It says: "Animals In War This monument is dedicated to all animals serving and dying with British and allied troops in wars and campaigns all the time, they have no choice." In Minneapolis, a monument by Lake of the Isles is dedicated to horses from Artillery Field 151 of Minnesota who died in battle during World War I.
People from the Light Horse Brigade of Australia and New Zealand Mounted Rifles who died between 1916 and 1918 in Egypt, Palestine and Syria were commemorated by the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial, or the Light Horse Memorial, at Anzac Parade, in Canberra, Australia. The original version of this monument was in Port Said in Egypt, and was largely destroyed during the Suez War of 1956. A piece of the original memorial, the crushed horse head, was brought back to Australia and used as part of a new sculpture at A is for the Animal exhibition respect the animals that have served with the Australian military. The exhibit also contains Sandy's preserved head, the only horse that returned to Australia after the war.
War artist Alfred Munnings was sent to France in early 1918 as an official war artist with the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. The Canadian Forest Corps invited Munnings to visit their work camp in France after seeing some of his work at General Simms's headquarters, Canadian representative. He produced their drawings, watercolors and paintings including the Horse Draft, Wooden Plant in the Dreux Forest in 1918. Forty-five of his paintings are on display at the Canadian War Show Fair at the Royal Academy, many of which feature displays horses in war. Many other artists created works featuring World War I horses, including Umberto Boccioni with Charge of the Lancers
Writing poetry is a way of spending time for soldiers from many countries, and World War I horses stand out in several poems. In 1982, Michael Morpurgo wrote the War Horse novel, about a cavalry horse in war. The book was later adapted into a successful game of the same name, and also a scenario, with the film being released on December 25, 2011 in the United States. In January 2010, History Channel aired a documentary entitled The Real War Horse , depicting World War I horses.
See also
- Australian Light Horse
Note
Quote
References
External links
- The Mighty Warrior - An expanded story about a Canadian horse cavalry
- British Cavalry on the Western Front 1916-1918
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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