Up until the first world war cavalry had proved a key element in all military forces, and the tradition of mounted soldiers has continued up until this day. However military horses are now more for dressage and parade, and are no longer used in military operations.

For the purpose of this entery cavalry is defined as a person mounted upon a steed¹, and formed into units of troops. This is because many modern units term themselves as cavalry due to being particulary quick.

Origins Of The Term Cavalry

Whilst cavalry is general used as a term refering to large bodies of armed troops, some mounted troops would also double as messengers for the army, carrying orders directly to the front lines. This was a dangerous yet crucial job, and is worthy of mention here.

In its broadest sence cavarly was put into one of two catagoires - light and heavy. Light cavalry, whilst being faster and more manuverable, was vulnerable to enemy attack. These types were often consigned to the flanks of armies, striking in at the enemy and running down fleeing troops. Heavy cavalry on the other hand, was drastically more decsivie, being used in head on attacks towards the enemy for critical blows. Light cavalry however, has been the only one that has continued use.

The Birth Of Cavalry

One of the first key uses of cavalry came in the form of Alexander the Great's light cavalry. Whilst the power of his phalanx undoubtably was the deciding factor in his campaigns it was his light cavalry. Alexander would oftem engage the enemy using his phallanges, and then use his cavalry to force the enemy to break ranks. This would in turn stop the phalanx from defending to its front, allowing it to be quickly overwhelmed by Alexanders forces.

There was however, a more prominant light cavalry (although not till much later on) in the form of the Mongols. The Mongolian way of life developed on horse back. They were a culture born in the saddle, and always on the move. This combined with impressive archery skills led them to be a swift moving yet powerful cavalry formation. They were a nomadic race formed in to clans and tribes that rarely united. However, the Great Genghis Khan did manage to unite enough Mongolian tribes to launch an invasion of the south, and it was his swift cavalry that allowed him to keep control of such a vast empire at the time. This led to the great Khan conquering land from China, Russia and down to the mediterainan sea.

The Rise Of The Armoured Knight

The origins of the knight come from France, and were introduced to Britain by the Normans in 1066. For the Norman knights, this began in a fairly simple form. Clad in chainmail from head to toe, it provided ample protectiong for the rider. However as weaponry progressed and science evolved, plates were added on top of the chainmail. These were designed specifically to divert weapons away from the body, in order that the enemy may never have the opportunity to test the strength of chainmail. The natural evolution of this was to have the knight clad from head to foot in both chainmail and metal plates.

Whilst this provided a measure of protection that no other armour has rivalled in its own era, the armour had three major draw backs. The first was that it left little room to move, meaning that the vision of knights was restricted, and the ability to dodge incoming attacks and such was virtually non existant. The second main problem was the sheer weight of all the metal. Whilst on horse back this was no problem, if dismounted the knight would find it impossible to get back up. And lastly, it made the knight a slow moving, large target. Whilst in early years this wasnt a problem, the longbow proved effective at smashing through plate and mail armour, as was shown at the battle of Agincourt.

Knights were made up soled of the upper class, due to the high cost of the armour and the elite status such an expensive peice of kit would provide its wearer. Not only that, but the armour became a form of fashion statement, with all manner of devices being plastered all over it². The most distinctive form of this was Heladry which is discussed else where.

Russian Cossack Cavalry regiments

Used in the imperial Russian army right uptil the revolution.

Hussars

Hussar were in effect medium cavalry and bridge the void between the fully armoured knights of earlier centuries and the necessity to be faster. Hussars usually had no armour for there horses, thus removing some of the bulk which had slowed down earlier cavalry. They wore only light armour as opposed to the more ridgid heavy armour of there earlier cousins, although they did still carry Lances like there fore bearers had. They also carried sabres which would be used once the Hussars had broken into enemy lines. To break enemy infantry lines, the Hussars would arrange themselves into a formation known as a lance³. They were seen as dashing heros and were the renaisance equivalent of world war two fighter pilots. However, Hussars were also known for looting and pillaging, and this made them both embraced and feared.

Hussars however were a very distinctive type of cavalry. Whilst still being formed mainly of noble birth and gentry of the time, they wore distinctive regimental uniforms rather then personal crests and varying heraldry. This in turn caused tradition and practices to form within the regiment, and these were passed on for many years.

Dragoons - english civil war

Dragoons are probibly the first hint at the role of cavalry in modern warfare. Dragoons carried short muskets called Dragons, and rather then fight on horse back like horse archers, they instead rode up to the enemy and dismounted, unleashing a hail of fire, then quickly retreating. However the Dragoons were often vulnerable to enemy cavalry and as such many took to arming themselves like other cavalry regiments in order to better protect themselves. This didnt help however, and dragoons never really advanced further then light cavalry in military terms.

The End of Battlefield Cavalry

The end of cavalry warfare came with the invention of barbed wire and the heavy machine gun in the first world war. Barbed wire effectively stopped anyone crossing it without slowing them down dramatically and horsemen trying to plough there way through barrackades often found there mounts entangled in the barbed wire. As cavalry usually relied on there speed, this was the first step towards the end of the battlefeild cavalry units. It was the heavy machine gun that finished them off however. Horses have to be trained to move towards loud noises and whilst the gun chatter would usually be enough to scare them off, any form of hit from glancing to penetrating would usually cause the horse to panic and in many cases to collapse. This would in turn lead to any horses behind them to fall also. Whilst in earlier wars this could be avoided with training, the speed at which the machine gun could fire was beyond the skill of the horsemen.

Not only this, but the use of vehicles such as tanks superseeded the horses, being far easier to keep and less susceptable to modern firepower. This evolution also came about due to the mass slaughter of cavalry regiments during breakthrough missions on the front line. However cavalry still saw extended and successful use in the middle east where vehicles could not easily manage. There were also several cavalry charges during the second world war, but these were usually unsuccessful.

Whilst most modern military powers have abandoned cavalry horses, some poorer countries have been known to use horses for geurilla raids. Most notibly is the sudanise militia which use camels to conduct raids.

Today military horses still see service within the military. However these horses are used for parades and such and are never used on the battlefeild. Most cavalry regiments today consist of armoured bodies such as tanks. The insignia and traditions of these regiments usually originate from traditional cavalry regiments, and have been passed on down.

Notably the American army has units of helicopters, which it calls Airbourne Cavalry. These units consist of helicopters in both attack roles and in transport roles. A lot of the American cavalry regiments of recent years have been created and given the name cavalry, rather then retaining it from a traditional regiment. This has led towards a shift in the meaning of the word cavalry world wide, although British units are for the most part refered to as mechanised units.

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