Horses Facts - World War 1
At the start of the war horses were mostly used as cavalry, but because of trenches, barbed wire and machine guns cavalry charges could no longer be used.
The cavalry charge seen near Mons was practically the last seen in the war.
After this horses were used mostly for pulling guns, carrying ammunition and transport.
Such was the use of horses on the Western Front, that over 8 million died on all sides fighting in the war. Two and a half million horses were treated in veterinary hospitals with about two million being sufficiently cured that they could return to duty. This failure of the cavalry reinforced the need to discover another "mobile arm" capable of overcoming the problems of the "new" warfare.
This was to result in the development of the tank.
The cavalry charge seen near Mons was practically the last seen in the war.
After this horses were used mostly for pulling guns, carrying ammunition and transport.
Such was the use of horses on the Western Front, that over 8 million died on all sides fighting in the war. Two and a half million horses were treated in veterinary hospitals with about two million being sufficiently cured that they could return to duty. This failure of the cavalry reinforced the need to discover another "mobile arm" capable of overcoming the problems of the "new" warfare.
This was to result in the development of the tank.
Ambulance Horse
Horse hauling a ambulance.
Artillery Horse
A horse that hauls a weapons cart through the mud.
Calvary Horse
A cavalry charge, this was to become a rare sight.