Review of 'Cavalry on the Western Front' by Graham Winton (August 2016)

Some of the most popular myths of the First World War are the number of cavalry units on the Western Front, their waste of manpower and supplies and the inordinate influence the cavalry had via the senior commanders.

In fact, the cavalry were only 7% of the ration strength in 1914 and this dropped to 3% by 1918. The BEF was not alone in including cavalry regiments in their armies, the German Army entered the war with 66 cavalry regiments and the Austro-Hungarian Army had 50.

In 1914 the BEF had 31 cavalry regiments, comprising over 15,000 cavalry men in dragoon, hussar and lancer regiments as well as the Household Cavalry. A regiment consisted of 549 men of whom 26 were officers. Each regiment was made up of three squadrons (A-C). Each regiment required one horse for each cavalry man as well as 48 ‘spares’, 74 draught horses and 6pack horses. There would be 3 regiments in a cavalry brigade as well as battery artillery which used 13 pounders.

From the beginning of the war, Haig used cavalry for reconnaissance as well as for exploiting any break through. Many thought this was unrealistic but the feeling was that mounted troops were not useless. The German Army failed to use cavalry in many offensives in 1918 unlike the BEF which used cavalry tactfully during the last 100 days. Before 1914, command and control of cavalry avoided head on charges but used the units for flanking attacks after artillery bombarded fixed targets.

We should not forget that the French Army entered the war in 1914 with 12 regiments of cuirassiers each with a polished breast plate harking back to the 19th century.

In the cavalry regiments of the BEF, the horsemanship was superb. A cavalry man was only as good as his horse which required training. Then the cavalry could go into action with Lee Enfield rifles and machine guns (the BEF used Hotchkiss machine guns not Lewis guns). Each horse also had a gas mask.
The Indian Army came to the Western Front with 14 cavalry regiments which stayed in France when the infantry were moved to the Middle East. The Canadian Cavalry Brigade arrived without horses and served as dismounted troops until remounted in 1916. The Australian cavalry did not come to the Western Front in any number, they served in Palestine.

During 1914, the cavalry were used to shield the infantry during the retreat from Mons. They were in action at Néry where a cavalry brigade was attacked by a German cavalry division. Most of the fighting was carried out on foot but the day was saved when re-enforcements arrived.

During the battle of the Marne, the last lance-on-lance action of the war involved 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers. As the war progressed into trench warfare, the use of cavalry decreased. By Ypres the cavalrymen were fighting on foot. But horses were still used for mobile reconnaissance, no mounted action was taken in 1915 as no opportunity arose. By 1916 the cavalry was stationed 10 miles back from the front line as one division of cavalry would take up one mile of road. Through 1916 there was growing scepticism among the Army Commanders about the use of mounted troops and in 1917 there was no more recruiting for cavalry regiments. Cavalry were still seen as support troops for infantry and for artillery as part of an all arms striking force.

Cavalry units would practice with infantry to that mounted men could move forward (via bridging units) to cross trenches and shell holes. In 1917, during the Arras offensive, Allenby (a cavalry man) used his cavalry in small units to aid advance and be involved in ‘bite and hold’ operations before re-enforcements could be moved up. Unfortunately, holding horses so close to the front line resulted in heavy losses by artillery shells as was experienced at Monchy.

The Third Battle of Ypres saw little use of either cavalry or tanks as the terrain and the weather was against them, but cavalry was used during the Battle of Cambrai during the advance but canals proved to be a major obstacle. A horse could swim across but not climb out at the far side, bridging units were required once again.

In 1918 quite a few cavalry units were moved to Palestine where Allenby’s offensive used them to great advantage. But the Canadian Cavalry Brigade had a successful day at Moreuil Wood in March during the German Spring Offensive.

The Battle of Amiens in August 1918 dispelled the myth of cavalry uselessness as horses were so much more versatile than Whippet tanks which could only advance at half the speed of a horse. Unfortunately, we tend to remember the all arms battles of 1918 as involving infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft. Fast moving cavalry could move forward, harass the enemy and wait for the infantry re-enforcements. By late 1918 numbers showed the use of new technology. The number of ‘sabres’ was still around 15,000 but the RAF numbered 30,000 personnel and the Tank Corps 10,000. In October the Cavalry Corps saw its last action before being put into reserve.

Report by Peter Palmer