Was Cavalry Useless in the First World War?

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The First World War was a catalyst for modern warfare with tanks, poison gas, flamethrowers and more. Cavalry didn’t have a place anymore on the modern battlefield – or so the common misconception goes. In this video we show how useful cavalry still was in WW1.

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» SOURCES
Anglesey, Marquess of A History of the British Cavalry 1816-1919 Volume 5: 1914-1919 Egypt, Palestine & Syria, (Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 1994).

Anglesey, Marquess of, A History of the British Cavalry 1816-1919 Volume 8: 1915-1918, Epilogue, 1919-1939, (Barnsley: Leo Cooper, 1997) Kindle Edition.

Bou, Jean, Light Horse: A History of Australia’s Mounted Arm, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010).

Cavalry Training, 1915, reprint edition (Brambleside: The Naval & Military Press Ltd.).

Kenyon, David, Horsemen in No Man’s Land: British Cavalry & Trench Warfare 1914-1918 (Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2011).

Littauer, Vladimir, Russian Hussar: A Story of The Imperial Cavalry, 1911-1920, (Shippensburg, White Mane Publishing, 1993).

Mallet, Christian, Impressions and Experiences of a French Trooper, 1914-1915 (New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, 1916).

The Cavalry School, Cavalry Combat (Harrisburg: The Telegraph Press, 1937).

The Cavalry School, History of Cavalry During the World War, (Fort Riley: Quartermaster Corps Printing Plant, 1923).

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»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Mattew Novosad, Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Toni Steller
Editing: Toni Steller
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Research by: Matthew Novosad
Fact checking: Florian Wittig

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20 thoughts on “Was Cavalry Useless in the First World War?”

  9. Hi Jesse, you missed the Iraq front in the graet war and the role of Calvary in the Campaign particularly in the battles of sheiba , Cetaphon and the capture of Mosul 1918 and raid of the column of General Bartov into Dyalaa

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  10. Even I understand it's not possible to tell about everything on one short video, this one is disappointingly superficial. Using (or no-using in circumstances when cavalry could have a decisive influence on the strategical level) mounted troops on the IWW fronts has a huge amount of examples for more interesting and complete review of cavalry's role in the war. Even talking about French calalry you could remind us how French cavalry made possible the capitolation of Bulgaria due to it's brilliant 3 weeks raid. You could remind us a crucial role of German and Austro-Hungarian cavalry (yes! Austro-Hungarians had a brilliant mounted troops and used them with bravery and success) in operations during the Eastern offensive (they and their Russian opponents used a big formations of cavalry for gaining stratigical aims of the whole offensive). Or you could make a quick comporative analysis why East Prussian disaster happend, but the same disaster in Galicia didn't (in the 1st stage because of pre-war intelligence lack Russian armies on the South were very close to the same catastrophe as 1 and 2 Russia armies in East Prussia) — because gen/ Samsonov and Rennenkampf (sadly ironically both were generals of mounted troops) didn't use their cavalry according to the situations, but 5 army commander gen. Pleve organized an improvised cavalry corps and used it for a big raid and finally made a victory in the whole operation reality. Or just necessary example of the Western front in 1918. Germans didn't have a cavalry there, so during the 100 days offensive they weren't just able to destroy supply lines etc. French had a cavalry — so, in Amien offensive their cavalry corps made a great deal during the 1 stage of operation. But you preferred to talk about squadrons and small raids. So, definitely dislike.

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  19. My Great-Grandfather on my fathers side was a Dragoon in the 1. Badische Leibdragoner Regiment Nr.20

    From the letters he wrote and the few pictures that exist they were sent into battle as true cavalry, with sabers and carbines at the beginning of the war and later transitioned away from sabers into pure rifles, they went to the eastern front afterwards and were mainly used as border patrols during the last year of the war. He had a background as a stable boy and was used to working with horses which is why they sent him to the dragoons in 1914.

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