"Some interesting cavalry charges in WW2" Topic

I had never hear about some of them.
Specially the US Cavalry charge.

"…The year 1942 saw the embattled US and Filipino army fighting for their lives in Bataan against an invading Japanese army. On January 16, 1942 a young Lt Ed Ramsey led his 27-man Troop G of the US 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts) in a charge against Japanese infantry in the village of Morong. Mounted on his horse Bryn Awryn, a chestnut gelding, Lt Ramsey led the last American cavalry charge to victory and was awarded the Silver Star after the war. The American cavalry carried no swords, since April 18, 1934, the issuance of swords to US cavalry troopers was discontinued, but they were packing the ubiquitous Colt 1911. The last British charge was made just two months later by Capt. Arthur Sandeman and 60 Sikh horsemen mounted on short Burmese horses of the Burma Field Force. They blundered into a force of entrenched Japanese soldiers and were repulsed after taking heavy losses. Capt Sandeman was killed with his saber in hand…"
From here
link

Hope you enjoy!.

Amicalement
Armand

A very good book on the subject of Cavalry in WW-II is,

THE CAVALRY OF WORL WAR II
JANUST PIEKALKIEWICZ
Stein and Day, 1979
ISBN 0-8128-2749-X

link

I pick my copy up back in 1983 at the Cavalry Museum at Fort Riley Kansas.

Very good coverage of all Horse Mounted Cavalry during WW-II

Colonel Ramsey just died earlier this year. RIP.

link

"The last cavalry charge?" thread by Tango from a few years ago,
TMP link

The most famous cavalry charge of WWII was when the Italian 3rd Dragoons Savoia Cavalry Regiment conducted one of the last charges by horse mounted soldiers in 1942.

Robert

Excellent book, 11th ACR, have had my copy for decades.

I heard the Soviets had a couple of blokes on horses too

Found this list,
Keru (Eritrea), 21 January 1941 – two charges of Italian cavalry
Morong (Luzon), 16 January 1942 – a charge of U.S. 26th Cavalry Regiment
Burma, March 1942 – a British cavalry charge (Capt. Arthur Sandeman and 60 Sikh horsemen)
Isbuschenskji (Russia), 18 August 1942 – a charge of Italian Savoia Cavalleria
Poloj (Croatia), 17 October 1942 – a charge of Italian 14th Alessandria Cavalleggeri
Wlodawa (Poland), 22 July 1944 – a charge of Soviet cavalry (but with support of SP guns)
Marki (Poland), September 1944 – a charge of Hungarian cavalry from 1st Hussar Division
Kielce (Poland), 17 January 1945 – a charge of Kalmyken Kavallerie Korps of the Waffen SS
Schonfeld (Germany), 1 March 1945 – a charge of Polish cavalry from 1st Cavalry Brigade

The last successful cavalry charge in WW2 was probably that of I./4. Kuban-Kosaken-Regiment of the Waffen SS on 23 March 1943. Cossacks charged ("eine Attacke mit blanker Waffe") against Bulgarian artillery and captured 450 prisoners.

Germany, 8 May 1945 – 4. Kuban-Kosaken-Regiment carries out another charge (failed this time).

On the Eastern Front the Red Army had numerous cavalry units and they charged on many occasions.

"The 10th Mountain Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop of the 10th Mountain Division, while not designated as U.S. Cavalry, conducted the last horse-mounted charge of any Army organization in 1945, in Austria.[2] An impromptu pistol charge by the Third Platoon was carried out when the Troop encountered a machine gun nest in an Italian village/town sometime between 14–23 April 1945."

Elements of the 3rd Gwalior Lancers and Jodhpur Lancers, acting as reconnaissance forces for the Indian XV Corps in the Arakan (Burma) also made a mounted charge to break into the Admin Box position early in 1944.

Go CAV !!!!!

Why would SS cavalry charge their Bulgarian allies? Bulgaria was still an axis country in 1943.

French Spahis charged British units in either Syria or Lebanon during that brief campaign in 1941, cavalry Vs machine guns – not good :-(

Perhaps it was a typo in the date Martin?. Robert

Yes, looking at the follow up action, it must have meant March 23rd 1945.

Cool thread.Usually WWII is always about the tanks. I reminded somebody just the other day that only a small percentage of the German forces were motorized when war broke out,so supply wagons drawn by horses is very appropriate.I only mention this because I was explaining why I was wanting cavalry for my Bolt Action games.

Odd that 10th Mountain would have kept their reconnaissance troop horses but not their mules. Dad was in 710 Ordinance(i might have the numbers wrong) of 10th Mountain and commented several times on how they trained with pack mules in the States but didn't ship them to Italy. I guess the horses could have been found over there ….

Another list from the same source,

"Polish cavalry charges in 1939:

Krojanty 01.09.1939
Mokra 01.09.1939
Lasy Krolewskie 01.09.1939
Borowa 02.09.1939
Osuchow 11.09.1939
Kaluszyn 12.09.1939
Minsk Mazowiecki 13.09.1939
Maliszewo 13.09.1939
Brochow 15.09.1939
Demboskie 16.09.1939
Wolka Weglowa 19.09.1939
Lomianki 19.09.1939
Kamionka Strumilowa 21.09.1939
Krasnobrod 23.09.1939
Husynne 24.09.1939 (against the Red Army)
Broszki 26.09.1939
Morance 26.09.1939

Lasy Krolewskie (01.09.), Borowa (02.09.) and Krasnobrod (23.09.) were clashes between Polish and German cavalry or mounted German scouts from reconnaissance battalions. The charge near Brochow (15.09.) was a "faked" charge carried out to cause psychological impact, which was halted before reaching the gunshot range. The charge near Kaluszyn (12.09.) was a result of misunderstanding. Infantry commander wanted one cavalry squadron to carry out mounted reconnaissance and said: "Cavalry forward!". Commander of the squadron misunderstood the order and conducted a mounted charge. Cavalry suffered heavy losses but accelerated the success of the ongoing infantry attack.

The charge near Maliszewo on 13.09. (in fact two charges) was about chasing the retreating and already beaten enemy infantry.

Many charges (Krojanty, Mokra, Osuchow, Wolka Weglowa, Lomianki, Broszki and Morance) were breakthrough attempts or attacks during breakthrough operations.

At Broszki (26.09.) one German infantry company surrendered to the charging cavalry probably without much resistance. Psychological effect.

The "charge" which took place during the battle of Mokra was carried out by two cavalry squadrons of 19th uhlan regiment which were cut-off behind enemy lines.

Since squadrons were around 2,000 meters from the nearest Polish defensive line, and surrounded by enemy forces everywhere, the Polish commander decided that there is no chance to cover this distance dismounted. That's why he ordered a charge on horseback. Germans were so surprised that they didn't even open fire and Polish uhlans safely joined their own defensive lines. Surprise effect allowed the Poles to easily break through – the Polish officer who ordered that charge wrote:

Quote

"Two squadrons were charging towards the forest behind German lines. (…) Germans, not expecting an attack from this side, were not prepared to defend. They abandoned their cars and motorcycles near the road and started to diverge in the forest (…) German guards raised an alarm and then their soldiers started to individually run away from the forest to their motor vehicles, trying to get to the forester's lodge before being cut-off. (…) Enemy forces were large and could have easily repulsed my attack – if only Germans opened fire."

After the Poles reached the forest, they were safe. Polish losses during that charge amounted only to several wounded. Noone was killed. German unit which was attacked there was most probably one of divisional supply columns. German sources confirm that in the evening on 01.09.1939 panic started in rear units of 4. Panzer-Division.

The largest charge was that near Wolka Weglowa – ca. 1000 men (two regiments) charged. 105 were killed and 100 wounded. But over 800 from these two cavalry regiments broke through to Warsaw at Wolka Weglowa and also opened the way to the capital city for other Polish units advancing behind them."
Polish cavalry charges in 1939:

Krojanty 01.09.1939
Mokra 01.09.1939
Lasy Krolewskie 01.09.1939
Borowa 02.09.1939
Osuchow 11.09.1939
Kaluszyn 12.09.1939
Minsk Mazowiecki 13.09.1939
Maliszewo 13.09.1939
Brochow 15.09.1939
Demboskie 16.09.1939
Wolka Weglowa 19.09.1939
Lomianki 19.09.1939
Kamionka Strumilowa 21.09.1939
Krasnobrod 23.09.1939
Husynne 24.09.1939 (against the Red Army)
Broszki 26.09.1939
Morance 26.09.1939

Lasy Krolewskie (01.09.), Borowa (02.09.) and Krasnobrod (23.09.) were clashes between Polish and German cavalry or mounted German scouts from reconnaissance battalions. The charge near Brochow (15.09.) was a "faked" charge carried out to cause psychological impact, which was halted before reaching the gunshot range. The charge near Kaluszyn (12.09.) was a result of misunderstanding. Infantry commander wanted one cavalry squadron to carry out mounted reconnaissance and said: "Cavalry forward!". Commander of the squadron misunderstood the order and conducted a mounted charge. Cavalry suffered heavy losses but accelerated the success of the ongoing infantry attack.

The charge near Maliszewo on 13.09. (in fact two charges) was about chasing the retreating and already beaten enemy infantry.

Many charges (Krojanty, Mokra, Osuchow, Wolka Weglowa, Lomianki, Broszki and Morance) were breakthrough attempts or attacks during breakthrough operations.

At Broszki (26.09.) one German infantry company surrendered to the charging cavalry probably without much resistance. Psychological effect.

The "charge" which took place during the battle of Mokra was carried out by two cavalry squadrons of 19th uhlan regiment which were cut-off behind enemy lines.

Since squadrons were around 2,000 meters from the nearest Polish defensive line, and surrounded by enemy forces everywhere, the Polish commander decided that there is no chance to cover this distance dismounted. That's why he ordered a charge on horseback. Germans were so surprised that they didn't even open fire and Polish uhlans safely joined their own defensive lines. Surprise effect allowed the Poles to easily break through – the Polish officer who ordered that charge wrote:

Quote

"Two squadrons were charging towards the forest behind German lines. (…) Germans, not expecting an attack from this side, were not prepared to defend. They abandoned their cars and motorcycles near the road and started to diverge in the forest (…) German guards raised an alarm and then their soldiers started to individually run away from the forest to their motor vehicles, trying to get to the forester's lodge before being cut-off. (…) Enemy forces were large and could have easily repulsed my attack – if only Germans opened fire."

After the Poles reached the forest, they were safe. Polish losses during that charge amounted only to several wounded. Noone was killed. German unit which was attacked there was most probably one of divisional supply columns. German sources confirm that in the evening on 01.09.1939 panic started in rear units of 4. Panzer-Division.

The largest charge was that near Wolka Weglowa – ca. 1000 men (two regiments) charged. 105 were killed and 100 wounded. But over 800 from these two cavalry regiments broke through to Warsaw at Wolka Weglowa and also opened the way to the capital city for other Polish units advancing behind them."
link

Many thanks Robert!.
Excelent data!.

Amicalement
Armand

Thanks Tango. Here is some more,

"Seventy years ago today, what many consider the last cavalry charge in history took place in the Soviet Union. The era of large-scale clashes between mounted fighters, which stretched back to ancient times, had finally come to an end.
Charge of the Light Brigade

Depiction of the Charge of the Light Brigade, one of history's most famous cavalry charges.

With sabers drawn, about 600 Italian cavalrymen yelled out their traditional battle cry of "Savoia!" and galloped headlong toward 2,000 Soviet foot soldiers armed with machine guns and mortars. On August 23, 1942 (some sources say August 24), the cavalrymen—part of the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II— were attempting to close a gap that had opened up between the Italian and German armies along the Don River. It was to be the end of an era. Though experts believe that smaller and less well-documented cavalry charges likely occurred later on in World War II and possibly as late as the 1970s in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), they generally describe this as the last major charge in history.

In a closely packed formation, the Italian cavalrymen hurled themselves at the left flank and rear of the Soviet line, tossing hand grenades and slashing with their sabers. Despite heavy losses, they then passed through the line in a reverse direction and helped to dislodge the Soviets from their position. Other World War II cavalry charges had not been so lucky. At the beginning of the conflict, Polish lancers purportedly attacked a German infantry battalion (but not tanks, as Nazi propaganda would have us believe) and suffered predictably disastrous results. The final U.S. charge took place in the Philippines in January 1942, when the pistol-wielding horsemen of the 26th Cavalry Regiment temporarily scattered the Japanese. Soon after, however, the starving U.S. and Filipino soldiers were forced to eat their own horses. Two months later, Japanese troops in Burma almost completely wiped out a charging Indian regiment under British command."
link

Another good one my friend!.
Many thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand