"The Polish And Germans Fought On Horseback In WWII" Topic

…In One Of The Last Calvary Battles

"Despite the lessons learned in WWI and the decades of military modernization since then, sword-wielding Polish and German cavalrymen clashed on horseback in a fierce battle during the Invasion of Poland in 1939. It is one of the last cavalry-on-cavalry engagements in history.

Poland's cavalry charges during the German invasion are often misunderstood today, with a popular belief that Poland mounted an unsuccessful cavalry charge against German tanks. This is not exactly true. In reality, German armored vehicles ambushed unprepared Polish cavalrymen and caused a high number of casualties.

After the battle, German officials reported to the press that the Polish charged at their tanks with horses. Propaganda then helped spread the story to bolster the German claim of the Wehrmacht's superior capabilities…"

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Armand

Interesting. I am familiar with German cavalry in the Second World War but, apart from on parade, I have never seen them with swords. Perhaps they were only carried in 1939 and then dropped as they became more of a mounted infantry? Anyone know more?

Schwabian…..and USA, Japan and UK…..

Britain had a cavalry Division based in Palestine at the beginning of the war, eventually it converted into the 10th Armoured Division.

Greg G1

IIRC it was the 1st Cavalry Division which participated in the invasion of the French TransJordan in 1941. It was then reorganized as 10th Armored.

The French had Circassian irregular cavalry in that conflict. I'm not sure, my memory is foggy, but may also have has some Spahis.

The TransJordan was a bizarre conflict involving French Metropolitan troops, Colonial infantry and cavalry. The Commonwealth had British, Australian, Indian and Arab troops in addition to Commandos.

Both sides fielded French Foreign Legion.

The Italians also fielded cavalry formations.

The Greeks used cavalry during the fighting with the Italians in 1940-41, though the Greco-Albanian frontier region is not good cavalry country. The Italians also used cavalry, but I don't know if opposing cavalry forces ever met.

Grelber

The vast majority of cavalry in WWII was used as mounted infantry. Ride to the destination, dismount and dig in. More mobile that foot infantry, but generally lacking in the heavier weapons of foot infantry (Artillery, etc.).

In the book by N. I. Krylov "Never Fading", dedicated to the defense of Odessa in 1941, there is a description of the equestrian saber battle of the Soviet and Romanian cavalry. The Romanians broke through the front line in one of the sections and threw cavalry units into the gap. The Soviet cavalry counterattacked in cavalry formation and a classic cavalry battle with melee weapons took place. The Romanians were driven back, the front line was restored.
From the Soviet side, a cavalry regiment participated, from the Romanian side, according to the author, a brigade.

Cavalry on Eastern front, anyway… were very useful as recce. Could go places fairly quietly…where vehicles could not go… but faster moving than Inf. And foot get tired.
Although not GOOD rider, In 'School' sense, I have negotiated rough terrain that would be pretty much impassable to any vehicle… including motorbikes… and they are noisy things.

Lol. The couple who a bunch of us stayed with In Spain, were rather surprised at what 'Our lot'could actually cope with…without any qualms! But, we were 'Trail Holiday' riders… used to Nothumberland, UK! LOL! 14 yrs… but a long time back! :( Doubt whether I could actually 'Get On' now… MAYBE?

Thanks.

Armand

The road network in Russia was not as well-developed as in western Europe, so cavalry often provided better mobility than wheeled vehicles.

And… you could eat a Dead Horse! Never tried and NO wish to… but! Not much eating on a Kubel or a Jeep!

Ha!…

Armand

I've often thought that the Germans could have used a few cavalry divisions in 1941, to fill in between the fast-moving panzer divisions and the rest of the army that walked.

Cavalry has to rest. Infantry can actually march faster than cavalry over long distances. Horses just give up whilst humans aren't smart enough to.

"I've often thought that the Germans could have used a few cavalry divisions in 1941"

The Germans had one cavalry division in 1941 but later expanded to several (SS) Cavalry Divisions.

The Rumanians fielded an entire Cavalry Corps in 1941 though.

They were more useful in heavily wooded and swampy areas, which is where the numerous Soviet cavalry and cavalry-mechanised groups really shone.