What was horses used for in ww1

The success of the British war effort was largely dependent on draught horses. Often, the mud on the Western Front was so thick, or the desert sand of the Middle East so deep, that motor vehicles could not drive through it. Instead, it was left to horses to deliver cart loads of supplies, medicine, food and ammunition.

Horses also pulled artillery guns. For example, the main British artillery weapon of the war - the pounder - could be quickly manoeuvred around the battlefield with a crew of ten men and six horses. Pulling ambulances was one of the most important roles of draught horses.

They could quickly transport injured soldiers from casualty clearing stations to field hospitals. Along badly shell-damaged roads, it would have been a very uncomfortable way to travel.

Horses also worked with the Forestry Corps, pulling felled logs and then moving cart loads of timber. Each forestry company had a team of horses and there was great rivalry as to which team kept their horses in the best condition. Wood was a vital resource for lining trenches and providing shelters for men and animals.

It was used for the duckboards that enabled soldiers to cross the shell-scarred and muddy landscape. It was also used for railway sleepers on the narrow-gauge railways that transported troops and helped keep the Army supplied.

Thousands of draught and pack animals succumbed to fatigue or diseases like mange. Others fell victim to the weapons of modern war. The use of gas, artillery, mines, machine guns, mortars and tanks made the front a terrifying place for horses. In the early days of gas warfare, nose plugs were improvised for horses to help them survive.

Later, special types of horse gas masks were developed. Barbed wire was used in vast quantities to protect trenches. But thousands of horses got caught up in it and suffered severe injuries as they struggled to escape. Leg wounds suffered by horses often failed to heal or became infected, and the animals would have to be shot. At the end of the war, the Army had far more horses than it needed in peacetime. Around , were sold for work, about , of these in Britain, the rest abroad.

Owing to public concern about the treatment of these animals, all buyers had to be investigated. The War Office promised that unwanted horses would be destroyed rather than sold on to cruel owners. During the First World War, the Army relied on its horses to perform a wide range of jobs.

The requisition, transportation and care of these animals was therefore of huge importance. In the First World War, the cavalry could no longer deliver the decisive charges it had performed in the past. But it continued to carry out a variety of useful roles that contributed to British success. In , the artist Alfred Munnings was tasked with recording the wartime contribution of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade and Forestry Corps.

His paintings highlight the military role of horses, capturing their beauty in the war-affected landscapes of France. Soldiers who fought on horseback were known as cavalry. Often dominating the battlefield, they performed a variety of roles, from smashing enemy formations to scouting and reconnoitring. Cavalry charges might win a battle, but with poor leadership they could end in disaster. Many are remembered and celebrated because of the risk involved, whether successful or not.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the last cavalry charge on the Western Front. Such charges were rendered impractical and simply not possible due to trench warfare on the Western Front. Some cavalry charges were made possible, however. In March , the Germans were attacked by a British cavalry charge.

By the spring of , out of the warhorses that were used, only 4 survived. German machine-gun fire was the main reason that most of the horses did not survive. Of the Allied nations, Britain used their cavalry throughout the war while the United States only used theirs for a short time.

Of the Central powers, the Ottoman Empire used cavalry extensively throughout the war. Horses as transports Despite the fact that cavalry charges were no longer a viable military tactic, horses were still crucial as a form of transport, and were used to carry equipment to the battlefronts. Horses remained reliable as military vehicles because mechanised vehicles, such as lorries and tanks, were still relatively new inventions and were prone to break down.

Transport horses were also used in reconnaissance movements, transporting messengers, and for pulling ambulances, artillery, and other supply materials. Furthermore, horses and mules required little upkeep compared to lorries and trucks. The notion of horses as a means of transportation also promoted the formation of horse artillery units. The artillery units also played an important role in the war by providing mobile fire support to army units on the battlefield.

Transport Corps Corps of Transport was a support arm of the Army tasked with handling all matters pertaining to the transport of men and war materials to the front. As such, the Transport Corps used horses to provide a necessary service to the Army. Since the Army relied mostly on horses for transportation, horses had to cope with the tough deep mud which was common in some parts of the front. Horses that became stuck were either left to die or shot.

Procurement and the importation of horses Horses were of great necessity during the First World War, and both Britain and Germany used their resources to produce a number of horses to facilitate operations and campaigns on the front. Britain solved the shortage in horses by importing a number of them from America and New Zealand. Germany had applied a more elaborate system before the war. In anticipation for the upcoming conflict, the Germans had set up and sponsored horse-breeding programmes in which horses were registered every year like a normal army reservist.

Due to the blockade imposed by Britain and her allies, Germany was unable to import horses from overseas and this hampered the movements of their army and paralysed artillery battalions and supply lines. Thus Germany stopped using horses soon after the outbreak of the war and began concentrating on trench warfare.

In the long run, these factors contributed greatly to the ultimate defeat of Germany. From the Americas alone, the British government imported as many as 1,, horses. Most of these were from the United States, Canada, and Argentina. Health issues and casualties Horses were of vital necessity and importance for all armies engaged in World War I. As such, medical care was applied to horses for the purpose of reducing the number of sick and injured animals, and to maintain their good condition despite the fact that they had been subjected to difficult and tough labour.

Some men became as close to their horses as to their fellow soldiers and their loss was felt as deeply. All had their own names, personalities and histories, never to be forgotten. At the end of the war some of the surviving horses were sold as meat to Belgian butchers, being regarded as unfit for any other purpose. But for the few that returned home there was a joyous welcome and reunion.

It would be the last time the horse would be used on a mass scale in modern warfare. History of horses during WWI. Related: The history of horses in warfare The supply of horses needed to be constantly replenished and the main source was the United States, with the British government arranging for half a million horses to be transported across the Atlantic in horse convoys. Most Recent. Lesser known facts about The Battle of the Somme.

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