WW1 Cavalry Armed with Lance

WW1 was an incredibly difficult time for those in the military. While some lessons from previous wars (Russo-Japanese War 1905) were learned, others were not. Here is an example of something that was not: cavalry.

What!? You thought I was talking about the lance, didn’t you? Soon enough.

Throughout military history, most people died not in the battle but in the retreat. When a group broke and fled, the cavalry could sweep in and crush the retreating units. That was until light and heavy machine guns entered the field.

WW1 Calvary Lance

Here’s the wrinkle: traditional horse cavalry simply dies under machine gun fire. So in the “Great War”, it was difficult to get a “knock-out” blow. Even if you beat your enemy, you had a hard time capitalizing on it!

BTW…we have one of these exact lances in the armory. One day I will see if I can pull it out and do a writeup.

So yes, this is really about the lance after all.

Marky
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