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.

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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“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”