Modern Cavalry

[Kentucky-roughrider]

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously though, how do you camouflage a horse? I wonder if that cameleon skin the British MOD was working on might prove practical?

 

 

 

 

 

How do you camouflage a truck or a tank? You can make a horse lay down. Can you make a tank lay down?

 

 

Ah, but how do you retreat while the bugger is lying down. Didn't think of that did you?

 

A horses first defence is flight and they can get up form even laying down very fast.

Dragoon had three traditions that had evolved by the 18th century: the English tradition (they were a pure cavarly force who were armed with carbines ), The Prussian tradition (they could fight neither as mounted troopers or as infantry if the need was there and were concidered the best in Europe) and the French tradtion, they were pure mounted infantry. and modern firearms are allot easier to fire from the back of a horse compared to a musket.

[X-Files]

[X-Files]

 

This whole threat reminds me a bit of the armoured train thread... i.e. they might have some (albeit limited) uses but you wouldn't want to take them into combat.

 

Oh?

 

 

 

In his book, Horse Soldiers, Doug Stanton describes a cavalry attack supported by U.S. Special Forces (pages 152-155). Two lines of 150 men each formed up behind a hill about a mile from the Taliban trenches. The horsemen carried an assortment of weapons including AK 47s and RPGs (rocket propelled grenades). There were about seven ridges between the Afghan (Northern Alliance) cavalry and the Taliban position. Each ridge was about 50 feet high, with about 200 yards of ground between each. "As they rode, the horsemen continued rising up and down the hills, appearing and disappearing."

 

At about a half mile range the Taliban, very much aware of the Afghan presence, began firing with machine guns and tanks at the thin first line of horsemen. As Stanton relates, "Men would be riding in the saddle and then suddenly fly backward as if yanked and tumble to the ground and lie motionless as more horses approched from behind and leaped over them, charging toward the firing line." The horsemen were riding as fast as they could, with their reins in their teeth toward the enemy as if their safety lay in direct confrontation with the enemy. They were aided by the waves of the ridges which made it difficult for the guns, especially on the tanks, to take accurate aim.

 

At the last ridge before the Taliban position, the Afghans jumped from their horses, placed the horse's reins on the ground and placed one foot on top of them to keep the horses from flying. They then unleashed a furious fire on the trench. Meanwhile the U.S. special forces who were present called down smart bombs on the tanks. As the first line of cavalry fired, the second line caught up and "blew past, shouting, galloping straight at the Taliban line. The standing fighters swung back into their saddles and beat their horses to catch up." The two lines now formed one single attack. The Taliban line crumbled. Many of the Taliban threw down their weapons and ran.

 

 

http://www.indepthinfo.com/afghanistan/horse-soldiers.htm

[Phalanx]

Some mood music for the thread? Sorry, came to mind because it references the use of horses in Afghanistan.

 

[Archie Pellagio]

 

Pop smoke?

 

Smoke grenade launchers on a cavalry horse? You been hanging out with Sparky?

More importantly, how do you para-drop a horse?

[Mr King]

 

 

Pop smoke?

Smoke grenade launchers on a cavalry horse? You been hanging out with Sparky?

More importantly, how do you para-drop a horse?

 

 

Very carefully

[lucklucky]

The Italian air dropped horses or mules in East Africa , i think was at time of Ethiopia conquest.

[Archie Pellagio]

[baboon6]

 

 

 

Seriously though, how do you camouflage a horse? I wonder if that cameleon skin the British MOD was working on might prove practical?

 

 

 

 

How do you camouflage a truck or a tank? You can make a horse lay down. Can you make a tank

Ah, but how do you retreat while the bugger is lying down. Didn't think of that did you?

, The Prussian tradition (they could fight neither as mounted troopers or as infantry if the need was there and were concidered the best in Europe)

Why were they considered the best then? They sound pretty useless to me!

[X-Files]

[Panzermann]

 

 

 

 

Seriously though, how do you camouflage a horse? I wonder if that cameleon skin the British MOD was working on might prove practical?

 

 

 

How do you camouflage a truck or a tank? You can make a horse lay down. Can you make a tank

Ah, but how do you retreat while the bugger is lying down. Didn't think of that did you?

, The Prussian tradition (they could fight neither as mounted troopers or as infantry if the need was there and were concidered the best in Europe)

Why were they considered the best then? They sound pretty useless to me!

 

 

Either. they fought as either. I think he mistyped.

 

But a long standing running gag was that dragoons were neither fish nor fowl, jack-of-all-trades and masters of none in the Prussian army.

[Marek Tucan]

"Mounted they fear infantry, dismounted they fear cavalry" or something like that.

[DougRichards]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously though, how do you camouflage a horse? I wonder if that cameleon skin the British MOD was working on might prove practical?

 

 

 

 

 

How do you camouflage a truck or a tank? You can make a horse lay down. Can you make a tank lay down?

 

 

Ah, but how do you retreat while the bugger is lying down. Didn't think of that did you?

 

A horses first defence is flight and they can get up form even laying down very fast.

Dragoon had three traditions that had evolved by the 18th century: the English tradition (they were a pure cavarly force who were armed with carbines ), The Prussian tradition (they could fight neither as mounted troopers or as infantry if the need was there and were concidered the best in Europe) and the French tradtion, they were pure mounted infantry. and modern firearms are allot easier to fire from the back of a horse compared to a musket.

 

 

Actually many C19 US cavalry units were dragoons. Also think of Buford at Gettysburg. A division of cavalry, who got to the contested ground first, held that ground agaisnt superior infantry forces until Union infantry came up.

 

Robert E Lee's father, Henry 'Light Horse Harry' Lee won fame as a commander of Dragoons.

 

The Australian Light Horse in the ME in WW1 were dragoons, who were also used in traditional cavalry roles such as patrolling, but were armed as infantry, not as cavalry, even though there were moves to equip them late in the campaign with traditional cavalry weapons such as pistols and sabres. Their most famous charge was as improvised cavalry, being the only forces available who could possibly do the deed. They were both great horsemen, and brave, but also lucky and well supported.

[lucklucky]

Actually it appears in Ethipia were cows and oxes from the sky

 

Edited July 30, 2014 by lucklucky

[Mr King]

Haflinger horses of the Austrian Jagerbattalions

[irregularmedic]

This thread reminded me of someone attempting to parachute mules. A quick google search turns up this bit on the Chindits using them, but I thought some unit was trying to put mules into aircraft for the Sicily invasion and gave up, finding it too difficult.

 

http://spotlights.fold3.com/2012/03/05/mules-in-burma/

[Cyber_Ghost]

Reminds me of the IDF attempt to use Llamas in Lebanon.
I do remember there was something about regular units who trained with them really liking them while most of the noise came from reserve units who never used them and thus could control them too well. It didn't sit good with the media post Lebanon 2.

[Mr King]

http://youtu.be/R7ezXBEBE6U

 

Edited August 8, 2014 by Mr King

[Corinthian]

Actually it appears in Ethipia were cows and oxes from the sky

 

 

Upon seeing that, my first thought was:

 

Fighting oxen from the sky.

Fearless cows who jump and die.

Brave cattle is what they say

These are the cattle on the hay

[Mr King]

 

Actually it appears in Ethipia were cows and oxes from the sky

 

 

 

Upon seeing that, my first thought was:

 

Fighting oxen from the sky.

Fearless cows who jump and die.

Brave cattle is what they say

These are the cattle on the hay

 

 

Barry Sadler does not approve of your shenanigans. Prepare to be haunted by the ghost of a pissed off special forces soldier.

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2014 by Mr King

[Corinthian]

Looks like his stare can kill de-bleated goats.

 

Oh yeah....

 

[Archie Pellagio]

I lol'd hard...

[Mr King]

 

Haflinger horses of the Austrian Jagerbattalions

 

 

 

Goodness sake, dont show sparky. He will want to mount a recoilless rifle on one at least.

 

[Mr King]

ROTFLMAO. Kettenkrad Ausf A?

 

 

Re Sadler, I was just looking up his wiki entry. Those eternal mercenary books sound interesting, are they any good?

 

Pulp fiction, but I quite enjoyed them growing up.

[Colin]

This thread reminded me of someone attempting to parachute mules. A quick google search turns up this bit on the Chindits using them, but I thought some unit was trying to put mules into aircraft for the Sicily invasion and gave up, finding it too difficult.

 

http://spotlights.fold3.com/2012/03/05/mules-in-burma/

Just re-reading "Silent Wings" about US glider ops in WWII they transported the mules by glider and issued a rifle to the co-pilot to shoot any mule that freaked out on the flight.