Cavalry

Cavalry, mounted soldiers trained to fight on horseback, as distinguished from mounted infantrymen, who used horses for rapid movement between engagements, but fought on foot. Throughout history cavalry troops were valued for their speed and mobility, and were used for reconnaissance, delaying actions, raiding parties, and pursuit and harassment of enemy troops. In modern armies cavalry and mounted infantry have been largely replaced by armoured cavalry, in which soldiers use various types of mechanized equipment, such as tanks, armoured cars, and helicopters.

The earliest known cavalry consisted mainly of horse-drawn chariots, which probably pre-dated mounted soldiery. The wheels of some war chariots were fitted with sharp scythe blades designed to cut a wide swathe through enemy ranks. Although cavalry units were employed by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and other ancient peoples, the first regular cavalry, consisting of trained mounted troops, was probably created by the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. With the rise of the Persian Empire in the 6th century bc, cavalry developed into a fully effective operational force.

Among the ancient Greeks the development of cavalry was hindered for centuries by a lack of horses. In Macedonia, however, where horses were plentiful, the military leader Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great, developed a formidable striking force by adding cavalry wings to the heavy infantry formation known as the phalanx. Later the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Gothic barbarians (who conquered Rome in the 5th century ad) used similar cavalry wings with devastating effect.

The earliest cavalry weapons were the lance, the javelin, and other weapons thrown by hand; the sword; and the bow and arrow. Until about ad 300 troops rode without saddles, but they often were protected by leather armour and helmets of metal or leather. During the Middle Ages warfare was dominated by mounted knights wearing metal armour and wielding the iron-tipped lance and the two-edged sword. Probably the greatest cavalry genius in history was the Mongol warrior Genghis Khan, whose mounted hordes conquered many areas of Asia and Russia during the 13th century. Tightly coordinated and extremely disciplined, his armies used the smoke screen and such novel devices as signal flags and signal lanterns.

With the advent of gunpowder and armour-piercing bullets early in the 14th century, cavalry organization and strategy were profoundly modified. The era of disorganized clashes between heavily armoured knights came to an end. Mounted troops were gradually forged into disciplined units armed with swords and hand-held firearms. Firearms also enhanced the importance of the infantry. Under Napoleon, mounted troops became an elite military force, although the infantry did most of the fighting. Napoleon was the first general to employ cavalry simultaneously to conceal his main troop movements and to reconnoitre the front. In Russia the Cossacks became famous for their daring and skill as cavalrymen.

The emergence of the repeating rifle in the latter half of the 19th century was the most serious blow to the importance of cavalry. Charging cavalrymen were easy prey for infantry troops armed with automatic weapons. Among the last major conflicts in which horse cavalry figured prominently were the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Austro-Prussian War (1866), and the South African War (1899-1902). Horse cavalry was used only to a limited extent during World War I. Between World Wars I and II the cavalry in most armies was transformed into armoured cavalry units (using armoured vehicles).