Riding Cavalry

["Ray & Barb Elliston" <raymondj@travel-net.com>]

	Here is another snippet from "The Cavalry of World War II" by Janusz
Piekalkiewicz.  The German army had crossed the Polish frontier on 1
September 1939, and this note was extracted from the journal of
Lance-Corporal Hornes, an NCO in the German 1st Cavalry Brigade:
	"We were in enemy country, two scouts had gone on ahead with the rest of
the group following.  We rode along a stony path by the side of a mountain
stream, twisting and turning through big rocky outcrops.  We were encircled
by the wooded hills of the Carpathian countryside.  Above us the sky was a
deep blue.  After a rest of about one hour we pressed on once more.  A
broad, sandy road led onwards up through a high pass.  The riflemen
(infantry) were cursing and swearing because our horses were throwing up so
much dust.  It seemed the hills would never come to an end.  It was already
deep twilight when we reached the highest point.  Beyond, the ground sloped
sharply away downhill.  I was angry because in spite of the incline we were
having to trot.  I felt that my horse, Herzog, could take no more of it.  He
was stumbling constantly.  I called out to the section commander - 'Herzog's
had as much as he can take!'  I'd scarcely got the words out when the poor
beast fell to his knees.  There's no doubt that he was in severe pain,
though he wasn't lame.
	I wasn't surprised at his tiredness.  We'd gone 70 km on the first day,
then 60 on the second.  And on top of that, we'd had the trek over the
mountains and early this morning with the advance patrol about 20 km up and
down hill - galloping, what's more - and now another 40 km on top of that.
All in all, that meant we'd gone nearly 200 km in three days without any
proper rest!  Meanwhile the mountain seemed endless.  Night had long fallen,
and we were still riding.  Finally at 10 PM, we overtook the furthest
advanced riflemen, and came to a halt in the village."
	German cavalrymen were dressed in 1935-style helmets (all you who still
ride without helmets, please note), military service uniforms on the 1936
model (combat tunic and riding breeches) and riding boots with spurs.  They
were armed with Mauser 98k (k=kurz=short) carbines and carried gas-masks and
haversacks.  A front saddle-pack was worn over the horse's left shoulder.
This pack contained an ammunition pack of 15 cartridges; two front
horse-shoes with nails, horse-shoe screw caulks and one tethering ring in
the horse-shoe pouch; 500 gm of rusks, 200 gm of preserved meat or
mess-tins; one pack of tools, a sewing kit with scissors, spoon, mirror and
comb, toothbrush, soap, razor, shaving-brush, one clothes brush, one
horse-cleaning kit, field cap, song-book, and one halter chain.  A left-hand
cantle pack contained a pair of underpants and a pair of socks, and the
rifle was carried standing vertically in a bucket to the left rear of the
saddle.  Initially, a cavalry sabre was carried on the right side, but in
1940 sabres and rifle buckets were withdrawn from use, and from then on the
rifles were carried slung over the cavalryman's back.  A rolled blanket was
carried over the cantle.  Other bits  and pieces were carried by individuals
based on need - some have map cases, despatch riders carry despatch cases,
signalmen carry cable reels, etc.  Not all horses are bitted alike.  Some
are wearing simple snaffles, others are fitted with both snaffles and curbs,
while others have what appears to be a type of pelham.

winmail.dat