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1943 - The Last Cavalry Charge

When the German Panzer divisions crossed the Polish border in 1939, they confronted an adversary which symbolized the end of the mounted soldier - or so they thought. Pathetically, the Polish Cavalry attempted to stall the invasion by charging the German tanks on horseback. To say the least, the valiant Poles were quickly overrun. Four years later the cavalry had a final say. In the cold winter of 1943, on the steppes of the Ukraine, the German tanks were literally frozen in their tracks. Cossacks descended on the tanks, mounted on ponies which were descendants of the horses of the ancient Scythians, the first masters of cavalry.

The Cossacks swept over the frozen plain firing machine guns and throwing grenades into the German forces with deadly effect. The Cossacks fled on their swift horses before the astonished Germans had time to react.

(Editor's note - This story is not true - The Polish cavalry charges against German tanks are pure fiction. These charges were first reported by the Italian press and later used as propaganda by the Germans. However, Poland did have a single brigade of cavalry as a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages.)

Read more about the Polish Cavalry - The Husaria

The last Cavalry charge in history took place on August 23, 1942, at Izbushensky on the River Don. The Italian Savoia Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Colonel Bettoni, and consisting of 600 mounted Italian troops, charged against 2,000 Soviet troops who had opened a breach between the German 6th Army and the Italian Army. The Italian Lancers destroyed two Soviet Infantry armored vehicles before being forced to withdraw with slight losses, about thirty-two casualties.

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Component Elements of the 1st Cavalry Division

World War II

This information, current as of October 1948, is reproduced from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, pp. 510-592.

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