Horses in WWI

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Old No7
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Horses in WWI

Post by Old No7 »

I saw the movie "War Horse", but I found this image and the stats with it to be fascinating -- and a little disturbing too...

Old No7

These soldiers are paying their respect to the fallen animals that died by their side.

This image shows soldiers standing in a formation which that perfectly resembles a horses head.

Eight million war horses were killed during WW I; while one million horses left the UK for the Western Front and only 60,000 returned. (6% survived)

The horses helped carry food, water, ammunition, and medical supplies to men on the front.


WWI War Horse.jpg
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by AJMD429 »

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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by yooper2 »

If you read a lot of first person accounts from the western front you will often find men mention how hard it is seeing the horses get slaughtered en masse. There is also a character in "All Quiet On The Western Front" who is driven to the edge listening to wounded horses die. Read it in middle school and that passage really hit me as I grew up around draft horses.

What really shocked me was many horses were used in WWII.



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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by jeepnik »

Heck every nation in WW II used horses.
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by vancelw »

Sgt. Reckless was a race horse used as a pack animal in the Korean War. She carried munitions to the front and returned for more.....all on her own.
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by Trailboss »

My Grandpa fought in WW1, horse cavalry in the black forest. He was only 16 years old but lied about his age to sign up.
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by Pisgah »

Few realize today how much the German army was horse-drawn even in WW2. To his dying day, the suffering of the horses haunted my then-farm-boy future dad more than the suffering of the men. The humans, he felt, at least knew why they were there.
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by samsi »

There was a personal account in the book Last of the Doughboys where the guy (American soldier) was walking behind a horse and an artillery shell landed right in front of the horse. Killed the poor horse instantly of course, but he was shielded completely from it. It still amazed him somewhat 85 years later when he was interviewed for the book, which is a really good read.

Published in 2013, I believe the author started researching and doing interviews around 2003-2005. Even that far after the fact he was able to get in contact with a surprising number of WW1 vets that were able to be interviewed. One surprising fact to me was the fact that the US Army was engaging in skirmishes with Cossacks in Russia 1918-1920.
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by 765x53 »

vancelw wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 1:54 am Sgt. Reckless was a race horse used as a pack animal in the Korean War. She carried munitions to the front and returned for more.....all on her own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIo3ZfA9da0
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by 765x53 »

battle_01.jpg Last Charge.jpg
"The U.S. Cavalry's Last Charge" WW II Bataan.
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Some of this is just too horrible to contemplate. You'd think both sides in the trenches would have allowed cease-fires so that the wounded horses could be dispatched. What a rotten mess we humans can be.
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by Grizz »

vancelw wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 1:54 am Sgt. Reckless was a race horse used as a pack animal in the Korean War. She carried munitions to the front and returned for more.....all on her own.
Thanks for mentioning this!! I just learned about the Sgt. today in a video. Just stunning. Well done. Honor is due. But also those soldiers, what they endured!
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by Griff »

One of the guys I cowboy shoot with was one of the mounted soldiers in Afghanistan.
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Re: Horses in WWI

Post by vancelw »

Griff wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 7:19 am One of the guys I cowboy shoot with was one of the mounted soldiers in Afghanistan.
A good read about the 1st boots on the ground after 9/11

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026SCMMS/re ... V1YXV6F7TP


A good book about the Korean War horse. I've met the author and have seen Sgt. Reckless' statue at Triangle, Virginia (USMC museum grounds)


Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00INC64FC/re ... F4PG3B2AR2
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