Why do we love so much the idea of a successful cavalry charge? The idea of bringing this ancient method of warfare into the modern world and prevailing despite the odds has a special thrill to it.
As the German officer noted, they were not true cavalry, more like mounted infantrymen. They had no business making a cavalry charge. Nonetheless, they charged a fixed position, defended by infantry with machine guns and artillery, and they carried it! The charge started at an unusually long distance and it's not clear who ordered it. I like the theory that the horses themselves decided to initiate the charge when they did: having been without water for a prolonged period, and somehow smelling the water in Beersheba, they went right for it and couldn't be restrained. The Aussies brandishing their bayonets aloft as if they were cavalry sabers isn't just a cinematic touch, it is attested to in memoirs. The Lighthorsemen is a great movie about this memorable but not widely known historical event.
Why do we love so much the idea of a successful cavalry charge? The idea of bringing this ancient method of warfare into the modern world and prevailing despite the odds has a special thrill to it.
As the German officer noted, they were not true cavalry, more like mounted infantrymen. They had no business making a cavalry charge. Nonetheless, they charged a fixed position, defended by infantry with machine guns and artillery, and they carried it! The charge started at an unusually long distance and it's not clear who ordered it. I like the theory that the horses themselves decided to initiate the charge when they did: having been without water for a prolonged period, and somehow smelling the water in Beersheba, they went right for it and couldn't be restrained. The Aussies brandishing their bayonets aloft as if they were cavalry sabers isn't just a cinematic touch, it is attested to in memoirs. The Lighthorsemen is a great movie about this memorable but not widely known historical event.
AMEN to the article. We are observing, and will observe some more of this in Ukraine soon.