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The use of horses in World War I marked a transitional period in the evolution of armed conflict. Cavalry units were initially considered essential offensive elements of a military force, but over the course of the war, the vulnerability of horses to modern machine gun and artillery fire reduced their utility on the battlefield. This paralleled the development of tanks, which would ultimately replace cavalry in shock tactics. While the perceived value of the horse in war changed dramatically, horses still played a significant role throughout the war. All of the major combatants in World War I (1914–1918) began the conflict with cavalry forces. Germany stopped using them on the Western Front soon after the war began. They continued to be deployed in a limited fashion on the Eastern Front well into the war. The Ottoman Empire used cavalry extensively during the war. On the Allied side, the United Kingdom used mounted infantry and cavalry charges throughout the war, but the United States used cavalry for only a short time. Although not particularly successful on the Western Front, Allied cavalry did have some success in the Middle Eastern theatre, possibly because they faced a weaker and less technologically advanced enemy. Russia used cavalry forces on the Eastern Front, but with limited success. The military mainly used horses for logistical support during the war; they were better than mechanized vehicles at traveling through deep mud and over rough terrain. Horses were used for reconnaissance and for carrying messengers, as well as pulling artillery, ambulances, and supply wagons. The presence of horses often increased morale among the soldiers at the front, but the animals contributed to disease and poor sanitation in camps, caused by their manure and carcasses. The value of horses, and the increasing difficulty of replacing them, was such that by 1917 some troops were told that the loss of a horse was of greater tactical concern than the loss of a human soldier. Ultimately, the Allied blockade prevented the Central Powers from importing horses to replace those lost, which contributed to Germany's defeat. By the end of the war, even the well-supplied U.S. Army was short of horses. Conditions were severe for horses at the front; they were killed by artillery fire, suffered from skin disorders, and were injured by poison gas. Hundreds of thousands of horses died, and many more were treated at veterinary hospitals and sent back to the front. Procuring equine food was a major issue, and Germany lost many horses to starvation through lack of fodder. Several memorials have been erected to commemorate the horses that died. Artists, including Alfred Munnings, extensively documented the work of horses in the war, and horses were featured in war poetry. Novels, plays and documentaries have also featured the horses of World War I. == Cavalry == Many British tacticians outside of the cavalry units realized before the war that advances in technology meant that the era of mounted warfare was coming to an end. However, many senior cavalry officers disagreed, and despite limited usefulness, maintained cavalry regiments at the ready throughout the war. Scarce wartime resources were used to train and maintain cavalry regiments that were rarely used. The continued use of the cavalry charge as a tactical maneuver resulted in the loss of many troops and horses in fruitless attacks against enemy machine guns.〔Ellis, ''Cavalry'', pp. 174–176〕 Early in the war, cavalry skirmishes occurred on several fronts, and horse-mounted troops were widely used for reconnaissance.〔Willmott, ''First World War'', p. 46〕 Britain's cavalry were trained to fight both on foot and mounted, but most other European cavalry still relied on the shock tactic of mounted charges. There were isolated instances of successful shock combat on the Western Front, where cavalry divisions also provided important mobile firepower.〔 Beginning in 1917, cavalry was deployed alongside tanks and aircraft, notably at the Battle of Cambrai, where cavalry was expected to exploit breakthroughs in the lines that the slower tanks could not. But, this plan never came to fruition due to missed opportunities and the use of machine guns by German forces. At Cambrai, troops from Great Britain, Canada, India and Germany participated in mounted actions.〔Hammond, ''Cambrai 1917'', pp. 69, 450–451〕 Cavalry was still deployed late in the war, with Allied cavalry troops harassing retreating German forces in 1918 during the Hundred Days Offensive, when horses and tanks continued to be used in the same battles.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Cavalry and Tanks at Arras, 1918 )〕 In comparison to their limited usefulness on the Western Front, "cavalry was literally indispensable" on the Eastern front and in the Middle East.〔 Great changes in the tactical use of cavalry were a marked feature of World War I, as improved weaponry rendered frontal charges ineffective. Although cavalry was used with good effect in Palestine, at the Third Battle of Gaza and Battle of Megiddo, generally the mode of warfare changed. Tanks were beginning to take over the role of shock combat.〔 The use of trench warfare, barbed wire and machine guns rendered traditional cavalry almost obsolete.〔Carver, ''Britain's Army in the 20th Century'', p. 123〕 Following the war, the armies of the world powers initiated a process of mechanization in earnest, and most cavalry regiments were either converted to mechanized units or disbanded.〔Carver, ''Britain's Army in the 20th Century'', pp. 154–57〕 Historian G.J. Meyer writes that "the Great War brought the end of cavalry".〔Meyer, ''A World Undone, p. 264〕 From the Middle Ages into the 20th century, cavalry had dominated battlefields, but from as early as the American Civil War, their value in war was declining as artillery became more powerful, reducing the effectiveness of shock charges. The Western Front in World War I showed that cavalry was almost useless against modern weaponry, and it also reinforced that they were difficult to transport and supply. British cavalry officers, far more than their continental European counterparts, persisted in using and maintaining cavalry, believing that mounted troops would be useful for exploiting infantry breakthroughs, and under the right circumstances would be able to face machine guns. Neither of these beliefs proved correct.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Horses in World War I」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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