Cavalry facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Historically, cavalry were soldiers who fought battles while riding horses. These brave riders were a very important part of armies for thousands of years. In modern times, the word "cavalry" often means the fast-moving part of the military, even if they don't use horses anymore. It's like the opposite of infantry, who are soldiers who fight on foot.

An Eastern Han glazed ceramic statue of a horse with bridle and halter headgear, from Sichuan, late 2nd century to early 3rd century AD

Soldiers have used horses in wars for a very long time, ever since people learned to ride them. Horses gave soldiers many advantages. Because horses are strong, cavalry soldiers could wear more armour and carry heavier weapons than soldiers on foot. Also, because horses are fast, cavalry could quickly move across the battlefield, attack enemies by surprise, or chase after them.

The Role of Cavalry Through History
Modern Cavalry
Images for kids
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The Role of Cavalry Through History

Cavalry played a huge role in wars for thousands of years, from ancient times until the early 20th century.

Ancient Cavalry

In ancient times, cavalry was used for scouting, chasing enemies, and quick attacks. Early cavalry didn't always have saddles or stirrups, which made it harder to stay on the horse and fight. Over time, new inventions like the saddle and stirrups made cavalry much more effective. Famous ancient cavalry included the Mongol horse archers, who were incredibly skilled at shooting arrows while riding, and the Parthian cataphracts, who were heavily armored riders and horses.

Medieval Knights

During the Middle Ages, knights on horseback became a symbol of power and bravery. These knights wore heavy armor and used lances and swords. They were often the main attacking force in battles, charging into enemy lines. However, as new weapons like the longbow and pikes became more common, it became harder for cavalry to break through formations of foot soldiers.

Cavalry in the Age of Gunpowder

When gunpowder weapons like muskets and cannons appeared, the way wars were fought changed a lot. Cavalry still had a role, but it was different.

Dragoons were soldiers who could ride horses to get to a battle quickly, then dismount and fight on foot like infantry. They were very flexible.
Hussars were light cavalry, known for their speed and daring. They were often used for scouting, raiding, and chasing down fleeing enemies.
Lancers carried long spears called lances, which were very effective for charging into enemy lines.
Cuirassiers were heavy cavalry who wore metal breastplates (cuirasses) for protection and were used for powerful charges.

Even with guns, cavalry charges could be very effective, especially against disorganized enemies or to break through enemy lines. Famous examples include the charges during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Decline of Horse Cavalry

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new technologies started to make horse cavalry less important.

Machine guns could easily mow down charging horses and riders.
Barbed wire could stop cavalry charges.
Tanks and armored cars could do many of the jobs of cavalry, but with much more protection and firepower.

During World War I, horse cavalry was still used at the beginning, but it quickly became clear that they couldn't survive on the modern battlefield against trenches and machine guns. By World War II, most armies had replaced their horse cavalry with motorized (vehicle-based) units.

Modern Cavalry

Today, very few armies use horses for fighting in battles. However, the term "cavalry" is still used for fast-moving military units. These modern cavalry units use vehicles like tanks, armored personnel carriers, and even helicopters to move quickly and perform tasks like scouting, reconnaissance (finding out about the enemy), and rapid attacks. For example, the United States Army has "cavalry" units that use tanks and other armored vehicles. Some armies still use horses for ceremonial duties, like parades, or for special tasks in difficult terrain where vehicles can't go.

Images for kids

French 4th Hussars at the Battle of Friedland, 1807
A trumpeter of the Representative Cavalry Squadron in the Polish Army
A Polish winged hussar
Assyrian cavalry
Parthian horseman, now on display at the Palazzo Madama, Turin
Warrior's departure; an Athenian amphora dated 550–540 BC
Tombstone of a Roman auxiliary trooper from Cologne, Germany. Second half of the first century AD
Reenactor as a Roman auxiliary cavalryman
Chinese caltrop jar
A bas-relief of a soldier and horse with saddle and stirrups, from the tomb of Chinese Emperor Taizong of Tang (r 626–649), c 650
The Qianlong Emperor in ceremonial armor on horseback, painted by Giuseppe Castiglione, dated 1739 or 1758
In the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, Japanese cavalry moving down a mountain-side
Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra
Coin of Chandragupta II or Vikramaditya, one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire during times referred to as the Golden Age of India
Rajput warrior on horseback
Akbar leads the Mughal Army during a campaign
Horse-mounted Normans charging in the Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century
A 13th-century depiction of a riding horse. Note resemblance to the modern Paso Fino
A Hussite war wagon: it enabled peasants to defeat knights
Arab camelry
A Moroccan with his Arabian horse along the Barbary coast
Kanem-Bu warriors armed with spears in the retinue of a mounted war chief. The Earth and Its Inhabitants, 1892
Knighted cavalry and noblemen, painting by Jan van Eyck (c. 1390–1441)
Husarz (Polish Hussar) by Józef Brandt
Cavalry charge at Eylau, painted by Jean-Antoine-Siméon Fort
British infantry formed into anti-cavalry squares at the Battle of Quatre Bras
The charge of the Venezuelan First Division's cavalry at the Battle of Carabobo
"The Thin Red Line" at the Battle of Balaclava, where the 93rd Regiment held off Russian Cavalry
Monument to the Spanish Regiment of light cavalry of Alcántara
19th Lancers near Mametz during the Battle of the Somme, 15 July 1916
Algerian spahis of the French Army 1886
Union Cavalry capture Confederate guns at Culpepper
Italian cavalry officers practice their horsemanship in 1904 outside Rome
Austro-Hungarian cavalry, 1898
German cavalryman in September 1914, German South-West Africa
Dead German cavalry horses after the Battle of Halen - where the Belgian cavalry, fighting dismounted, decimated their still mounted German counterparts
A British cavalry trooper in marching order (1914–1918)
German dragoons, armed with lances, after the capture of Warsaw, August 1915
Lithuanian lancers training in the 1930s
Polish uhlan with wz. 35 anti-tank rifle. Military instruction published in Warsaw in 1938
A German cavalry patrol in May 1940, during the Battle of France
A Soviet Cavalry Squadron pursuing retreating Germans
Soviet cavalry in action
Soviet cavalry charge
Mongolian cavalry in the Khalkhin Gol (1939)
U.S. Special Forces and Combat Controllers on horseback with the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan, which frequently used horses as military transport
Italian Army regiment “Lancieri di Montebello” (8th) on public duties in Rome 2019
Horse-mounted color guard from Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow
A cavalryman of Hakkapeliitta, the Finnish cavalry of Thirty Years' War, featured on a 1940 Finnish stamp
Mongol mounted archer of Genghis Khan late 12th century.
Tatar vanguard in Eastern Europe 13th–14th centuries.
Manikin of a Safavid Qizilbash, showing characteristic red cap (Sa'dabad Palace, Tehran).
Persian Zamburak.
Ottoman Sipahi.
An Ottoman Mamluk cavalryman from 1810, armed with a pistol.
Akinci of the Balkans.
Ottoman Ghazi cavalrymen during the Battle of Nicopolis.
Washington National Guard cavalry pictured in Tacoma, Washington in 1907.
French cuirassiers, wearing breastplates and helmets, parade through Paris on the way to battle, August 1914.
Spanish light cavalry (cazadores) during the Rif War 1921.
Polish PZL W-3 Sokół of the 66 Air Cavalry Squadron, 25th Aeromobile Cavalry Brigade.
The mounted President's Bodyguard of the Indian Army
French Republican Guard – 2008 Bastille Day military parade
The President's Body Guard of the Pakistan Army, 2006.
Troopers of the Blues and Royals on mounted duty in Whitehall, London
Turkmenistan ceremonial cavalry in the Independence Day parade 2011
A Mongolian military horseman, 2013
Representative Cavalry Squadron of the Polish Army on military parade in Warsaw, 2006