I was just laying down the first coat of paint on some German cavalry (a fetching Bourneville brown :p) and got to thinking "were they all chestnut?". I don't suppose any officer from Prussia would have been so proud as to demand a white or grey horse for visibility reasons?? ps sorry if its called something other than 'white' or 'grey' in the equine world
I think that if were in a cavalry charge I would like a black horse as opposed to a pinto or other light shade. but it may not be up to a personal choice "you just gets what you are issued with" it, always been that way , although my father ,who was in the 1914 lot always said that his regiment used to have only one shade, Mainly because he was in the R,H,A and they " liked the teams to look "nice" Best Bernard .
Les - Most Cavalry regiments were so full of it - the line across their foreheads meant that they were "down a quart" - that they ALL had to "look nice" so the Scots Greys had - naturally Greys - The 16/5th Lancers ( The Scarlet Lancers) were very picky as their founder - Queen Charlotte - held that they had the finest of "mounts and accoutrements" and so their mounts were mostly black- on the way back from India in 1940 - they left all their horses in Egypt - where they have joined a lot of descendants of others from as far back as the Boer War and are still cared for as my daughter still sends a cheque every year for their upkeep. Notta lotta folks know that - about the horses I mean ! Cheers
Ta for all your thoughts. Does this website help? E-Books about Modern Horse Cavalry For Sale Owen, I will see if I can get hold of a couple of those. Managed to procure a copy of Osprey's Axis Cavalry & very interesting to me it is too. Taliking about the Russian campaign: "Brown horses sustained the most casualties and white ('grey') the fewest." Wether that was because there were fewer greys (which would be a bit obvious & therefore not very noteworthy) or because the riders of greys did not go quite as far out into the firing line (officers? or due to being more visible?). But I get the impression it was more a form of transport, like Dragoons, rather than going into combat situations mounted. Hmmm...I think I will paint about 5% grey or white, 20% black & the rest, various browns. :camouflage:
nice 1940 pic here. Foto/bild - Kavallerie in Frankreich –› Kostenlose/gratis Fotos zum Ausdrucken. - 13074 lots of pics here. search wikicommons for 'bundesarchiv Kavallerie' Search results for "bundesarchiv Kavallerie" - Wikimedia Commons+
Cheers Owen, that bike in the foreground has a Lucas headlamp. I think that it's an appropriated Triumph 3SW. On the subject of horses, I seem to remember reading a comment by a WW1 artillery officer on the conversion from horses to MT. Something along the lines of "Well at least horses don't burst into flames when they're hit by shellfire !"
Lescm I think that I would be reaching for my tin topee about now after your remark - "that greys didn't venture far into a fighting situation more like transport like - Dragoons" The 1st KDG's will not be pleased with that as they were on similar scuffles with the Cherrypickers in the desert for the longest times... Cheers
Lescm I think that I would be reaching for my tin topee about now after your remark - "that greys didn't venture far into a fighting situation more like transport like - Dragoons" The 1st KDG's will not be pleased with that as they were on similar scuffles with the Cherrypickers in the desert for the longest times... Cheers Oops sorry Tom what I was trying to ask was that in France the German cavalry did not do the mounted charges anymore and I was just thinking of English Civil War dragoons really you know ride into position then act as infantry. Also when I said 'greys' I was on about horse colour not casting aspirtions on a unit I know nothing about! By the way what's a cherrypicker when its not a scissor lift type thing?
Lescm19 - The 11th Hussars carried the title of " Cherrypickers ' as their berets were of a Cherry colour - they were first into action in the desert in 1940 when Mussolini joined in the fun to get to Cairo - people like the 11th Hussars stopped them dead ... when it really became serious they then were the recce mob for the famous "Desert Rats" - 7th Armoured Div. and marched all the way to Berlin. It's quite a tale their history..... Cheers
This appears to be incorrect for how they got their nicknmae, it's what I alsways thought was the reason. Nicknames of British Army Units 11th Light Dragoons The Cherry Pickers 1811 Detachment captured by French whilst picking cherries and had to fight dismounted The 11th Hussars P.A.O. (The Cherrypickers) - The Regimental Badge & Beret The Crimson Trousers The famous trousers stem from the House of Saxe - Coburg and the appointment of Prince Albert as Colonel of the Regiment in 1840. "The Cherrypickers" Our first nickname was the "Cherry Bums" which later became the "Cherrypickers" because of the colour of the overalls and trousers. The fact that a troop Commanded by Lt. Thomas Binnie was captured in an orchard by a French patrol in the Peninsular War has nothing to do with our nickname.
I'm a country boy and still haven't forgiven the so and so for giving me a full blooded kick - 60 years on. A least my motor cycles were not so unforgiving. David
Owen - You are probably quite correct in your explanation from History of the 11th Hussars and their nickname of the Cherry Pickers however at that time we were not too interestedf in reading history as we were rather busy in making it ! No doubt you will now tell us why the 16th Lancers were called "The Scarlet Lancers" ? Cheers
No doubt you will now tell us why the 16th Lancers were called "The Scarlet Lancers" ? Cheers easy.. from The 5th Royal Irish Lancers 16th (The Queen's) Lancers Known as the “Scarlet Lancers” since 1846 due to them being the only regiment of light cavalry to wear scarlet tunics instead of the regulation blue tunics.
The fact that a troop Commanded by Lt. Thomas Binnie was captured in an orchard by a French patrol in the Peninsular War has nothing to do with our nickname. Well they would say that, wouldn't they...
I was told by an old German soldier that in WW2 horses were requisitioned from farms in germany when needed as remounts , there weren't that many tractors in those days and horses were the transport and power of all farms so they were plentiful , so they probably came in all shades , similarly the horses were called up in the early and mid 30's for the British TA when the towns Units went on there yearly 'Camp' it usually coincided with the Towns summer Holiday and there wasn't that much call for Horse transport as all the townsfolk were at the seaside , can you picture the Co-operative Milk float horses towing some 18 pounders ...apparently they loved it .
Owen - nearly correct from the 5th Lancers - however - from the "Scarlet Lancers" - Maj.Gen James Lunt - he claims that the King and Queen at the time - William IV ( ?) had a bit of a spat as the Queen fancied them in Scarlet and the King thought they should be like the others with Blue Tunics - the Regimental Colonel made a BIG faux pas at a dinner when he toasted the Queen ......so the Regiment spent the next 24 years in India without a break ....complete with their Scarlet Tunics.....all has been forgiven though as Her Majesty had been Colonel in Chief since she was Princess Elizabeth in 1947.....even now as they are "The Queens Royal Lancers " since 1993 ... Cheers
