Why does the British Army have more horses than tanks?

Any 'number crunchers' here who can find how often (since 1916) the British Army had MORE tanks than horses?
Phylo - sounds like a quest for you!

What was the maximum number of tanks (and I think we need to be specific, TANKS as opposed to APCs, SPGs etc) the British Army had at a particular time?

 

I can tell you it wasn't in 1939/40

 

Even at the height of its military power I understand the bulk of the German Army in WW2 was 'horse powered' as opposed to mechanised.
I am guessing here but I assumed British Army (including vehicles, specifically tanks supplied by/bought from America) was numerically superior to German armour. American units must be ignored in this question of course.

Slightly off topic but a friend who served in Bosnia with 2RTR apparently experienced horse-borne ops in mountainous areas but I suspect these were 'locally recruited' rather than British Army horses.

 

Efficiency gains, how about changing Kings Troop to two carthorses per gun instead of the current 6 light vanners? Perhaps the HCR mounted regt could go 'two-up'.

I think this Lib Dem MP is a publicity hungry dickhead.

 

Tomorrows wars with yesterdays memories? We went into the Boer war with the tactics and dress of the Crimea, WW1 with the Boer war in our minds and it cost . 1922 the cavalry protested as they were made to change from horse to armour. Just prior to WW2 the budget for the army equestrian school was higher than the school of armour. At least consistent we are talking of yesterday again.

Often said we did not prepare for war, well not the one coming but certainly for the last. Now we are preparing, we are accused of not staying in the past. You cannot plan for what has gone only for what you think is coming and what you are as a nation prepared to do.

 

@Bluebell. I was stationed in Hong Kong until 1972 and I can confirm that resupply to the "Police posts" on the border with China (Pak Fu Shan and Crest Hill) were supplied by Mules of 414 Pack Troop RCT a locally enlisted HK Chinese Unit. The Police Posts were manned by 48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade's RA Regiment. Us in other words. Ubique

Dave

 

The future

 

Dave

Thank you for your personal memories of Hong Kong (senile decay has not yet set in)

 

Only if you don't count the Chindits' mules!

 

What's a Chindit? Not heard of them in France

 

Because I don't see the Italians, or Greeks or Japanese sending said armies off to fight expensive wars in foreign places. I'm a firm believer in NOT punching above your weight - if you're going to do things like invade Iraq, go to fight in Afghanistan etc....you should at least do it with the REAL funding and the REAL numbers behind you

The government (and the last several) has the willingness to send the Army (and RAF, and RN) off to foreign climes but NOT the willingness to properly invest in them, or properly invest in the sort of society behind efforts like this that they really need. Places like here on ww2talk are rare, after all - filled with people who really have "seen the elephant" and are fully aware of why it was done...but huge sections of the rest of the country don't see it like that

If you want to pursue military solutions...AND fund the capability to do so properly...society as a whole has to see it as acceptable; and I'm not really sure it does, not any more. Sadly. The "hearts and minds" campaign...if ever there was one...was lost long ago

 

Phylo

Couldn't agree more plus the fact that you must go into these wars determined to WIN them - not bugger about for ten years for a draw - needs Fergie at the MoD then we could send in the reserves...

Cheers

 

Or you end up with exactly the same problems that JFK inherited in the 1960s, no ability for escalation - just the dilemma of 'surrender' (or more likely for Britain simple inertia) or nuke.

We often forget about the ridiculous teeth to tail ratios currently in place (which would be even worse if not for privatisation), which *arguably* leads to having a huge camel that can't really do much.

 

Indeed, and mostly forgotten here too...

Mind you, if they got rid of the horses, they'd probably end up the same way an number of the mules did in Burma...

 

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