Romanian cavalry

[Marcus]

Can someone explain the difference between Calarasi and Rosiori cavalry regiments in the Romanian army?
Thanks.

/Marcus

[Victor]

In the 19th the Rosiori were the regular cavalry, while the Calarasi the territorial cavalry. The difference in the 20th century was only the name which remained unchanged (military tradition).
www.wwii.home.ro/cav.htm

[Marcus]

Thanks Victor.

/Marcus

[Gwynn Compton]

While many historian's have claimed outright that cavalry were obsolete after Poland, the Russian Cossack Cavalry units performed brilliantly in muddy conditions and were often a constant pain for German units planning to use the Rasputa as a time of rest.

Gwynn

[muzrub]

You maybe interested in this, during the fighting of late in Afghanistan Northern Alliance troops attacked Tabilan Tanks on horse back and over ran them resulting in victory! The destruction of some tanks and the capture of others.

Maybe the horse still has a limited role on todays battle field?

[Ovidius]

Although the cavalry was a practically obsolete force in the fight against the Soviet Union(the Red Army was not some kind of Taliban), out of 17 Knights Crosses received by the Romanian forces, the cavlry commanders got 5:

http://www.feldgrau.com/romkc.html

~Regards,

Ovidius

[Gwynn Compton]

I think it is important to compare the types of battle which we have used thus far.

The Taliban tanks we must remember in this instance you speak about, were poorly crewed, and if I recall correctly, lacked infantry support. The reason why the Taliban lost this particular battle was because the Northern Alliance Troops charged in from the two sides of a valley, coming down the slopes. The Taliban tanks could not adjust their main guns range in time (lacking full crews to opperate the tanks machine guns) and this is why they were overrun.

Against a fully modern and trained army like the United States, I feel the only roll the horse has is as a means of transport over difficult terrrain.

Gwynn

[Yedith]

In the cavalries and battles mentioned above, what breed horses were used? Where they armoured in any way? (In Chicago, at least, police horses are mostly throughbreds and quarterhorses, close as I know of to a cavarly.

Yedith,
dressage rider

[Marcus]

Welcome to the forum.

/Marcus

[Ovidius]

In the cavalries and battles mentioned above, what breed horses were used? Where they armoured in any way? (In Chicago, at least, police horses are mostly throughbreds and quarterhorses, close as I know of to a cavarly.

Armour on a horse made practically no sense, for obvious reasons

As for the breed of the horses, they were mostly not thoroughbred, due to cost and availability reasons. Only the Russian Cossacks could afford themselves to raise, generation after generation, one of the finest horse breeds, the Don Horse.

~Ovidius

[Yedith]

Ovidius writes

Only the Russian Cossacks could afford themselves to raise, generation after generation, one of the finest horse breeds, the Don Horse

OK, maybe it was a stupid question asking about protecting a "modern" war horse... else the death toll of horses would not have been so staggering from our Civil War.

I am not familiar with the "Don" as a breed. And of course a "blooded" horse would likely not be the mount of an ordinary cavarly soldier, but... any information on how horses were acquired and trained for battle in WW2 would be appreciated by this dressage rider.

Ovidius, I'll be looking up the Don to see how it compares to my favorite, the Friesian.

[Yedith]

Ovidius, the Don does look like an exceptional horse. (if not familiar with the breed: check out a description at http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/hors ... /index.htm)

I'm still curious about what the common soldier rode, but if a cavarly soldier, a Don would have been a great choice!

[Victor]

Marcus, going through some old stuff I found this illustrations of a rosiori officer and of a calarasi officer.

Rosior


Calaras

[Marcus]

Thanks Victor.

/Marcus

[Ovidius]

I am not familiar with the "Don" as a breed. And of course a "blooded" horse would likely not be the mount of an ordinary cavarly soldier, but... any information on how horses were acquired and trained for battle in WW2 would be appreciated by this dressage rider.

I don't know about horse training in WW2(and even less about what happened with USSR cavalry corps at that time - better ask Oleg ), but as for the "blooded" horses, right this was the "secret weapon" of the historic(pre-1922) Don Cossacks: the vast majority of them, from private to general, rode "blooded" Don horses; other breeds would likely not have withstood the conditions(most of the year the horses of a stanitsa-Cossack settlement- were kept in the open, in the harsh Russian climate). And they reputedly trained a horse for battle in just 1-2 weeks!

Of course, the number of these horses available, just like the number of Cossacks, was limited; they were, for their entire history, an elite branch, a military and social class unlike the serfs that formed the vast majority of the Russian Empire's population.

~Regards,

Ovidius