Journal of Military History, Jan 2007, vol 71, issue 1

[rob carman]

Good morning,

The following articles about cavalry (including one on the Light Horse) appear in the current issue of the Journal of Military History, January 2007, volume 71, issue 1. I have attached the abstracts provided by the publisher.

Regards,

Rob Carman.

Phillips, Gervase. Scapegoat Arm: Twentieth-Century Cavalry in Anglophone Historiography

Abstract: The cavalry has not been treated kindly by military historians. Portrayed as an anachronism on the twentieth-century battlefield, the arm became a convenient scapegoat for failures in war and the slow pace of modernisation in peacetime. This article traces the debate over cavalry over the course of the last hundred years, drawing both on contemporary sources and later historical analysis. It is suggested that a reassessment of the capabilities of early twentieth-century soldiers and an interest in the military history of eastern Europe has led, in turn, to a more positive interpretation of the cavalry's role in modern warfare.

Badsey, Stephen. The Boer War (1899-1902) and British Cavalry Doctrine: A Re-Evaluation

Abstract: Among the important British Army reforms following the Boer War (1899–1902) was the introduction of a longer-range rifle for the cavalry instead of a carbine, and a tactical doctrine including dismounted fire. It remains the view of most historians that the cavalry learned dismounted tactics from their Boer opponents, and that postwar reform of the cavalry was imposed from outside. Senior cavalry officers of the period are viewed as reactionary, and their performance in the First World War judged accordingly. This view is based on a partisan interpretation of the Boer War and the cavalry's role in it, fostered by its contemporary institutional critics. In fact, a cavalry reform movement was introducing dismounted tactics before the Boer War, both sides in the war used mounted and dismounted tactics, and the cavalry's problems were largely those of supply and not of their own making. This has much wider implications for the assessment of British military doctrines up to the end of the First World War.

Bou, Jean. Cavalry, Firepower, and Swords: The Australian Light Horse and the Tactical Lessons of Cavalry Operations in Palestine, 1916-1918.

Abstract: Despite their frequent description as mounted infantry, more than half of the Australian Light Horse finished the First World War as full sword-carrying cavalry, making use of both fire and modern shock tactics. This change ran counter to the traditions of the Australian mounted service, which had long emphasised rifle-based firepower for modern mounted troops. This article will examine the reasons why such a force adopted the sword in 1918, the nature of the change, and the experiences behind it. Even in the last year of the First World War, cavalry shock tactics still had a place on the battlefield.

Bielakowski, Alexander M. General Hawkins's War: The Future of the Horse in the U.S. Cavalry.

Abstract: During the interwar period, while some officers supported mechanization, others, who could accurately be termed "traditionalists", supported the horse. One of the most prominent of these "traditionalists" was Brigadier General Hamilton S. Hawkins. Hawkins contended that mechanized vehicles would never be capable or numerous enough to completely eliminate the use of horse cavalry. Even as mechanized forces dominated the battlefield during World War II, Hawkins continued to write about the need for horse cavalry. Faced with overwhelming evidence in favor of mechanized vehicles, Hawkins ultimately demonstrated that his advocacy of the horse was a matter of faith and not of empirical evidence.