Did World War I need horses? Absolutely. World War I urgently needed horses because early mechanized transport like trucks and tractors could not handle the deep mud, ruined roads, and vast supply needs of the front lines. Horses were vital for both logistics and transportation needs.
That's why millions of horses and mules were used in World War I to carry food, water, mail, the wounded, ammunition, and medical supplies to the trenches. Heavy field guns alone required teams of six to twelve horses just to move a single piece through the mud.
The nations involved in the war deployed millions of animals. The British Army alone utilized over one million horses and mules during the conflict. In fact, Britain shipped more hay and oats by weight to the Western Front than it did ammunition.
The cavalry quickly found out that there were limitations to fighting a modern war. In fact, while mounted troops remained vital in open terrains like the Middle East., cavalry officers soon found out that traditional cavalry charges quickly became obsolete on the muddy machine-gun-defended Western Front.
The cost in casualties of how many horses were killed during that war? An estimated 8 million horses died from shellfire, disease, exhaustion, and starvation across all nations during the war.
Britain also entered the war because it wanted to stop a total French defeat and prevent an aggressive Germany from taking complete control of Western Europe. When Britain entered the conflict, the rest of the British Empire, including nations like Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand were automatically brought into the war as well.
In fact, before entering the war, America supplied the British and Allied armies with more than one million horses and mules. Massive depots, such as one in Lathrop, Missouri, collected the animals before shipping them through ports like Newport News, Virginia, to Britain and the Western Front.
Below is a news article from Morning Press, Volume 43, Number 38, October 9, 1914. It talks about the need for America to supply horses for what would later become known as World War I. I think you may find it interesting.
War Expected to Bring Increased Demand for American Horses
WASHINGTON. Oct. 8. During the next decade there will probably be an increased demand for American horses in the countries now engaged in the European war.
The demand may even continue much longer, according to investigators of the United States department of agriculture, as not only will horses be needed for armies, but when peace is restored, more will be needed for agriculture.
Already European agents are said to be endeavoring to purchase horses in this country' and Canada, and there is an increased interest in many sections in horse breeding. To meet this Increased European demand American farmers may well endeavor to raise well bred horses, although the department of agriculture does not advise them to purchase a surplus of homes merely for breeding purposes.
It merely advises that ordinary farm work should be done whenever possible by good mares which should be bred to good stallions. It also desires to emphasize, the fact that only horses of high quality may be profitably raised today. Inferior horses are a drug on the market, and their production is to be discouraged as mud as the production of good horses should be encouraged.
U. S. Previously Drawn On
The United States has previously been drawn on to supply European countries at war. In the Boer War over 100,000 horses were bought here by the British government. It may be doubted whether a foreign government could now obtain a similar supply in this country, except at excessive cost.
However, if farmers take pains to utilize their good mares during this winter to breed them to good stallions, in the course of several years (time enough for the foals to develop), America will be better able to meet the European demand.
It is natural that European countries should look to the United States for horses, as next to Russia it has more of these animals than . any other country - In the world!
The United States and Russia possess 58 per cent of the world supply. Strange to say. however there were no horses originally on our continent and the present supply comes from stock brought over from Europe, Canada's supply is small compared to our own.
War As Consumer of Horses.
The German army requires for a complete mobilization 770,000 horses, and the French army is said to require 2 50,000, which figure, however, probably includes only those for the cavalry. It is conservatively estimated on good authority that 1,000,000 horses are now engaged in the European war.
As the great majority of these horses are not included in the permanent military organization, but are used for farm work and are requisitioned by governments only when needed for military purposes, the countries of continental Europe will certainly face an acute shortage of farm horses before the next planting season which will seriously affect the price of horses the world over, as soon as peace is declared.
According to the best information horses in the countries of Europe now at war number as follows; Great Britain 2.231,000 France 3,222.000 Belgium 363,000 Germany 4,323,000 Austria-Hungary 4,374,000 Russia 24,632,000 Total 39,263,000 In addition England has a supply of about 6,000,000 to draw on in her various dependencies.
Russia has about 10,000,000 in Asia and France probably 300.000 to 1,000,000 in her colonies. The rapacious consumption of horses in war is illustrated by figures from our own civil conflict.
During his Shenandoah valley campaign, Sherman was supplied with fresh horses at the rate of 150 per day. In his report for the year 1863, the quartermaster general of the United States army slated: "The service of a cavalry horse under an enterprising commander has averaged only four months.”
During 1864 there were 300 horses consumed per day in the northern army, without considering those captured and not reported. During eight months of that year, the cavalry of the army of the Potomac was remounted twice, nearly 40,000 horses In all being required.
Our Own Army Desirable Market.
Our own army furnishes a desirable market for well-bred horses, there being under the remount system at least 3,000 horses required annually to supply both the army and the national guard.
There are now about 20,000 horses in our regular army on a peace basis. In war, many more would be required before the first engagement. There is, therefore, a steady market for good horses independent of the European demand.
Even the invasion of motor power which has reduced the number of horses on our streets, has not influenced this demand. In fact, the price of horses has advanced along with other commodities during recent years.
The bureau of animal industry of the United States department of agriculture, Washington, stands ready to aid any farmer desiring to breed high class horses.
As the day of the large horse ranch is practically gone, any increased demand will have to be met by the farmer. There are certain localities more suited to horse breeding than others and places where certain breeds do better.
Such details may be obtained for the asking. Even in the south, where mules are bred in preference to horses, an increased production of first class animals should find it , ready market abroad, although the mule is not used on the continent to the extent that it is used here.
-- end of news story as it appeared in 1914.
First, a German submarine attack sank neutral American merchant ships. Second, the was the Zimmermann Telegram which was a telegram that Germany sent to Mexico. It was a secret message asking Mexico to invade the United States and join the war against America from the South. And third, there was a threat to trade in that German actions made the Atlantic Ocean unsafe for American travel and commerce.
It was because of these things, and the fact that Americans were in support of the war, that made President Wilson ask Congress to declare war. Congress voted to approve the war on April 6, 1917.
Tom Correa
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