Page 412 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
sensitive means of transport that all locals can relate to them, would be a significant contribution to the softer effects sought by Gen McChrystal’s courageous restraint.
It is easier to be less threatening when mounted on a horse than within an armoured vehicle. Eye contact is far easier and the expressions on faces are easier to read. Additionally, there will always be a talking point in discussing the horses and of course an opportunity to seek fodder and water from the local community.
Current UK Mounted Capability. The UK Military currently has three mounted units that may offer a capability to Afghanistan. The military training estab- lishment for equine matters is the Defence Animal Centre at Melton Mowbray which is responsible for horse management and riding skills. The two mounted units of the regular Army are the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) and the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. While both these Units are committed to a full diary of ceremonial duties, they produce varying levels of horsemanship and soldierly skills. A mixture of the two would be particularly useful in deploying any formed sub unit. However, it is worth considering the utility of cavalry units such as the King's Royal Hussars (KRH). The unit has a useful cohort of junior officers and SNCOs as well as a handful of junior troopers that are horsemen. They would bring Operational experience and soldierly skills to mounted Operations in Afghanistan.
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment is trained for armoured reconnaissance as troopers and junior officers. Individuals are posted to a mounted tour in London. By the time the HCMR soldier has served five years he should be proficient in both mounted ceremonial duties and armoured reconnaissance work and as such, be a suitable soldier able to exploit the mounted role on Operations. The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery has a different make up and raison d’être. Once at the King’s Troop, soldiers undertake their equine training during their formative years. They build up a sound working knowledge of horse husbandry and have a full career of riding,76 and become excellent horsemen and women.77 However, these individuals have no operational role and have no requirement to deploy. They therefore lack the instinctive military knowledge needed for operations but would be very keen to contribute.78 It is thus evident that the UK military would not have to generate the means to conduct mounted Operations, but merely force
76 Cross, Major N, interview with author, March 4th, 2010.
77 Macdonald, Col, interview with author, May 13th, 2010.
78 Cross, Major N, interview with author, March 4th, 2010.
79 Thoms, Keith and Lee Jett. Austere Recovery of Cargo Gliders.
80 Badsey, Dr S, interview with author, Apr 14th, 2010.
generate the existing capability from within resources and this factor would not constrain our ability to provide a suitable mounted force.
Historical context for mounted Operations. Horse based military campaigns have been recorded in history for over five thousand years. Mounted troops have been in almost constant use since their apparent demise across the world at the end of the First World War. The first recorded campaign that had no horse contribution in any way was the invasion of Normandy in 1944. However, this did not stop mules (up to 18 hands) being flown in Chindit gliders in the Second World War79 and horses being under-slung helicopters in the Vietnam and Korean War.80 (Note that 80% of the Wehrmacht transport effort was horse, and the post-war German and Italian mountain artillery regiments used mules – Ed.)
Just because there is a perceived cessation of horse manoeuvre in the late 1940s, it is a misnomer that their utility is over. Both previous British Military campaigns in Afghanistan were conducted on horseback. These campaigns accounted for new tactics for cavalry and mounted infantry but also solidified the role of horse mounted troops in the Commanders of the East Indian Company.81 In the Second World War, mules were used extensively to carry supplies in the mountains of Italy and Greece. In Burma, thirteen hundred mules supported the Chindit force under Brigadier Orde Wingate.82 The incredible flexibility of these animals and their ruggedness made them vital to the campaign.83
Additionally, horses and mules were used for distrib- uting humanitarian supplies, including disaster relief in Pakistan after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and in Afghanistan where the United Nations Children’s Fund has used four thousand mules to distribute aid supplies to remote villages.84 The British Army gave up its last mule troop in Hong Kong in 1976. Today, the Indian Army’s 61st Cavalry Brigade is in regular use, and as of 2007 the Chinese People’s Liberation Army employed two battalions of horse cavalry in Xinjiang Military District for border patrols.85
What all these examples show is that whilst the lethality of weapons has not changed dramatically in the last fifty years, many nations have continued to use horses and mules on Operations. Consequently, there must be a natural read across to contemporary operations and substance to their current utility.
Contemporary example of mounted troops. A compelling example of contemporary mounted troops
81 The Marquess of Anglesey. A History of the British Cavalry 1816 – 1919, Volume 1. Lee Cooper. London.
82 Cregier. Burma’s long-eared paratroops. Journal of Equine veterinary science, 2001, P519-523.
83 DSTL/LBSD/CCS/FDS/23ISSE/TASK1/01 – Report on the use of Mules for Operations in Afghanistan, 19th Nov 09.
84 http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01prnigelfisher1.htm
85 http://www.china-defense.com/
404