Pre-gunpowder The origins of mounted infantry go back to at least the beginnings of organised warfare. With the weight of ancient
bronze armor, the opposing
champions would travel to battle on
chariots before dismounting to fight. With the evolution of
hoplite warfare, some hoplites would travel to battle on horseback, before dismounting to take their place in the
phalanx. The
Dimachae were cavalry units in the
Macedonian army who also fought on foot when necessary. The early pre-
Marian Roman military had units consisting of infantrymen clinging to the saddles of the cavalry to take them to battle and then dismounting to fight.
Gallic and
Germanic warbands were reported to use double-riders, with a second warrior joining a horseman only for a short distance before dismounting to fight on foot. The
Han dynasty also extensively used mounted infantry in their
campaigns against the Xiongnu confederation. During many of the Han campaigns, the vast majority of the army rode on horseback; either as mounted cavalry or mounted infantry who fought dismounted. The Arabs, during their campaigns in the deserts of Mesopotamia and Syria against the Byzantines and
Sassanids, used camels to enhance their mobility, marking a stark contrast to their enemies, especially in the desert environment. The Carolingians under
Charlemagne also used horses as transport for the bulk of their army, and special care was taken to ensure the health, fodder, and availability of horses on-campaign. Other notable infantry to use horses to enhance their mobility include the
Genoese crossbowmen, and
Viking raiders who would
gather all the horses they could find in the vicinity of their landings.
Dragoons (c. 1700).
Dragoons originally were mounted infantry, who were trained in
horse riding as well as infantry
fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional
light cavalry units and personnel. Dragoon regiments were established in most European armies during the late 17th century and early 18th century. The name is possibly derived from a type of
firearm (called a ) carried by dragoons of the
French Army. There is no distinction between the words and in French. The title has been retained in modern times by a number of
armoured or ceremonial mounted
regiments.
19th century By the late 19th century, the increasing firepower and accuracy of infantry weapons reduced the usefulness of traditional cavalry roles, while mounted infantry used horses for mobility but fought on foot with rifles. One early example was the United States
Regiment of Mounted Riflemen, organised during the
Mexican–American War and redesignated the Third Cavalry Regiment in 1861. In Australia, the
Victorian Mounted Rifles were formed in December 1885, with companies recruited in rural centres and members required to provide their own mounts. The
French Foreign Legion used
mule-mounted companies from the 1880s. Each mule was shared by two legionnaires, who took turns in riding it. These companies could usually cover 25–30 miles (40–50 km) a day, and in emergencies 44–50 miles (70–80 km) a day for several days. In the Western Theatre of the
American Civil War, several infantry regiments were converted to mounted infantry and armed with
repeating rifles. The
Lightning Brigade at the
Battle of Chickamauga was an example of these Union mounted infantry units. In the
British Army, infantry units in some parts of the
British Empire had mounted platoons for
scouting and
skirmishing. Colonial mounted infantry units included the
Cape Mounted Rifles,
Natal Carbineers and Victorian Mounted Rifles. In the
Second Boer War, the British raised mounted infantry forces to counter the mobility of Boer commandos. Among various ad hoc formations, the
Imperial Yeomanry was raised from volunteers in Britain after a Royal Warrant of 24 December 1899. During the final year of the war, as the need for artillery diminished, several battalions of mounted rifles were formed from officers and men of the
Royal Artillery. After the war, British cavalry doctrine placed greater emphasis on dismounted fire, and cavalry were equipped with longer-ranged rifles rather than carbines. A shorter-barrelled Lee–Enfield Cavalry Carbine Mark I had been introduced in 1896.
20th century Many European armies also used
bicycle infantry in a similar way that mounted infantry used horses. However they were handicapped by the need for proper roads. The Australian
4th Light Horse Brigade which took part in the cavalry charge in the
Battle of Beersheba (1917) during
World War I are labelled as mounted infantry brigade in popular media; however, they were in fact mounted rifles as were the
New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade which also took part in this battle. Mounted rifles regiments lack the mass of a mounted infantry battalions, as a light horse brigade could only muster as many rifles in the line as a single battalion. Consequently, their employment reflected this lack of mass, with the tactics seeking to harness greater mobility and fire to overcome opposition, rather than echeloned mass attacks. Mounted infantry began to disappear with the shift from horses to motor vehicles in the 1920s and 1930s. Germany deployed a few horse-mounted infantry units on the
Russian Front during the Second World War, and cyclist units on both fronts as well, and both Germany and Britain (which had used cyclist battalions in the First World War) experimented with
motorcycle battalions. Germany also utilized organic horse and bicycle mounted troops within infantry formations throughout World War Two, although bicycle use increased as Germany retreated into its own territory. Japan deployed cyclists to great effect in its 1941 to 1942 campaign in
Malaya and drive on
Singapore during World War II. A horsed cavalry regiment of the
Philippine Scouts assisted in the defense of the
Philippines at the onset of World War II. The 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army also maintained a mounted reconnaissance troop throughout World War Two, which saw service in Italy and Austria during the war. The
Grey's Scouts were a Rhodesian mounted infantry unit raised in July 1975. Named after
George Grey, a British soldier and governor, it was based in Salisbury (now
Harare). The Grey's Scouts patrolled the borders of Rhodesia during the
Rhodesian Bush War and then went on to become a regiment of the
Special Forces Of Zimbabwe in June 1980. The regiment was disbanded in July 1986 due to a lack of resources. Countries with entrenched military traditions, such as Switzerland, retained horse-mounted troops well into the
Cold War, while Sweden kept much of its infantry on bicycles during the snow-free months. == See also ==