REAL WAR FOOTAGE KILLING DRIVER

“Nothing more distressing could be witnessed than a concentration of transport animals, during wet seasons, in fields where the mud was over their knees and hocks,” he said. Most commonly the animals were picketed in open fields, which exposed them during the winter months to many miseries which are described by Lieut-Colonel David Sobey Tamblyn, a veterinary surgeon who served with the Third Canadian Division, in his book The Horse in War published in 1923.

Shelter (from the elements and from bomb and shell splinters) was provided whenever possible, but such occasions were very rare. Photo: Canada Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-001229įor the horses and mules serving on the Western Front, life was hard and fraught with danger, and thus usually quite short. Pack horses carried rations, ammunition, and other supplies from the rear to the soldiers in the trenches on the front lines. Upon completing their training, the horses were transported to the field where they began active service. Heavy draft horses were used to transport the larger guns and heaviest wagons light drafts and mules supplied the front lines with lighter guns, ammunition, and supplies and riding horses were reserved for the cavalry and officers. The horses that landed safely in Europe were rushed to remount depots where they were trained to perform in a specific capacity based on their type. They were shipped to Europe, 600 to 800 animals in each transport, a costly enterprise and filled with risk, due to the danger that the ships might be torpedoed by German submarines. However, as the war dragged on, the increasing need for more animals prompted the British Remount Department to expand their search to look overseas, importing hundreds of thousands of horses and mules from Canada, the U.S., Australia, and Argentina. With the outbreak of war in July 1914, initially the British government, believing that the war would be of short duration, acquired approximately 100,000 to 150,000 horses from home shores. In short, it was the last time that the horse would play such an instrumental role in shaping the outcome of so devastating a conflict. It was the last time the horse would ever be used on a mass scale in modern warfare, as well as the last great cavalry charge in history – that of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade at Moreuil Wood – which was also one of the decisive battles in World War I. The First World War represents the end of an era for the use of horses in armed conflict.

REAL WAR FOOTAGE KILLING DRIVER

Less well known is the price paid by the estimated eight million horses that perished in the Great War, a fact lamented by Private James Robert Johnston, a horse transport driver who served with the 14th Canadian Machine Gun Company, in his memoir, Riding into War: “Very little has been said about the horses and mules that were used and what they suffered is beyond all description.” Photo courtesy of Blue Crossįor nearly a century, the role of the horse in World War I remained largely unrecognized, but the 2011 release of director Steven Spielberg’s film epic War Horse, based on the 1982 Michael Morpurgo novel of the same name, has publicized to an unprecedented degree the contributions of the horse in war.The sacrifice of the ten million men who lost their lives during the conflict, which endured from 1914 to 1918, is well known. This painting was used for fundraising during World War I by the Blue Cross, an animal charity that contributed greatly to improving the welfare of horses serving in the war, and continues to help horses today. 'Man” by artist Fortunio Matania is a powerful illustration of the anguished love of a soldier for his dying horse. Excerpt from “Good-bye, Old Man” By Lucy Lawrence, from A Book of Poems for The Blue Cross Fund Without one other word, except 'Good-bye.'' Old man, it almost breaks my heart to leave you, You’ve struggled bravely, but you’ve got to die. “Goodbye, old man we’ve fought our last together, Throughout the Great War, horses fought and laboured alongside the soldiers, sharing many of the same hardships and dangers. Exhausted and malnourished, they continued to supply the soldiers in the trenches with food, water, and ammunition. Struggling through thick, sometimes belly-deep mud, freezing rain, and shell fire, they hauled heavy artillery. Galloping into enemy machine gun fire and almost certain death, they led the cavalry charges. Excerpt from “The Cavalry Charger’s Appeal” by Scots Grey, A Book of Poems for The Blue Cross Fund

Real war footage killing