Wehrmacht horses

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Drawn Wehrmacht Unit in Southern Russia (August 1942)

As army horses, horses in the Wehrmacht were an important part of the military transport system . In its bulk, the Wehrmacht was not motorized, but drawn and mounted for technical, tactical and economic reasons.

prehistory

In the Franco-Prussian War , the speed of the German troops had benefited significantly from the superiority of the type and number of German horses. However, about two thirds of the horses were also killed in the war. The awareness of the importance of horses for quick war was widespread.

Squadron of the Reichswehr (1928)

After the Treaty of Versailles the Reichswehr had 21 infantry , 7 artillery and 18 cavalry regiments ; the cavalry regiments formed three cavalry divisions . From October 1934 several cavalry regiments went to the motor vehicle combat troops. They were converted into rider regiments (motorized) and later into rifle regiments, tank regiments and motorcycle rifle battalions. From July 1936, new cavalry regiments emerged from the remaining cavalry regiments. These consisted not only of the cavalry squadrons, but also of cycling squadrons, motorized sub-units and communication units. They thus comprised three different means of transportation with significantly increased firepower. In 1939 there was finally a cavalry regiment in every military district (except for military district XVIII in Salzburg ). Then there was the 1st Cavalry Brigade with the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Regiments . The 1st Cavalry Division emerged from it.

Stocks

Russia (March 1942)

The number of horses in the Reichswehr was 42,000 in 1933 and rose to 170,000 in the pre-war Wehrmacht. At the beginning of the attack on Poland on September 2, 1939, the number of horses was 573,000 domestic horses due to additional confiscations . Two years later, 750,000 horses were made available for the war against the Soviet Union . A total of 2,800,000 horses were used on the German side in World War II . Some "served" as troop horses throughout the war .

The losses were high. 60–63% of the army's horses died. According to a list of the Army General Staff regarding horse losses in the field army (including the field units of the Air Force ) for the period from June 22, 1941 to December 31, 1944, around 30,000 horses were lost every month, over 90% of them in the Eastern Army. In total, the total losses since June 22, 1941 amounted to 1,558,508 horses. In December 1944, 26,134 horses were lost - out of 930,000 horses in that month. In addition, 40,000 to 80,000 horses were on sick leave every month. The number and importance of the veterinarians and horseshoes were correspondingly large .

The army horses were u. a. trained as so-called remonte horses .

use

German horse-drawn carriage in Italy (1944)

Horses were used in three areas:

  1. In the cavalry of the army and Waffen-SS as a means of locomotion for the mounted infantry (dragoons),
  2. in the case of other branches of arms as a means of locomotion for management personnel (officers' horses) and in some cases also for reporting riders,
  3. as draft animals , especially with the artillery and supply troops , but also pioneers and the intelligence forces of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS .

Horses were also used as officers' horses and, to a certain extent, draft animals in the Air Force and the Navy .

The horse alone made the infantry mobile and enabled military reconnaissance . It pulled heavy weapons and supply vehicles and served as a means of transportation for the leadership . As the war progressed, the horse's field of activity expanded; The motorized divisions and the armored divisions also increasingly had to rely on horses for their supply and support. The horse population of such divisions was 1,500 in 1942. Even the Volksgrenadier divisions of 1944 still comprised 1,290 horses as planned, compared to 57 motorized vehicles .

Ultimately, the economic constraints caused the horse dependency. German industry never succeeded in producing anywhere near as many vehicles as would have been necessary for full motorization. In addition, there was the problem of fuel supply , which was already an increasingly serious problem for the existing vehicle fleet .

The life expectancy of a horse in war was about four years, while motor vehicles broke down after just one year. The Second World War was "the greatest horse war in history".

attack on Poland

With the mobilization the 13 existing cavalry regiments were dissolved. They were planned to the newly established Enlightenment - departments of the divisions . After the formation of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade with two newly formed cavalry regiments, the 1st Cavalry Division was also created . Despite the partial motorization, it had 17,000 horses. The infantry regiments each received a cavalry infantry platoon. In 1940 an infantry regiment comprised 626 horses. Together with the reconnaissance departments, they formed the "troop cavalry" compared to the 1st KD as "army cavalry".

At the beginning of the war, the nominal horse strength of an infantry division was between 4,077 and 6,033 horses. During the Eastern campaign, the divisions temporarily had 2,000 Panjepferde on horseback . The target number of horses of the standardized 44th Infantry Division was reduced to 3,979 horses and that of the 45th Infantry Division to 3,608 horses in order to reduce the need for supplies.

Western campaign

Each division had 5,000 horses and 1,000 teams available for the western campaign .

War against the Soviet Union

French Legion (November 1941)
Horse handlers in a snow storm, Eastern Front in early 1942

In the winter of 1941/42, the reconnaissance departments were used very successfully on the Eastern Front ; like the infantry cavalry, they were soon burned out. The cavalry squadrons that were still with divisions in the east in the winter of 1942/43 became the equestrian associations Boeselager and v. Winning formed. From them the cavalry regiments center, north and south were formed by the summer of 1943. In 1944 they formed the 5, 31, 32 and 41 cavalry regiments, combined in the 3rd and 4th Cavalry Brigade and finally in the 1st Cavalry Corps . Initially deployed on the Eastern Front, the I. KK returned to East Prussia . It moved on to Hungary and in May 1945 was taken prisoner by the British in Austria .

literature

Web links

Commons : Horses in World War II  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ They were the most important helpers of the Wehrmacht. Horses in war. In: welt.de. November 24, 2016, accessed on November 26, 2016 : “There were technical, tactical and economic reasons. On the one hand, infantry divisions, which still formed the backbone of the German army, were now equipped with numerous heavy weapons and other technical equipment. Both had to be transported. The rapid war of movement waged by the Wehrmacht also required a level of mobility among the foot troops that was seldom required in the First World War - especially in trench warfare in the West. And the industrial possibilities of the Third Reich to provide motor vehicles, fuel and tires in sufficient quantities were very limited. . "
  2. ^ Arnd Krüger : A Horse Breeder's Perspective. Scientific Racism in Germany. 1870-1933. In: Norbert Finzsch , Dietmar Schirmer (Ed.): Identity and Intolerance. Nationalism, Racism, and Xenophobia in Germany and the United States. University Press Cambridge, Cambridge 1998, ISBN 0-521-59158-9 , pp. 371-396.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Thomas Menzel (Federal Archives) ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesarchiv.de
  4. ↑ a b c Kerstin Ullrich: The veterinary institutions and veterinary troops in the reserve army (private website)
  5. ↑ Interview with the veterinarian Oswald Maier
  6. ↑ Der Spiegel 38/1976
  7. ↑ The 1. KD existed until November 28, 1941 and was then transformed into the 24th Panzer Division .
  8. ↑ Division of the Armed Forces from May 10, 1940
  9. ^ Boeselager Equestrian Association