Horses in World War II

Horses vs. Vehicles

In World War II, horses played a surprisingly significant role despite the era's mechanized warfare. Gary Arndt highlights that while countries like the US and UK had moved beyond horses, Germany and the Soviet Union heavily relied on them 1. Germany's Wehrmacht used 2.75 million horses, almost double the number from World War I, which is often overlooked due to the focus on their mechanized blitzkrieg tactics 1.

The German army at the start of their invasion of Poland in 1939 had 120,000 vehicles compared to France at that time, which had 400,000, and the British had even more.

--- Gary Arndt

This reliance on horses was due to limited petroleum production and the logistical challenges of mechanized units, especially in the vast terrains of the Soviet Union 2.

   

Horse Usage

The scale of horse usage in World War II was immense, with Germany and the Soviet Union leading in numbers. Gary Arndt notes that the Soviet Union used approximately 3.5 million horses, while Germany had a ten to one ratio of horses to vehicles in 1943 3. This extensive use of horses was due to the sheer scale of the conflict and the limitations of mechanized transport in certain terrains 1.

The total number of horses used in World War two by all parties was somewhere in the neighborhood of six to 8 million.

--- Gary Arndt

Despite the large numbers, the reliance on horses highlighted the logistical challenges faced by armies, particularly in the harsh conditions of the Eastern Front 3.

   

Decline Post-War

After World War II, the use of horses in warfare declined rapidly as mechanized forces became dominant. Gary Arndt explains that the US Army ended its horse breeding program in 1948, transitioning horses to ceremonial roles 3. The war demonstrated that modern conflicts required mechanized solutions, as seen in Germany's failure in the Soviet Union due to their reliance on horses 3.

The day of the horse in warfare is long over, but the ending didn't happen until after World War two.

--- Gary Arndt

While horses have been used in minor conflicts since, their role in warfare has become largely symbolic 3.