Western Front

Catalogue Reference:(IWM) 2061

Three members of an Indian regiment carrying their lances, the 9th Hodson's Horse, consult a map near Vraignes, France in 1917. World War One was the last time that cavalry forces (armed horsemen) were used in battle, the idea being that infantry forces (foot soldiers) would break through the enemy's frontline defences followed by the cavalry using their superior speed to reach the enemy's rear positions and destroy supply and communications lines. In reality, by the end of the war, many cavalry troops were being used as infantrymen.