The use of Horses in WW2

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   I am not a big WW2 guy. I prefer the Reformation age and the Roman age. However my intrest was sparked by a conversation I had. I really didn't know the extent the horse was used. i know Bulgarains used Horses at Stalingrad, and the Poles used Horse. But I was under the impression (wrong impression that the Germans were more mechanized). i did know the SS had some elite horse troops but I didn't realize how many. I knew they used cossacks but again I was surprised how much horse cav the SS used. 

GERMAN HORSE CAVALRY AND TRANSPORT http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/germanhorse/index.html

Despite highly ballyhooed emphasis on employment of mechanized forces and on rapid movement, the bulk of German combat divisions were horse drawn throughout World War II. Early in the war it was the common belief of the American public that the German Siegfrieds of Hitler's Blitz rode forth to battle on swift tanks and motor vehicles. But the notion of the mechanized might of the German Wehrmacht was largely a glamorized myth born in the fertile brains of newspapermen. Actually, the lowly horse played a most important part in enabling the German Army to move about Europe. 
Public opinion to the contrary, so great was the dependence of the Nazi Blitzkrieg upon the horse that the numerical strength of German Army horses maintained during the entire war period averaged around 1,100,000. Of the 322 German Army and SS divisions extant in November 1943, only 52 were armored or motorized. Of the November 1944 total of 264 combat divisions, only 42 were armored or motorized. The great bulk of the German combat strength—the old-type infantry divisions—marched into battle on foot, with their weapons and supply trains propelled almost entirely by four-legged horsepower. The light and mountain divisions had an even greater proportion of animals, and the cavalry divisions were naturally mainly dependent on the horse. 
The old-type German infantry division had approximately 5,300 horses, 1,100 horse-drawn vehicles, 950 motor vehicles, and 430 motorcycles. In 1943, due to the great difficulties in supply and upkeep of motor vehicles in the wide stretches of the Eastern Front, the allotment to divisions in that theater was reduced to approximately 400 motor vehicles and 400 motorcycles, and the number of horses was increased to some 6,300. The 1944-type divisions had about 4,600 horses, 1,400 horse-drawn vehicles, 600 motor vehicles, and 150 motorcycles. 

http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/germanhorse/index.html

CAVALRY IN MASS
Soviet Doctrine for Employing Horse-Mounted Troops 
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/cavalry/index.html 

Horse cavalry, like an insurance policy, is expensive but nice to have around when you really need it. In Russia, where horsemanship is part of the every-day life of many thousands of people, the Red Army is able to maintain one of the finest horse-mounted components in the world. Here is the doctrine with which Soviet cavalrymen rode to victory in World War II. 
The Red Army, unlike the rest of the Allied powers, did not relegate the horse cavalry into the discard during World War II. Instead, Soviet Russia made effective use of its cavalry components, and even increased the number of horse cavalry units. The U.S.S.R. proved that the employment of horse cavalry as an independent striking force, and as a component of a cavalry-tank team, is clearly justified. The results obtained by Red Army cavalry units have proven the right of the almost legendary Cossack to remain part of the armed forces of the U.S.S.R. The lessons learned may well be studied by other countries. 

Edited by Maximus Germanicus - 14-May-2010 at 09:40