Cavalry: A Global History of Horse Soldiers

For millennia, cavalry was the premier combat arm. Horses gave armies mobility and speed; often cavalry charges, either on the enemy’s flanks and into his rear or through his center, led to the decision in a battle. This book analyzes the use of mounted troops from prehistoric times to recent conflicts in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. In contrast to many military history treatises that seek to identify a decline of cavalry over time in favor of modern infantry, Alexander Querengässer argues that only modern motor vehicles were able to replace cavalry. The book examines the many historical uses of cavalry, analyzing conditions for its employment, the role of geographic and climatic factors in its use, and developments in equipment and tactics. More than two hundred contemporary illustrations round out the volume.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Foreword Mounts as Weapons Cavalry in Early Antiquity Cavalry in Antiquity - The Mediterranean Region - Rom - Asia Middle Ages - The Sassanid Empire - India under the Gupta - China - Europe in the Early Middle Ages - The Islamic Expansion - Europe in the High Middle Ages - The Mongols - Tamerlane - Africa - India in the High and Late Middle Ages - Japan - Europe in the Late Middle Ages 1500-1650 - Europe - Africa - Latin America - Japan 1650-1815 - Europe - North?America - Persia - India - China - Indochina - Africa - Latin America An Age of Decline? 1815-1914 - Europe - North?America - Latin America - Africa - Asia The First World War 1919 to the Present - The Inter-War Period - The Second World War - Cavalry in the Cold War 1945-1990 - From 1990 to the Present - Asymmetric Conflicts In Conclusion Sources Literature Picture Credits

About the Author :
Dr. Alexander Querengasser studied history at the Leipzig University and received his doctorate at the Potsdam University. He is the author of more than twenty books. With the Zeughaus Verlag he has published a series "Beitrage zur Geschichte des Militars in Sachsen" (Articles on the History of the Military in Saxony), for which he wrote the volumes "LeCoq - Ein sachsisches Soldatenleben" (LeCoq - a Saxon Soldier’s Life) and "Kesselsdorf 1745 - Eine Entscheidungsschlacht in der Fruhen Neuzeit" (Kesseldorf 1745 - a Decisive Battle in the Early Modern Age). He is also the author of "Hussite Warfare: The Armies, Equipment, Tactics and Campaigns, 1419-1437".