We read all the lead to present a different history.
As we all know, the cavalry is the ace of the cold weapon era, and attacking the enemy line, supporting thousands of miles, dividing the battlefield, and encircling the battlefield are all famous tactics of the cavalry. With extremely powerful mobility, the cavalry can complete many tasks on the battlefield without giving the enemy any respite. Therefore, whether in China or the West, a strong cavalry unit is enough to make people feel intimidated.
Polish lancers in oil paintings
China's cavalry has a very long history, dating back to the Shang Dynasty. Cavalry was originally only an auxiliary unit on the battlefield, and since there was no equipment such as saddles, stirrups, and horseshoes, it was difficult for soldiers to fight on horseback. In the Warring States period, cavalry was used as a battlefield "strange soldier", the most famous example of which is the "killing god" Bai Qi used 25,000 cavalry to cut off the back road of the Zhao army and win the "Battle of Changping". During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Huo Wentai led 10,000 horsemen to fight in the Five Kingdoms of Hexi, coming and going like the wind, so that the Chinese cavalry was completely eliminated, the cavalry became the trump card of the battlefield, and he also became the founder of the early cavalry tactics. During the Mongolian Yuan dynasty, Genghis Khan and his descendants exerted the combat effectiveness of cavalry to the extreme, from the Mongolian steppe to the hinterland of Europe, thousands of miles away.
▲ Mongol cavalry stills
However, from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, hot weapons began to shine. During the Northern Expedition against the remnants of the Mongols, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di established the world's first established thermal weapons unit, the Shenji Battalion. Since then, thermal weapons have developed in the direction of faster rate of fire, longer range, and greater power, and the role of cavalry has become smaller and smaller, and it has gradually withdrawn from the stage of history. However, during World War II, cavalry still played a huge role, especially on the Battlefield in China. Due to the insufficient production of ammunition for the Japanese army invading China, coupled with the small number of heavy weapons and the slow rate of gun fire, as long as the soldiers of our army can run quickly, they are not easy to be hit by guns.
▲ Stills of Red Army soldiers
In 1932, the Red Army established its first cavalry unit, the Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla Cavalry Brigade. Although the number of horses is small, it is groundbreaking, and this is the prototype of the cavalry unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. In 1933, the Red Army began to form cavalry regiments, followed by larger cavalry divisions. During the Liberation War, the cavalry unit of our army reached its peak, with 19 cavalry divisions, a total of 200,000 people. These cavalry units made immortal contributions to the founding of the People's Republic of China. In the first ceremony in 1955, 55 generals were from the cavalry unit, the second largest class after infantry. In addition, in several military parades after the founding of New China, cavalry units were involved, and the importance of cavalry at that time was evident.
▲Old photos of the Liberation War
After the founding of New China, the military industry began to develop rapidly. With the popularization of motorization and mechanization in the army, cavalry units gradually stepped out of the history of the People's Liberation Army. In the 1980s, cavalry was officially abolished as a branch of the army. However, this nominal cancellation does not mean that there is not a single cavalry in the PLA's combat sequence. To this day, our army still retains the structure of 2 cavalry battalions and 3 cavalry companies, which are well-trained and have strong combat effectiveness, and can "get on horseback as cavalry and dismount into infantry." On foreign websites, some people have selected several of the "most mysterious and terrible" armies in the world today, including the Platon Cavalry Battalion. It can be seen that although the cavalry has withdrawn from the stage of history, it still has a role and combat effectiveness that cannot be ignored. Many people may wonder why China should retain cavalry with the strong mobility of motorized troops, so why should China retain cavalry? In Zi Yuan's view, there are three main reasons.
▲Old photos of soldiers of our army
First, maintain the spirit of inheriting the cavalry. In addition to military discipline, the most important thing in the army is the soul of the army. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the cavalry units established immortal merits, and a large number of cavalry souls emerged, and our army has always paid attention to the inheritance of red genes, so retaining a certain number of cavalry units is not only the inheritance of national history, but also the inheritance of the spirit of cavalry. Inheriting the spirit of martyrs and cultivating the bloodiness of soldiers is completely necessary for the Chinese army.
▲Xinjiang scenery
Second, cavalry is more adapted to complex environments. China's border terrain is complex, vehicles in Xinjiang, Tibet and other places are difficult to drive, and manpower patrols are time-consuming and laborious. The cavalry unit has super complex terrain passing ability and all-weather mobility, which cannot be replaced by mechanization for the time being. Therefore, considering the vast territory of our country and the availability of various terrains, especially in the western mountains, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of retaining a few flexible cavalry units to deal with. In fact, when the US military fought in the mountains of Afghanistan, many times it was riding a donkey, and even a country with more thorough mechanization like the United States was powerless in the face of complex terrain, which shows that for a long time to come, the cavalry still has the value of existence.
Tanks destroyed in the Iraq War
Third, cavalry units are highly mobile and concealed. In fact, there is another advantage of the cavalry force that is difficult to replace by the mechanized unit, that is, the flexibility and concealment of mobility. Although the mechanized troops have stronger mobility than the cavalry, but this is the result of better conditions of communication routes and sufficient energy supply, which has also become the disadvantage of the mechanized troops - the terrain is slightly worse or the fuel is exhausted, almost only as a bunker, unable to pursue the advance, lack of maneuver flexibility. Its concealment is far worse than that of cavalry, and it is impossible to conceal quickly. Therefore, for reconnaissance patrol tasks with high mobility flexibility and concealment, cavalry is the most suitable. In summary, although China has abolished the cavalry service, it still retains a certain number of cavalry units.
Resources:
History of the Development of the Chinese Armed Forces