TOP 12 cavalry of all time.[no order]

[KS]

@AUSTERLITZ - would the Maratha cavalry find a mention in your list ?

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Very close but not good enough,same for rajput cavalry,mughal cavalry,.[which was descended from timurid lancer which again was version of mongol heavy lancer and iranian cataphract].They simply didn't go beyond regional warfare.

Note i have now removed numidian skirmisher cavalry as well,unfortunately i simply couldn't keep out the russian cossacks so they miss out.

Suely napoleon's french cavalry desserves a spot

Obviously !If u read the whole thread.In my list are the french napoleonic heavy cavalry.Cuirassiers and carabiniers.Vive 'l' empereur.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

The hungarian hussar,prussian death's head hussars,finnish hackapelle,han armoured cavalry,tang heavy cavalry,afghan mailed lancers and gothic heavy cavalry also miss out unfortunately.As for those which have missed out if any of u are fans do post pics and info on them.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Tired for tonight.Tomorrow will finish this with the rest.

Polish winged hussar.
Cataphract
Cossacks
Mamelukes
Cuirassiers

and the only one i'll rank.The best for the last.The mongol horde.
Then start with infantry.

 

[neolithic]

The Savaran: The Original Knights (Sassanian)

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

7.POLISH WINGED HUSSAR.

Last we had the ottoman sipahi,now its the turn of their arch nemesis,arguably the best dressed soldiers in history.The polish winged hussar.Armed with a freaking 20ft lance,two swords plus pistols and armoured like a moving mounted tank with ostrich wings attatched they were a fearsome sight on the eastern battlefield for over a hundred yrs[1570-1680s]

From the 1570s for over the next century the winged hussar was nearly unstoppable,just about everyone from the swedes ,to the russians,the crimean tatars,cossacks,to the ottoman turks suffered pointy edged pain at their hands.In battle after battle the charge of the winged hussars turned the tide against overwhelming odds examples klushino 1610[6500 poles[not all hussars] rout 35000 russians],kircholm 1605[2600 hussars rout 11000 swedes pikemen mostly!],klusyzin[vs russians outnumbered 5 to1],vienna 1683,khotyn 1673[vs the ottoman turks].



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Incoming1Hussars closing distance.They would trot in loose formation before closing ranks,lowering spears and charging at the gallop.The horses were mixed breeds of tatar horse for mobility and stamina with polish indigenous horse for strength .



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Equipment of polish winged hussar,curved sabre and the massive koncerz or palash straight thrusting sword.Look at its length.



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The epic ostrich wing armour.The myth is that these made a disturbing sound when charging,more likely they were for visual effect and adopted from turkish akinci who wore eagle feathers and such.



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The winged hussar was known to even defeat pikemen[though not always] an astonishing feat courtesy of its enormous 20 ft lance that outreached the infantry's pike.



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The polish winged hussar's greatest hour was siege of vienna 1683 when a charge spearheaded by 3000 of these routed the ottoman army.



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The koncerz or palash.Thrusting sword,this was used as a secondary charging weapon after the lance broke.For close combat the sabre and pistols were used.The koncerz word is supposedly derived from arabic 'khanjar' though they are completely diff weapons.

The polish winged hussar was unstoppable in its heyday,but the first problems began with the reforms of gustavas adolphus and massive increase in gunpowder weaponry in western european armies.By 1775 the obsolete winged hussars finally died out.But they would be reborn in a new form in a few decades,under napoleon the infamous polish lancer would terrorize france's enemies.The dreaded elite of these were the polish old guard lancers and the vistula uhlans,among the most celebrated cavalry of the napoleonic age.


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Next-The cataphract.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

8]THE CATAPHRACT

The cataphract is among the most influential cavalry types of all time- a huge array of people from the hellenistic successor states,the parthian and sassanids iranians,the indo greek bactrians,the kushanas,the sakas,the byzantines and romanas adopted the cataphract.In europe the franks adopted it as the knight.Later age heavy cavalry like sipahis,timurid heavy cavalry,mughal and rajput cavalry was often a mixture of the old cataphract model with the mongol heavy lancer.
This one will deal with mostly the original cataphracts.
The concept of super heavy cavalry originated with achaenamid persia but was perfected under the seleucids and then the parthians.Later the romans and byzantines facing these metal clad machines of death adopted their own cataphracts.
Indeed belisarius's ctaphract guard was a elite formation responsible for many byzantine victories.Perhaps the most formidable of the early cataphract along with the byzantines was the sassanid clibinarii[immortals] cataphracts.The royal guard,these were the elite of the iranian sassanid cavalry.



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Early parthian cataphracts.



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Hellenistic seleucid cataphract.



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The primary weapon common with all cataphracts was the lance.



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The byzantine cataphract.The mask added to the intimidation factor.Close combat was done with the longsword and battle axe.



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Saka cataphracts.Primary opponents of the parthians and the gupta empire.Sakas[indo-scythians are usually identified with modern day jats of the subcontinent].They destroyed the indo greek bactrian kingdom.Note the cool horns on the horses.



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The sassanid clibinarii immortal cataphract wielding a mace.These were the ultimate shock troops of sassanid emperors like khusrau and were a common sight facing their byzantine cataphract counterparts.



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The cataphract like cavalry eventually spread to china and korea,due to contact with the steppe tribes who had adopted it from parthians and sakas.



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Parthian and armenian cataphracts duking it out.

Next:The cossack

 

[Surenas]

The Iranians have introduced heavy cavalry in the world. Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Massagatae, Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids were the best cavalries of their time, and perhaps even better than most cavalries after them. The Cataphract is a good example. That whole European knighthood is 'borrowed' from Iranians. Armor, lance, Parthian shot, etc. All from Iranians. Our heavy cavalry even kicked Roman's as$ multi pious time. Turks, Mongols and Huns all were influenced by Iranians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_cavalry#Persians

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

9.THE COSSACK

The word cossack comes from the turkish 'quzzac' meaning adventurer.They were a predominantly slavic people in the don and dneiper basins from ukraine to volga.The cossacks are usually regarded among the best light cavalry of all time,they were absolute masters of ambushing,skirmishing,raiding,reconssaince and hit and run tactics.They served the russian czars ,in return for military service recieved local autonomy and paid no taxes.They played a pivotal role in war with poles,turks,against the french during napoleon's age they reached the peak of their glory.They were present during ww1 and even during ww2 carried out infiltration and irregular warfare behind german lines.They were the last capable cavalry of modern times.They also had contempt for outside authority,this was exemplified by their vow to the czar of capturing napoleon which they let known[which they almost succeeded] or in their incredibly insulting reply to a ottoman sultan for a demand of surrender.



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Lifeguard cossack of the imperial guard."Cossacks are the best light troops among all that exist.
If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them."-Napoleon.
Note the lance ,sabre and pistols.A austrian officers's view on cossack's equipment.
''The lance is their main weapon. He knows how to use this weapon with great skill and security, nevertheless the fact that it is one and a half foot longer as the Polish lance. He knows how to use his sabre just as well; officers and NCO’s practice them for use against the Turks. The pistol is of less value to him. He considers it not really as a weapon, but only as a tool to scare the enemy. He fires only to fire, not to hit anything, and in common there are few Cossacks which use their pistols... Tettenborn armed his Cossacks completely with French muskets... The Cossack loves the use of a firearm, because of the reason that he fears the one of the enemy. He wants to take artillery with him, and the name Poushki (cannon) is for him a word of joy, as well as of fear...A tenth of every squadron consists of marksmen; Strelki. Rifle and pistols are mostly Turkish or Persian booty."



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Don cossacks.They were masters of irregular warfare.There was a polish saying-never skirmish with the cossacks.
On their tactics an austrian officer writes-
'The Cossack fears horsemen of no nation, except the Turks.For the Polish lancers he has admiration, because these
were capable to fight in closed, as well as in open order,and because he had to cope with them almost all the time
during the latest war.The French, as long as they possessed cavalry, held back
their own in closed order and sent forward the Polish for light duties. The German and French light cavalry are not
feared by the Cossack. He will not stand and oppose their formed attacks, and in open order he will surpass them in
manoeuvrability."



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Cossack cavalry acrobatics.They were superb horsemen.But they also had a very bad reputation as looters and indisciplined savagery,There were cases in Italy and Germany when townspeople came out to greet them as liberators, only to be quickly despoiled of clothes, watches and money. The naked men and women fled in horror. The Germans used new words in their prayer, "Save us Lord, from Cossacks". The bearded warriors "with six looted watches in each pocket" frightened the westerners. The 'Jackass Cavalry' spread terror wherever they went.



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Cossacks during ww2.The lance had been replaced by the submachine gun and rifle.But they were still masters of irregular fighting.

Next:The mameluke.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

The Iranians have introduced heavy cavalry in the world. Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Massagatae, Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids were the best cavalries of their time, and perhaps even better than most cavalries after them. The Cataphract is a good example. That whole European knighthood is 'borrowed' from Iranians. Armor, lance, Parthian shot, etc. All from Iranians. Our heavy cavalry even kicked Roman's as$ multi pious time. Turks, Mongols and Huns all were influenced by Iranians.

Heavy cavalry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

True,persia was the birthplace of super heavy cavalry.

 

[Surenas]

True,persia was the birthplace of super heavy cavalry.

That's right my friend. Even the Ottoman Sipahi were influenced by Iranian heavy cavalry. The word 'Sipahi' is an Persian world itself.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

10.THE MAMELUKES

The mamelukes of egypt,originally slave soldiers rose to become some of the best light cavalry in the world.Their superb horsemanship,extreme mobility and fearlessness coupled with excellence in ambush and surprise ,scouting enabled them to halt the invincible mongol war machine and crush the crusaders under sultan baybars.The mamluk empire flourished in egypt,until being conquered by the ottomans.The mamelukes of egypt served in turkish armies especially against safavid persia.They were finally defeated by napoleon in his egyptian campaign 1798 .But he was so impressed by their courage he recruited some and took them back to europe to form a squadron of mamelukes in his imperial guard.



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The early mamluk soldier,before the increase of gunpowder weapons they wore heavier armour.These would be the troops baybars would lead vs the mongols and crusaders.



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16th century mameluks in turkish service.



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Mameluke bey,fully evolved.Ultra light and fast with curved scimitars.



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Mameluke of the french imperial guard.



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Mamelukes charge the russian imperial guard at austerlitz.The charge of the mameluke 'headhunters' along with french imperial heavy horse grenadiers was too much and they broke.



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Mameluke sabre.Pistols and the sabre were the common armament of late mamelukes.


Next:French Napoleonic heavy cavalry.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

11.NAPOLEONIC FRENCH HEAVY CAVALRY.

Napoleon was a proponent of heavy cavalry as a weapon of brute force and massed shock.Under him the french cavalry was the terror of europe,the master of massed organized charges,the french cuirassiers and carabiners won most engagements through superior doctrine,leadership and organization.But the creme de la crem was the imperial heavy horse guard grenadier of the old guard,the only undefeated regiment of the napoleonic wars .They were rarely committed and when they were like at eylau and austerlitz, results were usually devastating.



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The main heavy cavalry of napoleon was the cuirassier.The cuirassiers breastplate and helmet gave it protection against enemy cavalry and lancers and some protection against musketballs at range,while its long stabbing thrusting sword was a potent weapon at the charge as it outreached sabres.Lnacers unless skilled were helpless vs cuirassiers as their lances couldn't penetrate the cuirasses.



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Massed charge by cuirassiers and carabiners.Napoleon divided his army into miniature self sufficient army corps[a method used by all modern armies] each with their own infantry,cavalry and artillery.While he dispersed the light and medium cavalry between the corps.He would mass all his heavy cavalry into heavy cavalry divisions which were organized into the central heavy cavalry reserve.These were not allotted to corps but kept directly under napoleon's command usually along with the imperial guard to be used as a battering ram at a chosen point of the enemy line once the target was softened up by massed artillery fire.The infantry would then attack en masse causing a rout,the imperial guard being the final reserve. The succesive massed Artillery barrage,heavy cavalry assault,infantry attack and the imperial guard if necessary was too much for most enemies.



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The cuirassier's long thrusting sword clearly illustrated here.



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The carabiniers were a elite heavy cavalry unit that performed the same function as cuirassiers.They were present in far lesser numbers though and used their carbines more often.



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Armour of cuirassiers and carabiniers.

Continued-



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The creme de la creme were the heavy horse guard grenadiers of the old guard.They went through the whole napoleonic wars undefeated as a regiment.Their black bearskin caps giving a frightening appearence.They destroyed the russian infantry at eylau and the russian imperial guard cavalry at austerlitz.



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Grenadier a cheval straight sword.Note the grenade symbol on the hilt.The official symbol of the regiment.


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The 3 premier napoleonic heavy cavalry.Napoleon's heavy cavalry was the only cavalry unit in history to charge and take a fortress in battle,this they did in the battle of borodino 1812 capturing the 'death redoubt'.

Next:Finale:The Mongol Horde.

 

[KingMamba]

The Iranians have introduced heavy cavalry in the world. Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, Massagatae, Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids were the best cavalries of their time, and perhaps even better than most cavalries after them. The Cataphract is a good example. That whole European knighthood is 'borrowed' from Iranians. Armor, lance, Parthian shot, etc. All from Iranians. Our heavy cavalry even kicked Roman's as$ multi pious time. Turks, Mongols and Huns all were influenced by Iranians.

Heavy cavalry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

True but you cannot really blame them for taking ideas from the Persians when you consider the areas the Persian Empire devoured.

Great thread @AUSTERLITZ.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

12.THE MONGOL HORDE

The single most deadliest and successful cavalry formation of all time is the mongol horde,synonymous with carnage and destruction.They within an astonishing small amount of time established the largest contigous land empire in human history using possibly the best organized,effective,well led and versatile cavalry force in history.From the imperial armies of china,to the steppe tribes of central asia,knights of eastern europe and germany,the muslim cavalry of the khwarezeim caliphate,or the slavic prinicipalities of russia..none withstood a determined mongol assault.



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Typical mongol tactics,the horse archers harassing and falling back on their heavy lancers who wait to charge the disorganized enemy.
Six of every ten Mongol troopers were light cavalry horse archers, the remaining four were more heavily armored and armed lancers. Mongol light cavalry were extremely light troops compared to contemporary standards, allowing them to execute tactics and maneuvers that would have been impractical for a heavier enemy (such as European knights). Most of the remaining troops were heavier cavalry with lances for close combat after the archers had brought the enemy into disarray. Soldiers usually carried scimitars or axes as well.

The Mongols protected their horses in the same way as did they themselves, covering them with lamellar armor. Horse armor was divided into five parts and designed to protect every part of the horse, including the forehead, which had a specially crafted plate which was tied on each side of the neck.

Mongolian horses are relatively small, and would lose short-distance races under equal conditions with larger horses from other regions. However, since most other armies carried much heavier armor, the Mongols could still outrun most enemy horsemen in battle. In addition, Mongolian horses were extremely durable and sturdy, allowing the Mongols to move over large distances quickly, often surprising enemies that had expected them to arrive days or even weeks later.

All horses were equipped with stirrups. This technical advantage made it easier for the Mongol archers to turn their upper body, and shoot in all directions, including backwards. Mongol warriors would time the loosing of an arrow to the moment when a galloping horse would have all four feet off the ground, thus ensuring a steady, well-aimed shot.


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Each soldier had two to four horses so when a horse tired they could use the other ones which made them one of the fastest armies in the world.



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Organization and characteristics
Genghis Khan organized the Mongol soldiers into groups based on the decimal system. Units, which included all males from 14-60, were recursively built from groups of 10 (Arav), 100 (Zuut), 1,000 (Minghan), 10,000 (Tumen) and overseen by the tumen quartermaster, called the jurtchi.

Genghis Khan rewarded those who had been loyal to him during the lean years of his rise to power with command postings. Tumens, and sometimes Minghans, were commanded by a Noyan, who was often given the task to administer specific conquered territories. From two to five Tumens would then form an ordu meaning army corps or field army, from which the word "Horde" is derived, under the command of the Khans or their generals (boyan).

Continued...part 2.