It’s not just human soldiers who fought for their country. Millions of horses and other animals also served during wartime, and one special photo shows just how much their human counterparts appreciated the war horses and their sacrifice.
This touching black and white photo is believed to have been taken by officers of the Auxiliary Remount Dept. No.326 in Camp Cody, New Mexico in 1919.
The image shows about 650 soldiers standing in a formation that, from above, resembles a cavalry horse’s head, neck, and bridle — a true tribute from the soldiers to the many horses who fought, and often died, by their side in the Great War.
While horses have served in many other wars, the large number of horses killed in WWI was staggering; about eight million horses, and countless mules, and donkeys were lost in the war. The U.S. Army and the British Army both used mounted infantry while Germany stopped sending them to the Western Front early on in the war. The horses suffered terrible conditions, and were killed most often on the front lines by machine gun fire and gas attacks.
Horses and their counterparts also helped carry food, water, ammunition, gas masks and medical supplies in supply wagons over long distances and rough terrain to the allied forces on the front lines. Their bravery inspired the book “War Horse,” by Michael Morpurgo, which was later adapted into a film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg.
(via Wide Open Pets)
This touching black and white photo is believed to have been taken by officers of the Auxiliary Remount Dept. No.326 in Camp Cody, New Mexico in 1919.
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| 650 officers and enlisted men of Auxiliary Remount Depot No. 326, Camp Cody, N.M., in a symbolic head pose of "The Devil" saddle horse ridden by Maj. Frank G. Brewer, remount commander. (Image: Library of Congress) |
The image shows about 650 soldiers standing in a formation that, from above, resembles a cavalry horse’s head, neck, and bridle — a true tribute from the soldiers to the many horses who fought, and often died, by their side in the Great War.
While horses have served in many other wars, the large number of horses killed in WWI was staggering; about eight million horses, and countless mules, and donkeys were lost in the war. The U.S. Army and the British Army both used mounted infantry while Germany stopped sending them to the Western Front early on in the war. The horses suffered terrible conditions, and were killed most often on the front lines by machine gun fire and gas attacks.
Horses and their counterparts also helped carry food, water, ammunition, gas masks and medical supplies in supply wagons over long distances and rough terrain to the allied forces on the front lines. Their bravery inspired the book “War Horse,” by Michael Morpurgo, which was later adapted into a film of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg.
(via Wide Open Pets)
