SP:WaW and the Horsey Set:

AbsntMndedProf · Post by **AbsntMndedProf** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 3:26 am

How useful do you find cavalry units to be on the SP:WaW battlefield? What ways do you make use of them? Just interested in knowing how folks use these units.

Eric Maietta

pops · Post by **pops** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 4:05 am

I don't usually select them but when I have them I use them as recon...not what they'r for I suppose but they go far fast..

Redleg · Post by **Redleg** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 4:39 am

Especially in early years, cavalry can be quite valuable.

They are also quite good in bad weather, heavy woods, etc. Much like fast infantry.

In the Eastern Front, there were times when the only things able to move were cavalry.

The Germans had several cavalry units including SS cavalry but I have never seen much written about them

The Italians conducted a successful cavalry attack against the Soviets late 42.

One nice thing about cavalry for recon is they can stand multiple hits unlike vehicles.

Horses are not nearly as useful in SPWAW as they really were. I have never encountered horse-drawn German units in PBEM battles.

john g · Post by **john g** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 7:11 am

Originally posted by 13Z:
Especially in early years, cavalry can be quite valuable.

Horses are not nearly as useful in SPWAW as they really were. I have never encountered horse-drawn German units in PBEM battles.

I'll agree with the first sentence, with the proviso that the cavalry is useful all the time.

Mule packs and wagons are not cheap enough compared to trucks or halftracks to justify their purchase. If German rarity was even stricter than it is now, making even trucks a rare item, then all those German horses would show up.

Personally I have always thought that cavalry is still far too effective compared to real life, if they worked as well as they do in the game, no nation would have given them up. In the jungle Japanese light cavalry can run down units, repeatedly attacking them as they retreat, never giving them a chance to recover. That is one of the keys to using horse cavalry, when the enemy retreats, push the cavalry up against the retreating units until they dissolve.
thanks, John.

dacasals · Post by **dacasals** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 11:15 am

I found cavalry specially usefull on long desert scenarios, where the VP are spread along the map and well defended. You have the speed of Infantry loaded on trucks but without their vulnerability.
I use it to Recon and flank defended positions.

Obviously, they are not Panthers , but still pretty usefull. <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

Belisarius · Post by **Belisarius** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 2:12 pm

I find them useful for, as mentioned above, infiltrating rough terrain fast. They are excellent for use against mortar teams and such.

I agree that use of horses in SpWaW, especially in German OOB is not near what was really the case. So far I've mostly used cavalry with French troops in early war years. I'll think I'll start experimenting with them in my German setups as soon as my computer is brought back to life <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

panda124c · Post by **panda124c** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 4:06 pm

Originally posted by john g:

Mule packs and wagons are not cheap enough compared to trucks or halftracks to justify their purchase. , John.

Ah, but mules and gun teams can do one thing a truck can not do, and that is tow a gun through buildings without becoming immoblized. Oh yea they never breakdown.

[ September 19, 2001: Message edited by: pbear ]</p>

Charles2222 · Post by **Charles2222** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 5:09 pm

Here's an out-of-the-blue question: Has anyone tried using them for mine-clearing? If these guys can pull it off like infantry, and I doubt that, they could be invaluable to clearing minefields in the infantry way, plus, if they're like infantry in their smoke-producing capabilities they could put up some smoke screens up pretty quickly. If they can pull off mine-clearing, they also have the distinction of being able to get out of the minefields quickly if things start heating up too fast.

I don't know if historically cavalry were ever used for mine-clearing or not.

CF_Medic · Post by **CF_Medic** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 5:24 pm

For that fellow above ( 13Z ),

He's obviously never played me. if there are horse troops available, i'll be using them. particularily (sp) as the soviets or the germans. almost all arty and inf guns will be horse drawn, most mortars and AT as well. I do prefer the wagons, pack mules and Gun teams over trucks and half tracks. As pbear said, they move through buildings and rarely if ever break down (i've seen it once)

Anonymous Sender · Post by **Anonymous Sender** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 5:50 pm

SS cavalry was almost always used as rear-area security and counter-partisan ops. It was also mostly manned w foreign recruits/volunteers.

The Italian Savoie Regiment or Brigade (can't recall exactly) conducted history's last major cavalry charge.

As for how I use cav, it's recon if it's anything.

IKerensky · Post by **IKerensky** » Wed Sep 19, 2001 9:06 pm

Actualy I always play with a full cossak compagnie to take the other flank. They are invaluable.
They move fast in every kind of ground and are not slowed by snow like other troups and armor.
They are really vulnerable cause they cant dismount but are able to kil all and everythig they meet.
I use them in mass to swamp the rear area of my opponent killing AA and AT, using every smoke and cover avaliable and staying tog to help against suppression.
Against an ennemy AC or light tank compagnie the cossack usually prevail and they maul infantery with their SMG.
They are also a good and cheap flanking forces.
They are a nasty for your opponent.
Use them to hit him in the back and close the trap, never as assault troup , they are not sturdy enough.
Important thing is to assign them some Artilerry asset to disorganise ennemy before their attack ( but I always keep at last a mortar squad for every other squad in my army <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> ).
They are vulnerable and are easily seen, but well used they are relly really nasty.

For the horse drawn artillery , they are not so bad, after all they are much more all weather than trucks and some tracks...

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Fri Sep 21, 2001 10:00 am

I have never really used the horse cavalry, but I think they (and the mules) would be useful in mountain scenarios. The US used mules in the Italian Campaign, and the German Mtn. troops used them. As a side note, with a little creativity you could do some Civil War/19th Century warfare with the cavalry and gun teams. Just a thought.

Belisarius · Post by **Belisarius** » Fri Sep 21, 2001 12:44 pm

Originally posted by Randy:
I have never really used the horse cavalry, but I think they (and the mules) would be useful in mountain scenarios. The US used mules in the Italian Campaign, and the German Mtn. troops used them.

On a side note, the U.S. troops used Italians and French to haul stuff up the mountains in Italy to a large extent. Short on mules??
Just finished reading a very interesting work on the battle of Monte Cassino, where people were mentioned more often as "wagon teams", than mules. <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> I'm not sure why, ofcourse almost anything was short in supply then, except ammo.

frank1970 · Post by **frank1970** » Fri Sep 21, 2001 2:03 pm

German Bundeswehr has still mules in her mountain brigade.

For information about cavallery in WW2 read:
"Pferd und Reiter " by Piecalciewicz

11Bravo · Post by **11Bravo** » Fri Sep 21, 2001 3:31 pm

Originally posted by Charles_22:
I don't know if historically cavalry were ever used for mine-clearing or not.

At least not intentionally <img src="biggrin.gif" border="0">

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Sat Sep 22, 2001 9:03 am

I also heard that the Marine Corps has some mules
up in Northern California (Bridgeport ?) for the potential use in mountainous terrain.