Every description or video I've seen of cavalry charges during the great war are generally the same: big charge straight into no mans land or an enemy camp, sudden realization that machine guns exist, entire cavalry is massacred in minutes. But what were they really like? How large were cavalries during this war compared to wars of the 19th century? How did officers expect to get men on horseback past machine guns? Did they fully understand how devastating the guns were or even consider them a threat? What was the end goal? Did they ever charge straight into no man's land or were they only deployed at the beginning of the war before no man's land and trenches became definite features in the landscape? And most importantly, did these disastrous cavalry charges even happen at all or were they miniscule events that were made popular by movies like War Horse?
Summary of Cavalry in WWI:
British cavalry suffered relatively few casualties, were excellent shots, and were capable of entrenching themselves. This came from the fallout of the Boer Wars which saw a lot of calls for disbandment of the cavalry. Cavalry officers that remained were determined to make sure it survived and transformed their units into expert warfighters. The British were the exception in this regard as other European cavalry relied on shock. Shock charges were sometimes successful and the cavalry proved instrumental in gaining the few potential yards of each charge, but as you mentioned the machine gun fire on the Western Front was all but impenetrable.
There is a reason many cavalry units became armor units after 1917/1918 when the tank appeared; the shock tactic of moving fast and providing mobile firepower at high speeds relative to foot soldiers translated in wartime tactics fairly easily. The biggest difference being that a tank can eat hundreds of bullets and still work while a horse cannot. Mounted cavalry was used alongside aircraft and armor at the Battle of Cambrai, but charges on the Western Front had limited success and did not gain much ground. Largely, once trench warfare set in, cavalry charges simply stopped being called. The barbed wire, trenches, and machine gun fire made it impossible.
On the Eastern Front, however, specifically in the Middle East, cavalry was vital to the war effort. British cavalry had great success in Mesopotamia suffering only single digit casualties in some cases. Australian cavalry moved across the desert gaining 10 miles per day in 1917. Horses were used by more than just cavalry, but the British lost 484,000 horses in the Great War. 25% were battle deaths. About 200 were killed by German gas.
Getting onto the size and organization:
In 1914 the sole British cavalry division had approximately 6,900 men. This may seem relatively small in this day and age but at the time cavalry was the deadliest type of unit and Britain hadn’t fought a battle on Mainland Europe since the Battle of Waterloo 99 years before. The raw casualties of cavalry don’t sound as bad when compared to others but 5,674 were killed in action and 14,630 suffered other casualties. These casualties came after two more cavalry divisions were set up and at the end of 1914 those three divisions were joined by six more cavalry regiments moved from India to France. A 600 man regiment remained in India throughout the war, though they did not suffer the fewest casualties. The fewest casualty award goes to the 7th Queen’s Own Hussars who only suffered 7 throughout the entire war. The 7th Hussars took part in the Mesopotamia campaign starting in 1917 and fought in the Battle of Sharqat and Khan Baghdadi in 1918.)
The Imperial German Army had an expansive cavalry arm, 55 brigades and 110 regiments. Most German cavalry regiments had 4-6 squadrons which made them range from approximately 700 men to 1100 men. However, by 1916 the German High Command had determined cavalry was borderline useless in trench warfare. They systematically reduced the number of horses in each squadron and then reduced the number of squadrons transforming the cavalry soldiers into foot infantry and the cavalry commands into special commands indistinguishable from general operations.
The French also placed a high importance on cavalry but did not know much about taking care of their horses. By the end of 1914 French cavalry was suffering enormous casualties simply from poor care of their horses. France continued to use cavalry throughout the war but cavalry charges often saw the horses left behind and were carried out on foot.
Russian cavalry was swift and without the same trench warfare limitations in the East they were capable of penetrating deep into German territory, into German itself in fact. However they were quickly met with German forces whenever this happened. Russian cavalry was extremely effective at harassing Austro-Hungarian forces in retreat inflicting upwards of 40,000 casualties. Cavalry did have its limitations due to how far they could reach out at once; it took 4 times as much space in trains to move cavalry as it did infantry.
Ottoman’s also used horses extensively but I’m afraid I don’t know too much about that beyond it clearly didn’t turn the war.
In the United States cavalry was an extremely popular arm of the military. It still is to this day, though they don’t use horses anymore. When America finally joined the war many cavalry units were converted to field artillery. It wasn’t until 1918 after the tank was deployed and the war coming to an end that Americans began sending cavalry into combat. Despite waiting so long American cavalry suffered very heavy casualties. The St. Mihiel Offensive saw the American 2nd Cav of 400 men lead a charge five miles deep into German lines but they were swiftly forced to retreat from there, unable to hold the ground. By the end of that year the 2nd Cavalry only had 150 men remaining.
You've all been so helpful, those are the exact responses I needed. Thank you so much, I simply could not find much on Great War cavalry charges. Thanks for the links too, I'll definitely keep reading about it. Never knew there were successful charges on other fronts. Makes perfect sense now that I think about it.