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It’s been 100 years since World War I broke out, and every Armistice Day we remember the servicemen and women who gave their lives to fight for our country. But it is also a

time to remember the horses and other animals who worked and fought so hard, and gave their lives, too, amid horrendous conditions.

Into battleWhen news of the war broke out in July 1914, Britain boasted a cavalry of about 100,000 men. Cavalry attacks were the main way of fighting and the Army only owned around 25,000 horses, so thousands had to be recruited for the Great War. A further 165,000 from Britain alone were then deployed – horses and mules aged three to 12 were bought from all over the world and trained as quickly as possible, then formed into squadrons and sent to the Western Front.

However, as the weeks progressed, it was realised that this time, war was different. The introduction of the trenches, machine guns and hazardous barbed wire meant that the cavalry charge was no longer appropriate.

But horses and mules were still invaluable as a way of transporting materials to the front – military vehicles were relatively new inventions and prone to problems, and the Army only owned around 80 of them.

Horses, along with mules, were reliable forms of transport and compared to a vehicle, needed little upkeep. They were vital for transporting supplies and ammunition – especially to the Western Front where appalling conditions meant it was extremely difficult to use motor vehicles.

In this World War 1 centenary year, H&R’s Kate Hammaren describes the part played by brave equines in this horrendous conflict

Warhorses

The utter horror of the war meant man and beast sought solace in each other’s company

Alfred Theodore Joseph Bastien ‘Cavalry and Tanks at Arras’ 1918

Horse world

Parisian horses taken for war

A soldier taking a nap with his trusty steed

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Horse worldA helping handThe Blue Cross Fund was set up in 1912 and was used to generate essential funds needed for veterinary medical kits to assist horses on the front line, and also to set up hospitals overseas to help all animals involved in the conflict. British camps were also supplied with Blue Cross horse ambulances to help move sick and injured horses. Money and goods for The Blue Cross Fund came from hundreds of different sources, including the sale of postcards. bluecross.org.uk

Not only did equines move rations and ammunition, but these brave creatures were sent to the front line to bring back the wounded on stretchers placed on carriages. Tragically, his meant they were caught up in gas attacks, trussed up on the treacherous barbed wire and left injured in the dreaded No-Man’s Land.

All hands on deckBy 1917, the British Army had employed over 530,000 horses and 230,000 mules – the military purchased most of England’s horses and sent them to the Western Front. As the war raged on, more and more equines were lost in the field and others became wounded or sick. It was soon realised that the British Army needed to buy about 15,000 horses a month to maintain numbers and it has been calculated that around half a million horses owned by the British Army were killed over the war years.

As a result of Britain’s horses fighting the war, many farmers and workers had to seek alternatives to the horse, and there were some surprising options – camels and elephants pulling carts laden with metal, machines and munitions became commonplace – one elephant could do the job of three horses!

A friend in needThe bond between soldiers and their horses has been well-documented over the years. The utter

A Blue Cross horse ambulance

at work in France

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Lizzie the elephantLumbering along the cobbles, dutifully pulling a scrap metal cart, Lizzie the Indian elephant was a common sight in and around Sheffield during the First World War.

Fitted with a harness and special, hardwearing boots to protect her feet from shards of metal, she was used to working with people as she was formerly part of a menagerie – that was until her formidable strength was required to replace the horses.

By all accounts, she was quite the character – putting her trunk into somebody’s window and stealing their dinner, eating a schoolboy’s cap...

Unfortunately little is known of her fate, some say she went to work on a farm where the ground was softer for her feet.

Today, her legacy lives on – she even has a bus in Sheffield named after her!

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Extra readingMichael Morpurgo’s 1984 novel, ‘War Horse’ tells the story of Joey, a horse plucked from a farm, through the people he meets during the war. Egmont Books, £6.99.

‘Farewell to the Horses – Diary of a British Tommy 1915-1919’, Robert Elverstone, The History Press, £12.99.

horror of the war, to which man and beast were exposed meant they sought solace in each other.

Poignant images show soldiers tenderly watering their trusty steeds behind the front line. Troops fitted special equine gas masks to their beloved friends and charity posters declaring ‘Help the Horse to Save the Soldier’ showed how protecting equines during the bloodshed was seen as a priority.

Warwickshire-born Cady Cyril Hoyte, who joined the Machine Gun Corps at just 19, recalls in his diary, written while on deployment: “The saddest moment of all came when we had to part with our horses. We realised that the horses had been as important as the men and intelligent animals as they were, appeared to be proud of the regiment to which they belonged.”

And the people of Great Britain who had to let their horses go to war felt the sadness at losing a friend, too. One witness, Elizabeth Owen, recalled: “Everything in the village was done by horses, all horses we used to know, love and feed. They started trotting them out of the village and as they went out of sight we were terribly sad.” Of the million horses sent overseas to help with the war effort, only 62,000 returned home.

Help for heroesAs the 1918 Armistice Day passed, shell-shocked survivors began to make their way home. But what of the surviving horses and mules? Many of

these domesticated equines were now wandering, aimlessly and alone through the desolate battlefields, with no food, water, or protection from the elements.

Fortunately, animal campaigners Our Dumb Friends League (now Blue Cross) became aware of the situation and launched an appeal to buy back as many of these brave animals as possible, either to be put peacefully to sleep or to be pensioned off in comfort.

Such was the use of horses on the Western Front, that over eight million died on all sides fighting in the war. Two-and-a-half million horses were treated in veterinary hospitals with about two million being sufficiently cured that they could return to duty.

At the end of the Great War, war hero General Douglas Haig predicted the future of the horse’s role in warfare: “I believe that the value of the horse and the opportunity for the horse in the future are likely to be as great as ever. Aeroplanes and tanks are only accessories to the men and the horse, and I feel sure that as time goes on you will find just as much use for the horse as you have ever done in the past.”

Fortunately, the advent of the tank meant the number of horses needed for subsequent warfare was significantly reduced, and the equine started to leave the battlefields.

Animal magicHumans, horses and mules aside, who else fought the good fight?European glow worms - used to aid map reading in

the depths of the trenches. Dogs - sought out mines and searched for the wounded using their acute sense of smell.Pigeons - special flying service units comprised tens of thousands of protected birds who were

vital in the delivery of military messages. Cats – kept in trenches to hunt for mice.

A postcard showing

the return of men

and horses from

the war

This badge

was produced by

the Blue Cross to promote horse welfare after the First World War