On Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 1:40 PM, Charlie Vlk

<cvlk@...> wrote:

All-

I imagine that Bruce Smith, our resident equine specialist, can give a more detailed account, but horses and mules were used in WWII more than most people realize and many were killed on both sides through use and in battle.

Charlie Vlk

With respect to horses and mules and the US Army. In 1939-1940, the Army was bitterly debating whether mounted cavalry remained superior to tracked light tanks for scouting. The 1940-41 maneuvers pitted horse mounted cavalry against tanks with the tanks predictably winning, except in extreme terrain. The US rapidly mechanized during WWII, but horses were still commonly used in many tasks. The US Army maintained an active cavalry “remount” breeding and training program through 1948. The following were locations of remount stations (from Wikipedia) at various times. Most

·         Aleshire Quartermaster Remount Depot, Front Royal, Virginia

·         Fort Keogh, Montana

·         Fort Sam Houston Remount Station #1, Texas

·         Fort Reno, Oklahoma

·         Pomona Quartermaster Depot (Remount), California

·         Fort Sill, Oklahoma

·         Camp Plauche Animal Remount Station, Louisiana

Mules were also common in the US Army and continued to be active, albeit in small numbers, through 1956 when the mule units at Fort Carson, Colorado were deactivated and the remaining 332 mules sold or transferred including some going to the National Parks Service.

Sergeant Reckless was a famous Marine Corps horse in Korea. However, the US did not ship any horses or mules to Korea. Sgt. Reckless was a Mongolian horse, purchased from a Korean stable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_Reckless

Transport of mules and horses for the Army was typically in stock cars. These equids did not get the benefit of travel by horse express cars, with the exception of some ceremonial animals (and ceremonial horses and mules continue to be rostered by the military today).

Regards,

Bruce

Bruce Smith

Auburn, AL

The peak of shipping horses in stock cars was the WWI timeframe as horses were war machines as well as power for fire bragades, milk delivery, police, and general commerce. As cars and trucks developed, horses were used more for meat than horsepower. WPA development of intracity roads caused a further decline in the 30s.

On Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 1:40 PM, Charlie Vlk

<cvlk@...> wrote:

All-

I imagine that Bruce Smith, our resident equine specialist, can give a more detailed account, but horses and mules were used in WWII more than most people realize and many were killed on both sides through use and in battle.

Charlie Vlk

With respect to horses and mules and the US Army. In 1939-1940, the Army was bitterly debating whether mounted cavalry remained superior to tracked light tanks for scouting. The 1940-41 maneuvers pitted horse mounted cavalry against tanks with the tanks predictably winning, except in extreme terrain. The US rapidly mechanized during WWII, but horses were still commonly used in many tasks. The US Army maintained an active cavalry “remount” breeding and training program through 1948. The following were locations of remount stations (from Wikipedia) at various times. Most

·         Aleshire Quartermaster Remount Depot, Front Royal, Virginia

·         Fort Keogh, Montana

·         Fort Sam Houston Remount Station #1, Texas

·         Fort Reno, Oklahoma

·         Pomona Quartermaster Depot (Remount), California

·         Fort Sill, Oklahoma

·         Camp Plauche Animal Remount Station, Louisiana

Mules were also common in the US Army and continued to be active, albeit in small numbers, through 1956 when the mule units at Fort Carson, Colorado were deactivated and the remaining 332 mules sold or transferred including some going to the National Parks Service.

Sergeant Reckless was a famous Marine Corps horse in Korea. However, the US did not ship any horses or mules to Korea. Sgt. Reckless was a Mongolian horse, purchased from a Korean stable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergeant_Reckless

Transport of mules and horses for the Army was typically in stock cars. These equids did not get the benefit of travel by horse express cars, with the exception of some ceremonial animals (and ceremonial horses and mules continue to be rostered by the military today).

Regards,

Bruce

Bruce Smith

Auburn, AL

The peak of shipping horses in stock cars was the WWI timeframe as horses were war machines as well as power for fire bragades, milk delivery, police, and general commerce. As cars and trucks developed, horses were used more for meat than horsepower. WPA development of intracity roads caused a further decline in the 30s.

On Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 1:40 PM, Charlie Vlk

<cvlk@...> wrote:

All-

I imagine that Bruce Smith, our resident equine specialist, can give a more detailed account, but horses and mules were used in WWII more than most people realize and many were killed on both sides through use and in battle.

Charlie Vlk