Horses have been an important part of human warfare for thousands of years. Overtime the use and role of the horse in war evolved as warfare itself evolved. The first and foremost class of mounted warfare was cavalry who fought on horseback. Mounted infantry or dragoons were soldiers who rode horses in battle but were trained to dismount and fight on foot. With the advent of mechanical warfare horses were reaching obsolescence in war but they continued to be used and were still important. In WW1 on the Western Front cavalry was used in the early phases before trench warfare settled in and only in some instances; on the Eastern Front and Middle Eastern Front cavalry were still able to do their traditional job.
While WW1 was the birth of mechanical warfare WW2 saw it’s most advanced evolution to date, horses continued to be an extremely important part of war. Vehicles and tanks replaced horses in the cavalry role but some cavalry still managed to fight in this new mechanized war. During the Japanese invasion of the Philippines the US 26th Cavalry Regiment performed the last American cavalry charge against Japanese forces. On the vast Eastern Front Germany and Soviets mounted warfare was more common and used occasionally.
I am suggesting a new Cavalry class to represent how important horses were to the war. In function the “Cavalry” class is a mix between cavalry and dragoons but in the heat of battle does it honestly make a difference whether you ride the horse or dismount. Like with APCs and Paratroopers (and Riders too!) you have the option to spawn with the horse or on foot. Like motorcycles the horse will carry ammo supplies (and health too IMO!) so it can support the team, just as horses were also important for carrying supplies. You can fight on horseback by shooting your firearms, but the Cavalry can come equipped with a sword by default which you can slash enemies with as you ride.
Unfortunately, this class would most likely have to be just a single soldier like Saboteur. As cool as it would be to have a mass cavalry charge, I doubt the game could handle you having a squad of 5 or more cavalrymen, all with horses, to charge the enemy. Unless you organize with your teammates!
I know what you’re thinking, cavalry wouldn’t do well in this chaotic game. Machine guns, assault rifles, artillery, tanks, planes, bombs, etc. If WW1 marked the end of cavalry, then WW2 was it’s last hurrah. But cavalry and horses still served in this new mechanized era. I think that if Battlefield 1 made cavalry work, then this game can too
- Yes
- No