Soviet Cavalry Operations During the Second World War: and the Genesis of the Operational Manoeuvre Group

by John S. Harrel

While the development of tanks had largely led to the replacement of cavalry in most armies by 1939, the Soviets retained a strong mounted arm. In the terrain and conditions of the Eastern Front they were able to play an important role denied them elsewhere. John Harrel shows how the Soviets developed a doctrine of deep penetration, using cavalry formations to strike into the Axis rear, disrupting logistics and lines of communication, encircling and isolating units. Interestingly he shows that this doctrine did not stem from the native cavalry tradition of the steppe but from the example of the American Civil War. The American approach was copied by the Russians in WWI and the Russian Civil War, refined by the Soviets in the early stages of World War Two and perfected during the last two years of the war. The Soviet experience demonstrated that deep operations (cavalry raids) against enemy rear echelons set the conditions for victory. Although the last horse-mounted units disappeared in the 1950s, their influence led directly to the formation of the Operational Manoeuvre Groups that, ironically, faced US forces in the Cold War.

Genres: World War II, Russia

336 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2019

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the Soviet Cavalry in World War II. It explains why after the rest of the world had pretty much given up on horse cavalry, the Soviet forces continued to make good use of horse soldiers. The Soviet Union did not employ cavalry as shock troops. This role, often fraught with danger had gone to the tank units. The few times that this was done usually ended in disaster. Instead, the Soviet Union used them successfully in the way that the Confederate Army used them in the American Civil War. Speed and maneuverability allowed the cavalry units to follow routes through difficult terrain that could not be traversed by tanks, slip behind enemy lines and disrupt and interdict their supply lines. From this perspective it is a great book.

The book is very detailed. This makes it a great book for researchers and for those with detailed understanding of the battles in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. My understanding is somewhat less, and I found myself struggling to comprehend the locations and the Soviet units involved. I would recommend it for those wanting to understand WWII cavalry operations and for those with a strong interest in the Eastern Front.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pen & Sword is another publisher with whom I have a mixed attitude towards, as for every solid work there seems to be two pot-boilers. This book is one of the good ones, as Harrel examines the roots of Russo-Soviet cavalry doctrine, provides a close examination of how this played out in the Great Patriotic War, how this doctrine carried forward post-1945, and the ultimate demobilization of the Soviet horse units.

As for why the Soviet cavalry units retained relevance, Harrel emphasizes two main points. One being that there was a lot of terrain in the Soviet Union which was impassible to armored units, but where men on horses could get through. Two, the leadership of the cavalry suffered less from the decimation of the Great Purge, and remained a kernel of professionalism in the Red Army.

That said, this is very much staff-school history, and very focused on the fine details of tactical-operational deployment. This is not the first book you want to read about the Russo-Soviet military experience; it might not even be the fifteenth.

As for other issues, for as much work that seems to have been put into this book, there are a jarring number of typos. Also, early in the book, there was one point where Harrel touched on the differences between the Russian and German cavalry experiences, and I read it a few times and I'm not sure it really made sense. However, to be fair, this is not a book about the "Reichswehr" of the Weimar Republic.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well done book. Very detailed descriptions of many of the operations cavalry took part in throughout WW2 and even earlier conflicts such as the Russian Civil War and WW1. There were a fair number of typos though, and misspellings. Kind of caught me off guard. Some generals’ names and cities could be found spelled several different ways, for example. Doesn’t take away from the experience overall, however. Learned quite a bit about some aspects of the Second World War that I had never delved into before, and I quite enjoyed it.