Rationale for mounted infantry?

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In the 19th century, the development of rifles that were longer ranged and faster to load than before gave the advantage to "standard" infantry over cavalry, that is soldiers who fought on horseback, rather than foot. That's because even with a stirrup, it is much harder for a cavalryman to manage a rifle and a horse than a sword or lance and a horse (as in earlier times).

One answer to this problem was mounted infantry, that is soldiers who would use horses for "transportation," but once arrived on the battlefield, would dismount and fight as "infantry." Units of this sort had three quarters of their normal strength because every fourth man would hold the horses of three others. But sometimes, arriving first at a critical point (bridge, pass, etc.) in three fourths strength was more important than arriving later at "full" strength.

Tom Au 104013

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Source: stackoverflow.com

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