How dependent were the Germans on horse transport in their invasion of the Soviet Union?
score:10
The 2011 TV documentary by Radio Berlin-Brandenburg "Das preussische Gestüt, Neustadt/Dosse" (The Prussian Stud in Neustadt on the Dosse) about one of the oldest still existing main breeding studs and riding schools in Germany has a segment on horses during WW2:
Ab 1937 bestimmen die Kriegsvorbereitungen auch die Zucht in Neustadt/Dosse. [Zitat] Verlangt wird ein Warmblut Pferd mit breiter Brust, dass trabend und als Reitpferd, Marschleistungen von 70-150km volbringen kann. Die Wehrmacht ist in grossen Teilen beritten und bespannt. Da die Industrie zu keiner Zeit ausreichend Fahrzeuge produzieren kann bleibt das Pferd ein vertrautes Fortbewegungsmittel der kämpfenden Armee. Mit der Wehrmacht ziehen fast 3 Millionen Pferde in den zweiten Weltkrieg. Zwei Millionen kommen um. Auf die Dauer des Krieges umgerechnet, sind es täglich 860 Pferde.
Translation
From 1937 onward, war preparations drove the breeding program [at the stud] in Neustadt/Dosse. [The official military guidelines] demand a broad-chested warmblood horse that, while ridden in trot can achieve 70-150km [per day]. The Wehrmacht is largely dependent on horse mounts and horse-drawn wagons. As the [German] industry could never provide sufficient numbers of motorised vehicles, the horse remained a familiar means of transportation with the combat troops. Together with the Wehrmacht, nearly 3 million horses participate in the second world war. Two million perish. Over the duration of the war, this amounts to 860 horses every day.
What jumps out, apart from the appalling statistic, is that there were 3 million horses capable of being "drafted" into service. For comparison, the same program mentions that in World War One, the numbers were 1.5 million horses on the German side, of which also about 2/3 die. This at a time when the horse was still far more common and the country (and world) less motorised.
Also, the performance demands are stunning to any equestrian - which would have contributed to the death toll: 70-150km a day is something even modern endurance horses have to work up to - with lightweight riders, super-modern light tack and saddles. Not with a heavy armed soldier on their back. Compare also cowboys and stockmen driving herds all day long, but wouldn't maintain this for long if they had to trot and canter non-stop (contrary to the Hollywood images - See also the TV trope Somewhere an equestrian is crying).
Upvote:2
Horses in the German Army (1941-1945) from the Combined Arms Research Library Digital Collection http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p4013coll8/id/2495/rec/1
In seven downloadable parts. Everything you’d ever want to know about the Heer’s use of horses.
Upvote:5
http://www.zdnet.com/article/the-wwii-german-army-was-80-horse-drawn-business-lessons-from-history/
Up until 1943 the Wermacht was only 20% motorized. However, this understates the importance of mechanized transport. Consider that a significant fraction of forces were held back for defending and occupying territory, and you'll see that the percentage of forces actually in combat or leading important offensives at any given moment had a greater mechanized component.
Generally, motorized forces led the advance. Infantry units stayed behind to encircle and mop up behind the spearhead. Thus the percent of divisions motorized, or even the total volume of cargo moved by horses, doesn't capture the importance of the motorized forces.
There is no absolute answer to your question but it's clear that the early German offensives relied heavily on armored spearheads and both mechanized and non-mechanized transport played different but important roles.
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