My kid was watching one of the Lord of the Rings movies last night and during one of the big battles there's a massive cavalry charge into the flank of the bad guys that begins to turn the tide of the battle. Thus my brain started wondering about real/historical massive horse charges that flipped a battle.

Have there been a lot? If so, what are the biggest ones? Or is this just a "movie thing" and that hasn't been the way cavalry has primarily been used in big battles?

There were some pretty big cavalry vs cavalry actions in the American Civil War ( Brandy Station and Gettysburg come to mind. There was the American Dragoon vs Mexican cavalry/lancers on the Rio Grande at Palo Alto in 1846.

Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimea in 1856 that only accomplished getting the Brigade shot to pieces.

The only real big ones that made impacts (good and bad) on a battle that I can think of took place in Europe in the Napoleonic Wars.

Good question for thought.

I remembered one from the ACW on my drive home.

Sheridan's Cavalry Division's charge at Five Forks that broke the Confederate resistance there. It exposed the final rail line that supplied Petersburg and Richmond and spurred a general assault of the western confederate trench lines. This in turn cause the Confederates to abandon Petersburg and Richmond and subsequently end the war 6 days later.

ja86 said:

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The Polish winged hussars at Battle Of Klushino in 1610 and also at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.

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I think the Vienna charge is the one that inspired the Rohirrim charge, but I'm not 100% sure of that.

I agree, The massed cavalry charge to break the siege and save the city is very similar.

Norman knights at Hastings

Here's some: Famous More

Impressed w/Polish cavalry charge at Krojatny against the Germans in Sept. 1939. Don't know how impactful it was, but to delay the German invasion momentarily. I thought it showed an extreme amount of bravery.

A bit unorthodox but you gotta love the Australian Light Horse charge at Beersheba in WW1

Do we consider the Sioux counter-attack at the Little Big Horn and annihilation of Custers forces as a cavalry charge?

ja86 said:

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Alexander the Great use of cavalry such as at The Battle Of Gaugamela

The Polish winged hussars at Battle Of Klushino in 1610 and also at the Battle of Vienna in 1683

Marlborough's cavalry at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704

the French massed charge at Eylau in 1807

the charge of the light brigade is what people remember, but it was the charge of the heavy brigade at the Battle of Balaklava that did all the damage.

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this is the first one that came to my mind

The Sioux and Cheyenne fought as mounted infantry at Little Big Horn

74OA said:

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Here's some: Famous More

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Great pictures and descriptions !

What was the difference in British "heavy cavalry" vs "light cavalry"?

Heavy cavalry typically has lances, the horse breeds are bigger like Morgan's and the troopers may wear some helmets and breastplates. Light cavalry has lighter and faster horse breeds and are armed with sabers.

Jeb Stuart was late to Gettysburg and that hurt Lee a lot.

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Great credit for the remarkable fight of the 1st Delaware Cavalry belongs to Corbit, whose courage and willingness to assume command under adverse conditions briefly halted Stuart's advance. "One of the survivors of the affair at Westminster was asked today if Corbit fought well," recounted General Wilson. "Did he fight well?" was the reply, "Why damn it, he was the fight!" However, Major Henry B. McClellan, Stuart's able adjutant, noted, "this fight was more gallant than judicious on the part of Major Knight."

Perhaps it was. But the two gallant charges by fewer than 200 Union cavalrymen cost Stuart and his command an entire day's marching time. That delay, in turn, meant that the Confederates lost their chance to link up with Ewell's infantry near York on June 30, and it put Stuart's horsemen on a collision course with Union cavalry at Hanover, Pa. which stopped the Rebels 15 critical miles from Gettysburg. By the time Stuart reached Lee, his troopers were too late to provide reconnaissance or fight effectively. The two heroic Union charges, while doomed and probably foolhardy, had far-reaching consequences for Stuart's progress to Pennsylvania that no one could have foreseen.

https://www.historynet.com/jeb-stuart-late.htm

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Interesting that there is so little out there about Mongol charges.

Since their army was composed almost entirely of cavalry, you'd think there would have been some epic charges as they swept across Asia and into Europe?

something something, they didn't write, the accounting of Mongol is only ever preserved from the perspective of those they were riding down.

Not an expert by any means, but I don't think cavalry charges ever worked like they do in Lord of the Rings. Cavalry was very effective against dispersed troops, fleeing troops, or in getting behind troops. But a charge against a line, especially if they have any kind of spears, is suicidal.

As for Mongol charges, they didn't really charge, because they were generally equipped with bows. You don't ride into the heart of the enemy, you ride into bow range and then strike from a distance.

If horses were as instoppable as they are in Lord of the Rings, then they would always be decisive in battle. In most cases, they remained poised to exploit sudden opportunities or cut up fleeing troops.

ABATTBQ87 said:

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Do we consider the Sioux counter-attack at the Little Big Horn and annihilation of Custers forces as a cavalry charge?

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I thought of that one too. There were definitely two mounted attacks, possibly three. First against Reno's command on the east end of the camp in which he was flanked and forced to retreat to the timber, then across the river and up to the crest of the hill.

Then Crazy Horse basically broke up the "last stand" with a charge from the northeast. This was possibly after he and Gaul wiped out Keogh's battalion on Calhoun Hill.

One my "favorite" battlefields to visit.

Stive said:

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What was the difference in British "heavy cavalry" vs "light cavalry"?

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Heavy cavalry in Napoleonic terms were the Cuirassier. They wore breast plates and steel helmets. They also fought with heavy straight sword and pistols.




Light cavalry comprised of:
Hussars


Uhlans( lancers)


Dragoons


and
Chasseurs.

When was the last recorded Calvary charge? Wasn't in WW2, the Poles against the Germans?

Spore Ag said:

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When was the last recorded Calvary charge? Wasn't in WW2, the Poles against the Germans?

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Didn't know that and just looked it up. April 1945

There are a lot more cavalry charges than that after 1945. Don't get caught seeing the entire world through Western eyes. Chinese revolution, Afghanistan, Africa...There are a lot of third world countries that did battle in the 20th Century that used horses, so it's almost certain there were others.

The Scottish cavalry at Bannockburn

JABQ04 said:

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Spore Ag said:

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When was the last recorded Calvary charge? Wasn't in WW2, the Poles against the Germans?

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Didn't know that and just looked it up. April 1945

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Italian Savoia Cavalleria at Isbuschenskij, August 24, 1942
Italian Cavalry

There was one by Indian cavalry against the Japanese in Burma which ended very badly.

Supposedly there was one by the Rhodesians in the 1970's

After Aalan posted I did a quick look and saw mounted actions in Africa, Asia, and such but don't know how impactful they really were. From what I glanced at horses were mainly transportation. But like I said I'm at work and did a quick glance at some things. I guess maybe the ODA team from "12 Strong" but I don't know. I don't know the story and to me it seems like it's been over dramatized but I'm probably wrong. I know about the Indiana against the Japanese and the Italians in 1942 and the US charge in 1942 in the Phillipines. From what I know now I'd still say the Poles in April 1945 were the last major effective/impactful cavalry charge. Then we can discuss what makes a charge impactful. Who knows. Interesting subject though.

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But a charge against a line, especially if they have any kind of spears, is suicidal.

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Not only that but horses don't like to run into a mass of screaming men armed with pikes & lances... they tend to just stop & rear up.

I would say an good cavalry charge would be one that directly impacted the outcome of the battle or actually won the day\ drove the enemy from the field. We have listed a lot that have.......

My grandfather was in the 5th Cavalry in the 1930's. His Regimental commander was Colonel George Patton.

terata said:

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The Scottish cavalry at Bannockburn

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I was thinking Bannockburn, but as I understand it, the Scotts cavalry just protected the flanks of the infantry and took out a contingent of Welsh archers The English cavalry on the other hand must have look magnificent as they went to their death in numerous charges against the Scottish shilltrons. (sp?).

A few other magnificent charges that didn't work out to well are the French at Crecy and Agincourt along with Moors at Tours.

I always liked the cavalry charge in the opening of F Troop ...

There were many actions involving cavalry charges during the Chinese Civil War after WWII: For Example

The Scots Greys at Waterloo. Many years ago my winter time hobby was military miniatures. My favorite piece I ever did was a vignette of this scene of a Greys officer taking a French guidon.