User blog:Deathblade 100/Cavalry units of World War One: Australian Light Horse vs Don Cossacks

Disclaimer: This battle is not to glorify war but is to remember those who lost their lives in hopes of a better world

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them. Lest We Forget."

The Great War, AKA World War 1, was probably one of the worst engagements in the whole of human history. The casualty rates for both Entente and Central Powers was a staggering 21 million deaths. But, despite this, there were great acts of heroism during this time as well as some of the last great cavalry charges. So today we will look at two of the Entente's cavalry units as they go head to head.

Australian Light Horse- The Australian cavalry brigade, that stormed the Ottoman lines at Beersheba.

Vs.

Cossacks- The Tsar's feared horsemen, who squashed rebellions and egaged the Red Army of Lenin during the brutal Civil War.

WHO…IS…DEADLIEST?

To find out the history of war and modern science collide, as we test the weapons and tactics used by these instruments of war. We dissect their strengths and weaknesses and file them in for an all new battle to the death. It’s no rules, no safety, no mercy. It’s a duel to the death as we find out who is the Deadliest Warrior.

Australian Light Horse
Australian Light Horse were mounted troops with characteristics of both cavalry and mounted infantry, who served in the Second Boer War and World War I. During the inter-war years, a number of regiments were raised as part of Australia's part-time military force. These units were gradually mechanised either before or during World War II, although only a small number undertook operational service during the war. A number of Australian light horse units are still in existence today, including the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, now an armoured reconnaissance unit equipped primarily with the ASLAV armoured fighting vehicle. (from Wikipedia)

Weapons:
The Light Horse overran the Turks with: Rifle= SMLE No.1 Mk.3 Revolver= Enfield No.2 Melee= M1907 Bayonet Horse= Waler
 * Range: 500 metres
 * Round: .303 Enfield
 * Magazine: 10
 * Range: 22 metres
 * Round: .476 Enfield
 * Magazine: 6
 * Length: 30cm
 * Weight: 6 kg
 * Material: Steel
 * Height: 1 metre 52 cm
 * Location: New South Wales

Cossacks
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of military communities in Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the historical development of those nations.

At the outbreak of World War I the mounted Cossacks made up 38 regiments, plus some infantry battalions and 52 horse artillery batteries. By 1916 their wartime strength had expanded to 160 regiments plus 176 independent sotnias (squadrons), the latter employed as detached units.[86] While about a third of the regular Russian cavalry was dismounted in 1916 to serve as infantry, the Cossack arm remained essentially unaffected by modernization.

During the initial stages of the February Revolution of 1917, the three Cossack regiments stationed in Saint Petersburg proved in the words of a senior officer to be "extremely slack and indecisive" when deployed in support of the overstretched police. While less than three thousand Cossack reservists and new recruits from the poorer regions of the Don and Kuban regions were involved, their inaction (and that of the primarily ceremonial Konvoi) came as a psychological blow to the Tsarist authorities in the city and encouraged defections from other units.[87]

Weapons:
The Cossacks retaliate: Rifle= Mosin Nagant M1891 Revolver= Nagant M1895 Melee= Shashka Horse= Russian Don
 * Range: 500 metres
 * Round: 7.62x57mmR
 * Magazine: 5
 * Range: 25 metres
 * Round: 7.62mm Nagant
 * Magazine: 7
 * Length: 60cm
 * Weight: 9 kg
 * Material: Steel
 * Height: 1 metre 60 cm
 * Location: Russian Steppes

Personal Edges:
Rifle: Light Horse. The SMLE has nearly double the capacity of the Mosin Nagant and has a faster ROF.

Revolver: Draw. Both have their own advantages: The Enfield has less ammo but a faster reload time while the Nagant has more ammo and range for a slower reload.

Melee: Cossack. A cavalry sword beats a bayonet as a handheld cavalry weapon.

Horse: Cossack. The Walers had to be left in Egypt during the Gallipoli campaign in order to adjust to the temperature while the Dons are already adapted to the cliamte of the steppes.

Battle
TBA