NAM.2001-01-279-77

Photograph: Indian Cavalry await the order to advance, Western Front, 1916 (c). This photograph depicts the 20th Deccan Horse, part of the 2nd Indian Cavalry Division, in Carnoy Valley shortly before their unsuccessful attack at High Wood on 14 July. Together with the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards, they suffered 102 casualties and lost 130 horses. In August 1914 an Indian Corps, including cavalry units, arrived in France. While the infantry were withdrawn to Mesopotamia in December 1915, most of the cavalry remained on the Western Front until 1918. It was hoped that once the enemy's front-line had been broken the cavalry would exploit the breach using their superior speed to reach the enemy's rear positions and destroy supply and communications lines. The static nature of much of the fighting on the Western Front meant that this did not occur and many cavalry soldiers ended up serving as infantrymen. Collection of 98 official war photographs illustrating the British advance in the Western Front Campaign, World War One (1914-1918). From the collection of the former Buffs Regimental Museum.

World War One, Western Front (1914-1918)