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Concept
Mounted infantry
Summary
Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely specially mobile infantry." Today, with motor vehicles having replaced horses for military transport, the motorized infantry are in some respects successors to mounted infantry.
The origins of mounted infantry go back to at least the beginnings of organised warfare. With the weight of ancient bronze armor, the opposing champions would travel to battle on chariots before dismounting to fight. With the evolution of hoplite warfare, some hoplites would travel to battle on horseback, before dismounting to take their place in the phalanx. The early pre-Marian Roman military had units consisting of infantrymen clinging to the saddles of the cavalry to take them to battle and then dismounting to fight. Gallic and Germanic warbands were reported to use double-riders, with a second warrior joining a horseman only for a short distance before dismounting to fight on foot.
The Han Dynasty also extensively used mounted infantry in their campaigns against the Xiongnu confederation. During many of the Han campaigns, the vast majority of the army rode on horseback;
either as mounted cavalry or mounted infantry who fought dismounted.
The Arabs, during their campaigns in the deserts of Mesopotamia and Syria against the Byzantines and Sassanids, used camels to enhance their mobility, marking a stark constrast to their enemies, especially in the desert environment. The Carolingians under Charlamagne also used horses as transport for the bulk of their army, and special care was taken to ensure the health, fodder, and availability of horses on-campaign.
Other notable infantry to use horses to enhance their mobility include the Genoese crossbowmen, and Viking raiders who would gather all the horses they could find in the vicinity of their landings.
Dragoons originally were mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills.
Official source
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