Cavalry in the future of the #AssociationofIshtar
With the introduction of Battleframes, environmental armor, and vehicles, the future of horse calvary was brought into question.
The Armies General staff were eager to increase their prestige by building armored battalions, and mechanized/airborne infantry forces.
However, the bloody cavalry wasn’t willing to say goodbye to their horses. So, during operations horse units were relegated to rear-guard actions and peacekeeping operations while infantry and mechanized units were deployed to the front line hoping that the cavalry would get the message and modernize.
However…
After the collapse grandstanding armies were a thing from the past. Mechanized units, though still a popular concept, became high maintenance units too expensive for the shattered nations to keep operational without taking severe shortcuts.
Also, the priority shifted from conventional warfare to Rift containment. War, had changed. Guarding against human invasions were no longer the priority. Patrolling the remaining highways and railroads were. States didn’t need expensive mechanized units to ward of political rivals. They needed flexible and mobile units that could stay in the field for prolonged periods of time without logistical support. Ergo, the Outriders became one of the most common military formations next to infantry.
Platoon sizes units would scourge the periphery, living off the land. They could track and hunt down wandering Outsiders. And threat they would report through wireless telegraphs and track the target until heavier mechanized units arrived, and radio in artillery.
Owning a horse became once again a status symbol. Some kingdoms even made it mandatory for all able households to own a maintain a horse that was stabled in public stalls.
The old-fashioned lance and saber, although still used in some places, were mostly replaced with firearms, throwaway explosives like grenades and bomb lances, and bludgeoning weapons.
Body armor and horse barding gained some popularity again as well, but is mostly reserved for officers and command units and not for Outriders.
And so it came to be that noblemen once again got to relive their fantasies of fighting dragons from horseback. Huzzah!
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