Camel cavalry
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Camel cavalry, or camelry, is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation. Sometimes warriors or soldiers of this type also fought from camel-back with spears, bows or rifles.
Camel cavalry were a common element in desert warfare throughout history due in part due to the animal's high level of adaptability. They provided a mobile element better suited to work and survive in an arid and waterless environment than the horses of conventional cavalry. The smell of the camel according to folklore alarms and disorients horses, making camels an effective anti-cavalry weapon. For this purpose Emperor Claudius is said to have brought a detachment of camel cavalry as part of his invasion force for conquering Britain. The camel was used in this way by many civilizations, especially in Arabia and North Africa. The Arabs used camels to great effect against their horse-mounted European enemies during the Muslim conquests. During the late nineteenth and much of the twentieth centuries camel troops were used for desert policing and patrol work in the British, French, German, Spanish and Italian colonial armies. Descendents of such units still form part of the modern Indian, Moroccan and Egyptian armies.
[edit] History
[edit] Earliest Usage
The first recorded use of the camel as a military animal occurred during the Battle of Thymbra in 547 BC, fought between Cyrus the Great of Persia and Croesus of Lydia. According to Xenophon, Cyrus' cavalry were outnumbered by as much as six to one. Acting on information from one of his generals that the Lydian horses shied away from camels, Cyrus formed the camels from his baggage train into the first Camel Corps in history. Although not technically employed as cavalry, they were crucial in panicking the Lydian cavalry and turning the battle in Cryus' favor. There is a reference in historical records to the Arab king Gindibu employing as many as 1000 camels at the Battle of Qarqar in 853 B.C., although it is not clear how they were employed during the battle.
[edit] See also
- méhariste
- zaptié
- zumbooruck
- Bikaner Camel Corps
- Imperial Camel Corps
- Somaliland Camel Corps
- U.S. Camel Corps
- Sudan Defence Force
- Tropas Nomadas
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