Lancer - 20th Century Lancers

20th Century Lancers

In 1914 lances were still being carried by regiments in the British, Indian, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Turkish, Belgian and Russian armies, amongst others. Almost all German cavalry (hussars, dragoons and cuirassiers as well as uhlans) retained a steel lance as their primary weapon. As late as 1914 half the troopers in each Russian regular cavalry regiment (hussars, uhlans and dragoons) carried lances on active service, as did all cossacks.

The British lancer regiments lost this weapon for all but ceremonial use following the Boer War but a conservative backlash led to its reintroduction for active service from 1908 to 1928. The French army did not have lancer regiments as such but steel lances 2.97 metres in length were carried by the twenty-six dragoon regiments and some light cavalry units in 1914. The French had earlier tested the Indian bamboo lances used by the British cavalry but had rated them as being too fragile for the shock of encounter.

Prior to the outbreak of World War I there had been controversy as to whether lances or sabres were the more effective "armes blanches" (that is edged weapons) for cavalry but neither proved a match for modern firearms. Some armies continued to use lances throughout this war but they seldom saw use on the Western Front after initial clashes in France and Belgium in 1914. On the Eastern Front mounted cavalry still had a role and lances saw limited use by the Russian, German and Austrian armies.

During the 1920s the use of lances ceased for active service in most armies. British and Indian lancer regiments continued to carry lances on mounted parades until mechanization took place in the late 1930s, and some other armies retained lance armed ceremonial units. The Polish cavalry did not discard the lance as a weapon until 1934 and continued to train with lances until the outbreak of World War II.