People fighting on horseback, who were therefore more mobile than foot soldiers. In modern warfare, the cavalry are those fighting in armoured vehicles.
Cavalry
Fact of the Day
In late antiquity, alongside the Goths, Vandals and Huns, there was a tribe called the Alans.
Quote of the Day
"I think a curse should rest on me, because I love this war. I know it's smashing and shattering the lives of thousands every moment, and yet I can't help it, I enjoy every second of it.
"
~ Winston Churchill in 1916
On This Day
1129 The Council of Troyes recognised and confirmed the Order of the Knights Templar under papal authority.
1691 George Fox, founder of the Quakers, died.
1842 East India Company's Dr William Brydon reached Jalalabad. The only one out of 16500 soldiers and civilians to reach safety after the massacre by Afghan tribes.
1898 Émile Zola's open letter J'accuse was published in the French newspaper L'Aurore, in defence of Alfred Dreyfus.
1929 Wyatt Earp, famous for the shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, died of chronic cystitis.
1935 Over 90% of voters opted to reunify with Germany in the Saar territorial status referendum.
1941 Irish novelist and poet James Joyce died, after undergoing surgery for a perforated ulcer.
1958 Serial killer Peter Manuel was arrested. He was tried for killing nine people, although he may have killed as many as 18.
2004 Dr Harold Shipman, who killed more than 200 of his patients, was found dead in his cell.