This country is at war with Germany.

We shall go on to the end.

I remember the sheets of flame which came up and almost blinded us from our guns.

In 1939, incredibly, the British Army still fielded cavalry units that had yet to be mechanised,

relying on horses as they prepared for war.

When conflict broke out, these regiments, many of them territorial army yeomanry units, were mobilised,

with horses being requisitioned to meet the demand. By 1940, the first British cavalry division was deployed to the Middle East, where it would play a significant role in Operation Exporter,

the Allied invasion of Vichy-controlled Syria.

Today I'm joined by Jonathan Washington, author of Fighting Vichy from Horseback, British Mounted Cavalry Action in Syria, 1941,

to explore this fascinating chapter of military history. Jonathan, thanks for joining me.

As ever, when we talk about the Second World War,

the First World War usually gets overlooked.

Now, coming out of the First World War,

one might view cavalry as being obsolete.

So why do these units still have horses in 1939?

Well, the short answer, they do actually still need them.

That's a short answer.

Now, why do they still need them?

If you look back at World War I,

the reason most people assume cavalry once around in World War II is because they assume that World War I proved horses weren't needed.

And that is an incorrect assumption.

World War I very firmly solidified

...