By William “Skip” Deegans
The 2022 film adaptation of the novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, showed the audience, in sometimes disturbing scenes, the importance of horses and mules in World War I. Most of those animals came from the United States, and Hinton, West Virginia, played a crucial role in the logistics of exporting over 1 million horses and mules to Britain, France and Spain.
Large horses and mules were needed to pull guns, supply wagons, and ambulances. Smaller horses were needed for the cavalry. Europe could not meet the demand, and it turned to the United States for help. Many of the animals came from the midwest, particularly Missouri, and they were transported by train to Avis, just outside of Hinton, where pens and sheds were constructed. The animals were unloaded and those that were sick or exhausted were treated and cared for by Dr. P.A. Gough, a veterinarian, and 40 employees. Horses that took longer to recuperate were turned out to pasture to rest. Each day, a railroad car of hay and one of oats were consumed by the animals. From Hinton they were transported to Newport News on the C&O Railroad to be loaded onto ships.
The importance of horses and mules in the war was underscored by efforts of German saboteurs or sympathizers to poison the animals while they were waiting to board ships and to blow up trains that were carrying them. In active battle the lives of horses were short, and they had to be replenished. The supply never caught up with demand. At the end of the war, remaining animals were surplus property, and they had to be fed daily and cared for by veterinarians so the government was anxious to get rid of them. While a few horses were returned to the United States, most were sold and many to butchers.
Photo courtesy of NPR.
Sources: Hinton Daily News, The West Virginia News, The Independent-Herald, NPR, WWI Centennial Commission.