Sword Bearer

German Uhlan, posing with his sword.
Uhlans were members of cavalry units.

Cavalry Tradition and the Image of the Young Soldier

This photograph of a German Uhlan posing with his sword connects the Great War with older cavalry traditions. The image is useful because it shows how military identity, uniform and mounted-war symbolism still mattered in a conflict increasingly shaped by artillery, trenches and modern technology.

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