Editing Lancer (section)

==20th-century lancers==
[[File:German lancers take down a border marker 1914.jpg|thumb|upright|German [[dragoons]] armed with lances take down a border marker in 1914]]
[[File:Stanley Wood CossackCourage.jpg|right|thumb|1915 drawing from ''[[The War Illustrated]]'' portraying a charging Don Cossack using a lance as a shock weapon.]]

In 1914, lances were still being carried by regiments in the [[British Army|British]], [[Indian Army|Indian]], [[French Army|French]], [[German Army (German Empire)|Prussian]], [[Italian Army|Italian]],<ref>Rodolfo Puletti, page 54, "I Lancieri di Milano 1859–1985", published by Editrice Militare Italiana 1985</ref> [[Chilean Army|Chilean]], [[Portuguese Army|Portuguese]], [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese]], [[Spanish Army|Spanish]], [[Ottoman Army|Ottoman]], [[Belgian Army|Belgian]], [[Argentine Army|Argentine]], [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian]], and [[Royal Thai Army|Siamese]] armies, among others. Almost all German cavalry branches (cuirassiers, hussars, dragoons, and uhlans) retained steel tube lances (''[[stahlrohrlanze]]'') {{convert|3.2|m|ft|sp=us}} in length, as their primary weapon.<ref>John Terraine, page 68, "Mons. Retreat to Victory", 1960, {{ISBN|978-0713411638}}</ref> As late as 1914, half of the troopers in each Russian regular cavalry regiment (hussars, uhlans, and dragoons) carried lances on active service, as did all [[cossack]]s.<ref>Nick Cornish, page 5 "The Russian Army 1914–18, {{ISBN|1-84176-303-9}}</ref>

The British cavalry lost the lance for all but ceremonial use in 1903, following the [[Second Boer War]]; but a conservative revaluation led to its reintroduction as an active service weapon from 1909 to 1928.<ref>Alan Larsen & Henry Yallop, ''The Cavalry Lance'', p. 16 and p.56, {{ISBN|978-1-4728-1618-4}}</ref><ref group="Note">For an illustration of a fully armed lancer, see [[Michael Chappell]]'s "Men at Arms Series British Cavalry Equipment 1800–1941" illustration G 1.</ref>

The French army did not have lancer regiments as such, but steel lances {{convert|2.97|m|ft|sp=us}} 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.<ref>Christian Tollet "Les Dragons 1914" Histoire & Collections 2009</ref> The six Italian ''lancieri'' regiments<ref>Ronald Strom, page 154, "Great Regiments", SBN 297.17647.3, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1969</ref> still in existence until 1920 carried the 1870 model of ashwood lance, noted for its balance and manageability.<ref>Rodolfo Puletti, pages 54–55, "I Lancieri di Milano 1859–1985", published by Editrice Militare Italiana 1985</ref>

[[File:Coat of Arms of the 1st-11 Light Armored Cavalry Group Bourbon Lancers.svg|thumb|left|upright|Coat of arms of the [[Structure of the Spanish Army#Other Units of the Land Forces|Cavalry Group "Lancers of Bourbon"]]<br>(11th Cavalry Regiment "Spain")]]

Prior to the outbreak of [[World War I]], there had been controversy as to whether lances or sabres were the more effective ''armes blanche'' (i.e. mêlée weapons) for cavalry, but neither proved a match for modern [[firearm]]s and/or [[artillery]]. Some armies continued to use lances throughout the war, but they seldom saw use on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] after initial clashes in France and Belgium in 1914. On the [[Eastern Front (World War I)|Eastern Front]], mounted cavalry still had a role and lances saw limited use by the Russian, German, and Austrian armies.<ref>Vladimir Littauer, pages 115–116, "Russian Hussar", {{ISBN|1-59048-256-5}}</ref>

During the 1920s and 1930s, the use of lances ceased for active service in most armies. The German cavalry retained the lance as a service weapon until 1927, as did the British cavalry until 1928. Some other armies retained lance-armed cavalry units for ceremonial purposes only. The [[Polish cavalry]] did not discard the lance as a weapon until 1934<ref>Steven J. Zaloga, page 5 "The Polish Army 1939–45" {{ISBN|0-85045-417-4}}</ref> or 1937<ref>Alan Larsen & Henry Yallop, ''The Cavalry Lance'', p. 76, {{ISBN|978-1-4728-1618-4}}</ref> and continued to use it for training and ceremonial purposes until the outbreak of [[World War II]].